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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PHOENIX - "MUGUR DE FLUIER" (1974)

Phoenix are the most important rock band from Romania.

This is their second album, the one with stronger folk influences. In fact, Whilst you could hear traces of Romanian tradition even in their debut album, here it becomes the dominant force. Many songs are acoustic, and the electric ones have one foot in folk music as well, with violin, percussion, and odd meter patterns.

Even though the band had to cope with the censorship of Ceaucescu's regime, the album was another huge success and songs like "Strunga" and the title track became classics.

The sound quality may come across as slightly muffled, but if you like progressive rock and folk music, you should not miss this little gem.

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PHOENIX - "CEI CE NE-AU DAT NUME" (1972)

This is Soviet Sam's first Romanian entry, after just over four years of existence (better late than never).

Phoenix are probably the most popular rock band of the nation, at least among the older generation. After spending the Sixties playing beat music, they changed their style in 1971, when the dictator Nicolae Ceaușescu officially stated that every musician should have praised the nation and the Romanian tradition in one way or another. 

To avoid a ban, the band decided to incorporate the local folklore into its sound, while maintaining the electric side. In fact, the new songs sounded even louder than in the past, but since the band had accepted the request of Ceaușescu, they managed to partially bypass the censorship. 
The first full lenght album, "Cei ce ne-au dat nume", should have been a double Lp, but half of the material was not approved because of its controversial contents, probably considered too heavy and depressed (many songs talked about death). The remaining songs were released by the state label Electrecord in 1972. The first Cd reissues came at the end of the Nineties.

Led by the talented multi-instrumentalist Nicolae Covaci, Phoenix were one hell of a band at the time. This debut is a gem which mixes hard rock, blues, progressive rock, and Romanian folk. The sound is sharp and aggressive, maybe a little flat, but surprisingly clear. Heavy guitar riffs, distortions, and powerful solos on one side, pristine vocal arrangements and arcane atmospheres on the other. Like it or not, you'll rarely hear something similar.

Nicolae Covaci: lead guitar, acoustic guitar, flute, percussion, vocals
Mircea Baniciu: lead vocals, rhythm guitar, acoustic guitar, percussion
Iosif Kappl: bass guitar, violin, percussion, vocals
Costin Petrescu: drums
Valeriu Sepi: percussion

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