"No risk no fun", that's what they say. The story behind my article is pretty straightforward. I was buying something completely different and I saw THEM by accident. They were talking to my subconsciousness. Those covers. Those titles. History contained in a piece of plastic. And what is more - originally wrapped in foil. Brand new. Virgins. So I had to buy them... for the equivalent of two packs of cigarettes:
They look so bad, the title is so scary, that I was expecting the worst. But, on the other hand, it could be only better.
How are they then? Well - if they were as bad as they look I wouldn't make this article... I like the "East Germany" album more, so let me start with it. Both cassettes are perfectly realized. Great stereophony, low noise - enhanced with Dolby NR. They look plastic-fantastic, but they sounds marvelous. It could only be better if they were chromium. And the rest is good as well. We got nice inserts, printed on good quality paper with some interesting information about all the artists. The level of detail is high and as a whole it looks like it was crafted not manufactured. Crafted with passion and love.
Looking East - Electronic East - Synthesizer Music From EAST GERMANY
On the "A" side I like Rainer Oleak's "In den Bäumen heult der Sturm chaotisch sein Zigeunerlied". It is decent, feels kind of soundtrack and it's a pity that it is not as long and complicated as its title. After that we have "Chider Grün" - another Rainer's track. It sounds like a mix of Visage and early Tangerine Dream, but different 😉 They share the "We are drunk and surrounded with synthesisers, what are we supposed to do with them" philosophy. It is raw and brutal. I like it!
But then we are slapped to the face by Reinhard Lakomy. His "Nanga Parbat" is so sweet that your teeth ache. It's like you drank way too much of an Advocaat. Pure evil.
Second track by Reinhard is a bit better, but too monotonous. At least it's only two minutes long so it can be even pleasurable.
Last track on this side is "Vision" by Wolfgang Paulke - which I found the best so far. Sublime, movie-like and even game-like ("Unreal" etc). So 80s'. Great mastering, wide stereophony. Interesting solo and guitar part. Main theme is good. I really like it - even more after some subsequent hearings.
Let's go to the "B" side. It starts with two P.O.N.D. pieces. The first one - "Mondflug" is more ambient - relaxation and I didn't find it interesting.
But the second one - "Airbase" is much much better. It feels so "Airwolf" 😉 that I am all on it...
Next is Jörn Kanitz's - "First Results Part 1". Nothing interesting there, move forward...
... to the second part, which is only available on the CD issue, but it is completely no loss for the tape issue...
"Pieces for a child" by Hans-Hasso Stamer is second to last track. But for sure it is my least favorite. Pure pure evil. Folk mixed with some Celtic stuff and modified by synthesizers. Killing you (not)softly.
Fortunately, the album concludes with "Ichtyosaurus" by Juliius Krebs. For sure it is the best piece on this side, there are days I would say it is the best on the album (either it or "Vision"). It has two drawbacks - length (only nine minutes, I want more) and the "alarm" in the background is sometimes unpleasant. But it is a great piece of music - feels so surrealistic and spaceful. I don't know why, but I associate it with cartoon "The Real Ghostbusters" - which has nothing in common, but I see characters from it when I listen to the Dinosaur. It is repetitive but with rich and complex polyphony, so my mind jumps from one melody to the other and it is evergreen.
That is all on the tape edition. But on the CD... Reinhard Lakomy has his third track - "Ein gotischer Fall"... My, oh my! The presence of this sh...omething on the CD is a big advantage - to get the tape issue! Half of it is the sound of semi automatic washing machine, which pumped out all the water and the pump is still working. Three minutes! One hundred and eighty seconds! And you will never get that minutes back! Just don't do it.
Conclusion of "East Germany"
It is way better than its look. Some of the tracks are probably impossible to get on other albums. It is uneven, but after all it gets my recommendation. If you got the CD edition - scratch the last track! Take no risk!
Somebody was so nice to upload the whole album on YouTube (as a playlist):
Looking East - Electronic East - Synthesizer Music From POLAND
So here we are - on the second album. The artists list is nice: Niemen, Komendarek, Goc... so it should be good.
Czesław Niemen's three songs feel so experimental for me. It is not easy to listen to it. I treat them as interesting pieces but I cannot fully enjoy them.
Later on this side is Marek Biliński with his "Faces of Desert". It's based on Ravel's Bolero and it bores me (which is odd because I like Bolero).
The "A" side ends with Grzegorz Stróżniak's song which is dull. And the "B" side opens by the same composer by "Wstęga M" - which is the only one song with vocals on this album (by Małgorzata Ostrowska). But it is the worst one either.
Later on "B" side is the band Up Stream (which can be existing nowhere but on this album). First two are just robust. Nothing memorable. But the last one - "Allegoric Conception of a Dream" is better. Nice tempo, some harmony changes, a bit like Alan Parsons.
Album ends with "Anatomy of Sin (Part 3)" by Przemysław Goc. I cannot imagine a water nymph on crack... but it sounds just like that!
The biggest advantage of the "Poland" album is the fact, that I reminded about "Head Hunters" by Herbie Hancock - and that is the album I would recommend instead! Western stuff was probably better...