Prog-Sphere forums

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 15:29:04

Review by Seyo

5 stars

BULDOZER's debut album was among the most revolutionary works of popular music issued in the former Yugoslavia. It came out in 1975 just to be withdrawn from the market shortly thereupon. It was so outrageous that PGP label refused to print more copies after the first circulation was quickly sold out.
The avant-garde nature of its expression is best detected from the lyrics, which are unfortunately not easy to translate into English. The title means roughly "Let's Face the Truth", while the cover sleeve is designed as a magazine page, in the vein similar to JETHRO TULL's "Aqualung", full of black humor, semi-pornographic strip- cartoons and ridiculous sarcastic "articles". The opening miniature "Najpogodnije mjesto" ("The Best Place") is Brecelj's lamentation "I am sorry sir, but I am not from this town, so I would like to know where is it here, ahem... the best place to commit suicide", backed by psyche bottleneck blues guitar. "Zivot to je feferon" ("Life Is But A Chili Pepper") is a highlight of psychedelic avant-prog, with strong Hammond, excellent guitar solo by Lovsin and vocal craziness of Brecelj. It is followed by equally stunning and slightly more aggressive masterpiece "Sto to radis, Buldozeru jedan" ("You Buldozer, What Are You Doing"), carrying a freaky story of a negligent character called Buldozer who ate a beef soup including cooked meat, just to face the revenge of a bull who complained "what are you doing?/you have been eating my mama!" What to say? - I mean, you have to be either a bit deranged or a pure genius to put such stuff onto a rock album!!! "Blues gnjus" is, believe it or not, a wonderfully played straight blues composition with -hmmm- not so straight lyrics. The Brecelj character here is an animal lover so that he welcomes all sorts of germs and bacteria into his head and body, where there is "enough blood for all of you, my dear beasties..." At the end, he cannot stand anymore and starts vomiting out into a toilet flusher... pure disgust! "Ljubav na prvi krevet" ("Love At First Bed") and "Yes My Baby, No" are two hilarious mockery of love and romance that it brings laugh to tears, with lyrical acrobatics and wordplay that is sadly restricted almost to South-Slav speaking people only.

The timeless nature of this unique album is best proved when, at the peak of New Wave explosion in 1981 in ExYU, the reissued "Pljuni istini u oci" this time by Helidon label, was again warmly received not only by the (punk and new wave) fans but also by critics and even general pop consumers. To my knowledge, this kind of freaky satire and humor can be found only in Frank Zappa's famous works of the mid-1970s. This album is a must for every respected prog collector!

Buldožer Yes My Baby, No 1975

Buldožer Ljubav na prvi krevet ("Love On The First Bed") 1975

Buldožer Sta to radis, buldožeru jedan? ("What Are You Doing, Bulldozer?") 1975

Buldožer Usamljeni jahač ("A Lonely Rider") 1975

Buldožer Život to je feferon ("Life Is Chilli Pepper") 1975

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 15:47:42

Buldožer Dobro jutro madam Jovanović ("Good Morning Madame Jovanović") 1977

Buldožer Jeste li vidjeli devojčice ("Did You See The Girls?") 1977

Buldožer Ne brini mama ("Don't Worry Mom") 1977

Buldožer Helga, 1977

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 16:05:46

Nepočin Čekati moj hit ("Waiting For My Hit") 1977

Nepočin Stopa za stopom ("Step By Step") 1977

Nepočin Svijet po kojem gazim ("The World I'm Walking About") 1977

Nepočin Beskrajna tama noći ("Endless Darkness of the Night") 1977

Nepočin O tome ću ti pjevati u nekoj drugoj pjesmi ("I'll Sing About It In A New Song") 1977

Nepočin Žena neumornog hoda ("A Woman Of Tireless Walk") 1977

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 22:27:48

Review by Seyo

5 stars

The self-titled debut of IZVIR, their only LP to date, is quite a phenomenon of the Yugoslavian/Slovenian 1970s jazz-rock. It is one of the rarest albums to find on the market. If you happen to trace it at some Web music online sellers, it is likely that the price will be extremely high. www.gemm.com for instance, offers this vinyl record for a mere 440 USD, while www.kalemegdan-disk.de used to have it in their 2001 catalogue priced - 400 EUR! Is "Izvir" worth it? - a logical question arises.
According to very few information I gathered, the band that would soon be called IZVIR (En. "Source", "Spring" of water) was formed around 1971 in Ljubljana, Slovenia, at that time part of Yugoslavia. They appeared at several minor rock festivals in Ljubljana, Sarajevo, Subotica... in the period from 1972-76. They managed to record two singles prior to this LP album in 1977, which seemed to have been circulated in a limited number of copies. Therefore, a rarity nature and the enormous prices mentioned above.

