Asbjřrnsen - Scented Gardens Of The Mind


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Romania

Accent

An instrumental progressive rock outfit.

SPLIT ALBUM WITH PRO MUSICA:
1ROCK VOL. 91985ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02918

Celelalte Cuvinte

This outfit played competent heavy progressive rock, more indicative of the seventies than the mid-eighties. In recent years they have veered towards heavy metal.

A1ROCK VOL. 81985ELECTRECORD STM-ECE 02782
1CELELALTE CUVINTE1988ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03137
2CELELANTE CUVINTE II1988ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03712

A1 WAS A SPLIT LP WITH ONE SIDE RECORDED BY THE POP GROUP EVOLUTIV.

Compact

Rock with some progressive tendencies. They made more albums than those listed, but the others were pop oriented.

1ROCK VOL. 61982ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02145
2FATA DIN VIS1985ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02781
3CiNTEC PENTRU PRIETENI1988ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03501

1 WAS A SPLIT LP WITH THE GROUP "2005" ON THE OTHER SIDE

FFN

FFN played archetypical 70's melodic heavy rock with powerful guitar riffs and some vigorous flute, recalling early Jethro Tall, Gravy Train and even Prudence. Their albums (the first in particular) were good but never excelled.

1ZECE PASTI1975ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01184
2ZI CU Zl1977ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01377
3UN JOC1981ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01893

Holograf

A rock combo whose music had some progressive elements. They gradually turned towards bland pop.

1HOLOGRAF I.1984ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02379
2II.1986ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03080
3III.1988ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03442
4IV.(MAXI SINGLE)1989ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 03730

Magneton

A hard rock band. The second album had lyrics in Hungarian

1ROCK EXPRESS1983ELECTRECORD STM-EOE 02378
2JÓ FIÚ LESZEK1985ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02860

Metrock

Metrock's sound was centered around blues and hard rock with some progressive elements. They were unrelated to a Romanian heavy metal band of the same name in the 90s.

1CASTELUL DE NISIP1982ELECTRECORD STM-EOE 02077

Metropol

Metropol's first album had lyrics in Hungarian (a minority of more than 2 million Hungarians live in Romania). Their early albums contained well executed hard rock with some progressive elements.

1ÉGIG ÉRHETNE AZ ÉNEK1978ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01401
2VOUC1979ELECTRECORD STM-EOE 01586
3METROPOL 31981ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01839
4DIN NOU ÎMPREUHA1986ELECTRECORD STM-EOE 03004

Mondial

Mondial recorded excellent beat-psychedelia, according to those who have heard their rare album.

1MONDIAL I1971ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0544

1 ALSO EXISTS IN MONO (EDE 0543).
RE-ISSUED AS "REMEMBER MONDIAL" IN 1992 ON ELECTRECORD (STM-EDE 04197) IN A DIFFERENT COVER WITH 4 EXTRA TRACKS FROM A 1970 EP.

Phoenix

Phoenix was formed in Timisoara by Nicolae Covaci. A couple of years later they scored a hit with the Beatles-influenced ballad "I Know That You Love Me Too". Throughout the sixties their vinyl output only consisted of 2 EPs, but Phoenix recorded additional material for national Romanian radio and music for the movie "The Canary And The Blizzard". By the time of their first LP (selections from a rock opera named "Those Who Gave Us A Name"), Phoenix had adopted a strong heavy progressive sound with significant folk influences that were unrivalled in most of Eastern Europe. The instrumental parts were superb, full of strong lead guitars (recalling Martin Barre on early Jethro Tull albums), occasional gipsy violin, jazzy fuzz-bass breaks and complex rhythms. In addition, Phoenix used carefully constructed multi-voice vocal arrangements. The predominant folky mood is also supplemented with more heavy and psychedelic moments. Side one contained a long suite of songs dealing with the cycle of the seasons. Side two contained "Negru Vodă", one of their best known songs, opening in a concise and powerful manner but ending up in a long jam. The last track "Pseudo Morgana" had slight oriental influences. This is a classic album among the best ever from the Eastern bloc, conjuring up images from the Transylvanian middle ages.

Mugur De Fluier (1974) was another strong album building on the elements of the first side of the previous album. It was a continuous suite of haunting songs glued together by the recurring theme "Lasă Lasă".

Cantofabule (1975) was a highly ambitious and experimental double album on which their musical range had broadened even more. "Invocaţie" and "Zoomahia" even had pulsating synthesizer parts by the new keyboard player Günther Reininger. Other tracks ("Cintic-Lu A Cucuveauă-Lliei") veered in the direction of psychedelic folk-rock. The album also had a very nice sleeve design, picturing various animals in a dream-like scene. These three albums are indispensable for any true Euro-rock collector. Soon after Cantofabule, most of the members fled to Germany and The Netherlands and seem to have left the business. In 1991 they were reunited for some concerts in Romania.

1CEI CE NE-AU DAT NUME1972ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0754
2MUGUR DE FLUIER1974ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0968
3CANTOFABULE (2LP)1975ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 1115-6

S1REMEMBER PHOENIX1991ELECTRECORD STU-EDE 04077

A COMPILATION WITH TRACKS FROM EPS AND THEIR 1ST ALBUM.
S2ANII 60... VREMURI1998ELECTRECORD EDC 257

A COMPILATION OF 6 EP TRACKS AND 7 UNRELEASED TRACKS FROM 1967-69.

