26.3.13

Višnja Korbar - Izvan našeg svijeta (1963)


Korbar debuted on the big national stage just a year earlier (pop festival Opatija' 62 - this was the time when festivals were rare,glamourous and had wide media coverage) with a moody ballad "Jednom kad odem" that presented 20 years old singer like some world weary torch singer in film noir setting - it just shows how far we were from current music trends.

For her recording debut (strangely enough,not in her hometown "Jugoton" but in Belgrade's "PGP RTB") Korbar got a swinging band (led by Tomica Simović) but again,for a girl who is merely 21 this is a very inappropriate choice - not that I think she should do something chirpy, but somehow all these american songbook covers are approached as ten commandments - even when orchestra is swinging (as much as they could,band is functional but not exceptional or innovative)  Korbar is wooden and so serious that her naturally pretty alto voice sounds strangled, subdued and strangely mannered - obviously Gershwins and Cole Porter were not her natural environment. It has to be noted that many of the singers of that time sounded very much alike on records so perhaps there were expectations how one should sound on the radio - clear diction and all - however, this little EP recording does not present Korbar in the best light and I am not 100% sure what she exactly thinks about her recording debut. French chanson and even croatian traditional folk suited her much better than "A foggy day in London town" no matter how much she would have liked it differently. This is not a jazz recording. It's a schlager singer doing jazz impersonation.

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