Niemen - Live In Helsinki 1972 (Full Show - Remastered Video)

Recorded on August 26th, 1972, at the Finlandia-Hall, Helsinki, Finland.

Incredible video, showing Niemen at the peak of his career. During this period of his various musical life, he played with the Silesian Blues Band, that later would become SBB, the biggest polish progressive rock band, known all over the world. Together, they formed the Niemen Group (Grupa Niemen). This is a recording of their concert at the Helsinki Festival, showing the avantgarde and progressive side of the group.

Czesław Niemen is the most important polish artist. He was the biggest sensation in the grey world of communism, also in the rest of eastern block. His voice is one of the most powerful on the earth. With SBB, he recorded two English language albums under the CBS label and two more in Poland. With SBB, Niemen performed at the Rock & Jazz Now! opening show for the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich sharing the stage with Mahavishnu Orchestra, John McLaughlin and Charles Mingus and subsequently toured with Jack Bruce's band. It's a unique, and one of the first situations for a band from the Eastern block to operate and gain popularity in the West. As you can hear, the band does not stand out qualitatively from the world behind the iron curtain. The musicianship is just wonderful, Niemen took to his band some of the best musicians, young virtuosos. The SBB is headed by a multi-instrumentalist Józef Skrzek, who objectively began to catch up with Niemen, sometimes even overtake him. A year later, the difference in their artistic visions will be the reason for the separation of SBB from Niemen. We all know the result, but right now - let's take a deep dive into the world of expression - The Niemen Group.

00:25 - I've Been Loving You Too Long (Otis Redding)
09:58 - Of The First Major Discoveries (band improvisation - Niemen, Skrzek, Anthimos, Piotrowski)
20:18 - Figo-Fago (Skrzek, Anthimos, Piotrowski)
25:18 - Of The First Major Discoveries (Skrzek, Moczulski, Brodowski) [Reprise]
29:24 - Strange Is This World (Niemen)

Czeslaw Niemen - vocal
Joseph Skrzek - hammond organ, clavinet, bass, harmonica
Anthimos Apostolis - electric guitar
Jerzy Piotrowski - drums