SBB - "MEMENTO Z BANALNYM TRYPTYKIEM" (1981) + EXODUS - "SUPERNOVA" (1982)

SBB - "Memento z banalnym tryptykiem"
Recorded in february 1980, released in february 1981.
136.000 copies sold in 1981 (second best selling album of the year in Poland).
Tenth studio album for the band, which debuted in 1974.

Apostolis Antymos - electric guitar (tracks 1, 3 & 4), acoustic guitar (track 4)
Jerzy Piotrowski - drums (tracks 1, 3 & 4), percussion (tracks 1, 3 & 4)
Sławomir Piwowar - electric guitar (all tracks), acoustic guitar (tracks 2 & 4), keyboards (track 3), bass (track 4)
Józef Skrzek - keyboards (all tracks), bass (tracks 1, 3 & 4), vocals (tracks 1 & 4), harmonica (track 3)

Music composed by Józef Skrzek (tracks 1 & 4), Sławomir Piwowar (track 2), Apostolis Antymos (track 3), Jerzy Piotrowski (track 3)
Lyrics (tracks 1 & 4): Julian Matej
Producer: Edward Spyrka

Exodus - "Supernova"
Recorded in october-november 1981, released at the very end of 1982.
476.000 copies sold in 1983 (best selling album of the year in Poland).
Second studio album for the band, which debuted in 1978.

Paweł Birula - vocals, acoustic guitar
Zbigniew Fyk - drums, percussion
Władysław Komendarek - keyboards
Andrzej Puczyński - acoustic & electric guitar
Wojciech Puczyński - bass

Music composed by Paweł Birula (tracks 1, 3, 5 & 8), Zbigniew Fyk (tracks 1 & 4), Władysław Komendarek (tracks 1, 2 & 6), Andrzej Puczyński (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8), Wojciech Puczyński (tracks 1 & 4)
Lyrics: Andrzej Puczyński (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 & 8), Małgorzata Maliszewska (tracks 3 & 5)
Producer: Witold Trenkler

These two albums are not directly related, but I'm posting them together because they basically ended the glorious Polish progressive rock season. Their atmospheric, tecnological sound somehow predated the British neo-prog movement. 
Both Exodus and SBB disbanded after these albums, only to reunite in the following decades.

DOWNLOAD SBB: "MEMENTO..." (kbps: 320)

DOWNLOAD EXODUS: "SUPERNOVA" (kbps: 320)

 

SBB - "SBB" [aka "WOŁANIE O BRZĘK SZKŁA", "SLOVENIAN GIRLS"] (1978)

Third SBB album on Soviet Sam, and it won't be the last one.

During the Seventies the band had the honour of touring outside of Poland, which was quite rare during the Iron Curtain era. They recorded this album in April 1977, in Prague. It was released one year later exclusively in Czechoslovakia and West Germany. It was sung entirely in Polish, but it probably didn't matter that much, since most of it is instrumental and the band only had a small cult following in those countries.

Like their previous effort, "Ze słowem biegnę do ciebie", this consists of two long pieces, one on each side of the LP. The band seems to be more skilled than ever; the sound is beautiful, harmonic, deeply futuristic, but also able to show off some muscles. A mix of jazz rock, space rock, and occasional ambient parts, which partially predated the electronic world music of the Eighties (just think of the beginning of "Odejście").
All in all, this may be SBB's masterpiece.

Józef Skrzek - keyboards, harmonica, vocals
Apostolis Antymos - guitars, bouzouki
Jerzy Piotrowski - drums, percussion

Composed by Józef Skrzek 
Produced by Hynek Žalčík
Lyrics by Julian Matej

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

SBB - "ZE SŁOWEM BIEGNĘ DO CIEBIE" (1977)

Another beautiful album from SBB, the most important Polish prog band. Compared to "Pamięć", which you may have already appreciated, the sound quality has even improved. 
There is only one song on each side. The title track is a mix between symphonic prog and space rock, passionately sung by keyboard player Józef Skrzek, while "Przed premierą" is instrumental and more jazz fusion oriented. The whole album is characterized by ethereal, liquid sounds, originating from guitars and keyboards as well.

Released as a limited edition of 50.000 copies, the vinyl version quickly went out of print. It was finally reissued on CD in 1997.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)

SBB - "PAMIĘĆ" (1976)

SBB have been one of the most important Polish bands of the Seventies. They were founded near Katowice by Józef Skrzek (vocals, bass, keyboards), Apostolis Anthimos (guitars), and Jerzy Piotrowski (drums).

The power trio started its career as Czesław Niemen's backing band. In 1974 they released a live debut album titled "SBB" and based on a couple of jam sessions. Their second work, "Nowy horyzont" (1975), was recorded in studio. It presented the band as a strange hybrid of jazz fusion and symphonic prog. Influenced by both Mahavishnu Orchestra and Emerson Lake & Palmer, the album showed a strong potential but was ruined by a poor production (the bass parts mixing was particularly weak).

Both records sold well, and at the third attempt Skrzek and his friends could rise their ambitions. Not only "Pamięć" is their first album with a good sound quality, but it also contains their most structured compositions up to that moment. The vocal melodies are just beautiful, and blend with exciting keyboard solos. Both complex and atmospheric, SBB's jazzy prog rock had reached maturity.

"Pamięć" was released on 27 September 1976 and managed to sell 65.000 copies by the end of December, consolidating the band's popularity.

DOWNLOAD (kbps: 320)