Artist: The Kaplan Brothers
Title: Nightbird
Year Of Release: 1978
Label: Erebus Records
Genre: Psychedelic Rock, Prog Rock
Quality: Flac (tracks, .cue, log)

These original guys are unlikely to be related to the Socialist-Revolutionary Fanny Kaplan, who shot Lenin, but there is definitely a Russian trace in their music. Having launched active creative activity in 1968, the Chicago guys started their own band. Multi-instrumentalist brothers Dick and Ed were joined by guitarist Scott Klinas and bassist Jeff Cech. With this composition, the brave Americans released the "Universal Sounds" disc. In 1975, the already friendly ranks expanded with the addition of a third brother, John Kaplan. With his participation, two more albums were recorded - "The Kaplan Brothers" and the group's most famous work - the electric symphony "Nightbird". This is what I want to talk about today.
The progressive universe of The Kaplan Brothers is based on a bizarre combination of extremes. Nevertheless, it would be hard to call them adherents of eclecticism. The bottom line is that our smart people are excellent stylists. And the ease with which absolutely different genre details are combined in a single compositional space is worthy of sincere admiration. Thus, the formal introduction of “Ode to Life” seems to be inspired by the standards of pop classics of the sixties. The paradox lies in the playful presentation of the material: if you subtract the frontman’s lyrical baritone from the context, the instrumental outline of the track takes on psychedelic features with a proto-prog flavor. The most popular song by L.N. Knipper's "Polyushko-Pole" in the interpretation of the "out of the ordinary" quintet becomes a pearl of "mellotron rock", flavored with the typically Russian-spirited title "Vodka and Caviare". Then comes a very interesting moment: with unwavering hands, the gentlemen-mockingbirds take up the holy of holies of British art - the crowning number "Epitaph" from the debut vinyl of King Crimson. In the elegiac atmosphere of Peter Sinfield's touching ballad, additional touches and nuances are revealed, and with amazement you suddenly begin to understand how much "Epitaph" has in common with the notorious "Porlyusica"! After three measured melancholy pieces comes the turn of the high-tempo sketch “Listen to the Falling Rain,” borrowed by the Kaplans from the legacy of the ensemble The Cascades. Despite the electro-acoustic drive that reigns here, the pop plot in the vein of Simon and Garfunkel quite logically lines up with the previously announced gloomy frescoes. And you’re no longer at all surprised by the fact that this sketch has been transformed into an equally fascinating opus, “Life and Me,” disguised as a soundtrack to an imaginary “Western.” The "Night Bird" / "Happy" tandem is full of oriental tonics, whose geography varies from the hot sands of Judea to the lush dunes of Saudi Arabia. The last chapter of the story is the heroic finale “He”, which carries the cinematic expressiveness of Sergio Leone’s “cowboy” films; and the mood of the motif is subtly similar to the corresponding works of the great Ennio Morricone.
Let's summarize: an extremely entertaining record, endowed with a lot of various advantages, deserving close attention from every music lover. Highly recommend.

Tracklist:
1. Ode To Life - 03:06
2. Vodka And Caviare - 03:33
3. Epitaph (King Crimson) - 05:12
4. Listen To The Falling Rain (John Claude Gummoe) - 03:53
5. Life And Me - 05:09
6. Love Is Life - 05:41
7. Night Bird (Larry Andies) - 05:10
8. Happy - 04:32
9. He - 05:30

Members
Ed Kaplan, Richard Kaplan, Scott Klynas (guitar, 1968), Jeff Czech (bass, 1968)