Uliczny Opryszek Na Zwasze Punk 3 LP
The final entry in a massive three LP endeavor, Na Zawsze Punk 3 is Poland’s ULICZNY OPRYSZEK doing covers from old and obscure Polish punk bands spanning 1978–1998. Throughout the three albums, they deliver a whopping 79 songs, most of which were never recorded to any acceptable degree or previously released in any format. Instead, the band relied on tape recordings from the Jarocin festivals they grew up going to as source material. Jarocin was basically an annual Polish punk version of Woodstock that lasted throughout the ’80s and into the early ’90s and was a vital part of the genre’s existence in the Warsaw Pact nations during that era. They’re essentially resurrecting and documenting an entire forgotten timeline here for posterity, which is a wildly admirable effort. The music itself is a jungle of punk rock that leans into the various styles of the legion of bands who originally played it. There are some grimy old-school punk tunes, moments that wouldn’t be too out of place on a Fat release, Oi!, tinges of ’80s metal, and even a dub-style jam—it’s all over the place, as to be expected. As an added touch of class, each of the twenty songs on this record features a snippet of the original live recording of it before it, presenting it with a direct nod to its authors. The record comes with a dense booklet with info on the bands as well (presumably in Polish), completing the package. Nice little chunk of history.