Petrina. Ota - Pečet (1983)

The second and final album from this Czech Republic artist/band.

Ota Petrina is both an artist and a band. The band was a quartet on this album with a lineup of guitars, bass, drums, flutes, accordion, piano, synth and Czech vocals.

Ota Petrina was a pretty popular artist and songwriter in the cold war era Czechoslovakia before this state divorced into two states, the Czech Republic and Slovakia, straight after the fall of the iron curtain. Back in 1983, there was no hope of freedom in this harsh communist ruled Czechoslovakia. 

Ota Petrina still managed to release two albums. I reviewed the 1978 debut album Super Robot back in May 2014. Almost on the day three years before I am writing these words.... Spooky !!!!!!!

I thought it was a good album.

These two albums reemerged in ProgArchives some years ago and got some good attention and was pretty hyped up. It is nothing wrong with that. ProgArchives is a force for all the best things in life.

The music on Pecet is art-rock. No less and no more. There is a strong singer/songwriter element to this album too with Ota Petrina playing a central role with his vocals. But there is also enough good music in the vein of Supertramp and the 1970s symphonic prog tradition here. Note the use of Moog here which is really great.

The opening track, the fifteen minutes long Hemingway is a very good song and the best one on this album. The rest is good to very decent. Most of this album is pastoral to very pastoral without any big bangs and fanfares. This album do a lot more whispering than shouting. 

Ota Petrina has again given us a good album, well worth checking out. Check it out.

3 points