In the early 1960s Ljiljana Petrović was suddenly a bright new pop star so I wonder why her success did not continue in later decades,because she was certainly talented enough to continue what started with a bang - from a practically unknown young singer who only performed on a radio to overnight sensation who was selected to represent the whole nation on Eurovision song festival, Petrović definitely had a lot going on for her.
It was slovenian band leader and arranger Jože Privšek who masterminded her early work and stood behind young singer,surrounded her with first class musicians,excellent backing vocals (classy "Optimisti") and brilliantly showcased two different sides of Petrović's singing: she could easily be young,happy and bouncy (like young Mina at this time) but give her a serious ballad like "Angelitos negros" and she could handle that one without missing a beat. The whole 8 song,mini LP was built around original ballad "Neke davne zvezde" that was selected to represent Yugoslavia on Eurovision, in fact that sophisticated and refined moody ballad stands here in sharp contrast with some other dubious choices like "Bongo Cha Cha Cha" and "Mango Cha Cha Cha", not to mention "Itsy Bitsy Teeny Weeny Yellow Polka Dot Bikini" - it's all super professionally done,orchestrated and sung by perfection but somehow my impression is that young singer could have been better served with different approach,for example if producers stayed with only one (instead of two completely opposite) idea,having her singing either peppy jingles or serious ballads,not both on the same record.
Still,very representative of early 1960s discography in Ex-Yu,serious musicianship and excellent orchestration carefully tailored around sweet and young singer.
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