The Complete EMI Recordings by Joseph Schmidt

Oh, how I love the voice of Joseph Schmidt - loved it from the very first moment, when I heard him on one of those wonderful "Nimbus Prima Voce" compilations of recordings by pre-WW2 classical singers, instantly and spontaneously I picked him out as my favorite amongst the rest of the very distinguished crowd. Who can say or explain what was it exactly that attracted me so much, specially because the rest of the artists compiled there were all giants (Caruso, Melba, Tauber, Gigli and Schipa for example) but from the very first moment I heard Schmidt singing "Wiener Bonbons" that was it, his warm tenor voice appealed to me ever since much more than anybody else

Than I read the rest of the story about this small, short singer whose gigantic talent excluded him from opera houses but brought him huge adoration via radio and concert performances where he was affectionately called "pocket Caruso" - just to tragically end his life in concentration camp at the age of 38. Its really ironic that he lived his biggest popularity in German-speaking countries just as very same Germans eventually haunted him to death. These things really upset me and perhaps my love for Schmidt is coloured not with beautiful music but also by knowledge of it all. From purely music point of view, this first part of complete EMI recordings set is absolutely recommended joy because he glides trough everything from Flotow, Korngold, Massenet, Tchaikovsky, Lehár and Schubert (and this is just CD1) to songs composed by his good friend and colleague Richard Tauber. CD 2 moves on to Verdi, Puccini, Donizetti and Leoncavallo along with traditional Italian folk songs. Honestly Joseph Schmidt might be my all-time favourite pre-WW2 singer and even in field that was crowded with legends, for me he is the one. He had a beautiful, warm voice that goes straight to my heart and to my ears he goes further than Tauber towards pure perfection (I still love Richard Tauber, mind you).


The only regret I have is that I did not purchased second part of collected EMI recordings, because at that moment I thought it makes more sense to start in chronological order. Rest in peace, wherever you are Joseph Schmidt, they called you "pocket Caruso" but for me you are giant and will never be forgotten.

"20 Feet from Stardom" (2013) Brilliant documentary!!!

Last night I finally finished with never-ending TV saga "Under the Dome" and as expected, at the end of second season nothing has been explained or solved, it just goes on and on in manipulating bubble-land, forcing viewers to follow season after season until we actually forget what happened in the first place. I honestly doubt that I will continue watching it when third season comes along. But feeling suddenly relieved that I survived all this drama, I turned my attention to something that I had good feeling about - I read about this documentary some time ago and decided to check it out, what a thrilling experience!

"20 Feet from Stardom" is immensely enjoyable, affectionate and profoundly compassionate look at the life and destines of background singers, hence the title. It is something I was aware long ago - probably back in the 1980s when I was teenager listening than-current pop hit "Culture Club" and quickly noted that backing vocals of Helen Terry were far superior to the main singer. Through the years it became kind of hobby to spot great background voices without whom the final results would never be the same, it seems no matter how great stars were, they often shone even better (or were inspired by) when they have brilliant and oh-so-brief support from the background. This documentary finally set the record straight - yes, these anonymous voices are equally important and as someone noted, trough the years stars change but musicians and backing vocals on the stage always stay there constantly present.

Tons of famous people here talk about phenomenon of backing vocalists - everybody from Mick Jagger, David Bowie, Sting and Bruce Springsteen theorise about importance of background singers on their albums and that little/huge step that separates musician from a star. Some of those girls are actually far more comfortable in the background than being in the spotlight. Naturally there is a thrill of ambition but also a frustration when promises and plans don't work out. Many of them were so celebrated in the field that they always found work, but even more of them suffered humiliations, cheating and simply quick change of music trends. What is most fascinating is something I always wondered about - some of these backing vocalists are honest-to-God far superior singers than many solo artists.

Bette Midler makes interesting statement when she describes music industry in 1950s where backing vocalists were without exception mostly white, sugary and cheerful voices until early 1960s when Phil Spector and the whole girl-group phenomenon finally ushered powerful black voices on the scene. Here is where mighty Darlene Love comes in the picture and she is legendary background singer on whose shoulder everybody else was standing ever since - even with the fact that she was impoverished and anonymous (reduced to cleaning houses) when her hit singles played on the radio, people like Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder paid attention to that girl in the background. Documentary also follows destines of other voices like Mable John (a former Raelette behind Ray Charles), ex-Ikette Claudia Lennear, powerhouse voices like Merry Clayton and Tata Vega (who sang in "Colour Purple"), people like The Waters Family (who sang behind every possible project imaginable) up to present time with Judith Hill (behind Michael Jackson) and most fascinating of all, Lisa Fischer who is in words of Chris Botti "a freak of nature" and   can sing circles around everybody in the business - just watching her singing is seriously life-changing experience because this girl sings from a deep spiritual place from somewhere inside her and though people in the industry recognise this (she is often not just backing vocalist on Sting/The Rolling Stones/Tina Turner tours but constantly given solo spot to shine) her career never really took off. She got herself "Grammy" for one album and than disappeared in the background again - Patti Austin thinks that no matter how strange this might sounds, some people genuinely prefer camaraderie and joy of group creation to celebrity status. Tata Vega thinks that this is a true, spiritual magic of music and not anything else about the business. Lastly, Merry Clayton is still crushed when decades after her solo albums went nowhere reminisces how she expected that if she gave everything honestly and from the heart, the success will happen automatically. (She was the unforgettable voice behind "Gimme shelter" on The Rolling Stones classic).


