Museum Musica

Poland, 1974, progressive rock

Czesław Niemen – Mourner’s Rhapsody: This is good stuff, but he’s so much better when he sings in Polish. English just brings him down to a more pedestrian level, and he loses some of his expressive voice. This is good white-boy soul, though, with a lot of complexity without being inaccessible. This album’s magic is all in the last track–the title track–a sprawling organ piece with both martial and psychedelic touches. A weird combination, but it works. What a song to sing along to, letting it all loose!