''Enigmatic'' is the fourth album by Czesław Niemen, released in 1970. It has been considered by some to be the best Polish rock album ever.Leszek Gnoiński, Jan Skaradziński "Encyklopedia polskiego rocka" (Encyclopedia of Polish Rock), Inspired in 1968 by Wojciech Młynarski, Niemen decided to make his new album with Polish poetry as lyrics. Recorded in 1969, the album became very popular and was awarded with a golden record in 1971 (in

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, Golden Records were awarded for selling 160,000 album copies). As of 2012, the album has sold in excess of 5 million copies around the world and remains very popular. In 1974 " Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod" was rerecorded by Niemen in New York and issued by CBS Records International as " Mourner's Rhapsody". The supporting musicians included

Michał Urbaniak Michał Urbaniak (born January 22, 1943) is a Polish jazz musician who plays violin, lyricon, and saxophone. His music includes elements of folk music, rhythm and blues, hip hop music, hip hop, and symphonic music. History He was born in War ...

of the original crew, John Abercrombie and some members of the famous

Mahavishnu Orchestra The Mahavishnu Orchestra was a jazz fusion band formed in New York City in 1971, led by English guitarist John McLaughlin (musician), John McLaughlin. The group underwent several line-up changes throughout its history across its two periods of a ...

. In 1977 the " Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod" intro from the 1970 initial issue was bootlegged by the West German rock band Jane as intro for their elegiac album "Between Heaven and Hell"Jane - Between Heaven and Hell 2/2 (pirated copy)
/ref> also immediately achieving golden record status.

Track listing

*All music by Czesław Niemen; lyrics as noted. # " Bema pamięci żałobny rapsod" - 16:27 ( Cyprian Kamil Norwid) # "Jednego serca" - 7:45 ( Adam Asnyk) # "Kwiaty ojczyste" - 7:25 (Tadeusz Kubiak) # "Mów do mnie jeszcze" - 4:40 ( Kazimierz Przerwa-Tetmajer)

Personnel

* Czesław Niemen – vocal,

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert, first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding #Drawbars, drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, sound was created ...

* Zbigniew Namysłowski –

alto saxophone The alto saxophone is a member of the saxophone family of woodwind instruments. Saxophones were invented by Belgians, Belgian instrument designer Adolphe Sax in the 1840s and patented in 1846. The alto saxophone is pitched in the key of E♭ ( ...

* Janusz Zieliński –

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

* Tomasz Jaśkiewicz –

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

* Czesław Bartkowski –

drums The drum is a member of the percussion instrument, percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophones, membranophone. Drums consist of at least one Acoustic membrane, membrane, c ...

* Zbigniew Sztyc –

tenor saxophone The tenor saxophone is a medium-sized member of the saxophone family, a group of instruments invented by Adolphe Sax in the 1840s. The tenor and the alto are the two most commonly used saxophones. The tenor is pitched in the key of B (whi ...

–

flute The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

* Alibabki –

background vocals A backing vocalist is a singer who provides vocal harmony with the lead vocalist or other backing vocalists. A backing vocalist may also sing alone as a lead-in to the main vocalist's entry or to sing a counter-melody. Backing vocalists are u ...

References

{{Authority control Czesław Niemen albums 1970 albums Polish-language albums Polskie Nagrania Muza albums