I truly enjoyed this movie and was even more excited to find out it was awarded with "Oscar" for the best documentary, which gave chance to Darlene Love to stand on the Academy Award podium and raise that powerful voice to the skies. She really unleashed it and its impossible to watch that moment without celebrating it together with her. Raise the glass for all the ladies from the background because they deserve it.

A Christmas Battle

On the completely opposite end of the palette is Kathleen Battle's Christmas album recorded in 1986 - where Swedish heroine optioned for spare, organ-and-voice sound recorded in churches, American soprano's album is angelic, lushly produced and has not one but two choruses. Naturally, there's no point of comparing these two because they are radically different artists and sounds. Just for the sake of description let's say Nilsson was unstoppable amazon-warrior who would probably not just conquer but impale her enemies, while Battle is delicate butterfly who would watch it all from a high tower and faint at the sight of the blood.

I always loved Kathleen Battle. From the very first time I ever heard her, it was pure magic and intoxicating sound - I am aware that hers is the sound that might sound sugary to some and it is consciously sweet but I never had problem with that, because no matter where you put her (opera, live concerts, oratorios, acoustic guitar-and-voice only, lieder and anything else in between) she always had absolute command of music, technique and some of the most fluttery, lightest and fluffiest voices imaginable. So far I still have to find something where she was not top-perfect.

This is a fairly traditional Christmas collection with expected chestnuts (Schubert, Bach/Gounoud, Gruber) superbly produced and slightly medieval in atmosphere, where soprano is surrounded with all sorts of harps, bells and strings, not to mention two choruses. I mean, you don't come to Battle expecting tough Brünnhilde, she is celebrated (amongst other things) for being delicate, feminine and angelic coloratura who easily picks those notes out of thin air. As expected, hers Christmas is heavenly and warm Disneyland (and I don't mean this as criticism but more as description) so main surprise comes when listener realises that even with all this cellophane, Battle sounds actually most effective when she is left to soar in simple surroundings - on "I Wonder as I Wander" there are no big choruses or colossal orchestras but she harmonises/duets with herself and result is unforgettable.

Twinkle, twinkle... Birgit Nilsson?

Now being alone and on vacation I can finally indulge myself and play classical music around the house as loud and as much as I like.
When I'm on the ship & sharing tiny windowless cabin with a roommate I am always considerate about not disturbing anybody with my music and it also reflects what I think about sharing such small, confined space together - I detest when my co-workers bang out loud their pop fluff - but since now I have house all for myself, classical music it is. Along with anything else that comes to my mind.

In my previous post I wrote impressions of my first rendezvous with Callas. Today I will go up north and visit a certain Swedish singer who was a big deal in post-WW2 years and legend in her own right. Since my adventures in world of classical music are mostly lead by pure instinct and curiosity, I decided to skip completely Wagner colossal body of operatic work until I find courage to face it and somehow got introduced to both Kirsten Flagstad and Birgit Nilsson (both world-known as Wagnerian goddesses) from different corner that suits me better. Therefore I listened Flagstad in Henry Purcell's "Dido And Aeneas" while this morning I discovered wonderful and rare 1963. EP with Christmas music by Nilsson.

At the time of this recording Nilsson already made big into international operatic scene and went a long way from her simple, countryside origins - her father was a farmer  - in fact, seems she was one of the very few foreigners who had honor to open a season in La Scala and from than on every major opera house in the world was hers for asking. Nilsson was known for having super-human sound that blew orchestra and audience away, so Wagner became her speciality (winged helmet and all) but this aspect did not interest me, I was curious how did she cope with something different. Here, on these four beautiful and much-loved Christmas songs she was backed only with organ and its magical - there is something about organ background that immediately creates warm, fuzzy feeling in me and no matter what time of the year I always melt. She does "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night" in Swedish which is quite nice (I have already got used to Swedish language versions via Jussi Björling), while Gounoud/Bach's "Ave Maria" and "Panis Angelicus" are done in standard, Latin. I am glad to say Nilsson does not disappoint, that famous "trumpet" is slightly subdued and even gentle here - a proof that she could tone it down when necessary - sure, she soars and holds a note forever but there is tenderness and true respect for music that shine magic dust on this material. Personally I find it very beautiful and interesting how someone famous for completely different, far more aggressive type of music (so much that I understand Wagner is) could effortlessly switch and show a mellower side of her talent.

