Perfect Symfonicznie is the 10th compilation album by the band Perfect, released on 12 November 2002 by Polskie Radio. The album features new arrangements of Perfect's existing songs (performed with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra), including one new track, Kto dziś przygarnie mnie, which also appeared on the 2004 album Schody. The album sold over 50,000 copies, achieving platinum status, and the band was nominated for a Fryderyk award. The arrangements were created by Wojciech Karolak, Adam Sztaba, Jan Kanty Pawluśkiewicz, Grzegorz Piotrowski, Wojciech Zieliński, Piotr Siejka, and Paweł Betley.The printing included with the album Perfect Symfonicznie (cat. no. PRCD 266).
The album received mixed reviews in the Polish market. While Łukasz Wewiór from Teraz Rock praised the arrangements as "very reasonable", critic questioned the band's credibility and originality, accusing them of commercialism.
Perfect Symfonicznie reached the 16th spot on the OLiS chart.
On 20 October 2007, a reissue of the album titled Perfect Symfonicznie – Platinum was released, featuring the same arrangements of the songs. This edition included a previously unreleased track, Póki mam jeden sen.
On 19 October 2009, a DVD was released featuring a recording of a concert at the Centennial Hall in Wrocław from April 26 of the same year, performed with the Wrocław Philharmonic Orchestra named after Witold Lutosławski. The album achieved gold status on the day of its release.
Context In 2000, a long-awaited Perfect concert, originally announced in 1987, was supposed to take place, with tickets being sold at the in Warsaw. The performance did not occur due to the band members' family issues and significant lineup changes since 2000 (leader of the band, , mentioned in an interview that the ticket proceeds were donated to a foundation supporting aspiring musicians and that he attempted to contact the guitarist, , about the concert, but he refused to speak with him). Throughout 2000, the band remained in conflict with Zbigniew Hołdys, and attempts to organize a joint concert were unsuccessful. Grzegorz Markowski stated:I called Zbyszek (...), suggested a meeting. He was playing at Stodoła on December 19, and we wanted to play there on the same day, but he refused. He didn’t want to meet or talk. I wanted to face him, go to his shop, shake hands, and have a conversation, as it was our mutual obligation, and we should do it. He gave a vague excuse that two members had indeed left (...). I wanted to see it through to the end. We had an idea to do it in Bemowo or Służewiec in the summer with substantial funding, but the sponsor backed out after three months of talks. After all this, we wanted to play in any format that Zbyszek proposed, but he simply refused. I see a bit of spite in this. We wanted to play the concert a bit earlier, on December 13, on the anniversary of Martial Law. However, the club manager said that Zbyszek Hołdys had already booked Stodoła for the 19th, so we should ask him if he wanted us to play a week earlier. Zbyszek also refused this.On 1 January 2001, Perfect released , containing archival recordings of three concerts performed by the band in late autumn 1999. The producer was Adrian Drabiński. The album featured an unconventional structure – in addition to live-recorded tracks, it included several unedited monologues by Grzegorz Markowski. The album was the first in Polish music history to be released in Dolby Pro Logic standard. Live 2001 was a modest commercial success and did not chart in Poland. Bass guitarist, , explained the situation: It’s known what people want. Especially some people. They want the old stuff, and that’s probably why it happened. Due to the album’s poor sales, Markowski stated in an interview that he intended to remain an active musician for only the next five years.
The idea to record an album with a symphony orchestra was first proposed by the band’s manager, Adam Galas, at the end of 2000. The proposal was presented to several Polish record companies, including Universal Music Polska, but the vision was rejected. In 2003, Markowski tried to explain the situation in an interview, citing his authenticity and disdain for digital sound correction: I know the world has changed, that music has changed too, and I know that with my love for authenticity, I am archaic. In March 2001, the director of the Advertising and Phonography Office of Polskie Radio contacted Galas with the proposal to record interpretations of Perfect’s songs with the accompaniment of the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. Galas later revealed: I was surprised. None of our previous initiatives had worked out. But here... we agreed.
