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Collage - Changes

Collage - Changes
Released: 1995
Label: Ars Mundi/Marquee
Cat. No.: AMS 001 R
Total Time: 60:07

Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, March 2001
In between the recording of the Polish sung debut album Bas-nie and the succesful Moonshine CD, the survival of Collage was by no means a certainty. Originally titled Zmiany, Changes contains outtakes, rare B-sides and demo recordings recor-ded in their search for the ultimate band. You'll hear no less than four different singers, as well as four keyboard players.

However, all tracks have been written by the tandem Mirek Gil & Wojtek Szadkowski, friends and founders of Collage from day one. Originally released as a tape in their native Poland and boasting eight tracks, this CD version has been augmented to a respectable total of no fewer than 13 tracks. Again the power-ful, inventive drumming, the melodic layers of keyboards and the magisterial guitar playing are the trademarks of this band.

As with Basnie it is difficult for someone not speaking their native language to fully appreciate the songs sung in Polish. On top of this "Nocy Zamyslona" is rather dark because of the lame rhythm and the inclusion of violin. Then again in "Just Like Heaven," the band shows what a great live potential they have. Here the vocals are to be situated in the Peter Nicholls (IQ) street. Both "Lovely Day" and "The Blues" stem from the 1992 demo tape and were later reworked into the versi-ons we all know from their Moonshine album. Of course here they are both sung by Jarek Wajk instead of the better known Robert Amirian. Also both songs have completely different lyrics as opposed to the finished product. So in a way this album can be seen as an extension to the already released albums by Collage but you have to see it as a retrospective in the career of an upcoming band just like the Beatles’ Live At BBC output. Full marks to Marquee for the outstan-ding packaging although I wished the rundown of the tracks in the booklet had also been done in English instead of just Polish. An opportunity wasted!

[Szadkowski and Amirian have paired up as Satellite, whose debut album will be released soon featuring cover artwork by Mark Wilkinson (of Fish, Marillion, and others fame). -ed.]

More about Changes:

Track Listing: Zmiany (4:43) / Kolsanka '87 (4:45) / My Czarodzieje (3:25) / Nocy Zamyslona (7:50) / Ja I Ty '88 (3:05) / Just Ike Heaven (Part 1) (5:30) / Just Like Heaven (Part Two) (3:01) / Midnight Flyer (3:58) / 38/39 (3:55) / Rozmowa '86 (4:15) / Lovely Day '92 (5:10) / The Blues '92 (5:48) / Sun Meadows (4:30)

Musicians:
Jarek Wajk, Jarek Majka, Tomek Rozycki, Zbyszek Bieniak - vocals
Pawel Zajaczkowski, Jacek Korzenioswki - keyboards
Ania Milewska - piano
Mirek Gil, Jurek Barczak - guitar
Piotr Witkowski - acoustic guitar
Przemek Zawadzki - bass
Wojtek Szadkowski - drums

Contact:

Website: collage.islovely.com
Note: will open new browser window

Discography

Basnie (1990)
Nine Songs Of John Lennon (1993)
Moonshine (1994)
Changes (1995)
Safe (1995)

Living In The Moonlight (2005) (DVD)

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© Copyright 2001 Progressive World

	Collage - Changes
	Released: 1995 Label: Ars Mundi/Marquee Cat. No.: AMS 001 R Total Time: 60:07
	Reviewed by: John "Bo Bo" Bollenberg, March 2001 In between the recording of the Polish sung debut album Bas-nie and the succesful Moonshine CD, the survival of Collage was by no means a certainty. Originally titled Zmiany, Changes contains outtakes, rare B-sides and demo recordings recor-ded in their search for the ultimate band. You'll hear no less than four different singers, as well as four keyboard players. However, all tracks have been written by the tandem Mirek Gil & Wojtek Szadkowski, friends and founders of Collage from day one. Originally released as a tape in their native Poland and boasting eight tracks, this CD version has been augmented to a respectable total of no fewer than 13 tracks. Again the power-ful, inventive drumming, the melodic layers of keyboards and the magisterial guitar playing are the trademarks of this band. As with Basnie it is difficult for someone not speaking their native language to fully appreciate the songs sung in Polish. On top of this "Nocy Zamyslona" is rather dark because of the lame rhythm and the inclusion of violin. Then again in "Just Like Heaven," the band shows what a great live potential they have. Here the vocals are to be situated in the Peter Nicholls (IQ) street. Both "Lovely Day" and "The Blues" stem from the 1992 demo tape and were later reworked into the versi-ons we all know from their Moonshine album. Of course here they are both sung by Jarek Wajk instead of the better known Robert Amirian. Also both songs have completely different lyrics as opposed to the finished product. So in a way this album can be seen as an extension to the already released albums by Collage but you have to see it as a retrospective in the career of an upcoming band just like the Beatles’ Live At BBC output. Full marks to Marquee for the outstan-ding packaging although I wished the rundown of the tracks in the booklet had also been done in English instead of just Polish. An opportunity wasted! [Szadkowski and Amirian have paired up as Satellite, whose debut album will be released soon featuring cover artwork by Mark Wilkinson (of Fish, Marillion, and others fame). -ed.] More about Changes: Track Listing: Zmiany (4:43) / Kolsanka '87 (4:45) / My Czarodzieje (3:25) / Nocy Zamyslona (7:50) / Ja I Ty '88 (3:05) / Just Ike Heaven (Part 1) (5:30) / Just Like Heaven (Part Two) (3:01) / Midnight Flyer (3:58) / 38/39 (3:55) / Rozmowa '86 (4:15) / Lovely Day '92 (5:10) / The Blues '92 (5:48) / Sun Meadows (4:30) Musicians: Jarek Wajk, Jarek Majka, Tomek Rozycki, Zbyszek Bieniak - vocals Pawel Zajaczkowski, Jacek Korzenioswki - keyboards Ania Milewska - piano Mirek Gil, Jurek Barczak - guitar Piotr Witkowski - acoustic guitar Przemek Zawadzki - bass Wojtek Szadkowski - drums Contact: Website: collage.islovely.com Note: will open new browser window Discography Basnie (1990) Nine Songs Of John Lennon (1993) Moonshine (1994) Changes (1995) Safe (1995) Living In The Moonlight (2005) (DVD)
	[Review Index] [Home] [Top] © Copyright 2001 Progressive World