"Jubavi, Jubavi" by Oliver Dragojević (1981)

Just heard sad news that Oliver Dragojević passed away into great beyond, so in honour to his legacy I decided to revisit one of the old, classic albums created when he was at the peak of his power and the way we will always remember him. Dragojević had good fortune that he lasted long enough for his discography to be re-evaluated again by young generations who admired his artistic integrity and trough loving collaborations new artists showed great affection for this veteran singer.

"Jubavi, Jubavi" is classic album recorded at the time when Dragojević was invincible winner of all pop festival stages whenever he went and by 1981. he already patented gentle, seductive crooning that noticeably became smoother since his early days when he sounded grittier. If at the beginning he was still influenced by Ray Charles, later he decidedly changed the approach, thanks to composer Zdenko Runjić who tailored for him what must be the great Croatian songbook - the long list of music they made together trough the years is genuinely brilliant and theirs was match made in heaven. For all the artists that Runjić worked with, it seems that he found a perfect connection with Dragojević who shared his irreverent perspective and could be surprisingly funny, quirky and self-deprecating despite his star status. This album has perfect combination of what made them great - there are some poignant, aching ballads ("Piva Klapa Ispo' Volta") mixed with zany, good-time music (timeless "Nadalina") and singer effortlessly shows that he was equally comfortable as romantic crooner as much as wicked, life-loving comedian. It must be noted that Dragojević was one of those rare exceptions, a superstar whose appeal was built not on his looks (he was always adorable, but very ordinary looking man who apparently couldn't care less for such things as image) but on his talent and trough the sheer power of that talent he has built such a strong rapport with audience that his passing leaves irreplaceable gap in our music. There is not a living person in Croatia who don't have at least one favourite song by this singer so he really touched many lives, which is testament to his artistry.