Review Summary: One of the greatest Siberian rock albums
Instruktsiya po Vyzhivaniyu (Instructions for Survival) is one of Grazhdanskaya Oborona's best albums. This Omsk punk band managed to record this album in just four days (I don't know when it exactly came out, so I just put the final day of recording as the release date).
The album has that great Siberian sound to it and contains some of the best rock songs ever written - "Moya severnaya strana" (apparently "My Northern Country" - my Russian is limited) and "Khuy" (Dick). On Khuy, it is said that Egor Letov (GrOb's vocalist) tore his throat, so Igor Zhevtun replaces him on that one. Zhevtun also sings on one of two versions of the reggae song "Posvyashchenie A. Kruchonykh" (Dedication to Aleksei Kruchonykh), which is an expansion of a poem written by Kruchonykh himself. It has the acoustic "Krasny smekh" (Red Laugh), a great acoustic song. There are two versions of the track "Nepreryvny suitsid" (Unlimited Suicide), one at the beginning and end of the album. The beginning one fades out, while the end one brings a nice end to the album.
The 2013 vinyl reissue on Stanzmarke Records includes 5 great bonus tracks on the D-side - four outtakes from the sessions and a version of "Krasny smekh" with extra psychedelic effects, recorded by
Egor i Opizdenevshie.
I doubt any band has or will ever record a similar album. I think maybe this should be remixed by Danger Mouse and have Norah Jones provide some vocals, but keep Letov's (and Zhevtun's) original vocals.
