Pressing: Czech Republic
Year: 1969-1989
Genre: prog psych jazz
Packaging: box set

Supraphon release information Supraphon is proud to announce the release of this comprehensive 9CD box set capturing the history of Blue Effect, the seminal Czech progressive rock band that had to change its name on several occasions. The elegantly packaged box set contains all eight original albums, spanning the period between 1970 and 1981, from the debut outing Meditace (Meditation) through Coniunctio (& Jazz Q Praha) to the Nové syntézy (New Syntheses) series with TOČR (the Czechoslovak Radio Dance Orchestra), Radim Hladík and Modrý Efekt, Svitanie (Dawn) and Svět hledačů (World of Seekers) to the final studio album, 33. The ninth disc features the complete singles, rarities and hitherto unreleased discoveries from Radim Hladík’s archive. The separately packaged remastered discs are accompanied by a special booklet in which the erudite band historian Ivo Marek and the photographer Alan Pajer sum up in words and pictures the history and events around the band variously known as The Blue Effect, Blue Effect, Modrý Efekt and M. Efekt. All the band’s incarnations featured the guitarist, composer and artistic director Radim Hladík and almost all of them his loyal drummer Vlado Čech. The band’s constantly changing line-up, featuring on the debut album the singer Vladimír Mišík and the bassist Jiří Kozel, also included the singers and keyboardists Lešek Semelka and Olřich Veselý, as well as a number of other superlative vocalists and instrumentalists who all played a part in developing the sound of one of Czechoslovakia’s most essential rock bands.

Blue Effect were one of very few European progressive Rock bands during the Seventies who managed to release eight albums within ten years differing in style but holding a constantly high level. In my personal opinion there is only one album to be rated as good, all others are excellent. The set starts with the undergroundy „Meditace“ (Side A has Czech and side B English lyrics) which was one year later rereleased as „Kingdom of life“ with full English lyrics to be followed by the Jazz influenced „Coniuncitio“ recorded in co-operation with Jazz Q Praha. Many years ago Supraphon included the warning on the cover back of the export version of this LP that „It is not possible to listen to this record when reading a novel or washing the dishes. And it is even less suitable as a background to ironing or cooking. The incidental activity or object to which you might wish to devote yourself could suffer greatly as the result of your dividing your attention – and you naturally would not like to spoil your linen, dishes or stomach! The music on this record simply cannot be used as a musical setting, perhaps just because it itself is full of action. It requires your full attention and concentration and by failing to meet this requirement you will create the first prerequisite for misunderstanding: the music will have no meaning for you and you will not understand it. This situation can arise, of course, even if you are as attentive as a pupil of the first class. However, it is not the fault of the artists and since there are many who have understood we can offer you no other explanation than the hackneyed phrase to the effect that „the fault is in the receiver“.“ That´s exactly how it is and it´s also valid for both albums recorded together with the Jazzový Orchestr. Čs. Rozhlasu. The first one is one of the climaxes of the whole box set. The attempt is similar to Deep Purple´s co-operation with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra two years before (to combine Rock music with music from an orchestral genre), but Blue Effect succeeded to simply play in a higher league. I am not sure you had the chance to listen to something like that before. I at least hadn´t.