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BREAKOUT

Classic rock and blues fans unite! Here's a perfect band for you:


Breakout was formed in 1968 in Rzeszów, and disbanded in 1982, after it's leader, singer and lead guitarist, Tadeusz Nalepa, started his solo career.

The band went through several personel changes over the years, with Nalepa being the only member to stay through all of the band's incarnations. It was the first polish band to play the blues, with Nalepa being often called the Godfather of Polish Blues Guitar. Not only that, Breakout was the first band to play music reminiscent of psychedelia, art rock, blues rock, hard rock. All of Breakout's repertoire was written by Tadeusz Nalepa, with lyrics from a befriended poet/proessional lyricist Bogdan Loebl, who was a member of the band (only as lyricist).

They went to record 8 studio albums, and two albums as a backing band for Mira Kubasińska (Nalepa's wife), who also sang lead vocals on four of Breakout's studio efforts.

The band was notable for it's dual guitar interplay, Nalepa's intense, technical guitar skill and deep, emotional voice, as well as for their unique sound, as for polish standards at the time (they recorded their first album after touring extensively in Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg and bringing lots of musical equipment not available in Poland at the time).

Though all of Breakout's albums contain masterful songs and hidden gems, I want to focus on three albums, which I think are the best out of their catalogue, those being the debut album "Na Drugim Brzegu Tęczy" (On the other shore of the rainbow), their most acclaimed album "Blues" (I guess you know what that means), and my personal favourite "Kamienie" (Stones/Rocks). Though at the end I will post some links to songs from other albums, as well as from Mira Kubasińska's solo efforts.


Na Drugim Brzegu Tęczy


They recorded their debut album in 1969, after touring the Benelux countries, as I've mentioned before. Though the album is heavy on the blues, it gives no context to what would be happening later, as many songs include elements of progressive rock and psychedelia, it has melodies often borrowed from polish folk music and are arranged with flutes, organs, a saxophone, apart from bass, guitar and drums.

Mira Kubasińska is the one singing all of the songs, with Nalepa joining her for harmonies.
I'll post some songs, so you can get a gist of what the album sounds like:

"We've already said all we could to each other"



"I'd follow you anywhere"


I love the lyrics to this one

I'd follow you even up to heaven
But it's so high, oh it's so high
How am I supposed to not be afraid?

I'd follow you even to the depths of hell
But it's so hot, oh it's so hot
I'd surely get burned

I'd follow you even to the crossroads
But it's so far away, oh so far away
It's to far for my feet

I'd follow you even to the end of the world
But I don't feel like it, oh I don't feel like it
I don't feel like constantly running after a boy

damn, I love this stuff...
Keep in mind it sounds much better and much more poetic in polish, and I'm not much of a translator.


"Don't hide – I already know everything"


"If only you'd love me"


There are better sound quality versions on YouTube for this last one, but I figured I might link this one, as then you can see Breakout running, playing and having fun.

I've only linked some of the songs from the album, but the entire thing is truly a delight, that I recommend to any late 60s fan.

BLUES


Breakout's third album, "Blues", released in 1971 is considered their greatest accomplishment (I'd argue in favour of 1974' "Kamienie"). As the album title suggests, it's all pure blues in it's many forms. The songs are tight, true to the form, pure, simple (yet sophisticated) and Nalepa proves himself to be one of the greatest blues songwriters of all time.

Nalepa took over the lead singer duties from Mira Kubasińska, and the band decided to use much less session players on the record, with the band consisting only of bass, drums, two guitars and a harmonica. All lyrics are written by Bogdan Loebl, with no help from other lyricists (as was the case on the previous two albums).

Breakout's best known song is featured here, as well as some of my favourites. So let's jump to some song (and lyrics) examples, and then at the end I'll break down more thoroughly two songs (the great "Kiedy Byłem Małym Chłopcem"(When I was a little boy) and my personal favourite "Usta me Ogrzej" (Warm my Lips).


"Poverty Came Knocking on my Door"

Where are you shadow?
Where are you shadow of mine?
Poverty came knocking on my door
And you're all I have left in the world
Poverty came knocking on my door
And you're all I have left in the world

Hey shadow of mine, maybe you know
Why did she leave me all alone?
After all I have all she needs
I do have all she needs
It's just that I'm poor right now
But maybe you know
Why did she leave me all alone?

Where are you shadow?
Where are you shadow of mine?
I've had a friend once
But poverty came knocking on my door
Yeah, she came right to my door
And now you're the only thing I have left in this world

"What had happened to the flowers?"




"Colour up my dreams"

I don't envy the boat it's sails, when the wind blows
Because it rushes it away through the seas
And I don't envy the birds' wings and fishes' fins
Because the only thing in this world that I want

Are colourful dreams
Please, colour up my dreams

I'd like to live in a dreamt colourful town
In a colourful garden pick up lilac flowers
To give them to a girl, who can make any song
Have all the colours and tones in the world

I'd like to dream, I'd like to be able to dream
Colourful dreams, please colour up my dreams

As gif it wasn't enough of it during the day
There's so much dark, pale and evil in my dreams
Please, let me at least have a colourful dream
Let my nights be brighter than my days

Give them to me, give them to me now
Those colourful dreams, please colour up my dreams

There are no weak tracks on this album, and to be honest I don't think I've ever heard a blues album this strong from start to finish.
Anyway, here's the two outstanding songs from the record:

"Warm My Lips"


Now this one is a real delight. The walking bass, though sometimes seems a bit off or wrongly played is to my ears pure perfection, especially as a sort of call and response with Nalepa's voice that captures some deep sadness and angst with such a gentle manner, you sometimes even feel almost relieved by it. What's happening, seriously. The guitar work is outstanding.


