When I was a lot younger, I had no idea that very good music was also made behind the iron curtain and many with me I think. Fortunately, that situation has changed, although, when I see the three idiots who represent the world powers playing their game of risk, I wonder if it will stay that way. Anyway, back to the music. Keyboardist and composer Ryszard Kramarski is a Polish all-rounder and I often compare him to that other all-rounder, Antony Kalugin from Ukraine. Both are gifted keyboard players and regularly release new albums under all kinds of different banners. That is very nice of course but also carries a danger and that is overkill. Kramarski first became known to me as the driving force behind Millenium, a band that I greatly admire and of whom I own and cherish all albums. In recent years he has also released albums through the project that bears his name The Ryszard Kramarski Project (tRKproject). The album discussed here Alice, is the latest achievement of that. This time too, he has taken a (well-known) story as a basis and the lyrics have been remade by "the Bat" (Zdzislaw Zabierzewski). Alice in Wonderland, by Lewis Caroll, has often been used as a source of inspiration so the choice is not very original. Also musically, it is not necessarily originality that Kramarski strives for, but more recognition and quality. And whatever you think of his music, it's all of very high quality. There are also no real surprises in terms of vocalists and we encounter the familiar voices again, including those of former Millenium singers Lukacz Galeziowski, Marek Smelkowski but also his son, Michal Kramarski (FatherSon). Ania Batko (Hipgnosis / Albion), and Dominika Nubiedek interpret the female voices and especially Batko's as Alice fits very well because of her high, sometimes somewhat childlike, voice. Back to my intro for a moment. There's no denying that we've heard it all before, the melodies, the beautiful guitar solos of Marcin Kruczek (Moonrise), and Piotr Plonka (Millenium) in track 1, and the wonderful keyboard walls, but I dare to say that compared to the previous albums, it all comes across just a bit smoother and better. Because the rhythm section is also that of Millenium, both bands come very close to each other in terms of sound and therefore I am in two minds. Where are the differences and shouldn't they be bigger? My preference remains for Millenium but for me Alice is the most beautiful album he has released under his own name so far. The first two minutes alone are a highlight with beautiful guitar work and a somewhat heavier sounding band. I'm not going to name all the songs separately because I would like to see it as a whole and that of course means that we hear a good balance between ballads and some spicier songs. It sometimes rocks but never violently, and we certainly don't hear difficult time signatures and other powerhouse performances. All tracks are quite compact and last somewhere between five and eight minutes. Every now and then Lukacz Platek (Millenium) passes by with his saxophone and that was not really necessary for me, but my antipathy towards this instrument of course clouds my vision considerably. The story is clearly more adventurous than the music and all the well-known characters from the story about Alice pass by, the Mad Hatter, Queen of Hearts and of course the magical cat. Although I have my doubts, the clearly present quality is the deciding factor for me and we are once again presented with a wonderful hour of music with good vocals and those characteristic guitar solos that you can never get enough of. However, I would like to conclude on a critical note: if the identity of both Millenium and this project is to be safeguarded, then Ryszard would do well to draw that dividing line more clearly. One idea could be to hire other musicians, but that could also be a financial issue. Moreover, he knows exactly what he can expect from the cooperating musicians and there is something to be said for that. Anyway, if you want to dream away for more than an hour in the "proggy" world of Alice, this album is perfect for that. ***+ Erik Fraanje (edited by Tracy van Os van den Abeelen) Where to buy? |
