Fermata - s/t + Pieseň z Hôľ. 1975; 1977 Slovakia

Fermata's debut is a hard hitting fusion album from arguably Slovakia's finest group. Where Fermata creates separation from many of their peers is they never take their eye off of the composition, and actually know how to craft a memorable melody. So it's not just pyrotechnics, though there's plenty of that here too. Some fine psych edged guitar, Rhodes Electric Piano, and fat 70s analog synthesizers to bathe in here. Great start for the band.
Pieseň z Hôľ sees Fermata taking the debut and amping it up a bit. A little bit more diverse this go round from a compositional perspective, but difficult to imagine fans of the debut - or of the hard hitting Mahavishnu Orchestra styled progressive fusion - being disappointed here. And 'Priadky' has one of those kind of hard driving bass riffs you're not likely to forget soon. What a groove. Great guitar and keyboard work as expected. Another splendid album from Slovakia's finest.

Personal collection
CD: 1997 Bonton 

When I started collecting in earnest in the middle 1980s, one of the best points of entry was Eastern Europe. This is because the albums could still be had for a low price, especially fusion albums from Poland, Hungary, and the former Czechoslovakia. I know many bemoan the digitization of music, but if there was ever a region that the CD benefited most, it was the former Eastern Bloc. The final vinyl product usually was a disaster (cheap materials), but as we've come to find out, the recordings themselves were usually of a very high quality, and the master tapes all carefully stored by the State. So I quickly moved the LPs out once the first CD hit the market (3rd image). Unfortunately this CD compilation leaves off the 11 minute track 'Perpetuum III' from the first album. The 1999 CD of Dunajská Legenda does include this piece. And that's the way I own the first album as a whole. Not ideal for sure. All of the second album is here though. Apparently the 2009 CD (last image) is a 2 CD set that fixes this issue, but I haven't seen or heard it myself. As indicated prior, the sound quality of the first CD is fantastic - much better than any original vinyl of these titles.