Alexander Gradsky - Unofficial site
LISTEN!
Radislav Losev
June-July 1983г
For a site "www.gradsky.com"
Probably, it was one of the most modest concerts in Leningrad recently, since modest posters and finishing only the two-thousand audience, gathered in the quiet April evening in the Sports concert hall on the program with Alexander Gradskogo's participation. To treasured 19.00 all wishing were, in general, already assembled, but the lovely female voice on internal translation declared that the beginning of a concert is late on technical the reasons. Music began to sound, and the public amicably rushed in cafeteria and a bar …
At last, approximately in hour, God's dandelions in a uniform, having listened magic the ADMISSION IN the HALL it is AUTHORIZED, flung the doors open sectors and the people, with slightly impaired a little mood, it was comfortably arranged directly opposite to a huge scene, the benefit was a narodets very little. The compere who have appeared from the scenes on its own behalf made to audience of an apology for a delay and declared that in atonement of the aforementioned sin, all first office Alexander Gradsky will sing.
***
From depth of the shaded scene a quiet cracked voice reads lines of an epigraph:
Listen!
After all if stars light –
means is to somebody it is necessary?
Means – someone wants, that they were?
Means – someone calls these plevochka a pearl?
The Gradsky lights two candles standing on a grand piano, why on a cloth of a back there are reflections of musical sheets, and with the first light chord the chord musical merges … Almost without pauses, on uniform breath, Alexander's duet and bass player Yury Ivanov three compositions from a cycle the UTOPIA . Sounding stuns from the first steps: polyphonic, melodious, forcing tension, alarm, suddenly romantic and sad, the fate Town so первозданен also is pure that involuntarily forget about absence on a scene of traditional rock'n'roll or acoustic tools – electronics, but talent of the performer prevails, his creative imagination, apogee of inspiration incinerate natural хлад callous electronic systems. Live, emotional sounds of a grand piano and synthesizers as easy white sailing vessels are carried away under the palace arches on elastic dynamic waves of a bass guitar. In hands of the virtuoso which Yury Ivanov undoubtedly is, the simple tool turns in many-voiced, and here already rhythmical mumbling is replaced by a blare and even timbres of a hoarse saxophone are audible. And from a violet haze everything gains in strength a fantastic voice Town for which, apparently, there are no inexpressible shades more surely, there are no unattainable heights.
Power and purity of a concert sound shake not only in figurative, but also literally. Tens amplifiers and one and a half dozens two-meter speaker systems provided such level of loudness in SKK that in the middle of the first composition of all from the first row as a wind blew off. Having clamped hands ears, dear retired and got over far away from sound hurricane, взмолясь: “Make more silent, we here all will become deaf!” “That? More silently? More loudly!!!” – ardent fans of decibels …
Yury Ivanov's mission ended Meanwhile also Gradsky with an acoustic guitar left on a proscenium. It greeted gathered and put end under inflamed was on tribunes discussion: “Friends, nearby from here are a building of a philharmonic society and there fine musicians play fine music. Play how consider it necessary to do it. I execute music other, a rock music, and I am going to do it still some time” … Significant pause … The hall calms down …
Gradsky: “The Victory holiday comes nearer, and I want to sing in honor of this day the song the BALLAD ABOUT WAR or LITHUANIAN POLICEMAN . Perhaps, it not absolutely about war, but after all” … The guitar and a voice is now already pain and anger of the girl which father serves the enemy, and lightning flash to tears blind her words:
You yourself, daddy , sold
For the German patch …
The penetrating lyric poets constructed on contrasts and the tragedy, the fascinating song … Alas, hall reaction the extremely reserved and only pair of tipsy rock fans gives out in the repertoire: “Bravo Sascha! Well done You are the second Gillan!”
