Rock music from the socialist European countries and their successors. Comments are welcome. Please tell me when you find an expired link! :)
UPDATE October 2, 2021: I decided to revive Soviet Sam after a long hiatus. I also fixed most of the links, but maybe there are still some inactive ones.
As I said on my previous post, during the two months off my blog two important figures in the music scene of former Yugoslavia died. The second was Boris Aranđelović, lead singer of the historic Serbian band Smak. Smak were founded in Kragujevac by Aranđelović and guitar player Radomir Mihajlović Točak, who composed the majority of their songs. While they started as a hard rock band with a strong blues influence, this second album shows their experimental face, adding progressive rock structures, luminous vocal harmonies, jazz fusion keyboards, and funky rhythm patterns. This is a wonderful, dynamic album, where every song is melodic, catchy, and creative. A special mention for the title track (whose riff at 0'21'' incredibly predates "Moving in Stereo"by the Cars), "Tegoba" (a melancholic jazz-rock extravaganza), and "Plava pesma" (a slow ballad with baroque arrangements).
During the two months off my blog two important figures in the music scene of former Yugoslavia died, the first being Arsen Dedić.
Dedić was the greatest Croatian singer-songwriter of the late Sixties-early Seventies, and one of the most respected as of today. This is his debut album, which is mentioned in every best of ex-YU music list. At the time of its release Dedić was already popular in Yugoslavia, having been around since 1962 with a long series of singles and EPs. This album contains some re-recorded versions of his previous hits, along with new material. If you know and appreciate American singer Scott Walker, you will get accustomed easily to Dedić, considering that their voices have many resemblances (no copycat here, Dedić was out there before Walker). The arranger and co-producer of the album is Croatian maestro Stipica Kalogjera, who is capable of switching from bossa nova to folk ballads, from baroque pop to chansons.
The excellent sound quality of these recordings show that, as an artist, Dedić did not come second in any comparison with other top European musicians of his age. P.S. Other than obviously Dedić, the album cover features Walker himself and influential Italian singer-songwriters Gino Paoli and Luigi Tenco.
