Quidam - Halfplugged


Year of Release: 2006
Label: Rock-Serwis
Catalog Number: RSCD 066
Format: CD
Total Time: 51:22:00

Polish band Quidam's very first studio album with a new vocalist, SurREvival did not fare as well as the band's previous output with a female singer. Maybe after ten years people made the immediate link that Quidam should deliver female vocals so it's always difficult to make the switch in your head after such a lengthy time. Imagine Pink Floyd releasing a new album with a female lead vocalist and you'd end up with similar doubts. However, the line-up with newcomer Bartek Kossowicz might slightly have changed their approach to music, but in essence the compositions and arrangements do still contain the melodic Camel-like material we all have learned to love and cherish. When the band was invited to play an acoustic concert in the town of Inowroclaw as part of the annual "Best product of the year" show they didn't know what to expect. However, during the rehearsals, which led to tackling their material as acoustic pieces, it became obvious they were able to reach elements they would otherwise never have thought about. Mainly concentrating on their latest album, which, in fact, is the very first product from this very line-up, they came up with new versions of a couple of the album's tracks. For sure they also needed to slot in an acoustic version of the band's trademark which still is "Sanktuarium."

Because they most definitely knew that the audience would not be the "normal" Quidam audience, they also slotted in some well-known compositions by The Beatles, Pink Floyd and Moody Blues. The entire concert was recorded on multi-track just to serve as a memory for the band, but when listening back they encountered a lot of emotion and great interplay which most definitely would please more people than the six members in the band. And so, without the intention of releasing this show as an album, Halfplugged was pencilled in to become Quidam's next release. It also gives the band more time to concentrate on their next studio offering, and although it does contain previously released material, the acoustic approach does indeed shed a different light to the whole. On top of that, the public is very appreciative and silent, which does the quality of the recording a lot of good. In fact, although this of course is a one-take only, it does often sound like a studio recording!

In all, the band delivers four new versions of songs from their SurREvival album, the almighty Quidam classic "Sanktuarium" and the three already mentioned cover versions, which make up for almost one hour of great subtle music. Because the band plays in front of a Polish audience all the text in between songs is in Polish, but these are only brief interventions. Bartek's voice sounds calm and soothing, which he nicely displays in "Queen Of Moulin Rouge." The version of "Sanktuarium" simply is divine with flute and piano creating a superb background for Bartek's storytelling vocals. The band's version of Floyd's "Wish You Were Here" sounds interesting with Bartek singing the lines which otherwise are reserved for guitar. Due to the fact that he has a different timbre makes it nice to listen to and most certainly does not turn this song into a plain cover version as we've heard a million times over and over again. This is stripped down and comes as fresh as it gets. The reason why this album is called Halfplugged is because the bass most definitely is electric whilst the organ in "The Fifth Season" is plugged in the mains as well. The band's version of the classic "Nights In White Satin" fares well, although Bartek's voice is not backed by the obvious strings. Instead you get some nice flute, although for my taste it sounds a little too hopping around the melodies.

I lied when I told you that this album contains three cover versions, as in fact it contains four. Fact is that during the final track "Not So Close" the band has woven the Joe South penned "Hush" as made immortal by Deep Purple. In fact, this middle section enables Bartek to introduce the various members of the band whilst also encouraging some audience participation, as of course everyone knows how to sing along to the "na na na na" verse in "Hush." Time to pop the disc from your CD-player into your computer as the CD also contains some bonus video footage. It kicks off with the band rehearsing "Proba" whilst jokingly jamming into an Eastern flavoured rhythm. The following two shots are taken from the actual concert of which Halfplugged was taken. Now we can see that all of the band are seated during their entire acoustic performance with only singer Bartek standing up, although he has a bar stool which he uses during the lengthy instrumental passages. Sadly no view of the audience so we don't really have an idea of the venue or the turnout. The quality of these images is not perfect, but as a bonus I guess it's OK. Halfplugged has become a nice, pleasant little album, an essential purchase together with the recent batch of 2CD re-issues and I can't wait to hear the band's next studio offering as this line-up sounds wonderful!


Tracklisting:
SurREvival (6:07) / Queen Of Moulin Rouge (6:42) / Sanktuarium (5:49) / Blackbird (2:06) / Wish You Were Here (4:16) / The Fifth Season (9:18) / Nights In White Season (5:25) / Not So Close (11:37) / Bonus Video Footage: Proba (2:11) / SurREvival Live (6:) / Wish You Were Here Live (4:16)

Musicians:
Zbyszek Florek - keyboards, backing vocals
Maciek Meller - acoustic guitars, backing vocals
Jacek Zasada - flutes, bass
Bartek Kossowicz - vocals, tambourine
Marius Ziolkowski - bass, acoustic guitar
Maciek Wroblewski - drums, percussion

Discography:
Quidam (1996)
Moje Anioly (1998)
Sny Aniolow (1998)
Live In Mexico '99 (1999)
The Time Beneath The Sky (2002)
SurREvival (2005)
Halfplugged (2006)
Alone Together (2007)

The Fifth Season (DVD) (2006)
Strong Together Live (2010)

Genre: Progressive Rock

Origin PL

Added: October 29th 2006
Reviewer: John "Bobo" Bollenberg

Artist website: www.quidam.pl
Hits: 4088
Language: english

  

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