4.3.18

"More, mandoline i muzika" (1961) EP


In the late 1950s and early 1960s, local homegrown pop music was all about San Remo and Italian artists - for variety of different reasons, seems that government discouraged decadent sounds from the west but accepted harmless Italian crooners. Reading about the lists of objections (nothing too fast, too slow, too melancholic, too happy) one wonders how did people went around it - well, it seems that covering San Remo hits was the logical answer and influential music editor Mario Kinel somehow managed to serve all these recordings under explanation that they won in Italy and were therefore, proven quality.

Kinel (who else) naturally stands behind this project, which is a four-song collection of hits from San Remo '61. It is all done in version of local artists who carefully and extremely cautiously (some would say, almost trembling from a sheer respect) croon white-glowed ballads originally done by giants of Italian pop music. Lyrics are all done by Kinel and the stylish orchestra was conducted by Bojan Adamič - it is naturally very tame but actually incredibly charming and genuinely classy, since Adamič paid close attention to originals. Singers are all excellent, perhaps the biggest surprise is young Gabi Novak (whom Adamič just recently discovered as she was singing in some TV cartoon) with her sensual cover of lovely "Il Mare Nel Cassetto" - in original, it was a showcase for thundering voice of majestic Milva but Novak gave it completely different, softer sound and as at this time she was still singing novelties, this sophisticated ballad was probably a revelation. Both Marko Novosel and Vice Vukov are such high calibre talents that they could easily stand next to their Italian idols. Next to them, veteran Ivo Robić sounds a bit outdated but he was in a fine voice, even though his particular style hardly changed at all since 1945. 

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