Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Supraphon Release Information

The legendary album “Brutální lyrika” (Brutal Lyrics) is a studio album by the Prague band Psí Vojáci (Dog Soldiers). It contains ten songs with lyrics by Filip Topol from 1994-1995. The album was recorded in June and July 1995 in the Audio Line studio in Brno and released on CD and MC the same year. The music and sound direction was done by Roman Jež and Vladimír Holek.

The forthcoming re-release on 2LP will include two bonus tracks, thanks to the 80 minute length of the 2LP. These are two songs from the album “Brutální lyrika” (“Kruhy” (Circles) and “Brutální lyrika”), but from the album recorded by Filip Topol with the Agon Orchestra. The bleak nature imagery on the album cover suggests that the music, while rockin’ wild, is by no means disheveled. Composer, lyricist, pianist and singer Filip Topol plays the piano on the album, it’s a kind of rock wildness but often reminiscent of a chanson. Topol is ably supported by David Skála’s drums and Luděk Horký’s bass guitar. Jiří Jelínek’s alto saxophone is also heard on the album, produced by Pavla Švédová.

The CD and 2LP contain over an hour and fifteen minutes of cheerful, unrestrained music with a romantic touch, with excellent lyrics by the torn poet Filip Topol, whose speech is somewhere between singing and expressive recitation. Despite the singing, he doesn’t sing (Filip declaiming and shouting, but also “just” singing). The really melancholic songs, such as the track “Houpačka” (Swing), are balanced by “Prší 3” (Rain 3), which is a surprisingly cheerful song where Topol shows his sense of almost Zappa-esque irony. The final track, “Tak akorát dlouhá” (Just Long enough), lasts twenty-four minutes, has a wonderful atmosphere, and is the only one that is musically relatively monotonous; you can totally smell the dust and sun of Prague’s Holešovice, everything is long, long, long. And of course, as always, everything is miles away from the music of commercial radio. The music of Psí Vojáci is simply Dog Soldiers’ music.

Tracklist

1. Zatím 6:10
2. Houpačka 3:23
3. Kruhy 3:41
4. Brutal Lyric 4:25
5. Ten 5:30
6. Xtej příběh 6:35
7. Prší 3 6:32
8. Ploužák 5:28
9. Nebudu 8:58
10. Tak akorát dlouhá – Sen v realitě) 23:25