The music is excellent and wonderfully performed jazz-rock with strong funk and progressive rock influences. Dual electric guitars, effective Andrej Konjajev's use of various keyboards like clavinet, organ, el. piano and strong tenor of vocalist Marko Bitenc are main ingredients of this music. Lyrics are mixed in Slovene and Serbo- Croatian languages (a typical combination of many Slovene artists of the time). The sound is fairly similar to some other Yugoslavian bands of the same era like SEPTEMBER or SMAK, who on the other hand were informed by American jazz-funk and improvisational jam bands, from Herbie Hancock to ALLMAN BROTHERS to hard rock. But in "Izvir" in addition one can also hear several interesting spacey moments which reminds of Krautrock treatments of the fusion, like the post-1974 phase of GURU GURU, or KRAAN. This is especially evident in 12-minutes opening "Sel je popotnik skozi atomski vek" which contains several parts of different tempo and arrangement, and in the closing "Vibrolux". This is extremely listenable but also very rewarding music for genre-oriented fans. Bitenc is excellent singer although at certain moments he cannot keep from crossing to high-pitched falsetto range, which can be annoying. The same objection I have for SMAK's singer Boris Arandjelovic. On the other hand, since all songs are with vocals (except instrumental "Vibrolux"), this album is not meant only for die-hard jazz elite who enjoy instrumental improvisations. It could have probably match other Yugoslavian commercially successful albums of the era, like SMAK's "Crna dama" or SEPTEMBER's "Domovina moja", had it only been released for wider public. Since until now this album has not been re-issued on CD (at least to my knowledge), it seems doomed for devoted collectors who can afford to pay its value. The mp3 version ripped from vinyl can be occasionally found at some blogs, but its sound is fairly poor. Better anything than nothing.

Upon releasing this album IZVIR broke-up in 1977, never to be assembled again. However, four members that played on "Izvir" joined another jazz-rock band of the Ljubljana scene, PREDMESTJE, for their third album "Hazard" released in 1980

Izvir Šel je popotnik skozi atomski vek ("He traveled through the atomic age") 1977

Izvir Oblak ("Cloud") 1977

Izvir Vibrolux 1977

Izvir Čovjekov strah ("A Man's Fear") 1977

Izvir Šareni pas ("A Colorful Dog") 1977

Izvir Izvir ("Springs") 1977

Izvir Šel je popotnik skozi atomski vek ("He traveled through the atomic age") live in Ljubljana, 1975

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 22:51:16

Jutro Cikorija (untraslatable word) 1977

Jutro Jezero On the Lake 1977

Jutro Glasba vzame ("The Music Is Taken") 1977

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 23:03:25

Review by Greger

5 stars

"Tako" (1978) and "U Vreci Za Spavanje" (1980) are two great reissues from the Brazilian label Rock Symphony, a label that have reissued many forgotten jewels before such as ALPHA III, FRAGIL, MALIBRAN, and new releases with HADDAD and TEMPUS FUGIT.
- TAKO are something as unusual as a Yugoslavian jazz-rock and symphonic progressive rock band. The band was put together in 1975 and the band's name means "this way". Between 1975 and their split up in 1981 they released two classical albums: "Tako" (1975) and "U Vréci Za Spavanje" (1980).

- In my opinion the 70's were the heydays for progressive rock, and TAKO have all the ingredients that makes these releases worth owning. They were a 70's band, their sound is very 70's oriented, the cover is so wonderful 70's and the music is complex with lengthy instrumental passages. TAKO's music is a mix between CAMEL, FOCUS, FOCUS, JETHRO TULL, OZRIC TENTACLES, PINK FLOYD and SOLARIS.

- I strongly recommend you to buy these two albums if you're into 70's progressive rock. This is how progressive rock sounded long before today's progressive metal.