Birgit Nilsson continued to slay audiences around the world long after this cute, little Christmas EP recording with her amazon-warrior roles but apparently she never forgot it: in 1977 there was a whole LP album recorded again with only organ, titled "Birgit Nilsson at the churches of St. Jacob and Gustav Vasa" and its more of the same, except that this time she was older, had a lifetime of Brünnhildes behind her and did not necessary improve on that previous recordings, even though she re-recorded some of the same songs. Voice is spectacular but to my ears this sounds just slightly too heroic for Christmas music - she does everything right and every note is perfect, but I still prefer tenderness of 1963. recording. Here trumpet is ready to destroy walls of Jericho or at least this is how it sounds to me. Now I really have to get my feet just a little bit into Wagner but the whole darn thing seems so intimidating that I have no idea where to start.

p.s.
The more I read about Nilsson, the more I like her. She apparently was never a stuck-up prima donna although she could easily be one considering what a rare talent she had and there was simply nobody else with that stamina to sing for hours with undiminished power. But everybody remembers her sense of humor, earthiness and what a wit that lady had. When asked what is her advice to young singers, she would say "the most important thing for a singer is to wear comfortable shoes". I love this woman.

Picture of the day

Marianne Faithfull around 1965.

Not overrated: Maria Callas

When - more than a decade ago - I made my first, curious, determined and charmingly clumsy steps into the world of classical music, I immediately realised that whatever records I hear first, usually determines how do I feel about other artists. In classical music there is really a 1001 way to interpret music and its truly a never-ending task (and I don't even want to go into subject is it really close to authentic composer's idea, which is besides the point) but I quickly found out that it would upset me if another singer did not use the same frills & trills I heard previously. Once I wrapped my head around this phenomenon, I made conscious decision I will NOT listen to most celebrated classical diva of all times, because I want to find out what other people did first, so I could compare. So I started with truly ancient recordings from 1900 upwards and love them so much that in a way I'm still stuck there with Caruso, Melba and other wonderful people from before WW2 era. But I did check out some other voices as well and grew to like and distinguished them from each other: magical sounds of Marian Anderson, Aafje Heynis, Kathleen Ferrier, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Zinka Milanov, Joan Sutherland, Marilyn Horne, Lentyne Price, Montserrat Caballé, Lucia Popp and Kathleen Battle to name just few that I collected trough the years.

Now, some 14 years later I found myself actually familiar with repertoire enough to approach "La Divina" and hear what's the fuss all about. Her albums were never out of print but I stumbled upon LP recorded in 1954 (so before that famous vocal decline) and very cautiously gave it a listen. I know music well enough and was curious and open minded about it. The first thing that struck me was a very particular colour of the voice - its definitely not a beautiful sound in a standard, accepted kind of way but more like highly individual, instantly recognisable sound that only one person can produce, which in my eyes makes her a definition of a great singer - someone who we can quickly tell part from thousands of others. Second, the woman was a human fireball - even in a field crowded with dramatic, theatrical and hair-pulling attitudes, Callas was flamethrower like no other. I wouldn't go so far to say she didn't have sense of humour, but music she was singing here was heavy drama, misery and apocalyptic enough to blow unexpected listener out of the chair, yes she was very intense. Just when I started to think her gift was being "drama mama", she gleefully jumps into completely coquettish (and perfectly spotless) "Una voce poco fa" where that huge, massive voice going all over the place in a manner that would make any coloratura faint with envy. I thought that Joan Sutherland was the top when it comes to chandelier attack, but my God Callas is a killer - she laughs, pouts, goes all girlish and seductive, hits those high notes and than in finale unleashes her real, true weapon, I mean she kills. Truly I wonder how did other of her contemporaries felt because honestly I wouldn't even dream of singing the same song after her, this was extremely hard to follow act.



The rest of the album is more or less showcase for extremely gifted singer who could easily go any way she had chosen.



If there is one truly outstanding peace for me here, its "Ebben? Ne andrò lontana" which is deliriously intense in such way that it attacks my senses, listener actually feels intoxicated from the sound Callas created. I understand that for many people she means different things but from simply musical point of view this is really remarkable and yes, she deserves all the accolades, laureates and adoration because it seems her complete being burned in the middle of Tornado, I have never encountered another voice so completely and passionately inside the music.

