Undisputed king of starogradska and traditional folk music, Zvonko Bogdan is such a towering presence in his genre that it sometimes easy to take him for granted - not only that his name became a synonym for particular, quaint and sweetly old fashioned, nostalgic songs but we can't even imagine this whole kind of music without him. In our collective minds he represents tradition that probably goes way back in the days when the whole territory was still part of Austro-Hungarian Empire, hence his music bears heavy (and obvious) Hungarian influences - imagine any smoke-filled bar where customers are already two sheets to the wind, drinks are flowing, fiddlers tug at the heartstrings and Bogdan is here in his element, singing songs about women, horses and good old days. Than to top it all, he joyously starts that old one about pretty gypsy girl and you can just imagine the whole atmosphere exploding.
Bogdan is actually not a showy singer at all - his voice, style and bearing were always very gentlemanly and reserved, he is a smooth operator who does magic with storytelling. When he gently croons about travelling trough the night on a carriage to his beloved, you can imagine the whole picture. Though he often worked with the best musicians in the land (remember legendary tamburitza virtuoso Janika Balázs?), to my ears he was always at his best when backed with fiddlers and this is why this particular album represents the quintessential appeal of his music. Almost everything here has Hungarian background - with one or two traditional folk songs thrown in - and while fiddlers burn the place down, Bogdan appears to have time of his life. By his own admission, these are the songs he memorised from a childhood and not only he has clear affection for this music but with recordings like this he gave it new life and listeners who treasure it across generations and borders. Timeless music.
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