"Nježne strune mandoline" by Tereza Kesovija (1975)

From impoverished childhood in small village where her parents sold a pig to buy her music instrument of choice (a flute) to subsequent admission on prestigious music academy and simultaneous start as pop singer who would eventually perform in "Olympia", the life of Tereza Kesovija often reads as a fictional novel. Compared to her early 1960s contemporaries, Kesovija was somewhat an oddity, with her trademark theatricality and Mediterranean passion she was larger than life amongst docile and meek girls who graced pop festival stages at the time - she was also brave enough to jump of the cliff and grab the chance to work in France, although she was practically unknown artist there and had to juggle concerts with motherhood. After making a name for herself on French market, this hard-working lady returned to homegrown music scene where during 1970s she was invincible.

In Zdenko Runjić Kesovija found her perfect songwriter and "Nježne strune mandoline" was their first album together - they go way back to 1962. when lady sang his song "Ćakule o siromajima" and in the meantime they both established themselves in the music so it was just a matter of time when they would recognise potential of collaboration. Runjić was always a songwriter who thrived on good singers and in Kesovija he obviously found somebody who inspired him - since Kesovija was all about romantic exuberance, he tailored the whole album full of memorable, sentimental music for her and this was actually her first proper album with new material (previous 1971. "To Je Tereza..." was compilation). Both "Sunčane fontane" and the title song were huge hits so the whole collection of song by this composer was not unexpected - he intuitively understood what works for singer and tailored material where she displayed her love for French chanson with just a right touch of 1970s pop. Besides two titles mentioned above, nothing really stands out but album is pleasant easy listening in schlager genre and for all her renowned ebullience Kesovija is occasionally surprisingly subdued and even tender here.