The Queen of Soul: Autumn Years

How to approach such a totemic music giant as Aretha Franklin and still sound respectful?
Even more importantly, how to listen her music not from the point of view of what's catchy & radio friendly, but to actually understand where she is right now as an artist and what were her ideas/motivations? Sure, we are all familiar with her classic 1960s work but she has moved on. To say anything negative or to nit-pick at the choices would just show ignorance of reviewer - this was something that I lived trough right after my high school, when very first journalist assignment I got was to review her than-current album "Trough the Storm" which was weak, so I got it printed for everybody to see that emperor was naked.

"So Damn Happy" is a late-career Aretha album, which means hoards of modern, current producers and celebrity names (Mary J. Blidge) surrounding that famous voice with hip, trendy music palette: its all very slow-grinding, sexy, seductive and kind of anonymous. It is interesting that such a veteran artist still shows genuine interest to stay current instead of wallowing in the past as she could easily have done, unfortunately current black music is neither very interesting or original - sounds like there material is basically snippets of ideas around which Aretha improvises her celebrated melismas. It is not by any stretch bad or tragic, there is still occasional thrilling moment or two ("Wonderful", "Everybody's Somebody's Fool") which probably relies more on listener's affection for lady than songwriting. Just like I noted when I first reviewed Aretha some 25 years ago, she is best on her own material (two songs here) which puts the question why she simply don't leave this army of people behind and do her own thing, because she surely is more than capable.

Yes, let's face the unavoidable question. At age of 60+ voice is not what it used to be. Sure, it is not physically possible to sound as she once has in the days of Jerry Wexler but only passionate fans blinded by adoration can deny that the once magical instrument is now slightly frayed around the edges. In other words, Franklin now sounds actually shrill. Its unrealistic to expect she could ever repeat wonderment & passion of those classic albums,which probably means we should stick to them and leave this later-day work for collectors and fans. The best thing I can say about this album is that there is nothing really embarrassing or compromising here, her attitude is ballsy and dignified. But this is the first time that on Aretha album I like backing vocals better than hers.

Aretha Franklin Sings The Great Diva Classics (2014)
Clive Davis steps in and suggest one of his well-proved marketing tricks, a cover album.
Strange idea, considering that Aretha famously never showed any love for other female artists (except for Dinah Washington whose "Teach Me Tonight" she does with great affection) and to me this looks more like challenging "carving" that 1920s blues queens used to do to each other. You see, when legendary Bessie Smith felt like it, she would cover another girl's hit song just to show how it was supposed to be done. The album seriously lacks the focus, meandering trough decades and going all over the place - instead of paying homage to particular generation that inspired her, Aretha picks them out of the hat, but than her choices or covers were always unpredictable (after all, this is woman who loved singing Al Jolson, Doris Day and Judy Garland) so considering this, "People" fits somehow in the picture much better than cover of Adele that looks like gimmick to me. (By the way, no, I don't think she does it better than original). Come to think, I actually like her for this. Franklinized covers are often triumphant. (Or eccentric - see "Nothing Compares 2 U".)

Good thing is that lady sounds genuinely energised and jubilant, more than she had in a long time. Bad thing is that the album came a bit too late and no amount of electronics can hide the fact that spirit is this time stronger than celebrated instrument. She was deservedly a pioneer and ice-breaker some four decades ago but I would not go so far to say that she is best voice around anymore. On the other hand, "Teach Me Tonight" hints that subdued, late-night jazz covers might be just the right thing to do because she clearly puts her heart and soul in music like this. Knowing Clive Davis, this is probably what he already has in mind.

Literary DNA

“Books help to form us. If you cut me open, you will find volume after volume, page after page, the contents of every one I have ever read, somehow transmuted and transformed into me. Alice in Wonderland. the Magic Faraway Tree. The Hound of the Baskervilles. The Book of Job. Bleak House. Wuthering Heights. The Complete Poems of W H Auden. The Tale of Mr Tod. Howard''s End. What a strange person I must be. But if the books I have read have helped to form me, then probably nobody else who ever lived has read exactly the same books, all the same books and only the same books as me. So just as my genes and the soul within me make me uniquely me, so I am the unique sum of the books I have read. I am my literary DNA.”

Susan Hill, author

Art, Aretha and elderly singers

Recently a friend of mine pointed at disappointing live TV appearance of now-elderly Art Garfunkel who was supposed to be a highlight of certain UK TV show. Now 70+ music veteran was invited to come on stage and sing one of his almost half a century old pop classics. It didn't sound horrible to me but I understand people must have been shocked by the way is aged voice sounds today. We all know and cherish old records, but time mercilessly steps over everybody and sooner or later pushes us aside. 

