This is Allmusic's review on this album:
"I'll be honest, I've never heard either of these records. The only reviews of them I've ever read were by longtime Plastic People supporter Robert Christgau. He gave Leading Horses
an A-. That's all the info I need. If you find them before I do, please tell me where you purchased them." I'm only quoting it to illustrate how the band's fame exceeded by far the reach of their music: few have actually heard their records but those interested in avant-guard rock know
two things about them: that they made uncompromising, experimental music and that they stood up to Czechoslovakia's "Communist" dictators and paid the cost of their stance. The band was born during what became known as
The Prague Spring, a few months in '68 starting with a liberalization attempt by the Czechoslovakian Communist Party under the leadership of General Secretary Alexander Dubček and ending with an invasion by Soviet armed forces bent on putting their comrades back on the path of Communist orthodoxy. Resistance took many forms. In the case of PPoTU, it was a series of dadaist cultural happenings which must have puzzled the commissars to no end.
Despite what you may hear, rock music was not outlawed in Communist states. In fact, despite the regime's mistrust, many rock bands thrived all over Eastern Europe, although not in The Soviet Union itself (at least not until the 80's). In general these were the genres the regime could accept: 1)Jazz and Blues was to them "the music of the oppressed American negros" and definitely kosher 2)Progressive Rock would pass muster since it could be presented as "Modern Classical music with electric instruments". Even better if it embraced folk elements, always preferably in local language 3)Rock'n'roll was considered "dance music for the youth". Frowned upon for its immaturity but considered, as Douglas Adams would put it, mostly harmless 4)Folk music was welcome, since it's by definition "the musical expression of the rural proletariat". Which is why -you may be surprised to learn- country music was popular in many Communist countries even though I doubt those commies would be equally welcome in America. If you take a stroll around Czech used record shops, you'll be amazed by the number of local country LP's on display. 5)Heavy Rock was OK as long as it stayed clear of its natural subject matter (no Satan, drugs or sexist imagery - what is there left to sing about anyway?) Punk, on the other hand, was a definite no-no. The anarchic sounds of PPoTU did not fall in any of the above categories, so they must have dumbfounded the censors enough to retract their members' licences as professional musicians. This meant they were not permitted to record and distribute albums or play public gigs, which they nevertheless kept doing illegally. The crackdown on the band was pretty
severe, resulting at the confiscation of their instruments and even
jail time for some of their members. Supposedly they were persecuted because of their music but many other Czech rock bands prospered during the same period, which makes me think that this backlash was not due to cultural reasons but rather
political ones: even if their lyrics were not overtly political, they must have had
some anti-establishment activity. For once they were close to
Václav Havel, famous playwright and political dissident of the time, and later the first post-communist President of the country. Actually "Co znamená vésti koně" was illicitly recorded at Havel's house in 1981 and released for the first time in Canada in 1983 under the English title "Leading Horses". But I wrote already so much without commenting on the music. As is commonly remarked, they seem to have been influenced by avant-rock pioneers like Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and the Velvet Underground, as well as free jazz and musique concrète. The closest musical companion I can find in my record collection is
Area, which is ironic since
that Italian band were all staunch communists. Opener "Co znamená vésti koně" is dominated by a repetitive viola riff over rhythmic drums while "Slovo má buben" is a mainly slow piece with chanted vocals and a Zappa-esque freak-out middle section. "Samson" has a more epic, cinematic, character with choral vocals and military drums. "
P.F." and "Delirium" are cacophonous experiments, "
Májová" is another atonal piece dominated by clarinet and "Fotopneumatická pamět" is an introspective song with churchy chants. "
Rozvaha neuskodí ani kuřeti" has a slow oriental beat, atmosperic melody and chanted vocals that reminded me of
Dead Can Dance (albeit a few years
earlier).
"Mse" starts promisingly but quickly descents into chaos, while the last (and longest) track "Osip" features spoken incantations and a wailing saxophone over improvised bass lines. The whole album sounds very emotional rather than cerebral as it often happens with other experimental/prog bands. This specific reissue from 2014 has a seemingly very informative booklet with lots of details on the recording and complete lyrics - but it's all in Czech, thus of no use to me. It's very difficult to judge this album, as it seems to be the result of arduous self-exploring and self-expression rather than made with listeners in mind. I enjoyed it intermittently and found it annoying at other instances. Let's just say it's an interesting but challenging listen that may be rewarding to those who like adventurous, unconventional, music.
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