"Pygmalion" by George Bernard Shaw

As usual, I was actually busy with something else but this came my way and it was too good to be missed. The original theatre play (written in 1912) is far darker than later Broadway musical based on it and even though the musical is very entertaining in its own way, I perfectly understand why author was against it and during his lifetime he did not permit anybody setting his basically dark comedy into something as trivial as musical theatre - in order to somehow translate this story for Broadway stage (later famous movie) the story has ben diluted and watered-down to make it appear "entertaining" while original theatre play had much serious undertones. Personally I have nothing against musical version, in fact I even own 1957. original cast recording with Julie Andrews that must have been one of the highlights of golden age of Broadway, brimming with excellent melodies and memorable refrains but checking out this classic musical's theatre origins turned out completely enlightening experience. Honestly, its like seeing the famous old painting from completely different perspective.

Where the musical (and later movie) describes absent minded professor Higgins experimenting with the idea that with proper training anybody can learn to speak like aristocrat - the focus of his experiment being poor flower girl Elisa Doolittle who literary comes from the gutter - theatre play has far more serious undertones. Like Pygmalion from the ancient Greek play, this Pygmalion eventually gets used to her presence in his house but there is not a hint of a love affair between them - this is the main difference between original stage play and later musical. In original, professor Higgins lives with his stern housekeeper and at some point is joined by another professor (Pickering) so two of them share very brotherly, buddy-buddy household where Elisa is like a doll, re-shaped and re-defined into a classy lady but she is never ever seen as a beautiful girl or a love object - like a Frankenstein, she is their creation and the only thing that interest them is how fast can she learn to speak properly, play piano and appear aristocratic. It actually makes a perfect sense, because as Elisa completely changes her character and personality, she starts to see world around her differently and now she becomes aware what a miserable life she used to live previously when she was selling flowers in Covent Garden. One of the interesting things that Shaw suggest here is that Elisa was perhaps perfectly fine previously but now she can't go back again to the life she used to know - now as her eyes are opened, she is bitterly aware of woman's position in Victorian society and where previously as a poor flower girl she could afford to be independent, as a classy lady with manners she has to be property of some husband or other (in any case she has to depend on man to support her, because Victorian ladies did not work for living). To cement his point, Shaw adds a character of Elisa's father - likable and lovable dustman who represents unrepentant low class hedonist and who lives fine by his wits but once he gets in the money, his whole life changes and not for better, he actually starts to feel stress and obligations that come with money. 

At the end of the play, Elisa runs away from her benefactors - her eyes are wide open now and she won't be a doll in their hands. Their experiment was successful and they fooled everybody by presenting her as a duchess, but she is bitterly aware that once the experiment has finished, they have no interest in her anymore and don't care what will become of her. Both professors (Higgins particularly) are surprised and offended with her decision, they can't even understand why she won't simply stay in the house and continue as decorative figurine who is brining the slippers and arranging the flowers around the house. Elisa has different plans and she eventually finds herself a husband - impoverished but sweet Freddy who has never worked in his life and completely relies on her , but he loves her as human being - both professors continue to help them financially and are simultaneously proud and awed with this self-confident woman their created. In light of the original theatre play, it really comes as a surprise that Alan Jay Lerner and  Frederick Loewe thought it makes more sense to make professor Higgins and Elisa a love couple, because Shaw specifically and decidedly insisted that Higgins had no love for any other woman besides his mother, in fact he appears somewhat absent minded but basically self-centered scientist who never grew up and most of the time behaves like a spoiled child - he won't bother with polite society and in fact Elisa behaves far better and more appropriately than he ever does. As much as I love the musical, it was a pleasant surprise to red the original theatre play and  to discover that it has completely different point of view. 

"Svijet Tvoje Čarolije" by Giuliano (2000)

Another powerful vocalist from Split and one more rocker-turned-mainstream-pop, Giuliano Đanić is gifted with naturally strong and beautiful voice that was previously heard in rock music (he was member of several rock bands before he went solo) but here he does something else completely - just like Goran Karan (same town, same rock background) in order to reach audiences, Giuliano is musician tempted to leave music close to his heart for something with more commercial appeal. Where Karan eventually impressed and inspired legendary composer Zdenko Runjić who tailored the whole album for him, young Giuliano got himself composer Tomislav Mrduljaš and kind of dance pop.

