Ω Omega "Idõrabló/Time Robber" 1976***

As I've written before, Omega were Hungary's greatest rock band and a significant musical export, mainly in Central Europe. Like most bands from the former "Soviet Bloc" they sang in their own language, probably to please the commissars. But who else in the whole world would willingly listen to rock sung in Hungarian? So they made a point of dual releases, one for the home crowd and one in English for export. This CD sensibly gathers both versions of their classic "Time Robber" album. The cover is certainly not the original of the international edition, which was a typical space rock affair. These Boney M-join-the-Cossack-cavalry outfits must have been the height of kitsch even in the 70's. What am I saying - they'd even be booed off the stage in an 80's Eurovision contest (even as I wrote it I realized that's not true - of course nothing can be too kitsch for Eurovision). Anyway, even if this was the original Hungarian LP cover, one would expect them to hide their hideous fashion crimes from the CD generation, but I guess there's a threshold beyond which kitsch becomes a form of expression. You never know, maybe Lady Gaga will wear one of these outfits on next year's Grammys. But enough about the cover, let's review the music. First of all, the English and Hungarian versions are identical except from the vocals. Opener "Napot Hoztam, Csillagot/House Of Cards" is an atmospheric song with gentle acoustic guitar and spacey moog keyboard. Singer Janos Kobor's English is accented but not bad, it certainly goes down easier than his native Hungarian. What bothers me most with the vocals are the echo effects. I think they heard this effect on a Pink Floyd album and decided to use it everywhere. Bad idea (although nowhere near as bad as the costumes on the cover). The first three tracks are actually connected to form a song suit, so "House Of Cards" blends into hard rocker "Idõrabló/Time Robber" (great bluesy solo here), while the 3rd part "Ablakok/ House Of Cards (Part Two)" reprises the moog-heavy atmospheres of the first. "A Névtelen Utazó/ Invitation" is a nice hard rocker with top-notch guitar and drums but almost ruined by a few seconds of intrusive spacey electronic effects in the beginning, middle and end. It's an otherwise radio-friendly song and was indeed a moderate hit in Germany. "Nélküled/Don't Keep Me On Waiting" is a psychedelic ballad with a heavy Pink Floyd influence, with excellent Gilmour-esque guitar and spacey keyboards. "A Könyvelõ Álma/An Accountant's Dream" is fast glam rock track with vocals reminiscent of Alex Harvey, Steve Harley or even Ziggy-era Bowie. "Éjféli Koncert/Late Night Show" has a similar vocal but a more complex composition. The first half is more of a glam power ballad while the instrumental second half is rich and atmospheric with great harpsichord and choral female vocals. Once more Omega prove themselves the equals of English/West European prog rockers. This CD (or just its English counterpart "Time Robber") should satisfy fans of Eloy, Pink Floyd, Uriah Heep etc. Plus there's certainly some added comedy value in the cover. 

***** for Nélküled/Don't Keep Me On Waiting

**** for Napot Hoztam Csillagot/House Of Cards, Éjféli Koncert/Late Night Show

*** for Idõrabló/Time Robber, Ablakok/House Of Cards (Part Two), A Névtelen Utazó/Invitation, A Könyvelõ Álma/An Accountant's Dream

Ω Omega "10 000 Lépés" 1969****

Omega is supposed to be Hungary's greatest rock band. Or, at least, the only one that managed to escape its country's margins and get known internationally. I know what you'll say, the iron curtain etc, but I think it has to do with how open cultures are to outside influences and maybe how they present themselves to the outside world. Even 20 years ago, I knew of Hungary's Omega, Czechoslovakia's Plastic People Of The Universe, Yugoslavia's Bijelo Dugme (you know, Bregovic's group) but I couldn't readily name a 60's/70's rock band from Austria, Switzerland or Portugal. Ω were apparently popular in the two Germanies, Poland and elsewhere and even recorded and released a beat album in the UK with the help of the of The Spencer Davis Group's manager. Despite their relative success at the time, their albums aren't all that common in Greece (or in the Netherlands). So when I found this for a nice price, I bought it. It catches the band in transition between psychedelic pop and the progressive space-rock for which they're mostly famous for. Opener "Petróleum lámpa" is a fast number with country harmonica and boogie woogie piano. Typical 60's, could be Chris Farlowe if not for the obnoxious vocals - although maybe I shouldn't blame the singer but the Hungarian language itself: It sounds like an unholy mixture of Turkish and Slavic or, more accurately, like no other human language at all. Not that easy on the ears usually, though it didn't stop me from enjoying "Gyöngyhajú lány", the album's high point. A gorgeous ballad (later covered by the Scorpions as "White Dove"- and the Scorpions really know ballads). It features atmospheric organ, fluid guitar, soft lead vocals and big harmonies on the chorus. "Túzvihar" and "Nem tilthatom meg" are Hendrix-inspired hard rock, while "Félbeszakadt koncert" shows more similarities to Led Zeppelin. All three are excellent. "Udvari bolond kenyere" and "Halott viragok" are closer to the Kinks circa 1967 and "Kérgeskezú favágök" a soul-jazz instrumental with a long drum solo. "Tékozló fiúk" is a crazy one and a personal favorite, a fuzz guitar monster blending prog grandiosity, hard rock aggressiveness, garage punk attitude and what sounds like a seriously pissed-off ghost at backing vocals. The album's namesake "Tizezer lépés" is another prog/hard rock dynamite, with impressive organ and guitar work reminiscent of Deep Purple from the same period, while "Az 1958-as boogie-woogie klubban" is what the title (probably) says, a retro rock'n'roll number. Once again, the language sounds wrong and it comes out like Borat impersonating Elvis - but in a fun way. "Régi csibészek" is a whimsical country stomp while "Spanyolgitar legenda", "Volt egy bohóc" and "Naplemente" are Renaissance-flavored folk with flutes, strings etc. This album proves that music knows no national or political boundaries, as it shows Hungarian rockers to be every bit the equal of their English and American contemporaries, at the forefront of the progressive movement and impressive instrumentalists - especially the guitarist and organist. If the singer was half as good, I'd even call it a cornerstone of its genre.

***** for Gyöngyhajú lány

**** for Tekozlo fiuk, Tizezer lepes, Félbeszakadt koncert

*** for Petróleum lámpa, Túzvihar, Udvari bolond kenyere, Kergeskezu favagok, Az 1958-as boogie-woogie klubban, Spanyolgitár legenda, Nem tilthatom meg, Volt egy bohóc, Naplemente

** for Halott virágok, Régi csibészek