Beauty. One of my favourite songs of all time. Just the mood of it seems so weird, angst driven, yet gentle and meditative at the same time. No idea how they could invent this ****.


"When I was a little boy"


This song is something that I think literally everyone in this country sucks with the milk of their mother when they're born.
Sadly it's so ubiquitous it had become a bit cringy to put it up in the streets. What a shame.
It's an amazing composition, very bluesy, very jam like, yet with a very concrete structure, especially in the lyrics department. The lyrics are divided into three parts, every part is describing a stage in the life of a growing child, and what the child believes at the time is the "right way to live". With the last verse being the child growing up and finally figuring out his own "life philosophy", as opposed to the earlier stages, when it was his father who was preaching him wisdom.

Well, here it is:

When I was
When I was just a little boy
My father put me
My father put me on his lap and said:

The most important thing is what you feel
Always listen to the voice of your heart, son

When I was
When I was a bit older
My father took me
My father took me aside and said:

Never listen to your heart, son
Money is the only important thing in life

The wind blows
The wind blows away all the weak trees
The wind blows
But the wind only caresses the trees that are strong

The most important thing is to be strong
Because the wind only caresses the thick trees

To me, Nalepa's vocal performance here is astounding, and his guitar work is literally the wind that blows and blows everything away.



KAMIENIE


"Kamienie" is Breakout's 5th album, released in 1974. The band had a completely different core lineup at the time, with Nalepa being the only original member.

No session musicians were used during the recording, which took place at a warehouse turned to a recording studio. Only four people play on the album, the instrument being two guitars, a bass and drums (with Nalepa occasionally adding harmonica parts).

The band took a bit of a different approach to recording this album, as the whole thing are jams really (though based on material written by Nalepa and Loebl). The album was bashed upon it's release, with critics saying it sounds amateurish, the production is bad, etc, etc. I don't get what the critics smoked at the time, but it certainly wasn't anything good, as this album is a masterpiece from start to finish.
Then again what can you do, when you're the successor of two of the most acclaimed albums by a band. You can't really blame people for thrashing "Let it Be", when they were just recently exposed to "Abbey Road" and "The White Album.

Nalepa himself said he was very saddened by the response to the album, as he believes that some of his greatest compositions are featured here. And, well, I couldn't agree more.

The only song to receive constant praise (and that received praise at the time as well) is "Modlitwa" ("A prayer"), which is no surprise, as it's one of the greatest songs ever written, period. But I'll get into that one later on.

Anyway, let the music speak for itself:

"Outside My Window"

Right outside my window
Days and nights pass
A long, grey procession
Went next to my window again
Just like any other day

A long, grey procession
As you took away the dark, the light
All the laughter and all the tears

Right outside my window
Days and nights pass
A long, grey procession
Went next to my window again
Just like any other day

A long and grey procession
As you took away the white, the gentleness
You took all the joys and sadness' of life

You took away the smoothness of walls in my house
The smoothness of your arms and your hair
The smoothness of your legs
You stole from my house, what was our sun in the night
And the river of fire in the cold

"It's tenderness, that I bring you"


"This song's for you"


Ok, let's get to the

A PRAYER


Damn this song. It's rare to hear such a powerful and emotional song. But this song accomplishes to immerse you in it's feel, mood, and genius every single time. It's one of those songs that give you chills no matter how many times you'll spin it in a row. The lyrics are mesmerising. They are from the perspective of a man, who has nothing left in his life, who had lost his love and the only thing he can think of of doing is to call out to God, to give him just one more chance at life.

It has 2 parts really, the one with vocals, and the powerful beatle-like hard rock part. The ease with which they pass from one to the other is astonishing and Nalepa's voice is as powerful as ever (if it's not his peak performance).

Oh Lord, please listen to my song
It's to you that I'm raising my voice today
You are everywhere, you are everything
But please, don't be a burden to me

It's to you that I shout out with this song, lord
I've heard there's nothing you can't make come true
So I beg to you, give me just one more chance
Please, just this last time

It would be just a wave of your hand
It would be a just one simple thought
And my life will begin again
So I pray for this Devine gesture

I raise this song to you, oh Lord
Can't you hear the begging in my voice?
Please, let me start anew
Give me my life once again

I won't waste a moment this time
Because I know the bitterness of days lost
So I beg you, let me start again
Give me just this last chance

But if you can't give it to me
Then at least allow me to experience this love again
The one that already died in me and her
Please, allow me to live through it again

It's to you that I shout, oh Lord
To you I raise my voice
You can be bread, birds, you can be the sun
So don't be a burden to me

Wow guys, bravo


That's it for the Breakout breakdown for today. I hope you enjoyed the music. The next time around I guess I'll dive more into one of the 80s New Wave bands, like Maanam or Republika, haven't decided yet. Anyway, stay tuned.

And to end the post, here's some examples of Breakout songs that aren't from the albums mentioned above, but I think are really worth notice:

"The Goodbye Blues"


"Take away the sadness"

This is a song from an album, where Mira Kubasińska came back to take over the vocal duties.

"Childhood River"


"To whom are you going to?"

This is a song from Mira Kubasińska's solo album, with music by Nalepa and Breakout as a backing band. Amazing song, btw

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