Recording and production The band began recording in early June 2001. The recordings took place at the Witold Lutosławski Concert Studio of Polskie Radio (59 Modzelewski Street in Warsaw, now 59 Kaczmarski Street) and the (3/5/7 Myśliwiecka Street). The entire material was recorded in two sessions, with as the main producer. The first song recorded, on the first day, was Niewiele Ci mogę dać; guitarist said: It’s a song I thought I knew, yet in this version, it sounds like something new. It’s like dressing a woman. You can dress her in different outfits, and each time she looks completely different. It’s the same with a song. Markowski also revealed that this is his favorite track from the album. Wiesław Pieregorólka stated:I worked on this album with Perfect more for professional reasons than sentimental ones. However, I have a favorite: the track 'Niepokonani', which is absolutely unique. I've been friends with Perfect for many years, but I’m not a fan. When familiarizing myself with the songs selected for the album, I realized I didn’t know many of them... Perfect interests me more in terms of professionalism; I highly respect their work and the fact that they've managed to stay on top for so many years.First, the band's instrumental parts were recorded, followed by the compilation of material with the Symphony Orchestra's backing, and finally, Markowski's vocal parts were added. The last parts to be recorded were the solo sections – Szkudelski's percussion and Kozakiewicz's guitar. Several specialists, including Adam Sztaba, Wojciech Zieliński, and Grzegorz Piotrowski, were hired to create the arrangements. Markowski saw this diversity as the source of the recording's uniqueness and originality: If these arrangements had been written by one person, our album might have been a bit boring. I suspect it wouldn’t have had such a musical spectacle with its own dramaturgy and various tensions. Dariusz Kozakiewicz commented:Recording in the studio wasn’t a problem because we just laid down our tracks. Later, each arranger added their arrangements. That was manageable, but then the proposal came to perform a series of concerts, and that was a huge challenge.The only fully instrumental track, In an integration and an adoration, was composed by Wojciech Zieliński during the first recording session. Łukasz Wewiór wrote about the track that it resembles a sound illustration... of a battle scene. Niepokonani, a track that Kozakiewicz believed the orchestra adds extra colors to, was recorded last. Conversely, Chcemy być sobą, the song promoting the album, was judged by many critics as the worst of the presented material. Piotr Szkudelski stated:These are incredible technical challenges. How to amplify it well? An orchestra consists of dozens of people and rather quiet acoustic instruments. Each must have a microphone that adequately carries the sound. There can't be any glitches...On 30 October 2001, Perfect performed a concert with the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra at Warsaw’s Arena COS Torwar, where they presented the first versions of the song arrangements. In February 2002, Perfect participated in an online chat organized by the internet service Onet.pl and the magazine Tylko Rock. Markowski revealed plans for the album’s release and confirmed his participation in his daughter’s debut solo album, . In the meantime, Perfect publicly released the first teaser of the album Schody under the name 1055, due to a brief sponsorship takeover by Netia. The group also recorded a track titled K2, dedicated to the Polish Winter Expedition Netia K2 team, which attempted to climb the K2 peak in the 2002/2003 season.
Release and promotion Release dateLabelFormatCatalog number12 November 2002Polskie RadioCDPRCD 2662002Polskie RadioCassette2002Universal Music PolskaCD4811290 Perfect Symfonicznie was released on 12 November 2002. The delay from the originally planned release date in the spring of 2002 was due to difficulties in securing a sponsor. Markowski explained:The problem was finding a sponsor. Even Polskie Radio tried to find the money, but... you know how it is here. It’s tough. And since two or three other bands recently talked about a symphonic album project, we decided to beat them to it and release it without a sponsor... Eventually, although the album isn't cheerful, we found a sponsor – Netia...In Poland, the album was released with colorful artwork that included a detailed list of songs (with lyrics and music credits), images of the band members, biographies of the arrangers, and a condensed history of Perfect and the Polish Radio Symphony Orchestra. The album was distributed across Europe through Universal Music Group. The album's graphic design was created by Elżbieta Banecka (hand-drawn illustrations) and (design), while the photos of the musicians and arrangers were taken by Banecka, Jan Bebel, Piotr Grześczyk, Szymon Kobusiński, Katarzyna Pysiak, and Joanna Siedlar.
In early December 2002, the album achieved platinum status. In early 2003, Perfect Symfonicznie was nominated for the Fryderyk award in the Album of the Year – Rock category. The nomination of Perfect, along with several lesser-known or "washed-up" bands, led the Nuta.pl service to call the event "socially harmful".
Shortly after the album’s release, the group embarked on a brief concert tour, performing in venues such as the Congress Hall and in Poznań. In June 2003, the band played a charity concert in front of the Municipal Cultural Center in Mińsk Mazowiecki. On October 13, the band held a rooftop concert on a building near the in Warsaw, inspired by a similar event by The Beatles in 1969. After playing a few songs, the band was removed from the roof by police officers and had their identities checked, with Markowski being detained and released from the station after an hour-long interrogation.
Reception by critics A comprehensive review of Perfect Symfonicznie was published in 2003 by Teraz Rock. Łukasz Wewiór wrote:I think it is not necessary to repeat once again that Grzegorz Markowski is like wine (the older he gets, the better vocalist he becomes), that Dariusz Kozakiewicz is an excellent guitarist and proves it again. I will risk a strange statement. Whatever the musicians' inspirations were, it worked!The album also received favorable reviews from Marcin Cichoński, an expert from cgm.pl, who highlighted the seamless transition from rock parts to pleasant symphonic sounds. The critic stated that the slower, the better, and selected Gdy mówię jestem, Niewiele Ci mogę dać, and Idź precz as the best tracks.