Customer Reviews

Gorky Park

5 star:		(23)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought this title years ago after the band played in the Moscow Peace Festival with among others--Bon Jovi. There are a couple of ballads on here that are really cool, and of course the hit song "Bang." Jon Bon Jovi makes a guest appearnace too. This is pretty cool Russian Rock!

I am SO pleased to have found Gorky Park's CD! After a friend introduced me to Gorky Park's album 8 years ago, I have been searching ever since. Absolutely the BEST hard rock I've ever heard out of Russia. This album has a very definite Russian flavor mixed within the rock.. a REAL treat! And very rare! Too bad there aren't 6, 8 or 10 stars to affix to this one! You owe it to yourself - Get It!

Good beat and great sound, a great combination.

In Russian, the title is "Park of Gorky" or "Gorky Park"... named after a famous park in Moscow, and no doubt chosen as the album title due to a popular movie in the US by the same name.

Although this band was originally created at the urgings of Premier Mikhail Gorbachev as part of the then Soviet Union's Glasnost policies, as an effort to take some of the chill out of the Cold War... the music is thoroughly enjoyable and does not have the sort of wanna-be American sound that many foreign bands unfortunately succumb to.

The Album is written primarily in English, or rather, American English - very colloquial at that, obviously put together by lyricists who are either American themselves or attended KGB Summer Camp and learned every-day talk and slang very well!

In some instances, Russian lyrics are blended into the music, which is no easy task as it typically takes three times longer to say things in Russian, and the language simply does not fit easily into rock-n-roll rythms. However, in Gorky Park, there are moments where the Russian is so skillfully woven into the fabric of the music - that it takes on a very distinctive, trademark style all its own. (For example, in the song "My Generation," during the chorus, there is Russian chanting: "Stavaite lyudi ruskiye" or "Rise up Russian people!")

While the heavy metal will get you on your feet, the ballads are are touching enough to bring tears to your eyes. I first heard this album over a decade ago. Since then I have travelled to Russia twice, lived there for 2 years, learned the language and customs... and I still enjoy this CD and listen to it from time to time. I highly recommend it!

I AGREE, THIS IS ONE OF THE BEST HEAVY METAL ALBUMS I HAVE EVER HEARD. CHECK OUT "BANG". IT'S A GREAT SONG. THE REASON I BOUGHT THE CD. THE LEAD SINGER, ESPECIALLY ON THIS SONG TENDS TO SOUND ALOT LIKE GENE SIMMONS IN SOME OF THE OLDER KISS STUFF. OF COURSE, YOU CAN PICK UP HIS ACCENT WHICH MAKES HIM SOUND MORE LIKE CLAUSE MEINE(SCORPIONS). THE LEAD GUITARIST IS ONE OF THE BEST I'VE EVER HEARD, ALTHOUGH I ONLY HAVE THIS CD TO GO BY. HE REALLY GETS OFF AND THE ALBUM ROCKS. YOU CAN ALSO SEE A TOUCH OF BON JOVI IN THIS ALBUM (ALA, SLIPPERY WHEN WET). HE PRODUCED THIS ALBUM AND I'M UPSET THAT IT'S THE ONLY ONE THAT'S EVER BEEN AVAILABLE IN THE U.S. GREAT ALBUM! GET IT!

Almost impossible to find these days, this album by Gorky Park is truly a definition of music. With some fine melodies, different tones throughout the cd, and wonderful musical combinations, these guys produced a great sounding album. Check it out, even if you're not much into rock--they might convert you!

Park Gorkogo, one of the greatest rock bands of the 80's, this was their debut US Album. It had some great beats and vocals and and did an awesome job teaching American youth what Glastnost and Mir were all about!

Mir Ye Druzhba Cvet

I first heard the song "Bang" in 1989. I like the heavy guitar, and the mix of English and Russian lyrics. There is alot of eastern European rock influence on this album. Their rendition of The Who's "My Generation" is the best cover I've ever heard of this song.

As of this review, one cannot purchase this album on iTunes, so getting it through Amazon is a great deal.

I remember when I first saw the video for "Bang" and heard that Gorky Park was from the dreaded Soviet Union. The idea that a hard rock band would emerge from the USSR, the evil enemy of countless action movies, was just too cool to be true. Besides, didn't they "hate our freedom", or was that a different Bush's arch nemesis? Well, it was Y&T that proclaimed "rock & roll's gonna change the world", and you have to give Gorky Park credit for trying to overcome our differences with the power of arena rock!

Still, when you take away the novelty factor what you're left with is a perfectly decent, though not particularly original hard rock/hair metal album. It's not quite at the Skid Row level, but it's about as good as most of what the L.A. bands were issuing at the time. Then again, if these guys had come from L.A, nobody would know their name. The album follows the basic formula, mixing rock anthems (Bang, Child of the Wind) with made for MTV ballads (Sometimes at Night). The band's very rocking version of the Who's "My Generation" is probably the album's best moment.

If you look at it objectively, this is probably a 3-3.5 star album, but I have to give it an extra star for helping to put a face (and sound) to the "Red Menace", and move us a bit further away from the Red Dawn stereotype.

The policy known as Glasnost & Perestroika (Openness & Restructuring) was the pathway for the world to meet the group Gorky Park. This is Russian Rock/Metal at it's finest. They even show their roots with a little bit of Russian peppered into 2 tracks (Bang & My Generation), as well as in their cover art.

There are a number of worthy tracks on this CD. "Bang" is a great opening track and it really gets you going. "My Generation" & "Danger" are two other tracks that really rock. "Action" is a detailed song about some of the places the band has toured and about the rock 'n' roll lifestyle that was so prevalent in the 80's and early 90's.

The ballads on here are also solid offerings. "Sometimes At Night" may be there best one lyrically, but "Try to Find Me" and "Fortress" are also good ways of showing their lighter side (which just about every hard rock/metal band felt they had to do at some point).

My favorite track on here is the seemingly underrated "Peace In Our Time" It's solid instrumentally, including a nice guitar solo. The lyrics are good, as they speak of the message of peace, which is still not the case in our world as of this review.

Over all, there's not a bad song on here. It's great that this CD was re-released, but it's still not easy to find. If you can get your hands on it, don't pass it up. It's a must for the hard rock/metal music fan.