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Wojna Swiatow Live (2CD)
Archival double CD featuring two live sets from the keyboardist and founder of the Polish prog outfit SBB.
Translated review from the Polish website Rock Area:
"The Sosnowiec publishing house GAD Records, under the direction of the tireless Michał Wilczyński, systematically expands its catalog with new items. Most of them are reissues of recordings by local artists that have been unavailable for a long time. Reissues of the album output of the SBB group and its leader Józef Skrzek occupy a special place in this catalog. The year 2023 alone brought as many as three SBB live albums from the "Live Cuts" series, and more are already in preparation! GAD's publishing output has just been expanded by another volume signed with the name of an outstanding composer from Siemianowice. We are talking about the album "War of the Worlds Live".
Judging by the title of the album itself, one may get the impression that it is a stage recreation of the album "War of the Worlds - Next Century". To some extent this is true, but not completely. The concert's repertoire was only partially based on compositions intended to accompany Piotr Szulkin's film "The War of the Worlds", which was made at that time. The rest is a selection of songs known from Józef Skrzek's earlier work, both solo and from SBB albums. What is obvious in the case of this artist, the sound material presented on stage differs in terms of arrangement from the album originals. But the composition in which these sounds were presented also differed. The SBB Group had ceased to exist a few months earlier. The leader had to look around for new colleagues. He chose the best he had at hand. Drummer Janusz Ziomber reportedly once competed with Jerzy Piotrowski for a place in SBB. It didn't work out then, but he finally got the opportunity to play with Skrzek. In turn, saxophonist Tomasz Szukalski had previously appeared as a guest in SBB recordings made for Polish Radio. He was already a legend of domestic jazz at that time. The young guitarist Robert Golla had an internship in the Irjan band. What adds spice is the fact that when he went on tour with Skrzek, he used a guitar purchased from Apostolis Antymos himself. The last person invited to join the new band of the former SBB leader was his younger brother Jan, who a few years later would become an icon of Silesian blues as "Kyks". He played the harmonica, of course. So a good company gathered. The group did not receive a special name - it was simply a band accompanying Józef Skrzek. Unfortunately, the concert activity of the new formation was limited to only a few months. It was interrupted by political turmoil sealed by the introduction of Martial Law in December 1981. It is good that recordings documenting the short life of this body have survived.
The fate of the material in question is quite complicated. The recording of the concert played in March 1981 in Prague, then Czechoslovakia, first circulated unofficially among collectors. In the fall of 2001, it reached fans in the form of the so-called "author's edition" and was sold at the Master's concerts as a home-made CD-R with a photocopied cover. It was only in 2004 that it was first legally published by the no longer existing publishing house "Wydawnictwo 21". This does not mean, however, that the technical quality of the recording has improved. The recording of the concert comes from a mixing desk, but years of storage in unknown conditions have left their mark on the sound. Or maybe a tape with low technical parameters was simply used when recording the concert? It is unknown. The fact is that it was still bootleg quality material. And because it was long out of print, it quickly became a hard-to-find item and can fetch high prices on a popular auction site.
Does this year's reissue make a difference compared to the 2004 version? Partially yes. Modern technology has allowed for a slight improvement in sound quality, although we are still dealing with a material whose historical and artistic value exceeds its acoustic value. So before we insert the disc into the player, we must be prepared for slight listening discomfort. The sound is sometimes distorted, the low keyboard tones hum, the guitar gets lost in the noise and the whole thing seems slightly muffled. Therefore, it is better to listen to the album through speakers rather than headphones. But if we give up on audiophile tendencies, we will be in for a real musical feast!
The concert opens with the title motif played with nerve. After it, "Toczy się kola historie" is played, which is a twenty-minute-long suite from Skrzek's album "Ojciec chrzny Dominika". The work, enriched with a saxophone part, is dignified. The leader sings with a strong voice and, as always, charms with his spectacular playing on numerous keyboards. Janek Skrzek also shows off his virtuosity in the second part of the composition. The third one to be presented is "Follow My Dream", a memory of the West German longplay SBB. In the new arrangement, it loses none of its splendor. "Freedom With Us" continues the sentimental journey through the achievements of the legendary group. Here, in turn, Robert Golla gets a chance to shine with his guitar skills. In the issue "65th St Sermon" leader"