Gusliar / Гусляр (Pesniary / Песняры, 1979)

This is the only track included in Pesniary's album bearing the same title and released in 1979. This Byelorussian band is responsible for several long suites based on local legends and poems and featuring music by contemporary composers from the Soviet Union. This track is divided into twelve sections and has a strong folk flavour, but also a recognizable symphonic plot.

The 1979  LP release on Melodiya label. You'll also find a

2000 CD re-release by Boheme Music.

 

The tempos follow one another with the most enjoyable variety and the vocal harmonies (a Pesniary's well known trademark) are simply impressive. Of course, the classical infuence is everywhere, but "Gusliar" is never too grandiloquent and has many intimate passages. If you like an unclassifiable kind of music and the orchestra / band interplays, this one is for you.

Посещение / The Visit (7 Ocean, 2008)

Among the many keyboard-oriented bands from Eastern Europe, 7 Ocean surely deserve our attention. Coming from Belarus, these musicians were already active during the '80s, then came back and started a proper discography in 2008. Their first album, called "Таинственная раса странных существ" (or "The Mysterious Race of Strange Entities") starts with this track, a very diversified and theatrically sung one, where leader and keyboardist Alexander Eletsky shows all his talents.

"7 Ocean" are also known as "Seventh Ocean".

I like the tempo changes, the mellow themes and the old fashioned moods they display during this epic. Nothing really new, maybe, especially if you listened to some Eloy albums, but all 7 Ocean do is well found, well performed and even better set up. They probably couldn't afford a first rate production, still their music has a peculiar pathos and a recognizable trademark. That's why I put this song here, hoping some will like it the way I do.