First third of a concert behind …
*** Gradsky again sits down for the keyboard complex. Tools for convenience are put at an angle: directly ahead of the performer a grand piano on which there is the small electronic rhythm car, replacing the drummer, and sideways – the electrobody and various synthesizers, and on a special rack – are hanged hand bells. Gradsky: “Recently I wrote a cycle of songs SATIRES on verses of the poet of the beginning of the century of Sascha Chernogo” …
the Temporary framework of a concert, certainly, didn't presume to execute a cycle entirely therefore separate fragments sounded. These are extremely various on a poetic plan and musical registration of a subject: here conformable to Russian folklore ЛАМЕНТАЦИИ and purely lyrical LULLABY FOR the MAN'S VOICE, household sketch ОБСТАНОВОЧКА and black humour the SUBURB of PETERSBURG … Starushentsiya sitting by two ranks above me grumbled: “We that thought … Gradsky … And here … da's cockroaches vodka” and slowly откочевали in the foyer …
*** A Final third of a concert opened the guitar ballad MEMORIES of the POET , devoted to Vladimir Vysotsky. It is the sharp, caustic song – a call that who put a spoke in the wheel poetic and actor's genius Vysotsky. It – a tribute of light human memory to the remarkable poet and the performer of own songs. It also is sustained in the corresponding musical and poetic key: sharp, fractional guitar fight plus abrupt, biting, castigating phrases …
Not for sense Bulgarins lived,
Not for light the plant louse is born
And, as wolf, it ягеря was imposed by
For a tranquillity fun for …
Everything is more ringing, all nesterpimy strings sound, everything is higher a voice Town, and only in a refrain the grief and grief pour out in the lyrical lines
Beat, a tambourine, beat, a voice break …
Pipes, play more furiously
Pour, heavy rain, pour, paints wash away.
Violins, cry about lossI the voice which again was strained to blue in the face of the singer appeals to us – it is impossible to forget about an individual responsibility of each of us for all events on this earth. This thing can't and shouldn't be accepted unequivocally. Someone probably also will disagree with Town, considering that the author goes too far. Nevertheless, at a concert of a position Town coincided with an internal spirit of audience – the ballad was risen in applause by long not ceasing.
Finished the program a number of comic songs. Well-aimed arrows Town - the satirist steadily hit the bull's eye. Here - couplets ADVERTISING to TELEVISION :
For this purpose that TV-see,
It is possible even to see hardly,
is possible even to floor - to hear, to a floor - to think, to a floor - to sleep
Fauna, melodrama, washer, film panorama
And the backs from chairs we not in forces to tear off …Is a song – the answer to remarks from a hall – the ABM of FOOLS, and still a song in style of the disco about a sad fate of the lover which exhausts and whimsical Shurochka slights …
There are sad examples -
You about them don't forget! –
As love chimeras
Brought into the region beyond the grave …
***In the absence of conceptual and stylistic unity, the concert Town leaves the brightest impression an alloy of high professionalism with absolutely confidential atmosphere of live contact to audience. The widest range of the Town composer, level of its musical culture allow it to create with identical success both modern romances, and small rock suites. Causes admiration Alexander's address to poetry from capital letter which it it is thin feels, which is close to his spirit, his attitude from which he very carefully addresses.
Ya specially didn't mention the developed composition which has sounded in a concert the ROAD ELEGY on Nikolay Rubtsov's verses. In it Gradsky proved to be the most masterly keyboard player, having shown enviable technical skill, a mnogosloynost and expressiveness of sound collages. The ELEGY entirely grasped attention of a hall... Well and certainly the brightest side of talent Town is its voice! Listen!
June-July, 1983
Rock SaladPS
This report was made by me for is underground the issued POPS magazine, but I don't know – whether it ever there was published. Here I brought insignificant adjustments.
To a great regret, neither the exact list of executed compositions, nor I didn't find time to fix their sequence. Something from sounding at that time was for me complete revelation, after all on hands went unless any recorder versions, and vinyl albums appeared later.
As to LITHUANIAN POLICEMAN – that at me sat down at the head then such version of a refrain:
The cricket rustles in a corner
Rustles and suddenly a molchok
You the father me sold to
For fascist for a badge …
Probably, is a mistake – but these last two lines I mentioned in article original …
In the text is mentioned a song in style of the disco misadventures of the admirer of a certain Shurochka. I dare to assume that the original poem is written to Nikolays OLEYNIKOVS and is called to Henry LEVIN concerning HIS VLYUBLENY In Shurochka LYUBARSKAYA.
later I heard Many years from lips of the most Town the story that the conflict on the ideological soil with any party bureaucrats in Leningrad – partly because of a song about Vysotsky – and took place, according to Alexander, for seven years it became not entrance to the northern capital. In any case after SUCH concert the ban should come automatically!
Never after I indeed didn't hear before in absolutely acoustically unsuitable for carrying out concerts huge stadium of SUCH LEVEL of LOUDNESS AND PURITY of the SOUND – and after all there was on praised western coryphaeuses of Black Sabbath, Uriah Heep, on Ingvi Malmstin both …
on October 11, 2004.
