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2LP
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MR 320LP
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Gatefold double LP version. Olympic were given their name in 1963 while they were regularly performing at one of the "hippest" venues in Prague of that time, the music club Olympik. They were no newcomers, though. Since the late 1950s they had been playing in legendary rock'n'roll groups like Sputnici, Samuels, and later Karkulka. In June 1963, the Big Beat Quintet -- an offspring of Sputnici featuring three future Olympic members -- had even recorded one of the first genuine rock'n'roll singles for the Supraphon label. But the actual launch of their unprecedented professional career was November 11, 1963 when Olympic debuted as the house band for the first rock'n'roll musical "Ondrá? podotýká" at the renowned Semafor Theatre. This early line-up comprised about seven musicians, including a saxophonist. In the spring of 1964 Olympic entered the Supraphon recording studios for the first time, and they instantly made Czech music history again. The resulting "big beat" series of 7" singles was released in collaboration with the popular Mladý svet (trans. Young World) magazine, with Olympic backing top Czech vocalists on four records out of five, including Eva Pilarová and Karel Gott. Olympic initially continued to work for Supraphon as a backing band on several singles whenever the fashionable rock backbeat was required. Yet for themselves they had chosen another pioneering path: instead of slavishly performing cover versions of Western hits like the majority of other Czech beat groups, they began to write and sing their own songs with Czech lyrics. In 1967, the group was offered to record the first-ever Czechoslovak profile beat album. The recording sessions took place between January and October 1967, and the LP was released in early 1968. The second Supraphon album, Pták Rosomák (trans. The Bird Wolverine), was recorded in December 1968 and January 1969. Apart from loads of hip psychedelia, it also included earlier hits like "Krásná neznámá" and the title-track, and again it was an enormous success on the domestic market. Later that spring, the bassist and main lyricist quit the group. He was replaced by Jan "Papírek" Hauser. The band revisited France to work on a new record but it was eventually cancelled (it remained unreleased until 2011). After considering emigration at first, Olympic returned to Prague in August 1969, in spite of the cheerless political situation. Since they weren't a band with many "offending" messages or with an overly rebellious attitude, the communist censors let them carry on. "Kufr" was a hit in late 1969, and even bigger hits followed in 1970 in the form of more pop-oriented songs. Jedeme, jedeme (trans. "Riding On, Riding On") was their third album for Supraphon, recorded in September 1970. It contained fresh versions of several songs originally written for the previously-cancelled French LP, and it shows a slight shift towards progressive rock. Compiled and annotated by Luká Machata.
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CD
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MR 320CD
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Olympic were given their name in 1963 while they were regularly performing at one of the "hippest" venues in Prague of that time, the music club Olympik. They were no newcomers, though. Since the late 1950s they had been playing in legendary rock'n'roll groups like Sputnici, Samuels, and later Karkulka. In June 1963, the Big Beat Quintet -- an offspring of Sputnici featuring three future Olympic members -- had even recorded one of the first genuine rock'n'roll singles for the Supraphon label. But the actual launch of their unprecedented professional career was November 11, 1963 when Olympic debuted as the house band for the first rock'n'roll musical "Ondrá? podotýká" at the renowned Semafor Theatre. This early line-up comprised about seven musicians, including a saxophonist. In the spring of 1964 Olympic entered the Supraphon recording studios for the first time, and they instantly made Czech music history again. The resulting "big beat" series of 7" singles was released in collaboration with the popular Mladý svet (trans. Young World) magazine, with Olympic backing top Czech vocalists on four records out of five, including Eva Pilarová and Karel Gott. Olympic initially continued to work for Supraphon as a backing band on several singles whenever the fashionable rock backbeat was required. Yet for themselves they had chosen another pioneering path: instead of slavishly performing cover versions of Western hits like the majority of other Czech beat groups, they began to write and sing their own songs with Czech lyrics. In 1967, the group was offered to record the first-ever Czechoslovak profile beat album. The recording sessions took place between January and October 1967, and the LP was released in early 1968. The second Supraphon album, Pták Rosomák (trans. The Bird Wolverine), was recorded in December 1968 and January 1969. Apart from loads of hip psychedelia, it also included earlier hits like "Krásná neznámá" and the title-track, and again it was an enormous success on the domestic market. Later that spring, the bassist and main lyricist quit the group. He was replaced by Jan "Papírek" Hauser. The band revisited France to work on a new record but it was eventually cancelled (it remained unreleased until 2011). After considering emigration at first, Olympic returned to Prague in August 1969, in spite of the cheerless political situation. Since they weren't a band with many "offending" messages or with an overly rebellious attitude, the communist censors let them carry on. "Kufr" was a hit in late 1969, and even bigger hits followed in 1970 in the form of more pop-oriented songs. Jedeme, jedeme (trans. "Riding On, Riding On") was their third album for Supraphon, recorded in September 1970. It contained fresh versions of several songs originally written for the previously-cancelled French LP, and it shows a slight shift towards progressive rock. Compiled and annotated by Luká Machata.
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LP
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SU 6206LP
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"For the first time since 1968, you can feast your eyes on the original artwork of Olympic's debut album, adorned with illustrations by Jan Antonín Pacák, the band's percussionist. Excellent work was done in this respect by Vrkoslav and Zámostný from Olympic's fan club (the additional pressings were put into universal graphic covers, entirely devoid of the magic of the original title's artwork). The remastered sound corresponds to 2013 standards yet with regard to the original analogue patina. The (printed inner sleeve) presents interesting documents from the archives, including several previously unpublished photos.""
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