TAMÁS CSEH & JÁNOS MÁSIK - "LEVÉL NŐVÉREMNEK" (1977)

Singer and guitar player Tamás Cseh was a young teacher when he met the still unknown writer Géza Bereményi, in 1970. They started writing songs together, but they did not try to record them, since they feared censorship for their social contents.
After some years spent in the Budapest intellectual scene they finally started to gain some credit, and in 1975 they met multi-instrumentalist János Másik, with whom they entered the staff of renowned theather Huszonötödik Színházban.

"Levél nővéremnek" was presented there in 1975 as a contemporary folk opera, performed by Cseh and Másik. Bereményi's lyrics were structured like a letter to an imaginary elder sister, to whom the main character narrates his everyday life in Budapest, his love stories, and his concerns.
In 1977 they were finally able to record it for the state label Hungaroton, without meeting any censorship (even though they probably had toned the songs down a bit, in order to avoid it).

The album was perceived as an artistic revolution in Budapest and basically marked the birth of Hungarian alternative music.
Sadly, it wasn't met with the same enthusiasm in the rest of the nation, that lacking the cultural ferment of the capital perceived the product as too elitist.

Produced by Attila Apró
Lyrics: Géza Bereményi
Music composed by:
János Novák (tracks 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 18, 22)
Tamás Cseh (tracks 2, 4, 6, 8, 11-14, 16-17, 19, 21, 23)
János Másik (tracks 2, 4, 10, 15, 20)

Tamás Cseh - vocals, guitar
János Másik - vocals, guitar, bass guitar, double bass, banjo, organ, piano, harpsichord, percussion

Additional musicians:
János Novák - cello
Tomsits Rudolf - trumpet
László Gőz - trombone

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OMEGA - "6: NEM TUDOM A NEVED" (1975)

Omega are the most popular and long-lived Magyar bands. My favourite phase of their career took place in the second half of the Seventies, when they became a staple of European prog and space rock. 

This album in particular is probably their best. It contains two space rock gems such as the title track and "Huszadik századi városlakó", but also shorter hard rock anthems and epic ballads.
It is sealed by a sensational sci-fi artwork, which perfectly represents a band at its creative peak, followed by an international cult (they had many fans in Germany and Poland too).

The line-up has been the same since 1971: János Kóbor (vocals), Tamás Mihály (bass guitar), György Molnár (guitars), Ferenc Debreczeni (drums), László Benkő (keyboards). Sadly, both Mihály and Benkő died in November 2020.

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EAST - "HŰSÉG" (1982)

Introduced by a wonderful artwork, "Hűség" ("Fidelity") is the second album released by progressive rock band East, from Szeged (Hungary). They never reached the mainstream audience, in spite of a rather approachable sound, but they have been able to build a small, loyal fanbase. 
The tracklist is composed by eleven songs, in which symphonic prog dynamics meets space rock technology, giving birth to evocative melodies with atmospheric guitars and keyboard layers.
The sound is definitely advanced for its time: it doesn't sound like the latest records of the classic prog at all, but rather like the first ones of the neo-prog movement. Compare it to bands such as Pallas, Iq, or Marillion, which all came later, and you will be surprised.

East:
István Király, drums
Péter Móczán, bass guitar
Géza Pálvölgyi, keyboards
János Varga, guitars
Miklós Zareczky, vocals

Producer: Ferenc Dobó

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CELELALTE CUVINTE - "CELELALTE CUVINTE" (1987)

Celelalte Cuvinte (trans. "The Other Words") have been the most important rock band emerged in Romania during the Eighties. Not as popular as Phoenix, that at the time had already left the nation, Celelalte Cuvinte still managed to attract a loyal cult following during their long career (they had successful tours as late as the 2010s). 

This is their debut album, a perfectly balanced mix of prog, hard rock, and folk music (the last element was kind of mandatory for rock bands during the Ceaușescu regime, in order to preserve the national identity). 
If you want to understand their sound, you can try to imagine how Rush would have evolved during the Eighties if they had embraced flutes and acoustic guitars instead of synthesizers.

Members
Marcel Breazu: bass guitar, celesta, vocals

Leontin Iovan: drums, percussion
Radu Manafu: guitars, vocals

Călin Pop: lead vocals, guitars, recorder
Ovidiu Roșu - 12-string guitar, vocals 

Tracklist
1. Scrisori iubite
(Ovidiu Roșu, George Topîrceanu)
2. Un sfîrșit e un Început
(Marcel Breazu, Leontin Iovan, Radu Manafu)
3. Dacă vrei
(Marcel Breazu) 
4. La ceas tîrziu
(Călin Pop)
5. În zori de zi *
(Călin Pop, Elena Farago)
6. Fîntîna suspinelor
(Călin Pop)
7. Despărțire
(Marcel Breazu, Călin Pop)

Produced by Romeo Vanica

* Featuring a poem read by Florian Pittiș

 
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