“Srce Nikad Ne Laže” by Tony Cetinski (1990)

We all know Tony Cetinski as established pop star now but its interesting to look back at the very beginning and glimpse fresh-faced young singer who arrived in 1990. with this winsome debut album, long curls and all. It really feels like suddenly discovering flowers preserved between pages of the forgotten book - because the singer later modified and changed his music persona, listening him the way he actually started is as glimpsing into time machine. 

Cetinski of course didn’t just come out of nowhere - because his father Mirko Cetinski was professional singer, little boy must have soaked music from the earliest days and was probably surrounded with musicians, their stories about gigs and nomadic lives so it was inevitable that he would also caught the bug. Here it must be noted that father had really magnificent voice - Cetinski senior must have been one of the best Croatian singers around, born with naturally powerful and expressive golden instrument that could effortlessly  put the best Neapolitan singers to shame (I still have his tribute to composer Vlaho Paljetak somewhere and is beautiful album) so naturally some of his magic dust have rubbed on son. However, for his debut album Tony did not get just any anonymous high school band but help from respected professionals with certified background - songs here are divided between composers Zrinko Tutić and Đorđe Novković (whose own son, curiously also started singing career with solid results, although he was nowhere as fine vocally as Tony) and even backing vocals were shared between Maja Blagdan and Tedi Spalato so he really got himself star treatment.

“Srce Nikad Ne Laže” would nowadays be most interesting as to check how much the singer have changed in the meantime and what he left behind: music preserved here is fine, middle-of-the-road pop with occasional almost light-country feel and lightweight as it might have been, it reflects where this 21 years old was at the moment - clearly he loved Roy Orbison whose spirit echoes somewhere in here (“Što te mama pušta samu”, “Lako je reći adio”) and on upbeat “Nema problema” he is actually perfectly at home, signalling that this mostly generic pop, sweet as it is, is not where he will stay much longer. Vocally he was excellent right from the start - just listen his version of “Sealed with the kiss” (“Srce Nikad Ne Laže” translated to Croatian lyrics that he wrote himself) or cover of old chestnut “Dolina Našeg Djetinjstva” and there was no doubt that new kid on the block will go places. First he would have to shed the tame, polite and parents pleasing toothless music behind, look up to more adventurous collaborators and go funk/dance but with his confidence, it was just a matter of time before he will get to sold-out arena concerts. There is absolutely nothing embarrassing here, its just a sweet memento of particular moment in time. Metamorphosis was just around the corner.