CD COMPILATION:
.EVERGREENS1993ELECTRECORD EDC 167

THE COMPLETE 1st ALBUM + 6 TRACKS FROM 2nd ALBUM AND 3 EP TRACKS.

REISSUES:

1 RE-ISSUED IN 1992 ON ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0754 IN A DIFFERENT COVER.
2 RE-ISSUED IN 1991 ON ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0968 WITH A DIFFERENT, NON-GATEFOLD COVER
3 RE-ISSUED IN 1991 ON ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 1115/16 IN SEPARATED, NON-GATEFOLD SLEEVES
3 ALSO RE-ISSUED ON CD.

Progresiv TM

Strong power trio playing, subtle vocal harmonics and cascading flute flourishes characterize the first LP of Progresiv TM, definitely one of Romania's most ear-catching bands from the seventies. The typical Romanian qualities of expert musicianship and excellent vocal parts are omnipresent, but still most of this LP is hard rock with a strong penchant for soaring melodies and always interesting flute interceptions. The production is extremely simple, almost no studio effects are used, rendering the album a bit "dry" in sound, but the knack for unexpected melody (check the marvellous "Clepsidra", a truly progressive marvel) makes up for this in full. There's a heartbreaking ballad too, "Nimeni Nu E Singur".

Four years later the sound had developed into a more sophisticated blend with even some strings and piano thrown in, but basically all the earlier qualities remained. The combination of piano with these kind of melodies makes the sound at times almost Italian. Production values have improved greatly, making this more varied and less a pure "hard-rock with flute" album. The long opening track, "Oameni Si Fapte / Legamint" would bo obligatory for any "best of the east" compilation with its lush harmonies, great diversity and arching themes. Side two has more emphasis on dexterous guitar playing and tends to get quite poetic, the title of the record ("The Power Of Music") rings completely true. Absolutely top-notch by any standard.

Marcel Koopman

1DREPTUL DE A VISA1975ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01183
2PUTEREA MUZICII1979ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01538

Semnal M

Folky rock with some progressive developments. Personnel is uncertain for their third album (apart from Iuliu Merca). They re-united in 1991, but were now more pop-oricntcd.

1CÎHTECE TRANSILVANENE1981ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01948
2TRENUL CURSA DE PERSOANE APAHIDA-CLUJ NAPOCA1979ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01638
3PLANETA VISURILOR NOASTRE1982ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02146

Sincron

The first ten inch album contained versions of international beat and pop songs. The twelve inch album contained nine Sincron tracks with Romanian folk tunes arranged to an excellent beat/psych sound, as well as two Mondial tracks and one Orchestra Electrecord track (Genre: easy listening).

1SINCRON (10**)1970?ELECTRECORD EDD 1199
2ROUMANIAN POP MUSIC II1971ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 0542

Sfinx

In the 70's, Dan Andrei Aldea was in charge of Sfinx, a group which has rightfully gained a deal of attention from international collectors. Lume Alba (1975) was essentially a quality pop-rock album with a folky touch (gipsy violin). Quite good songs and multi-voice arrangements make it enjoyable throughout.

Zalmoxe (1978) was their best album by far. On this they succeeded in producing their own sound, based on the complex symphonic rock explored by Gentle Giant, Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd. Compared with other continental European rock, I would put them in the same class as Sahara (Germany), Solaris (Hungary) and Iceberg (Spain - at the time of their first album). The album had nine tracks, which all were strong. Along with the three Phoenix albums, this is the very best from Romania.

However beware of the later album by a revamped version of the band, which is very weak!

1LUME ALBA1975ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01114
2ZALMOXE1978ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01537
3SFINX1984ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 02513

2 RE-ISSUED IN 1992 ON ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 04237. ALSO RELEASED ON CO.

Various Artists

I MENTION ONLY THE MOST IMPORTANT ALBUMS, CONTAINING EXCLUSIVE PROG-ROCK MATERIAL NOT AVAILABLE ELSEWHERE.
.ROUMANIAN POP MUSIC II1971ELECTRECORD STM-EPE 0542
CONTAINS 9 SINCRON TRACKS (WHERE ROMANIAN FOLK TUNES WERE TREATED TO AN EXCELLENT BEAT-PSYCH SOUND) 2 MONDIAL TRACKS AND ONE ORCHESTRA ELECTRECORD TRACK (LIGHT MUSIC). MORE OR LESS A COMPLETE SINCRON LP.
.FORMATII DE MUZICA POP 11975ELECTRECORD EDE 01071
MONO ALBUM WITH PHOENIX, MONDIAL, PROGRESIV TM, EXPERIMENTAL QUINTET AND OTHERS.
.FORMATII DE MUZICA POP 21976ELECTRECORD EDE 01229
MONO ALBUM WITH DEPOLO, CURTEA VECHE 43, ETHOS AND OTHERS.
.FORMATII DE MUZICA POP III1979ELECTRECORD EDE 01637
MONO ALBUM WITH BASORELIEF, HOLOGRAF, ACADEMICA AND OTHERS.
.FORMATII ROCK VOLUMUL IV1980ELECTRECORD EDE 01723
MONO ALBUM WITH SFINX, SEMNAL M AND OTHERS.
.FORMATII ROCK 51981ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01898
WITH METROCK, REDIVIVUS, DAN BADULESCU AND RODION G.A.
.CLUB A1981ELECTRECORD STM-EDE 01912
LIVE COMPILATION WITH ACCENT, PRO MUSICA, SFINX AND OTHERS.


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