Kingdom Of Life – CD

This CD reissue of Blue Effects export album comes in a paper digipak and includes seven bonus tracks. The original album grew out of the landmark Czech rock recording Meditation, after singer Vladimr Mik left Blue Effect during the cultural and political normalization period. Before the music was extensively retexted and rearranged, much of the original was retained in English for possible export, while new versions were recorded with newcomer Leek Semelka on vocals and keyboards. The album received different artwork and remains a slightly bizarre reflection of its confused era, while retaining its musical quality. The CD also points back to the original form and adds seven bonuses from 1969 to 2011, including recordings that supplement the groups history and performances of album songs by various Blue Effect line-ups. Guitarist Radim Hladk plays a central role throughout, appearing once as a guest with the Gypsy band Kale. Several versions of Slunen hrob with Vladimr Mik and Jan Kek, together with Rainy Day and Blue Effect Street revitalized by younger musicians, bring the blues rock of the late 1960s and early 1970s into the 21st century. The tracklist includes Kingdom of Life, White Hair, Youll Stay With Me, Brothers Song, Slunen hrob (Sunny Grave), Little Girl, Deserted Alley (Osaml ulice), Blues About Stone, Rainy Day (Detiv den) and Where Is My Star (Kde je m hvzda), followed by seven bonus versions.