This was always very interesting subject for me and I even wrote about it long ago, when I still worked as journalist. I wrote an article about the subject of elderly performers, since its interesting (and obvious) that in other professions people can hold a little longer, but when it comes to voice, it is very unpredictable and individual, some people lose it (look at Billie Holiday) while other can go on forever (Cleo Laine, who sounded amazing when I listened her live in concert at 80+). And than there are those who simply don't give up, even when voice is basically shut down and its definitely time to retire. Most of my elderly Croatian singers perform live probably out of sheer economical necessity, but I doubt someone like Garfunkel really desperately needs financial support after lifetime of very successful career. Is it vanity? Proving to yourself that you can still do it? Is it not painful to be aware that this delicate instrument is not anymore what it used to be? Sure, some people simply exchange youthful pipes with experience and bring something else, a completely new dimension that an still sound excellent in a completely different way: Cleo Laine masterfully covered those once-chandelier hitting notes with veteran actress self-assurance. Marianne Faithfull never was good singer in the first place, so she can go croaking forever. Whatever elderly Barbra Streisand lost along the way, first class production can fix it up. Some say that Joni Mitchell lost it but I disagree, to my ears she actually sounds more interesting today. Than we have somebody like Cher who is pushing it a bit too long in my opinion and just like Madonna found herself trapped in pop market where striptease became the main weapon - I always loved Cher but cringed with embarrassment when I saw her pushing 70 and still cavorting half-naked on the Las Vega stage. What is the point? 

To make sure I explain myself clearly, I perfectly understand that ageing is natural process that happens to everyone. There is no way around it. And just like every age has its own beauty, people should recognise when its time to gracefully retire and step back, to leave the unspoiled legacy behind and to give some space to new, younger generations, no matter how silly and unrefined this new kids might appear. Forget about those saying "oh, there will never be  voice like that anymore, it was one in hundreds of years" - there will always be a new talent blossoming out of nowhere sooner or later, just like our favourites came out of nowhere. Every Ella and Barbra were product of their time, reflecting what was perceived as outstanding back than. I love the fact that members of "Abba" ignored all those multi-million temptations to re-unite and sing "Mamma Mia" and "Honey Honey" as grandfathers and grandmothers, they would probably just get slammed for being wrinkled and (gasp!) aged. For the end of this little tirade, here is recent Aretha Franklin live performance - mighty "Queen of Soul" got convinced that she should conquer the world all over again and unfortunately I think that at this point that legendary voice is gone. She was sensational for a long time, but no matter what enthusiastic audience over there claims, nowadays she just sounds shrill - like with so many before her, the spirit is still there and its admirable she still wants to work, but thanks no. Better to leave nice legacy behind and have wonderful, inspiring body of work before the whole world becomes tired of them. 

"Under The Dome" (2013)

It became a tradition now that I behave like Internet-deprived addict while on vacation - which in a way, it is true since I rarely have chance to check Internet during months that I'm sailing - collecting movies, music and TV serials that people suggested and recommended & all those things I missed while being away. I hoard it all and than keep somewhere on external hard disc. Interestingly enough, it seems that the whole act of collecting makes me happy but I almost never watch any of these when I was travelling  - was too busy reading and enjoyed it very much. It was almost as I had rediscovered pleasure of reading suddenly.

Latest recommendation - and something that goes on on Croatian TV right now - is a serial cooked by Stephen King and producers who previously did "Lost". Sounds good? I checked one episode and got hooked, but constantly had a gnawing feeling that this is somehow too familiar. You see, the whole concept of little town being cut away from the rest of the world has already been done in "Jericho" which was quite enjoyable and unfortunately never continued. Another thing that bugs me is "Lost"-like script that follows many characters simultaneously, cutting the story just when it became interesting and moving on to other subjects (therefore continuing soap bubbles that go forever). It feels almost like everybody has 10 minutes and than let's go to another part of town. I had just watched the whole darn first season and suddenly instead of grand finale, scene was cut in the middle of the sentence and now what - "oh no, now I have to watch second season!" I said out loud to myself, perfectly aware that I got caught up into never-ending story that constantly brings new characters, kills off the old ones and main story basically goes unexplained. I am not 100% sure do I like this kind of audience manipulation. Yes, I will watch the darn second season now only because I started the first one already but I do feel slightly fooled because script writers are consciously delaying any explanation what this dome actually means. I DO get Stephen King using the story to show how people behave to each other in situations of danger and how some of these characters are metaphor for current politicians. And I hate mushy, sentimental moments that usually just slow down the story and nobody talks like this in real life anyway. Yeah right, "lets talk about us" while everything is falling apart around them.

p.s.
Each episode is directed by another person. I was surprised to find that one of the directors is Croatian born Sergio Mimica, son of a famous Croatian film director. Apparently Spielberg (who is one of producers) likes his work and usually gives him a chance.