Now, at the very first listening, the sheer combination of singer's attractive voice and this fluffy dance pop is almost sacrilegious: I understand this is something appealing to young audiences in clubs & bars around Split, but this guy surely deserves something more substantial. He was born with really good, strong voice that sounds expressive in ballads but this album decidedly leans towards upbeat dance pop (calculated marketing) and at first I cringed with embarrassment for him, thinking how bravely he embraced something that must have been far removed from music that initially attracted him into business. Or could it be that it sounded different as demo and was later re-modeled  as dance pop during post production? I decided that it was production: singer actually sounds very good and committed (specially on slower numbers) and he is joy to listen, so all this dance pop candy must have been added later. That everything actually works in spite my initial reservations (I still can't warm up to this generic, anonymous dance pop and its forced giddiness) just shows what a good singer Giuliano is - I believe he is one of the best voices currently around and wish him better luck with repertoire and collaborators. The only good music is the music coming from the heart, everything else is calculation destined to be eclipsed with new trends.

"Kao Da Te Ne Volim" by Goran Karan (1999)

Goran Karan always had powerful, expressive voice but it took right composer to bring him into big time and celebrated Zdenko Runjić was the right man for this. Runjić had already impeccable back catalogue and reputation as a man behind legendary singer Oliver Dragojević - in a way he might have been his Pygmalion because majority of Dragojević's now classic songbook was tailored for him by this composer, who took interest in a fledgling Karan that worked in rock bands previously.

This whole album was composed by Runjić (lyrics by Nenad Ninčević) and even Oliver Dragojević stops by for attractive duet on "Tu Non Llores Mi Querida"  - album combines singer's strong rock voice with composer's trademark sentimental ballads and it deservedly brought singer into limelight, in fact it was one of the most successful albums of the year - it still sounds very good and hearing such strong voice singing gentle ballads brings almost intoxicating effect - Karan is constantly convincing and in comparison, famous Gibonni is just whining. Karan burns in this music and his sincerity is obvious. The opener, highly effective and unexpected tango "Lipa Si, Lipa" is one of late composer's true masterpieces. 

"Vanna u Lisinskom" by Vanna (2001)

Cavernous concert hall "Vatroslav Lisinski" has been capitol's most prominent and celebrated music temple for the last four decades and every artist worth his salt proves status by performing there - personally I was never impressed with its interior or acoustic, since many smaller venues around the town posses far classier and intimate atmosphere that serve music far better, while "Lisinski" always strikes me as triumph of self-congratulatory middle class that wants to be seen, but to each his own, until we get something else "Lisinski" is here to stay.

The most interesting thing about this live recording is how Vanna, previously known as singer who suggest fire under the ice is actually very passionate, enthusiastic and entertaining in concert - faced with live audience she is actually great entertainer and as caught here she is in high spirits indeed. Her solo career up to this point is nicely represented with walk trough some of the biggest hits and most famous songs, though audience responds most to her earliest songs from time she performed as part of band 

Electro-Team and it makes me wonder have this strong start of her public life perhaps been a curse, since everything she did subsequently would always be compared to those beginnings. The dance music itself is not exactly suited for stately old "Lisinski" but Vanna and her backing band definitely gave their best shot, specially backing vocals sounds inspired and well-rehearsed. The highlight of the concert - and encore - is her cover of old Carole King chestnut "A Natural Woman" that got audience roar with approval and she deservedly got standing ovations. 

"Tvoja u duši" by Doris Dragović (1987)

Second of two albums released in 1987 finds young Croatian singer continuing extremely successful collaboration with composer Zrinko Tutić and lyrics writer Marina Tucaković, in fact she is backed by exactly the same production team as previously so naturally there is a certain cookie cutter, mass-production quality to this music which is perhaps not necessary bad thing in itself as the projects were always very warmly embraced by wide audiences - producer and his backing band worked with so many pop stars at the time that results were sometimes hard to distinguish and to my ears they all tend to sound alike (in fact, many of the songs here could have been recorded by anyone from Neda Ukraden to Jasna Zlokić) but as usual, Dragović gives her best and her melodious, slightly detached voice makes these simple tunes better than they might have been in other hands. It is unassuming radio fodder, sentimental and good natured, obviously targeted to the widest mainstream audience that idolised Dragović as a national sweetheart and everyone's favourite girl-next-door. The way I see it, Zrinko Tutić follows the path of Rajko Dujmić and his super-successful band "Novi Fosili" that ruled the radio waves in early 1980s, so it is no coincidence that on her next album Dragović will be served by both of them, two celebrated pop masterminds working together and the results will be quite irresistible. 

