"Boris Novković The Platinum Collection"

One of the ways Croatia records mines the wealth of their archives are these Platinum Collections where most prominent music artists get their retrospective compilations. The music business changed beyond recognition so it appears as all there is are compilations and hardly any new release but hopefully this is just a passing trend. After all, there is annual Porin music award where industry recognises best artists of the year and their work, but this avalanche of compilation makes one wonder.

Young Boris Novković managed quite impressive feat to completely escape the shadow of very successful father (pop composer, ubiquitous Đorđe Novković basically changed the local music landscape with his brand of mega-hits specifically tailored for various artists) and created completely independent music persona that has nothing to do with him. One thing both father and the son had in common is ear for simple, memorable melody and - as this Platinum Collection affirms - ability to weather the decades in business with skill and grace. Another thing that connects them is that they both created impressive list of hits without really carving specific recognisable style - older Novković was music maverick who could (and did) turn just anybody into a star, music genre or background notwithstanding, while his son endured highly successful three decades in music with no specific distinguishing feature - as composer he is fairly derivative and his singing voice is best described as earnest, but far from truly remarkable instrument of for example Tony Cetinski (another son who overshadowed famous father). This is not to criticise Boris Novković, just to point that he managed enviable longevity in fickle business by being ordinary guy-next-door with a good ear. 

This double CD compilation serves as surprisingly strong retrospective of his work from the earliest 1986 album "Kuda idu izgubljene djevojke"  up to 2008 at which point Novković already had thirteen studio releases and countless hits behind him. Almost 90% of material is written by singer and although its been played and overplayed to death on every single radio station under the sun it actually still sounds good - if you don't at least tap your foot to it, you should see a doctor. Judging by chronology, where at the start his repertoire was divided between tortured, lovelorn ballads or swaggering, upbeat hits, he actually became more interesting with time and later even incorporated some unexpected elements and twists to his music. Its all very safe but infectious pop and even though I came to this compilation with reserve, at the end I can't help but to think he is nice guy after all. Novković might have started as just another 1980s poster boy for teenage schoolgirls but he has outlived just anybody else around from that time and his heart is in the right place.