"The Greatest Songs of The Sixties" (2006) by Barry Manilow

Considering how much I enjoyed "The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties" its strange that I did not feel same excitement for its sequel.

Could it be that I dislike the idea of sequels in general? It is usually sure sign that project is successful so hey, let's milk the same cow again and again - only sometimes (like in case of "Godfather" or with Ella Fitzgerald's songbooks) it actually makes artistic sense otherwise if you ask me, it just seems like good opportunity but cul-de-sac for an artist. Manilow or Stewart can enjoy this new, unexpected (or strategically well-planned, depends on point of view, ask Clive Davis who masterminds it all) renaissance of success but it does get predictable.

Where 1950s pop was cutesy, innocent backward glance now in this 1960s songbook I found it all polyester somehow - sure, 1960s were different things to different people, nobody says it was just Woodstock or just Folk or just Dylan or just one thing. And from commercial aspect, nobody would probably allow Manilow to go completely acid & trippy, the industry wants him to sell tons of albums to nostalgic audience who is satisfied with easy-listening pop. (I remember reading about Bette Midler's long-unfulfilled dream of recording music by Laura Nyro - so far, she was stuck with harmless jazz covers, forget about "Captain St.Lucifer" and anything remotely adventurous.) So finally, what do we got here: Manilow crooning easy-listening classics that we all know too well, like "Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head" and "Strangers In The Night". He sounds good - little flourish here and there, nothing annoying and thankfully no melismas - but pleasant as it is, to my ears this sounds like Karaoke. Where "The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties" was genuinely enjoyable, the sequel is simply too predictable. Why not simply listening to originals?

The Greatest Songs of the Fifties (2006) by Barry Manilow

Barry Manilow popped in my head this morning - out of the blue, probably because I am relaxed now and was browsing Internet & remembering all the things I wanted to check out long ago. Not that I am fan, in fact I am only familiar with few of his songs and I know he was pianist for Bette Midler way back in early 1970s - but as I was always curious to hear something new, I gave this album a spin. Than again and again.

Its easy to be cynical about the concept - veteran pop singers branching into songbook-kind of project - it has been done before and it started decades ago but recently it has been so successful that it points at interesting fact that there are millions of listeners out there who are not interested in kiddie pop and love decent songs with beginning and end, classy orchestrations and good voices. Even though this is not nostalgic soundtrack for me - I was born much later - and I am not even familiar with Manilow's discography, the idea sounds interesting enough to check it out. To my biggest surprise, it turned out to be wonderful experience - at first I just hummed along and before you know it, I found myself singing around the house with full-voice until chandeliers shook (and I don't remember when was the last time I did it). The power of this feel-good music was so strong that I absolutely don't care if this puts me into middle-aged category or the fact that Manilow is (according to Internet) not the coolest & hippest of artists, if you listen without prejudice, with open ears & heart, this is impossible to resist. And yes, he sings like a dream.

Not only its surprising how well these old songs still sounds today (originals were also wonderful, mind you - sure, these were "just pop songs" but lyrics were far more meaningful than what I hear nowadays) but I find heart-warming that elderly artist can still create magic when probably nobody expect it anymore. The guest appearance of Phyllis McGuire is absolutely lovely, she must have been hundred years now and still sings her heart out. Truly, this album was discovery of the day for me.

Josipa Lisac in 2014

While I was in Amsterdam, there were few new video clips showing recent concert activity of my all-time favorite Croatian singer who is still going strong at the age of 64. First, there was a concert in Amsterdam's Ziggo Dome (something about the Peace) where various performers from all over the world supported that particular Piece day. Josipa shared the stage with young Serbian artist and they duetted on explosive version of ancient Croatian song "Zvira voda" - they sound completely different but it turned out to be excellent combination of East-meets-West collaboration. It is truly melodramatic and I was stunned to discover that even at this stage of the game Josipa still can surprise me.

