MICHAL URBANIAK — Michal Urbaniak's Fusion : Smiles Ahead (review)

MICHAL URBANIAK — Michal Urbaniak's Fusion : Smiles Ahead album cover

Album · 1977 · Fusion

3/5 · 2024-10-12
FunkFreak75

Apparently the husband-wife team either didn't make any money for the Arista company or else they were too much to handle because suddenly they are back in Europe recording this album for the legendary German label MPS (the first of two albums they would release in 1977 for Joachim Berendt's pro-Polish company) recorded at the famous Zuckerfabrik studio in Stuttgart, Germany in November of 1976.

1. "Smiles Ahead" (10:55) (17.25/20) : - a) "Smiles Ahead" (4:00) more of that feeling of band fatigue (standard bass play, very boring keys) while the engineering department continues to over-compress the high ends. - b) "From Smiles to Smiles" (2:07) Ula playing within an echo chamber--like a little kid in a big room. (4/5) - c) "More Smiles Forever" (4:48) Ula leads the band into a carnival madhouse. It's a little more lively and enthusiastic but still less "invested" than anything Michal's composed before. (Maybe here are the signs that the couple's marriage is on the decline: the collaborative fires are dwindling.)

2. "Hymn of the Uranian Sequels" (7:03) Unfortunately this Jean-Luc Ponty-like groove song suffers a bit from a compressed feeling: it's as if all of the high ends of the sound spectrum have been dampened/muted. Also, this is just too loose and underdeveloped to stand up to the extremely high standard of the amazingly full and sophisticated compositions that Michal had been penning up to this point (except for the other scrap heap from his previous German record label, Inactin). Everybody just sounds tired and uninspired (except perhaps the ever-energetic Ula). But even Ula and Michal's melodies feel tired and practically dialed in. (13.125/15)

3. "Piece for 15 Strings" (4:35) a duet between Michal's 5-string electric violin and Emmett Chapman's treated ChapmanStick (the other 10 strings). Definitely previewing the spacey violin sound that will become Jean-Luc Ponty's standard about this time but more this song demonstrates far more of the sonic potential and versatility of the ChapmanStick than expected. It also demonstrates, once again, Michal's affinity for exploring the latest innovations in technology. (8.875/10)

4. "In the Wake of Awakening" (6:37) tom-tom-heavy drums with heavily "warped" fretless bass and odd ChapmanStick-like chords coming from the keyboard (an oddly-destabilized [chorused] clavinet?). Lyricon, Ula- scatting, and perform most of the soloing over the top of the underwater rhythm section. Kind of cool, interesting, but not my favorite sound palette. Plus, it has a weird little coda tagged onto the end that seems like more of a "loose end." (8.75/10)

5. "Aflatus" (5:10) Gentle GILLI SMYTH-like Ula vocalese accompanied by slowly played, slow-to--decay heavily-echoed and -reverbed electric violin for the first 2:20 before Ula's vocalese turns to her African/Santería-style percussive scatting--only with a heavily-processed sound product. Meanwhile, Michal's violin must've turned off an effect or two as it starts sounding more present, more defined. Again, interesting, but not a very pleasant or danceable song. (8.6667/10)

6. "Schwarzwald Vibes" (2:55) synths and synth washes with synthetic and treated percussion sounds dispersed throughout. Very cinematic and creepy. (4.33333/5)

7. "Sunday Melody" (1:19) rapid fire Ula-scatting. Reminds me of Cos's Pascale Son. Entertaining and joyful. (4.375/5)

8. "Autobahn" (4:45) a song that was left over from the previous album (Body English) starts out as a steady one-and-a- half chord first 3:25 over which Ula gets free reign to perform her magic--this time with little or no sound-warping effects on her voice. (8.75/10)

Total Time 43:19

Unfortunately, this album feels more like another attempt to grab a bunch of underdeveloped or unfinished pieces of sound experimentation (many of which feature Urszula performing her unique vocal craft)

B-/3.5 stars; an interesting representation of Michal and Urszula's experimentalism but not one of their most engaging or inspired song collections.