Ukrajinski striletski ta povstanski pisni. Golden Collection. (Ukrainian Shooter and Insurgent Troops' Songs) // www.UMKA.com.ua

Our regular visitors long ago already got convinced that appearance of new discs of the "Golden Collection" series is always a reason for good moods, didn't they? And we are happy to admit that the tradition is kept on – the high level never changes. It is also nice that compilers of the series, as well as before, discover new original themes for the collections – this is important, you should agree. However, we do not neglect the opportunity of that this time the choice of the theme could be influenced, for example, by Oleh Skrypka – as long ago as in 2007, he started raising the theme of heroic songs in Ukrainian culture (you can hear the result of his work in the collection "Ukrainian Heroic Song"). And it is easy to notice, even judging by the name of the present collection, that themes of the two discs overlap to a certain extent. However, the overlapping of the themes does not at all mean identical realization – fortunately. For in the case of the Golden Collection we deal not with modernization, but with classic interpretation – since discs of the series virtually always consist of fund recordings of the NRCU. And these recordings not only have a full right to be considered rarities – they to this day remain in their own way examples of irreproachable performance. And this is the more interesting, when the issue is serious songs of such beauty and internal force as here.

Taras Chubay, Kuzma Skryabin, Molotov 20. Nashi partysany. /cassette/. (Our Guerrillas)

Audio cassette/ ..This is, without exaggeration, a legendary album. And it was not even about the list of the project's authors.. The album was first released in 2000 – and it was perhaps the first collection of insurgents' songs in modern arrangements in Ukraine. And it still, in my opinion, remains the best one.

Domestic price: 208.60UAH, International price: $14.90USD

Taras Zhytynsky. Kozats‘ki balady. (Cossack Ballads)

Taras mainly sings folk songs – and far not all of these songs are as known and popular as they deserve being. But here one should be grateful not only for revival of some songs, but also for how they sound in his performance: Taras Zhytynsky has the voice and intonations that it is just difficult not to trust to.

Domestic price: 348.60UAH, International price: $24.90USD