Tako ("That") s/t, full-album, 1978

Tako Sinteza ("Synthesis") 1978

Tako Druga strana mene ("Another Side of Me") 1978

Tako Lena 1978

Tako Utapanje sunceve svetlosti u pešcanu memoriju ("Solving the Sun of Light in Sandy Memories") 1978

Tako Probudi se ("Wake Up") 1978

Tako in concert, Belgrade 1977

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 23:30:32

Gordi Misli ("Thoughts") 1978

Gordi Čovek ("A Man") 1978

Gordi Budi gord i jak ("Be Proud And Strong") 1978

Gordi Sutra može će biti kiše ("Tomorrow May Be Raining") 1978

Gordi Duga noć ("A Long Night") tv appearance, 1978

Svetonio · 2018-02-15 23:49:35

Review by Mellotron Storm

.5 stars 4.5 stars.

Tom Ozric as usual hit the nail on the head in describing this Yugoslavian band from the late seventies. Very PINK FLOYD-like and were talking the "Saucerful Of Secrets" era with a dash of HAWKWIND and Krautrock. Man I have been enjoying this album.
"Gusterov Trg" is spacey with sparse sounds to open then it starts to pick up and it kicks in before 2 minutes followed by vocals. The guitar lights things up before 3 minutes. "Solarni Modus" opens with piano, drums, guitar and more reminding me of FLOYD. It settles in with a good beat and prominant guitar 2 1/2 minutes in. "Putovanje U Plavo" is a fantastic track that opens in a spacey manner with a beat. Keys, vocals and a heavier sound 2 minutes in. Great sound here. This reminds me of HAWKWIND. Ripping guitar after 4 1/2 minutes. The guitar stops but the beat continues as it becomes very psychedelic.

"Pecurka" is my favourite and one of the best psychedelic tunes i've ever heard. It's humming to start and it's dark. A beat slowly pounds then whispered vocals and creepy guitar expressions come in. It's FLOYD-like after 3 minutes as it builds with the guitar crying out. It kicks in after 4 1/2 minutes. Nice. It then settles back. So good ! "Majestetski Kraj" opens with organ and moog? and it's building 2 minutes in until we are rocking pretty good.

It's interesting how many East European countries seem to follow musical trends many years later because of how difficult it was to get Western music in past the Communist governments. So yes this was released in 1979 but that for me is not a negative at all. A must for Psychedelic fans.

Igra Staklenih Perli Pečurka ("Mushroom") 1979

Igra Staklenih Perli Solarni Modus ("Solar modus") 1979

Igra Staklenih Perli Putovanje u plavo ("Journey To Blue") 1979

Igra Staklenih Perli Majestetski kraj ("A Majesty Region") 1979

Igra Staklenih Perli s/t debut, full-album, 1979 (full album)

Svetonio · 2018-02-16 06:13:06

Review by Mellotron Storm
5 stars
Love at first listen my friends. SMAK were a band from Yugoslavia who boasted an amazing guitarist but the key on this album for me are the incredible songs. I really like the vocalist too, in fact everything about this recording just does it for me.
"Crna Dama" is a top three song for me,and check out the intro here. It then kicks in with vocals and it's quite catchy too. Good contrasts here between the laid back sections and the uptempo passages. A nice guitar solo before 2 1/2 minutes. "Stvar Ljubavi" is a touching and meaningful track.This guy can sing and he has that RPI style of singing too. Love the instrumental section after 2 1/2 minutes as the guitar solos tastefully and the synths, drums, piano and bass continue.The vocals are back before 4 minutes. "Domaci Zadatak" kicks in fairly quickly to an uptempo soundscape.This really reminds me of KRAAN and is the most JRF tune on here. Some nice bass before 2 1/2 minutes then the synths lead. Drums are up next leading the way until after 5 1/2 minutes when the song kicks back in. Lots of piano here.The organ then leads before synths come in to end it.

"Alo" has a good heavy rhythm with vocals melodies.Guitar joins in as well on this fun tune. "Tegoba" opens with piano before drums,guitar and organ join in. What an incredible sound here. Gorgeous ! Synths come to the fore 3 1/2 minutes in and the drumming is excellent. So is the guitar 6 minutes in. A top three track for sure. "Daire" features keyboards and vocals as some heavy drums, bass and guitar join in. "Plava Pesma" has this classical sounding intro and outro. In between it starts first with some steller guitar followed by the vocals. Man he sings so well. The guitar is back after 2 minutes. So good. Some nice drumming late. A moving track.

