Lokomotiv GT

Artist: Lokomotiv GT

LP: 7" single

Song: "Higher and Higher"
[ listen ]

Supreme Echo, a tiny little place next to a super depressing pawn shop at the corner of Government and Bay Streets, was the last and final record store I visited in Victoria. It turned out to be the best one of all! (It was actually the second record store I visited too, but after traipsing across town in the pouring rain I found the place locked! I returned the next day via taxi after calling to make sure they were open.)

I realized pretty early on in my Victorian excursion that my vinyl-hunting expectations had been too high. I'd figured, "Canada's a foreign country! Exotic!" Plus, "I once found a Boney M single at Victoria's Salvation Army thrift store. The sky's the limit!" But it turns out the city's shops are primarily peddling pasty-people pop records that you could find in Everett or Wenatchee, USA. 

But my luck finally turned around at Supreme Echo. Along with pasty-people pop and really friendly service, the place offers a treasure trove of Eastern European rock records from the late-'60s and early '70s, with an emphasis on Poland! One of the neat things I found there is this 1975 Polish pressing of two live tracks by Hungarian supergroup Lokomotiv GT. (They're still pasty, but I bet they don't have this in Wenatchee.) You can read all about Lokomotiv GT on Wikipdia here, where they discuss various lineup changes over the years and outline Lokomotiv GT's connections to other Hungarian rock groups of the '70s like Omega and Skorpio.

[ Supreme Echo — Victoria, BC, Canada ]

Grupa Wokalna Izabelli

Artist: Grupa Wokalna Izabelli

LP: Zimowe Strofy

Song: "Nad Domem Gwiazda"

[ listen ]

If Grupa Wokalna Izabelli looks familiar, it might be because they're also known as Isabella's Vocal Group, which is also known as The Exotic Trio, which is also known as Tercet Egzotyczny, which I featured here on the blog back at the end of August. I came across that album at Blue Arrow Records in Cleveland during my Ohio road trip last summer, but the group's 1972 "Zimowe Strofy (Winter Stanzas)" LP is one of the things I found at Square Records in Akron a few days later. The lovely and talented Izabella Skrybant continues to perform with her trio today, while enjoying an active life of luxury that includes biking, gardening, yoga, swimming, and hanging out with friends. Izabella wears two false fingers on her right hand—and if I could understand Polish I'd probably be able to find out why—a sledding accident, perhaps? You can read about Izabella Skrybant in Polish here, go here to find some English-language info about her group, and the Polish and English-language LP liner notes are both included below.

[ Izabella Skrybant in 2010 ]

The Bal-Aires

Artist: The Bal-Aires

LP: A Groovin' Polka Style

Song: "People My People Polka"

[ listen ]

♫ "I'm a gay young fellow—I am gay and carefree, (♪)I am gay and carefree when I'm with my loved one going to a party..." ♫ Ahh, how I wish I could have been around in the early '60s—when gay men could just be happy and carefree (and wear red suits with bow-ties)—back before being gay became so complicated and political. You can (re)visit the Polish Pride website here to order the Bal-Aires' compilation CD (if they weren't out of stock, I mean) and for no information whatsoever about The Bal-Aires, please visit Tampa's WMNF 88.5 Community Radio website here.

Moritz Moszkowski

Artist: Moritz Moszkowski

LP: 15 Virtuoso Études, Op. 72
Pianist: Ilana Vered

Song: "Étude - Op. 72, No. 15 in B"

[ listen ]

I've started taking piano lessons again, and you know what that means! (It means I'm learning how to play the piano.) After attending a piano class about Robert Schumann last Saturday where a number of his pieces were performed, I realized how much I've missed listening to classical piano music. I headed down to Silver Platters to pick some up, since they've got one of the best selections in town. After finding a nice collection of Schumann pieces recorded on CD by Murray Perahia and a CD featuring piano pieces by Brahms, I nearly hollered out loud when I suddenly came across this used copy of Moszkowski's piano Etudes from Opus 72 that I've been trying to find for nearly a decade. Born in what's now the Polish city of Wroclaw in 1854, Moszkowski's Romantic-era compositions enjoyed immense popularity toward the end of the 19th century, but that quickly dissipated in the early 1900s as the fickle public began embracing the works of more modern composers like Scriabin, Debussy, and Satie. Moszkowski's 15 Virtuoso Études, Opus 72 were written in 1903, but the entire set had never been recorded until Israeli pianist Ilana Vered sat down to work on them for this 1970 LP release. (I can actually play Moszkowski's Étude No. 15 in B, but whereas Ilana's fluid version runs a mere 2:04, my rendition is more pensive, melancholy even, and clocks in at around 13:47.) You can read about Ilana Vered here, read about the life and career of Moritz Moszkowski here and in the liner notes below, and click here to find a list of Moszkoski's compositions.

