Lost in Time: Modrý Efekt & Radim Hladík – Modrý Efekt & Radim Hladík

Good day reader! Sam here. We are introducing a new column to this blog: Lost in Time. In this column we highlight older progressive metal and rock albums that never got their due commercially despite their musical greatness. In other words, they got lost in time. For this column we got a new writer: say hello to Tim. Tim is a (mostly) prog rock enthusiast who has collected obscure progressive music from all over the world. In this column he will shed light on many of these fantastic bands and scenes. Later down the line you will also see other writers of ours work on this column when they have the time, but for now it’ll just be Tim. This column will be updated roughly once a week. The music will be a bit lighter than what we usually cover, but I believe to those looking for progressive music (in the literal sense of the word), this shall not be a problem. So with that said, I’ll now give the mic to Tim, and let him tell you all about the Czechoslovakian band Modrý Efekt & Radim Hladík. Happy reading!

Style: fusion (nearly exclusively instrumental; otherwise clean vocals)
Review by: Tim
Country: Czechoslovakia
Release date: 1975

When one thinks of hotspots of classic progressive rock and fusion, the first countries that most probably spring to mind are the USA and Great Britain; then perhaps countries like France, Italy, Argentina and Germany, but certainly not countries within the heavily-censored communist bloc, right? Well, it’s complicated.

Long story short: in practice, lyrics were far easier to censor than the way people played their instruments. This could explain why there are plenty of examples of daring progressive rock bands from Eastern Europe in the 70s and 80s that mostly made albums with little to no lyrics, such as the Russian Arsenal Jazz Rock Ensemble, the Turkmeni Gunesh Ensemble, the Macedonian outfit Leb I Sol, or the Slovakian band Fermatá. The situation slightly differed from one communist state to another, but suffice to say, Modrý Efekt‘s self-titled album (band leader Radim Hladík is presented as the main band member) surely wouldn’t have been released on the Czechoslovakian state-owned record label Supraphon if it contained protest songs. No politician was antagonised in the process – after Modrý Efekt‘s former name The Blue Effect was forced to be translated to Czech because English was a banned language, that is.

The musical style of the album, however, cannot be called tame and conformist at all: the opening track “Boty” (translated: Shoes) welcomes the listener with experimental sounds from the get-go, giving the impression the tension of the Cold War is in the air. The rest of the song has the theme -> mood swings -> theme structure that’s so typical for jazz rock, treating the listener with a flute solo and several guitar solos. It’s virtuoso stuff, but above that everything is played with passion. This has quite the energy!

After the 10-minute-long opener the A-side offers two shorter tracks: the album’s most straightforwardly structured piece “Čajovna” (Tea-Room) is a bit more laid back song in which a beautiful guitar duet is supported by drums and bass; the latter (their supportive role in the band) is generally the case on the album as a whole. It’s not a bad thing in itself and I wouldn’t call their contribution at any moment boring – both the drums and the bass sections offer plenty of detail – but in the end which instrument should shine is a matter of taste. Finally, A3 track “Skládanka” (Jigsaw Puzzle) dives back into stormy waters with a wild composition pivoting upon screaming guitar solos, quality electric piano play and overall flute madness.

The first of two B-side songs “Ztráty a Nálezy” (Lost and Found) commences in a fashion not unreminiscent of the relatively calm side of Mahavishnu Orchestra‘s The Inner Mounting Flame (which is also characterised by guitar shredding). Here an acoustic guitar is used, which isn’t out of its place and benefits the overall variety of the album as well. The track then advances into a really pretty part with howling guitar play; on top of that a special mention for the basslines is fully deserved. Last but not least the twelve-and-a-half-minute-long beast “Hypertenze” (Hypertension) meanders from a deceptively basic start to full-blown fusion action, including an electric piano solo with ring modulator in the style of fellow Czech and Mahavishnu band member Jan Hammer; then there’s the eye of the storm, a part where drums and bass finally get the space to go wild, a return to the theme and saxophone madness that gets increasingly out of hand, respectively. It’s the climax this album deserves. The silence afterwards can feel special, as is usual for legendary albums. Warning: possible bonus tracks after this can totally ruin this experience.

All in all, although the album is clearly inspired on the musical innovations of the western world, calling it a mere clone doesn’t do it justice. This is an all-time classic with excellent musicianship, passionate play and plenty of variation, that is quality-wise in no way inferior to classics from the western world, albeit slightly less original. In my humble opinion Modrý Efekt‘s self-titled album doesn’t have a weak moment. If you’re into 70s prog and looking for top tier musicianship (notably electric guitars), Modrý Efekt & Radim Hladík is most definitely recommended.

Recommended tracks: all of them, really
Recommended for fans of: Mahavishnu Orchestra, Energit, Jazz Q Praha, Fermatá
Final verdict: timeless classic/10

Related links: Modrý Efekt wiki

Label: Supraphon

Modrý Efekt is:
– Radim Hladík (acoustic, electric and Hawaiian (steel) guitars, ring modulator, arrangements)
– Lesek Semelka (piano, organ and vocals)
– Josef Kůstka (bass, violin and vocals)
– Vlado Čech (drums)

Guest artists:
– Martin Kratochvíl (Fender electric piano)
– Jiří Stivín (flute and alto sax)