The best album i've heard so far from Yugoslavia.This will be hard to top with that emotional element that is important to me coming into play throughout.

Smak Crna Dama ("Black Lady") 1977, full album

Svetonio · 2018-02-16 06:34:25

Smak Crna Dama ("Black Lady") live at Ušće Park, Belgrade, 2015

Smak Daire ("Tambourine") live at Ušće Park, Belgrade, 2015

Lyrics transl.

Tambourine

From a place far away
Tambourine is heard
Floating down the moonriver
Gypsies are coming
From a place far away

A spark in the eye
Is it a dream or is it real
Give me a tambourine
A song is rushing through me

Lanterns are shining
People are on fire
Dewy tulips
lying on the chest
Lanterns are shining

A spark in the eye
Is it a dream or is it real
Give me a tambourine
A song is rushing through me

If I die now
Buy a tambourine
Play it to me gently
But don't let it harm me
If I die now

A spark in the eye
Is it a dream or is it real
Give me a tambourine
A song is rushing through me

Smak Plava pesma ("Blue Song") live at Belgrade's Arena, 2012

Smak Domaći zadatak ("Homework") tv appearance, 1977

Smak Alo ("Hello") live in Belgrade's Sava Centar, 1992

Smak in concert at Belgrade's Pionir arena, Crna Dama tour, 1977

Svetonio · 2018-02-17 00:17:28

Review by Andrea Cortese

.5 stars This is one of the most exciting discoveries in the last years. Being 1978, this album is far from being experimental but... well, it's fantastic, pure, rough (rough as a rough diamond), aggressive, sad, poetic, dramatic, anguishing, melodic, sensual, hard, intelligent, intense, deep, obscure, sweet, relaxing, pastoral sometimes... in few words:
perfect!

Of the ingredients above, sadness is the most important, musically, Sadness and poetry.

"Modra Rijeka", english for "Blue River", is based upon the self titled real cicle of poems and partially is based upon recitative parts, as in the opening move and in "Zapis o Zemlij".

Sound is a real joy, featuring, above all, impressive work on bass guitar, acoustic guitar, classic piano, hammond organ and moog soloing (sometimes duets and "battles") as you hear in the song "Blago" and in the extended track "More" (11,20 mns) and even in "More II" (4,19).

All instruments are definitely masterfully balanced. Attention! This is not a keyboard based album, it's more a mix between heavy and symphonic prog with that "GRANDEUR" that only comes from the masterworks. Great, great work on acoustic guitar. Passion, passion, friends. This is music I want to listen to.

And you, listen to me: "More", please. What a big, big, huge impression caused to me this song! Wonderful and aggressive bass guitar solo and duet within a superb acoustic guitar!!

I repeat: listen to "More", please. What a big, big, huge impression caused to me this one!

The album is a real gem, a must have for any good prog lover, especially for those who like symphonic and heavy prog. A very inspired yugoslavian band with attention to their own original mood.

The album is at the same level of other big opus: it has also its own "Lucky Man": the beautiful, melodic, sad and joyful "Slovo o Covjeku".

I see that my english cannot really give you the idea of what I've found in Modra Rijeka. Please, pay attention to internet where you can find this wonderful album. The best from Yugoslavia. On the top 5 of my entire discography.

Indexi More ("Sea") 1978

Indexi Modra rijeka (I&II) ("Indigo River Part I&II") 1978

Indexi Brod ("Ship") 1978

Indexi Pustinja ("Desert") 1978

Svetonio · 2018-02-18 00:14:55

R.M. Točak Svrabež ("Itching") (instrumental) live at the Boom Festival, Belgrade 1976

R.M. Točak Modifans (unstranslatable) (instrumental) 1976

R.M. Točak Aria Diamond ("Aria Diamond" is the name of an ex-East Germany's guitar which Smak's guitarist played on this one) (instrumental) 1976

R.M. Točak Neki paraziti ("Some Parasites") (instrumental) 1976

R.M. Točak Organizam Blues ("Organism Blues") (instrumental) 1976

Svetonio · 2018-02-19 03:04:36

S Vremena Na Vreme Tema Classica ("Classical Theme") 1975

S Vremena Na Vreme Nada ("Hope") 1975

S Vremena Na Vreme Moj svet ("My World") 1977

S vremena na vreme Put putuje karavan ("A Caravan Goes On The Road") 1977