istoriya – The Best of The Ukrainians

istoriya demonstrates well the dual-edged sword that is the best of compilation. On the one hand, it gives a nice overview of the band’s oeuvre and is an enhanced CD and so the buyer is given photos of the band, a tour diary of the band’s travel through Poland in early 2003, and lyrics in Ukrainian and English. On the other hand, the band succumbs to that nasty habit of including a previously unreleased track to get the faithful to shell out their lucre for a single song and the casual listener to resort to Napster.

My marketing critique aside, this is a great introduction to this band of Englishmen who play an unholy marriage of Ukrainian folk and punk. As my fellow review Earl Sellar has noted, The Ukrainians are often described as "Russian-music Pogues". But listening to the raging electric guitars on “Ty Zh Mene Pidmanula,” a more correct description might be “Russian-music Dropkick Murphies.” While the potential for a world music bastard child is great, don’t be fooled. This sampler proves that The Ukrainians’ mayhem is as fresh as vodka and lime with crushed ice.

The 20-song set culled from their four albums and a couple EPs begins with the aforementioned previously unreleased track, “Telstar.” A cover of The Tornados’ 1962 hit, it has been Ukrainianized but not enough. Unfortunately it has the feel of a novelty song. Luckily The Velvet Underground’s “Venus in Furs” doesn’t suffer that same fate. A bit less bleak than the original, it took me a while to realize what I was listening to. Venturing to the folk realm, the band put their mark on three traditional songs. One is “Ty Zh Mene Pidmanula,” which I mentioned above. Along the same lines is “Hopak.” The guitar is not distorted but the playing is just as manic.

But not all of the songs here are so noisy. “Dity Plachut’” is a solemn a cappella piece. “Ti Moyi Radoshchi,” an original from their first album, is quieter with its mandolin and violin – not that they’re played much slower than frenetically. But this doesn’t last long. It’s followed by a cover of the Sex Pistol’s “Anarchy in the UK” which is pretty faithful. Well, as faithful as one can be with a mandolin involved.

For more info about The Ukrainians and t-shirts in Cyrillic, visit their web site.

(This was originally published at The Green Man Review back in 2004.)