Kalemegdan Disk - ROCK FROM EASTERN EUROPE

Tracklist

CD 1

Babylon – ℗ 1987

1. Babylon (Babylon)
2. Hajnali óceán (Ocean at Dawn)
3. Harangok (Bells)
4. Gonosz város (Evil City)
5. Holdvirág (Moonflower)
6. Júdás (Judas)
7. Segíts nekem! (Help Me!)
8. Utolsó ítélet (Last Judgment)

The Dark Side of the Earth – Recorded 1986-1987

9. Tower of Babel (Babylon)
10. All-Night Man (Fekete pillangó)
11. Morning Light (Hajnali óceán)
12. Child in Your Arms (Hallgatag szív)
13. Lady Moon (Holdvirág)
14. Home again (Segíts nekem!)

CD 2 Kisstadion ’87 – Recorded 1987

1. Nyitány (Overture)
2. Életfogytig rock and roll (Rock and Roll for Life)
3. Hallgatag szív (Silent Heart)
4. Ezüst eső (Silver Rain)
5. Segíts nekem! (Help Me!)
6. Babylon (Babylon)
7. Nem tudom a neved (I Don’t Know Your Name)
8. Árnyékember + gitárszóló (Shadow Man + Guitar Solo)
9. Léna (Lena)
10. Dobszóló (Drum Solo)
11. A pénz (The Money)
12. Őrültek órája (The Hour of the Mad)

Full album “Babylon” at YouTube
Full album “The Dark Side of the Earth” at YouTube
Parts of the concert “Kisstadion ’87” at YouTube

GrundRecords Release Information

The year 1987 was marked by Omega’s 25th anniversary. A deluxe vinyl box set containing their first five studio albums was released, and in September they held grand anniversary concerts at their usual venue, the Kisstadion in Budapest. They had hoped their new album would hit stores by the day of the concert, but the recordings weren’t finished in time, and the album didn’t see the light of day until the Christmas record market.

Omega’s thirteenth Hungarian-language studio album, and final album of the band’s classic era, was titled “Babylon” (Babylon); the songs were recorded in the band’s own studio between April and September 1987. The album seamlessly blends rock and synthesizer elements typical of that era. A novelty in the band’s history was that, alongside György Molnár, Tamás Mohai also contributed on guitar, and Ferenc Muck’s saxophone playing can be heard on a few tracks.

The bonus tracks are the completed songs from the planned but never officially released English-language album “The Dark Side of the Earth”.

The second CD features excerpts from the anniversary concert held at the Kisstadion in Budapest in September 1987. Unfortunately, the recordings, compiled from multiple sources, survived only in fragments and with varying sound quality in János Kóbor’s estate. The material, from which sound engineer Péter Rozgonyi created a nearly one-hour compilation, arrived on the publisher’s desk in multiple parts, riddled with recording and tape errors.

Consequently, of the grand medley performed at the concert, only “Nem tudom a neved” (I Don’t Know Your Name) could be included on the release, and this is also why, from the segment featuring Gábor Presser and József Laux, only “Őrültek órája” (The Hour of the Mad) “managed to survive”. Some songs were missing the beginning or the end, but those that could be considered relatively complete were included in the final track list.

The final result, neither in terms of content nor technically, is of a quality that would allow it to stand on its own as a separate release within Omega’s discography; however, in terms of significance, it is at least as important as a historical document as the Live Aid concert recording released as a bonus on the album “A Föld árnyékos oldalán” (On the Shady Side of the Earth).

Closely related to this is the discovery of a significant number of high-quality, largely previously unpublished photos from 1987 in the estate of Judit J. Szabó, Omega’s photographer at the time and the wife of Ferenc Debreczeni. She also thoroughly documented the anniversary concerts, from the stage setup all the way through to the final bow. The convergence of these two elements gave rise to the idea for this commemorative publication.

This release has been complemented by a 64-page photo book covering Omega’s year in 1987 and comes in an attractive gift packaging.

Line-up:

János Kóbor: vocals
György Molnár: guitar
László Benkő: keyboards
Tamás Mihály: bass guitar
Ferenc Debreczeni: drums

Featuring:

Tamás Mohai: guitar
Ferenc Muck: saxophone
András Trunkos: computer