“Hvala Svima” by Kemal Monteno (2000)

What seems at the first glance just another all-star duet album has in fact, much deeper and poignant background story behind it: famous singer-songwriter decidedly stayed in his beloved Sarajevo during civil war and horrors of siege, refusing to escape to safety and sharing destiny of its citizens so when he eventually returned to recording studios, it seems the whole music scene celebrated and welcomed him affectionately. There is no doubt that many of them were seriously concerned for him, so this is much more than just another album or return to the studios, its simultaneously singer’s sincere expression of gratitude and embrace of his colleagues.

Kemal Monteno, that wonderful nightingale who marked the music map of 1970s and 1980s, have of course built his career on melancholic ballads but even though his particular brand of sentimentality eventually got swept away by rock music, even the hardest rock critics always agreed that his sincerity transcended genres or any new trends, guy always sung straight from the heart and his messages found wide audience. As any veteran who held on to his guns long enough, Monteno lived long enough to experience reassessment of his career and when popular young band “Crvena Jabuka” invited him for duet on “Nekako s proljeća” in 1991. it turned into one of the biggest hits of the year - the moment when Monteno steps in this gentle, acoustic ballad is still one of the prettiest music ever recorded in local pop. Encapsulating his occasional festival performances from late 1990s and newly recorded duets with stars of either his generation or younger ones, this album shows singer still preserving beauty of the voice, a little fragile by now but still unmistakable and instantly recognisable. Since the warm welcome of his colleagues is so intensely palpable, there is no point of focusing on the fact that many of them were now also a bit rusty - if younger stars like Boris Novković or Danijela Martinović were fine, other Croatian notables like Arsen Dedić, Gabi Novak or Tereza Kesovija are vocally in the autumn but that’s beside the point. The biggest surprise is actually duet with actor Rade Šerbedžija on magnificent ballad “Ni u tvom srcu” that soars to the skies - unexpectedly, actors dry declamatory voice perfectly compliments singers eruption and when they join on refrain, the result is so anthemic that I never managed to listen it without instant replay.