The Plastic People of the Universe is the most important rock band from the former Soviet Union. This review cannot even hope to present an adequate history of this mercurial social assembly, nor to detail their history of pain and abuse. Suffice it to say that for nearly 2 decades the band existed "underground" which is to say that they were not allowed to perform in public, period. After being deemed overly subversive after their first few concerts in 1968, they lost their license to perform. Thereafter, any concert had to be a secret, clandestine affair, communicated amongst insiders who often did not know where the concert was to take place until mere hours before it happened.

As the band gained momentum, and a more sizable following, the crackdown became much more severe, and by 1976 several members had been jailed by Czech authorities. Those of us who have lived our lives in the free world can probably not imagine what that must have been like. At first, the band was a fairly crude rock band, led by vocalist/bassist Milan Hlavsa, performing cover versions of US bands like Frank Zappa, Velvet Underground, Doors, Fugs, and Henry Cow and other "counterculture" musics. Later, particularly with the addition of saxophonist/composer Vratislav Brabinec, the band became more sophisticated and jazz influenced. Brabinec even composed a concept piece (opera?) called Passion Play. If you want more information, an internet search will provide you with quite a bit. Check it out.

The first album, generally considered their best, is "Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned" which was recorded in about 1974 but not released until the tapes were smuggled out and pressed in France about 1978. Two other vinyl albums, "Passion Play" and "Leading Horses" were produced in the late-1970s - early-1980s in much the same way, outside of the band's control.

All of the original work by the band has been collected by Globus International into a set of 10 CDs, which have been in and out of print since in various forms since the mid-1990s. I will describe the 2001-2002 era version, which seems to be the most readily available (these are good, clean, remasterings with attractive packaging - unfortunately, all in Czech and I can't read it!). PPU 1 - Man with No Ears (1969-72) - and PPU 2 - Vozralej jak Sliva (1973-75) - are mostly very crude, raw, live recordings with considerable energy but not a lot of finesse. PPU 3 - Egon Bondy's Happy Hearts Club Banned (1974) - is the classic, early PPU at the height of their rock power. ESSENTIAL. On this CD release, you also get half a dozen bonus tracks. PPU 4 - Ach to statu Hanoben ("dishonor to the state" 1976-77) is a strong live recording but pretty harsh. PPU 5 - Passion Play (1978) is Brabinec's operetta based on the Passion, presented as the original with no bonus tracks. PPU 6 - Jak bude po Smrti - (1979) (earlier known as Slavna Nemesis) is 3 long extended live tracks. PPU 7 - Leading Horses - (1981) is a very strong studio album, well conceived, written, and recorded, one of the original "official" releases by the band. PPU 8 - Kolejnice Duni - (1977-82) is another live collection of varying quality. PPU 9 - Hovezi Porazka - ("beef slaughter" 1983-84) is my personal favorite, after "Egon". It is an extremely clean, well-recorded collection, with tight, concise (3-5 minute) songs of exceptional quality and musicianship. PPU 10 - Pulnocni Mys ("Midnight Mouse" 1985-86) is a good collection of more "pop-ish" material, with several songs based on "Hovezi" tunes and morphed in something more conventional.

Last, there are 2 live recordings of some importance, "Live, Prosinec 1992" a sloppy, joyful celebration of their new-found freedom, which features strong, beautiful, live original works along with a couple of terrible Doors and Velvets covers. Then "1997" is a strong, if sedate recording, much like their best 1970s work, their last significant release before Hlavsa's unfortunate premature death.

Start with "Egon Bondy's" Buy-It-Now! After that, "Hovezi Porazka", "Leading Horses", and "Passion Play" are my recommendations. If you want to have a serious collection of "progressive" rock or jazz music from the 1960s-80s, it must include the Plastic People. Besides the fact that this is extraordinary and wonderful music, it is a powerful historical artifact that could be rapidly fading into memory.