Mirek Gil used to be the excellent guitar player of the Polish band Collage. People who followed this musician probably know that his guitar playing sounds differently since he recorded albums with the relatively new bands Believe and Mr. Gil. However, you can still notice that he's a wonderful guitarist and composer. This can be heard once more on I Want You To Get Back Home, the fourth studio album recorded by Mr. Gil. People who like up-tempo prog music with a lot of aggressive guitar parts better skip this review. During 45 minutes you may relax in an easy chair to enjoy some mellow music dominated by the piano playing of Konrad Wantrych, who occasionally added some keyboard parts to the compositions as well. Another major role is for Paulina Druch who played some fantastic cello parts, which provided real depth to the music. Maybe the most important musician throughout the album is singer Karol Wróblewski. He offers strong emotional contributions to all tracks. Apart from that you can of course enjoy Mirek's acoustic guitar playing, but his role is subordinate to these three musicians. In the press information I read that I Want You To Get Back Home brings the best and the most thoughtful compositions in the history of the band. It also said that Mirek Gil wrote some wonderful and moving melodies. Well, who am I to deny this? Personally I found the music less excellent than on the albums he recorded with Collage, but it isn't fair to compare this album to Basnie (1990), Moonshine (1994) or Safe (1995). These albums contained neo-progressive rock music, a musical style that is absent on I Want You To Get Back Home. The album also contains a certain concept. In the press information it's said that the words emphasize the atmosphere and tell a story of homecoming, of a travel which sometimes isn't easy, but still beautiful. The band states the following about the album: 'You can't plan everything. Especially you can't control what comes out of the human soul, because it's the need for honesty, friendship and passion that grew into the idea of Mr. Gil's new album. Friends decided to meet again in the studio to complete their story...' Mirek Gil put this in his own words: ' It's like coming back home, like a return to peace and warmth. In our new music, there's a lot of friendship and that was the main idea behind it. Is there anything more important, more beautiful than this? We have managed to learn more about each other. It's in each other that we've found that home.' I Want You To Get Back Home holds no real highlights because all songs have an enduring high level that especially will be appreciated by prog lovers who like mellow, emotional and moving music. **** Henri Strik (edited by Peter Willemsen) Where to buy? |
