Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Tracklist

Side A

1. Wszystko mi mówi, że mnie ktoś pokochał – ℗ 1968 2:14
2. Z kopyta kulig rwie – ℗ 1969 3:18
3. Uciekaj, uciekaj – ℗ 1967 3:04
4. Prześliczna wiolonczelistka – ℗ 1969 3:07
5. Ty (Byłaś, jesteś i będziesz) – ℗ 1970 3:56
6. Nie całuj mnie pierwsza – ℗ 1968 4:01
7. Nie domykajmy drzwi – ℗ 1989 4:28

Side B

1. Sarabanda – ℗ 1970 1:08
2. Cała jesteś w skowronkach – ℗ 1969 4:45
3. Króliczek – ℗ 1969 2:28
4. Medytacje wiejskiego listonosza – ℗ 1969 2:53
5. Śpiewam, bo muszę – ℗ 1968 3:42
6. Wszystko kwitnie wkoło – ℗ 1976 4:03
7. Wszystkim zakochanym – ℗ 1972 4:17

Single songs at YouTube, not available at SoundCloud

Empik Release Information

Skaldowie (The Skalds) were formed in Crakow (Kraków) in 1965. The core of the band consisted of the musical, singing and playing numerous instruments Zieliński brothers: Andrzej (born 1944), playing the piano and organ, and Jacek (born 1946) – the main vocalist, violinist and trumpeter. The group debuted at the 2nd “Krakowskiej Giełda Piosenki” (Crakow Song Exchange) (1965), winning the first place for the song “Moja czarownica” (My Witch) to lyrics by the poet Wiesław Dymny.

Andrzej Zieliński monopolised Skaldowie’s repertoire as a court composer and arranger – his songs stood out against the background of Polish popular music with their complexity and variety of arrangements, but their chief virtue was their extraordinary melodiousness.

Skaldowie entered the forefront of Polish “youth bands” with the hit “Wszystko mi mówi, że mnie ktoś pokochał” (Everything Tells Me Someone Loved Me), which became the radio song of the year 1967. At the Festival of Polish Songs Opole 1967 Skaldowie received the special award of the chairman of the radio and television committee for the song “Uciekaj, uciekaj” (Escape, Escape). The band established a cooperation with talented lyricists – it is worth remembering that it were Skaldowie’s songs that became the “springboard” for the careers of the three young, talented authors A. Osiecka, W. Młynarski and L.A. Moczulski.

The band appeared in several films (“Mocne uderzenie” (Strong Hit) and “Cierpkie głogi” (Tart Hawthorns)), the most memorable was “Kulik” from 1968. A year later, Skaldowie recorded one of the most extraordinary albums of all Polish popular music, “Cała jesteś w skowronkach” (You Are All in Larks) (1969). Apart from the title track, it included “Króliczek” (Bunny), “Medytacje wiejskiego listonosza” (Meditations of a Country Postman), “Prześliczna wiolonczelistka” (Beautiful (female) cellist) and “Z kopyta kulig rwie” (The Sleigh Rides with Hooves).

After several tours in the USSR and another festival triumph in Opole in 1969 with “Medytacje wiejskiego listonosza” (Meditations of a Country Postman), the band went on a six-week tour in the US America and Canada. There, Skaldowie encountered live R & B music, and Andrzej Zieliński brought back a Hammond organ from this trip. A new image of Skaldowie was formed – that of a rock band. The final line-up of the band was also shaped, which – apart from the Zieliński brothers – included: Konrad Ratyński (vocals, bass guitar), Jerzy Tarsiński (guitar) and Jan Budziaszek (drums).

At the Opole Festival in 1970, a song sung by Jacek in a duet with Łucja Prus, “W żółtych płomieniach liści” (In the Yellow Flames of Leaves), won the journalists’ award. A year later, Skaldowie performed successfully in front of western audiences including the UK and West Germany, and in the following year they took part in the great Rock & Jazz Now concert accompanying the XX Summer Olympics in Munich. In May 1972, in the hall of the National Philharmonic, they recorded the album Krywań, Krywań – a cult album, a manifesto of Polish art-rock, the crowning achievement of their activity so far.

In the second part of the decade, Skaldowie moved a bit away from the folk sources of their music, and their love affair with rock did not prove lasting either. They created popular songs, but as – invariably – they did so at the highest level, the endless stream of hits never stopped: “Życzenia z całego serca” (Wholehearted Wishes), “Wierniejsza od marzenia” (More Faithful than a Dream), “Dopóki jesteś” (As Long as You Are), “Nie oślepiaj” (Don’t Be Dazzled). The spectacular success of the hit song “Wszystko kwitnie wkoło” (Everything Is Blooming around) made Skaldowie’s song – as it was years ago – sung again by whole Poland. Skaldowie’s annual performances at Opole were always an event, e.g. “Twą jasną widzę twarz” (I See Your Bright Face ) (Opole 1980).

In the song “Szanujmy wspomnienia” (Let’s Respect the Memories) the band with charm and indispensable self-irony responded to the passage of time, but the last great hit of Skaldowie, the song “Nie zamykajmy drzwi” (Let’s not Close the Door), convinced that the band from Cracow did not loose its invention, energy or optimism with the passing of the years.

The great concert “Skaldowie plus przyjaciele” (Skaldowie plus Friends), which took place in Warsaw’s Congress Hall in October 2000, on the occasion of the band’s 35th anniversary, proved emphatically that the music created by Andrzej and Jacek Zieliński and their friends is still fresh and original, absolutely unique and – perhaps most importantly – completely immune to time. Our collection also proves this.