Drago Diklić Zlatna kolekcija

"Zlatna kolekcija" ("Gold collection") is Croatia records gimmick to use its old archives under new name - often combing artist's whole discography to get a kind of "the best of" CD. In general, we get quite decent overview of artist's careers and work, music is often re-mastered and its good to have this old material dusted off and presented to nostalgic old/ potential new listeners.

Double CD that covers career of Drago Diklić is long overdue introduction to music of this excellent singer and versatile musician - considering that Diklić worked in what is often disparagingly called "schlager" music genre of 1950s and beyond, his output is of surprisingly high quality. Diklić might have been born behind "Iron curtain" but his music idols were best of American songbook singers and he lovingly followed what was already a family tradition (his mother sang on the radio, maternal grand-grand mother was fiance of famous classical composer Vatroslav Lisinski) - as this compilations shows, he was also a first-rate composer (majority of songs here were written by him in collaboration with best lyrics writers like Ivica Krajač, Arsen Dedić and Drago Britvić).

Quick glance at song list points at 1960s when Diklić found that perfect combination of quality material and mainstream success - a smooth-voiced and sophisticated crooner, he was regular performer on than-popular pop festivals at the time when they actually oozed class and before they started to focus on novelties. His music is in Nat King Cole style, extremely lush and romantic, with sensitive, poetic lyrics and without exception arranged with angelic strings that often hinted at "film noir" atmosphere - as unrepentant lover of jazz music, Diklić completely ignored rock and followed his muse with dignity and class, even his cover versions were done with style. A rare double CD that actually have no weak spots at all (chronological order points that he actually only got better with time and his voice got warmer tone with passing decades), this compilation is filled to the brim with high-quality romantic, urban ballads but unfortunately there was no space for his other work in orchestrated jazz or local dialect (he also left some brilliant recordings on "Krapina" festival). Listening the last recording here - from 1991 - you can't help but marvel what a gifted, world class talent we had in Drago Diklić.