Violinski were formed in 1977 by Mik Kaminski, John Hodgson and John Marcangelo and were originally promoted by Jet Records as an offshoot of the Electric Light Orchestra. A successful albeit brief dance with the music charts in 1979 saw them labelled as "one-hit wonders" but had Violinski been given the support Jet Records gave their label-mates ELO, the band could have achieved major-league status and more hits than their 200,000-selling debut single 'Clog Dance'.
That first single aside, Violinski releases suffered poor distribution and were quickly deleted to become instant collectors' items. Their recordings have never been available on CD because the original master tapes were lost for over 20 years and have only recently been discovered in an unmarked tape vault in London. Each tape has been meticulously restored by Jared Hawkes and Tim Hunt at Sanctuary Archive Studios and with additional material provided by the band members themselves, twenty tracks have been selected and superbly remastered by Tim Burrell ('Roy Wood 'Outstanding Performer', 'Look Thru' The Eyes Of Roy Wood') at Town House Studios.
Compiled and annotated by ELO archivist Rob Caiger in conjunction with the band members, the 30th anniversary celebration features single A&B sides, key album tracks, early demos, alternate takes and previously unreleased material.
Mik Kaminski's violin is unleashed and soars as supremely as it did during ELO's early years while fellow Electric Light Orchestra and 'On The Third Day' compatriot Michael de Albuquerque provides soulful vocals and along with Baz Dunnery, some incredible guitar work. Wizzard's Bob Brady features on one previously unreleased song and all tracks were produced by Violinski with ELO engineer Mack. Every song, written by keyboard player John Marcangelo, drummer John Hodgson, Kaminski and de Albuquerque, displays virtuoso performances and range in style from commercial rock and classical to the avant-garde. From Asia and ELO to King Crimson and Frank Zappa, 'Clog Dance - The Very Best Of Violinski' quicksteps through a varied musical landscape and is highly recommended to all Electric Light Orchestra fans and lovers of 1970's rock music.
RECOMMENDED SITES:
Discovery - Welcome To The Show - Nicolas Guibert
Jeff Lynne on MySpace - Nicolas Guibert
Thank you Nicolas for the promotion!
ALSO VISIT:
Michael De Albuquerque - Violinski bassist/vocalist on MySpace
John Hodgson - Violinski drummer on MySpace