Not long afterwards Josipa was a special guest in Split, a tribute concert to much beloved local composer, late Zdenko Runjić who single-handedly created Dalmatian pop songbook of 1970s and beyond. His music is in my opinion completely different from what Josipa did ever since she turned to Rock in 1973. but it turned out that they actually collaborated way back when they were still very young and long before Josipa met Karlo Metikoš who steered her towards different music - back in 1970 Runjić composed a song that Josipa performed on Split festival It was a grim, beautiful ballad about sailor's wife who spends her life in waiting for her man - very dramatic, poetic and very much like something that Mina would record. Audience back than was too shocked to react (apparently nobody even applauded after the song) but it grew into cult classic and it is perhaps the only song that actually survived the decades from that particular festival. I know the original version my whole life and always loved it to death. On this particular, recent evening Josipa did it the way she sings now, completely changing the original melody and singing circles around it - she was awarded with special award for this performance but I must admit that her particular kind of art has moved just a little but beyond of what I'm used to.

Even more recent is this live performance from a Croatian TV show - it is also a perfect illustration of how she changed and evolved trough the years and this is not exactly my favorite stage of her career. Josipa sings like a dream (she always has) but as she constantly re-visits her classic songbook again and again, it started to sound very predictable, at least to my ears. Nowadays she insists on slowing-down original versions of these songs until they are literally unrecognizable and it puts a lot of people off. Unfortunately there are always fans who ecstatically applaud everything she does, so they encourage her to move even more in that direction (or perhaps she doesn't care anyway, I always had impression she did what she wanted). While I understand and appreciate her attempts to constantly play around old catalogue (instead of simply repeat herself), it takes me a lot of effort to actually like this. But than, she works anytime she wants and is the only one from her generation still very active, so who am I to say anything. I just kind of worry that this works against her, because it puts her out of pop music and in completely different category, which was maybe the whole idea in the first place. I really wish she would sing the darn melody more and leave all this Al Jarreau stuff behind. Even with all that I wrote here, she will forever stay my all-time favorite singer. And I listen music a LOT, so this has not changed at all trough the years. 

More recent updates - during annual award for best dressed celebrities, Croatian fashion magazine "Elle" (probably local version that promotes local designers, I guess) they bestowed special award for Lifetime achievement on Josipa. In all honesty, I couldn't care less for clothes and hairstyles because for me it was always about music but its interesting to see that after all these years where she was criticized and ridiculed for her stage outfits, there are people working in that industry who actually take all these efforts very seriously. 

To my knowledge Josipa never wore her creations off stage and so I would never say that she was trend setter - it was always for the sake of performance, but its true that with her it was always a complete package, audio-visual spectacle so perhaps in a way she did left a mark as how to stand out from the crowd and make a statement. From the very beginnings of her career she did always insist of looking glamorous in her own way - even when that meant completely being at odds with the rest of the competition and alienating mainstream audience who looked at her as some creature from another planet. But I think that trough the years people slowly got used to it and even started anticipating her stage entrances, wondering what will she have on her head this time. Media always loved this and sometimes they wrote much more about outfits than about singing or music, which annoyed me - with time they stopped criticising her and accepted worn-out cliche phrases like "unique", "fabulous", "divine", "original", "fantastic" and what not - it made me wonder who are these people and can't they think about something different to write about her - I would even welcome some creative criticism for a change, but she is now at the point where every rare public appearance seems like red-carpet Hollywood extravaganza. OK fine, yes she was always very brave and interesting to watch, but how about what exactly she is doing up there - hardly anyone notices anymore the way she sails trough the octaves and all the amazing things she does with her voice (am I the only one who noticed the ending of live performance in Macedonia?). Sometimes I even wonder does all of this visual works against her, since people seems to focus so much on cellophane instead on what's inside? Well, good for her anyway.

Ivica Šerfezi

I am on vacation and since its raining outside, its time to return to my favourite hobby and write some music reviews. It is perfect brain exercise + goes very well with my first morning coffee. With greatest pleasure I dived into old Croatian schlager discography and started unearthing records from the artists that I never really listened before, to find out is there something to discover.

Ivica Šerfezi (1973)
Ivica Šerfezi - "Šerfa" - belongs to the same generation as Karlo Metikoš and the whole team of early 1960s singers who brought new, fresh air to local music scene. But where Metikoš pursued rock, Šerfezi pursued less adventurous and more profitable path of festivals, schlagers, covers (everything from country to Mexican and Greek hits) which made up very successful and long career as family entertainer both at home and in tours trough Soviet Union back than. I still recall Russian lady who asked me where I'm from and her face lightened up instantly when she heard "Croatia" - to her, it was instant association with Adriatic sea, Tito and Ivica Šerfezi. It turned out she was one of the millions of Russian fans who adored Šerfa and welcomed him with true love.