[ Moritz Moszkowski: August 23, 1854 — March 4, 1925 ]

The Music of Poland

LP: The Music of Poland

Artist: Polish Student Chorus

Song: "Jedzie Boat (The Boat Is Rocking)"

[ listen ]

Artist: Z. Krukowski

Song: "Gdzie Idziesz Wojtus (Where Are You Going, Walter?)"

[ listen ]

I was a little confounded by the odd cover design (which gave me a craving for peppermint) for this various artists LP featuring singers who fled Poland to settle in Paris in the mid 20th century—until I did a Google image search for the Polish flag. The first song, "Jedzie Boat," is a rollicking nautical number performed by an entire student choir that somehow evidently escaped Poland together. The next song, "Gdzie Idziesz Wojtus," is an oberek—a sort of crazy waltz that involves lots of shouting and stomping, probably similar to what we call the Virginia reel here in America. As far as I can tell, we never do find out exactly where it was Walter was going. The LP liner notes, a neat drawing, and some info about the two tracks are included below.

 [ The Map of Poland ]

Tercet Egzotyczny

Artist: Tercet Egzotyczny

LP: Tercet Egzotyczny

Song: "W Samo Poludnie (Just at the Noon)"

[ listen ]

For some reason Blue Arrow Records wasn't on the Cleveland record store list I'd put together before I left Seattle. Fortunately, the guys at My Mind's Eye told me about the place. It turned out to be one of the best record stores in Ohio! First of all, it's located in a neat 1950s-looking building that features a big blue arrow over the door. Then, the entire floor there is covered with album sleeves under a waxy varnish, and the friendly guys working there gave me a sturdy cardboard box for shipping LPs back to Seattle. Last but not least, they've got a great selection and reasonable prices. I picked up lots of neat old gospel, soul, funk, and Latin LPs at Blue Arrow, and even a few from Poland, like this 1966 self-titled release from Tercet Egzotyczny, or "The Exotic Trio." Izabella, Zbigniew, and Mieczyslaw brought the folkloric music of Central and South America (and a cover of "High Noon," evidently) to appreciative audiences throughout Europe, and they also made appearances in the USA. I've only had their record for a few weeks, but it's given me many pleasant moments indeed. You can read about Tercet Egzotyczny on Wikipedia in English here, in Polish here, and visit their website here. The bilingual LP liner notes are included below, and here's a Tercet Egzotyczny video from the 1980s. 

Tercet Egzotyczny on YouTube:

[ "Dance, Czyli: Conga, Bonga i Casbassa" ]

 [ Blue Arrow Records, selection ]

 [ Blue Arrow Records, LP floor tile ]

 [ Blue Arrow Records — Cleveland, OH ]

The Bell Hops

Artist: The Bell Hops

LP: Polka Hops

Song: "She's There, I'm Here"

[ listen ]

I was bummed that I didn't have time to visit the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during my brief visit to Cleveland, but I'd really have been devastated if I'd missed out on the Polka Museum too. The Polka Hall of Fame is located in the same building as the Softball Hall of Fame, which conjures up all sorts of glorious visions of what it would be like if the two sporty activities could somehow be combined into one. The museum showcases the history and array of polka talent in the Cleveland area, including "America's Polka King," Frankie Yankovic. To my delight (and to the delight of the museum staff too, I'm sure, since I bought so many), I discovered lots of wild and wonderful vintage polka records for sale in the museum gift shop! This 1964 LP by The Bell Hops may be my favorite of the ones I found there. The Bell Hops are led by two fellows named Henry Jasiewicz, a father and son. You can read about the life and career of Henry Sr. here, and read all about the younger Henry Jasiewicz here.

 [ The Polka Hall of Fame — Euclid, OH ]

[ Vintage Polka Albums for sale at The Polka Hall of Fame gift shop ]

Violetta Villas

Artist: Violetta Villas

LP: Dla Ciebie Mily

Song: "Czterdziesci Kasztanów (Forty Chestnuts)"

[ listen ]

With her elaborate style and an operatic vocal range spanning five octaves, Violetta Villas came to be known as the Yma Sumac of Poland. Though she's toured the USA, has appeared in several movies, including PAINT YOUR WAGON, and she regularly performed in Las Vegas in the 1960s—singing duets with the likes of Barbra Streisand, Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, and Eartha Kitt, I'd never heard of Violetta Villas until last weekend when I found this LP at a store just a few blocks from my home. The liner notes, in both Polish and English, are included below, along with the "Zespoly." I'm not sure what that means, but it might be important. There are lots of amazing pictures of Violetta Villas on the internet—like this one, this one, this one and this one too—but I've included my favorite at the bottom of this post. You can read about Violetta's fantastic life and her international career on Wikipedia here — and special thanks to London correspondent Graham Russell, who not only dug up lots more information about Violetta Villas that you can see here, but he also found this gloriously zany 1971 Violetta Villas video. Wunderbar!

Violetta Villas on YouTube:

[ "Oczy Czarne" ]