Phoenix - Timisoara

class=postLink'Phoenix [SymPhoenix] [Transsylvania Phoenix] - Timişoara
Жанр: Symphonic Prog / Prog Folk
Год выпуска диска: 1992
Страна исполнителя: Romania
Производитель диска: Germany
Аудио кодек: (MP3 + FLAC)
Тип рипа: image+.cue
Битрейт аудио: (lossy + lossless)
Продолжительность: 67:16
Трэклист:
1. Timişoara (3:45)
2. Tamara (4:48)
3. Mica Ţiganiadă (4:45)
4. Nunta (3:49)
5. Would you follow me...? (5:28)
6. Anule hanule (5:36)
7. Vara (4:10)
8. Jocul (4:05)
9. Strunga (6:13)
10. Fata verde (2:56)
11. Anotimpul 5 (4:27)
12. Stars dance (4:53)
13. Running (3:32)
14. Te întreb pe tine, soare (3:48)
15. Mugur de fluier (4:33)
Phoenix:
Nicolae Covaci - guitar, vocals
Mani Neumann - violin
Volker Vaesen - bass
Ovidiu Lipan - drums
Mircea Baniciu - vocals
Guests:
Ulli Brand - acoustic guitar
Adrian Petrescu - oboe
The Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Bucureşti
„Song” Choir
„Grupul de popi”Timisoara departs from previous PHOENIX albums in being recorded tegether
with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra Bucuresti and choral background vocals, lending it its own unique orchestral style.
Generally, the music is, for want of better words, heavier in style, with strong guitar, drumms and vocals,
creating more of rock (some might argue, westernised) sound. However, the band still firmly maintain their links to Romanian folk music
and incorporate traditional instruments, in particular the oboe (Adrian Petrescu) and the violin (Mani Neuman).