Šerfa was such ubiquitous presence on radio during my childhood that he probably epitomises schlager-singer of 1970s. Sure, he was much beloved by moms and his clean cut, good looks & showmanship made him perfect for family TV shows. This also means younger listeners would find him too square. So it took me the whole lifetime to actually go back to his records and listen carefully. This, his first LP album (recorded when he was already veteran at 38) sounds exactly as I expected, it is a time capsule of hard-core schlager music, innocent, simple and perhaps just a little bit too safe for my taste. Šerfa knew what his audience liked and he gave it to them without much introspection - he croons gently without ever lifting up a voice (kind of Julio Iglesias) trough one ballad after another (courtesy of composers like Stipica Kalogjera and Đorđe Novković), throws in several German covers and even waltz/polka medley that probably worked well in live performances as audience sang along. The fact that of all Elvis Presley songs he chose to cover "Blue Hawaii" perfectly describes who Šerfa was as an artist.

It is very easy to dismiss this kind of family entertainers today, because in the meantime we got used to all kind of different gimmicks, carefully planed images and constant scandals & public excesses. Šerfa belongs to innocent 1970s and his music today instantly brings us back to family kitchen on Sundays. Like Proust's Madeleine cookie, to me this is (for better or worse) soundtrack of childhood. It might not be exactly the most adventurous or coolest music ever, but it does have sentimental value. No wonder he moved so successfully to Russian and German market.

Ivica Šerfezi German Album (1974)
Around this time Šerfa broke seriously into German pop market and to my knowledge he was really successful there, perhaps the only one to seriously follow mighty Ivo Robić on German hit charts. What he offered to German audience were romantic schlager ballads with carefully tuned hint of Adriatic melodies and in a way he worked almost like promoter for tourism. His music persona & image was at this point so well established that he don't sound any different than when singing in his native language, its basically same simple singalong happy songs crooned gently - where in 1960s he covered international hits, here he covers himself for foreign market. With one exception, material is exclusively written by home-grown composers and they served him well with music tailored for presentation of Croatian Julio Iglesias.It might not be the most adventurous music but as marketing & step into foreign territory it was very successful.

Amsterdam 2014

Amsterdam is now behind me now, however I would still like to look back at this year's visit and how it felt to be there again, after all these years.

There is no other place where I feel so comfortable & welcome as in Amsterdam and this is coming from a world traveller. The moment when I step out of Central station and walk into the city, my heart is excited I, I feel rejuvenated and I know exactly what spots I need to check to make sure places are still there. Sure, some would say its dirty, overcrowded with tourists and commercialised - yes it always has been. It is a magnet for people arriving from all over the world, since the very beginning of the town. Behind obvious tourist attractions - hedonism on every step - there is a beautiful architecture, centuries of strange and fascinating stories on every corner, sunny terraces to sit down an write down ones impressions, theatres, cinemas, concert halls, legendary canals & bridges, most of all I love cosmopolitan feeling of the place and the anonymity I feel when lost in the crowd here. When I'm in my own birthplace Zagreb, I never feel same kind of excitement. Here in Amsterdam I don't mind international crowd around me, because it feels natural. You walk in the street and hear several different languages, its not a big deal. Everybody accepts each other with all the differences they bring with them. You eat in a little Vietnamese place and shop at Asian supermarket. Locals - if there is such thing - are people who moved into the city from every corner of the world and they are not suspicious or judgemental, as long as you are well behaved, you are welcome.

Bookshops are still going strong - and believe me, I know most of them, including obscure, little ones, like my favourite place, second-hand English bookshop that I treasure and support trough many years - but unfortunately CD shops have almost disappeared, since nowadays people download music on Internet or simply don't take music seriously anymore. Dear old "Concerto" is still there where I left it and I made sure that I visited it and treated myself with several classical titles that I plan to enjoy now during my vacation. I walked and walked around the town as much as weather permitted (it was cold & rainy most of the time) and gave up on travelling to see "Girl with pearl earring" this time, but visited newly opened Rijksmuseum which was spectacular. I remember when I lived here, it was visible from my attic window so I was never in a hurry to go there and checked it only after a character in Anne Rice vampire novels went there to see some of the portraits of the people he knew in the past.This time I was thrilled to re-visit place again, however it was a bit overcrowded on a rainy Wednesday afternoon so I stepped back each time when the new wave of tourists swarmed the room. Next time I will go there in the morning, before the invasion.

Somewhere deep in my heart I am aware that things might not work out as planned and perhaps I will never return to live here - it is nice to cherish dreams but I am also aware of the reality. Whatever happens, I really enjoy this place.

Now I am back in Croatian countryside where I intend to rest without any plans or obligations for some time. It feels heavenly to simply enjoy and do nothing here, I sleep and entertain myself with music, books and movies without any pressure or time limitations. If I decide to lie down with book in the middle of the day, I don't have to apologise or explain myself to anybody. Its vacation time and well deserved one.