Dzem
Detox

THE REVIEW

I have always adored cultural exchanges, especially when they are filled with blondes with blue eyes and breathtaking figures (:P)! And that's how I met my girlfriend from one of the (welcoming) warmest countries in Europe: Poland. By studying a bit about the traditions and musical culture of this wonderful yet forgotten country, I discovered that these European brethren are hardcore rockers!
There are many bands, offspring of those 70s that contributed so much to international music, that draw from the hard blues tradition that inspired entire generations.

And so, while strolling with my girlfriend through the streets of Krakòw (Cracow) during the Christmas period (guys, a tip: Krakòw is beautiful and inexpensive, don't miss it, euro-zloty exchange rate 1 to 4) I asked her a little question: "but what music do you listen to in Poland and what are the leading bands in your musical landscape?". She immediately stands tall (you understand well that when she stood tall my gaze drifted from the city's beauty to focus on other beauties!), takes me by the hand and leads me to a stall selling music CDs.
She immediately picks up a CD from a band called DZEM (equivalent to "jam") titled Detox and hands it to me. In fact, the package she handed me included two albums from the band: one from the late 70s and the other Detox (early 90s). She explained to me that the band is an institution in Poland and that the singer Ryszard Riedel (no longer living, having died in the 90s from an overdose) is considered akin to "a poet" (like De Andrè) due to the depth of the lyrics.
All I had to do was pop the CD into the player and press play. And so I did!

The band Dzem can be divided into two time periods: the Riedel period and the post-Riedel. It should be said immediately that the posthumous period of the singer and the group's mind is quite negligible. Detox is a fusion of blues, funk, reggae, Led Zeppelin, The Doors, and the like. Once the disc starts, you're greeted by a very introspective acoustic guitar solo. It's fascinating to hear these somewhat "aged" Polish guys play. I truly didn't expect such energy and musical taste.
The disc continues with blues rhythms, instrumental guitar arpeggios without drastically altering the "frameworks" expected for that type of music. Riedel's voice is truly exceptional, overwhelming, rich, hoarse, at times pleading, at times angry and incisive, evoking smoky venues where you drink your beloved whiskey and ponder over yourself... it has nothing to envy from the best American bluesmen.

My girlfriend translates the lyrics of the album for me which point the finger at the solitude of the human being, marginalization, incommunicability, and finding comfort only in one's small things (small things that were evidently not enough to save the excellent Riedel's life). Thus, you reach moments of deep intimacy towards the one who generated a life that poorly adapts to reality in List Do M (letter to mother), almost in search of one's root, one's incestuous and tender love at the same time. You arrive at technical moments in songs like Mamy Forse Mamy Czas (where ironically the concept of having money and time to "corrupt" one's insides is reiterated); to the touching Sen O Victorii, a soft blues ballad.
This is Detox... a great and intimate farewell letter from the good Riedel. What a pity.
The album is not an absolute masterpiece, mind you, also because the lyrics add the "heavy lifting" and those, unfortunately, are only understood by the locals! To me, there's the pleasure of having listened to a fascinating album from one of the most famous bands in Poland.

At the end of the exchange, my girlfriend asks me: "what are the bands you listen to the most in Italy?"... I sweat cold, think of Paola e Chiara, Gigi D'Alessio, DJ Francesco, Eros Ramazzotti, the Lollipop, Cristina D'Avena... I turn pale, grit my teeth... a tear rolls down my face... Toto Cutugno... damn... I feel like vomiting... Baglioni... OH GOD I DON'T KNOW HOW TO ANSWER... I look at her and say: "don't speak to me in Polish because I don't understand you, what did you say?"