History of Phoenix

The beginning
Phoenix was launched in the cosmopolitan city of Timişoara in 1962 by a pair of schoolboys: Nicu Covaci and Béla Kamocsa, under the name of Sfinţii (The Saints). In their first years, together with Florin Moni Bordeianu (born 1948), they performed in school contests and at local clubs, covering Western music hits from The Rolling Stones, The Beatles, The Who, etc., and they quickly became very popular amongst the youth. In 1965 the Communist authorities demanded that the band stop performing under the name The Saints, because of the religious innuendo that the name carried. Forced to comply, the band took the name Phoenix. Nicu Covaci also changed the composition of the band, around 1963, by adding Claudiu Rotaru, Ioan Pilu Ştefanovici (born 1946) and Günther Spitzly Reininger (born 1950) to the lineup.
In 1965 they had their first big concert in Bucharest. Their performance brought a collaboration with Cornel Chiriac to record some of their songs. The first songs they recorded were Ştiu cǎ mǎ iubesti şi tu (I Know You Love Me Too), Dunăre, Dunăre (Danube, Danube) and Bun e vinul ghiurghiuliu (Good is the Red Wine). The same year also marked the beginning of their collaboration with Victor Cârcu, who went on to write many of their most famous songs, such as Vremuri (Old Times), Şi totuşi ca voi sunt (And Yet I Am Like You), Nebunul cu ochii închişi (Crazy Man with closed eyes), Floarea stâncilor (Mountain Flower) and Canarul (Canary).
In December 1967 Phoenix had their first major series of concerts in many western cities, capped off by two huge concerts in Timişoara. After winning a few prizes in national students' contests, held at Iaşi the following year, in 1968 they recorded their first EP, Vremuri (Old Times), containing two original songs, Vremuri and Canarul (The Canary), and two covers (Lady Madonna - The Beatles and Friday on my Mind - Easybeats). A second EP would follow one year later, named Floarea stâncilor (The Flower of the Rocks), with all four songs being original compositions. Both albums sport a sound reminiscent of the beat style popular in that era.
They then started working on a rock theater play Omul 36/80 (The Man 36/80) which won several prizes for originality.
In 1969 Ioan Pilu Ştefanovici was replaced by Dorel Baba Vintilă Zaharia (born 1943). For the next year the band became more and more popular, frequently visiting Bucharest and being invited in talk shows about music.
In 1970, Moni Bordeianu emigrated to the US, and, for a brief period of time the band suspended its activity, also due to total censorship that followed a protesting speech held by Bordeianu in his last concert. 1970 meant the blues period of the band. The formula used was Nicu Covaci - guitar, Günther Spitzly Reininger - piano and voice, Zoltan Covacs - bass guitar and Liviu Butoi - oboe and flute. Phoenix was born again the next year, with Covaci, Josef Kappl, Mircea Baniciu, Costin Petrescu (replaced in 1974 by Ovidiu Lipan, nicknamed Ţăndărică) and Valeriu Sepi.
But the Communist officials were not very comfortable with the Western-style music that they were singing, and kept creating them problems. So Phoenix abandoned beat turned to Romanian folklore, pagan rituals, mystic animals and old traditions. In this same year, Phoenix started a collaboration with the Institute of Ethnography and Folklore and the Folklore section of Timişoara University on an ambitious project, a rock poem that combined traditional wooden instruments with modern sounds. During this project the band also started collaborating with Valeriu Sepi (born 1947), who eventually joined the band. The first outcome would be the 1972 LP Cei ce ne-au dat nume (Those Who Gave Us Our Names) - the first LP to be recorded in Romania by a Romanian band. Two years later, Mugur de fluier (Flute Bud) followed. Both albums underwent severe censorship.
Phoenix - 1974. From left to right: Costin Petrescu, Valeriu Sepi, Nicu Covaci, Ioji Kappl, Corneliu „Schwartz” Calboreanu (up), Günther Reininger, Mircea Baniciu (down)
In 1973 Phoenix represented Romania at the Golden harp festival in Bratislava (Slovakia) and then in the Disc festival in Sopot (Poland). Also, they wanted to record a new rock-opera, named Meşterul Manole, but the communist officials censored it all, by losing the unique book with costume sketches and lyrics given to them for official approval. The result was only a EP with an extract from the opera, Meşterul Manole, uvertură (Meşterul Manole, uverture) and two older songs, Mamă, Mamă (Mother, Mother) and Te întreb pe tine, soare... (I'm asking you, sun...).
On Monday, 19 November 1973, Phoenix held a memorable concert in Bucharest, presenting their new hits Andri Popa, Pavel Chinezu and Strunga, which composed the new disc Mugur de fluier. The new songs were still influenced by folklore yet had a new style. This style was the result of the collaboration with new songwriters Andrei Ujică and Şerban Foarţă. Based on those new songs Nicu Covaci created a new show Introducere la un concert despre muzica veche la români (Introduction to a concert about old Romanian music) in which he introduced violins, flutes, archaic percussion and other traditional instruments. The show was never finished due to a new collaboration with Cenaclul Flacăra. This period is considered the peak for Phoenix. Their sound was considered original and powerful and full stadiums were common for their concerts.
Every winter the members of the band would retreat to Mount Semenic and plan their upcoming songs. That winter the show Zoosophia, a title that would later change to Cantafabule, was created. The show began by calling all mythic animals and continued by dedicating a song to each of them, finishing with the Phoenix, the band's symbol. The year 1975 brought a newcomer to the band, Ovidiu Lipan Ţăndărică (born 1953). The Cantafabule show was first presented in Timişoara in February 1975. The disc was recorded in a very short time and was published the same year with a misspelling in the title: Cantofabule. What followed were two years of almost continuous concerts but also the creation of the soundtrack for the movie Nemuritorii.
By this time, the popularity of Phoenix had grown huge; people loved their songs not only for what they were, but also because they contained thinly-veiled allusions to the Communist regime. The band members, especially Nicu Covaci, found themselves increasingly harassed by the Securitate. Covaci married a Dutch woman and left the country in 1976. He returned in 1977, bringing in relief a