SBB-Memento Z Banalnym Tryptykiem (1980)

The Silesian Blues Band, later known as SBB, is a legendary Polish band with 18 albums released between 1974 and 2016, when they released their final work, "Za linią horizonte" (From the horizon line). Their origins date back to the early 1970s when vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Jozef Skrzek, guitarist Apostolis Anthimos, and drummer Jerzy Piotrowski founded the band in the Polish town of Siemianowice. In late 1971, they collaborated with one of Poland's finest musicians, Czesaw Niemen, and for a time performed as SBB & Niemen throughout Europe. During this period, they recorded three important progressive rock albums that were very well received. Later, as SBB solo, they recorded their first album, released in 1974, with a somewhat immature style featuring rock improvisations, which was a great success in Poland. From this point on, the band would go on to record a series of excellent progressive rock albums with politically charged lyrics that made them landmark achievements. Their albums are characterized by grand symphonic arrangements, spacious atmospheres, theatrical vocals, and extended passages. Towards the end of the seventies, the band released several albums focused on more accessible sounds, incorporating progressive funk and jazz-rock, and also began using English lyrics. A vast arsenal of synthesizers and other high-tech equipment, which they had amassed over the years, allowed the band to create high-quality recordings. In 1979, they expanded their lineup with guitarist Slawomir Piwowar, with whom they recorded one of their more conventional progressive rock albums, "Memento Z Banalnym Tryptykiem", released in 1980. With this album, the group broadened its commercial appeal with a style much more accessible to fans of British progressive rock. This album contains only four tracks, two of which exceed seven minutes, and one occupies the entire B-side of the original vinyl. From the opening progressive jazz-rock track "Moja Ziemio Wysniona", the band demonstrates a catchy style with infectious rhythms where funk, jazz, and progressive sounds merge with constant rhythmic shifts. The instrumental and magical "Trójkat Radosci" features Spanish guitar solos, synthesizers, and electric guitar. To close out the first side, the shortest track, "Strategia Pulsu", is a catchy funk number with heavy guitar sounds. The second side consists of the extended track "Memento Z Banalnym Tryptykiem", a piece with constant rhythmic changes, featuring Slavic influences, American folk, Floydian sounds, and grand melodies. After the subsequent tour promoting this album, the band took a break from the music scene for almost ten years. After a few short reappearances in 1991, 1993 and 1998, the band had its resurrection in 2002 with a constant lineup consisting of Józef Skrzek, Antymos Apostolis and drummer Paul Wertico, famous for having participated in the Pat Metheny Group for many years and have continued to release albums relatively frequently until 2016.