“Studená Koupel” (1982) – Marsyas * Written by Greg Lake and Zuzana Michnová * Produced by LP: Kousek Přízně * Label: Supraphon
Named after the Greek mythological figure who challenged Apollo to a flute contest, the Czech folk-rock group Marsyas’s debut LP appeared in 1978 and they’ve recorded a few live reunion albums in recent years. Their second album (Kousek Přízně from 1982), contains a soothing, organic cover version of Emerson, Lake and Palmer’s “From the Beginning” that sounds as though Crosby, Stills, and Nash could have consulted on the vocal arrangement. From what I gather, the words’ meanings are quite different from the original, with the title translating to “cold bath.”