"Spook: Science Tackles the Afterlife" by Mary Roach

Actually I had something completely different in my mind as my next reading subject (one more addition to my "classic of the month" ) but you know, dear reader, sometimes these self-given tasks are simply not so appealing as something that sweetly and naturally comes our way - as I am forever prone to casual library browsing, this little book seemed unassuming and entertaining and it actually turned out really easy read (far easier than what I forced upon myself out of childish guilt). Classic of the month will just have to wait the right moment, while this book took me exactly two days to finish.

Mary Roach is something like female Bill Bryson - with difference that where Bryson is actually scientist, Roach is a curious (and very witty) journalist brave or crazy enough to explore odd subjects and poke her nose amongst serious scientists, asking questions and keeping a healthy dose of doubt about everything that can't be proved. In this book she tackles the subject of afterlife and in charmingly idiosyncratic, self-deprecatory way writes about something as serious as death. Come to think of it, why can't we talk about death with humour? After all, it is part of life and sad as it is, if death itself is nothing to laugh about, the way we react and perceive it can be ridiculously bizarre and irrational. From villages of India (where she witness accepted stories about reincarnation) to medical labs around USA and serious archives full of ancient news articles, Roach digs trough stories about ghosts, afterlife, white noise and such - she even discusses possibility of near death experiences, just to admit that there is nothing in medical science to actually prove these theories. The bittersweet conclusion is - we still don't know for sure is there an afterlife, is there anything at all after death and does our spirit our unconscious mind floats elsewhere or does the computer just switch off and that's it. One thing that Roach is right about it on the subject of ghosts and why would anybody stay the eternity fixed to one place, scaring living people when astral body would give them possibility to float anywhere else. Myself, I am surely sceptical about the whole issue and even if there is such a thing as other side, I understand its another dimension (kind of underwater of the lake) and two different realities unfortunately don't have contact. We might feel deep and profound sadness when our friends and relatives depart this earth, but aftermath is all about ourselves and how we cope with it - just like mythical Orpheus who could feel but not see his beloved Eurydice, I once had a clear and strong feeling that my late mother (who at that time had just recently passed away) was standing near me while I was grieving alone in my room and memory of that particular moment is still very vivid, decades later - though rationally I am aware that two worlds don't collide and it might just have been my own imagination that comforted me at the time.

"24 sata" by Vanna (2000)

Third solo album by ex-Electro Team singer who determinedly worked on her own career, finds Vanna continuing collaboration with composer/producer Ante Pecotić - the fact that same composer serves many other pop stars in Croatia might seems like a hindrance because there is a sense of certain similarity of sound between them, but this girl is such excellent vocalist that she easily outshines any competition. This time around, Pecotić surrounds her with irresistible disco that is simultaneously modern and retro, impeccably produced and performed - not every song is disco, but dance numbers are strongest, though it must be noted that rousing, gospel-style ballads (often backed with rock guitars) are perhaps equally rewarding with repeated listening. 

It is really interesting to compare this with singer's previous work - she started with celebratory, party music and it is still part of her appeal (outstanding songs here basically dance numbers "Ti Se Varaš", "24 sata" and "Zašto Baš Ja") but give her chance and Vanna confidently handles any ballad thrown at her, the perfect examples are haunting "Kao rijeka" and best of all, song that was recorded live some time previously and was carefully chosen to close this album, cover of "Tempera" by Gibonni - I always found this pretty song kind of distant relative of "More Than Words" by Extreme and its true there is some undefinable link between them, however Vanna gives it such a luxurious, soulful treatment that song that was basically just a few years old suddenly appears destined to become a classic and this is the best compliment to its composer - how rewarding, gratifying and thrilling it must be to realize that your song is going to live on in future - that Vanna actually found something original to add to already celebrated original is a sign of a great artist.

"The God gene" by Dean Hamer

Dean Hamer is a scientist with impeccable pedigree (geneticist, researcher) who has some really interesting theories about genes and their role in human sexual orientation. In this book he suggest that our DNA might be responsible for our predisposition to feel religious experience, or to be precise for tendency to feel spiritual connection with the world around us - although the title comes as somewhat bombastic, Hamer makes very clear distinction between spiritual and religion. Careful in his choice of words, author explains that spiritual is what we all have in common (connected to consciousness and sensitivity) while religion is taught as part of cultural heritage.

Hamer does not discuss God (s) or religion per se - he is a scientist and his focus is possibility that somewhere in our genes we might have been "constructed" to be religious one way or the other, in order to go trough life with hope, sense of purpose and courage. He explains that certain people were born with predisposition to be highly sensitive (attuned?) and spiritual, while others (often first cousins) are simply not - same family might produce one brother who is interested in meditation, mysticism and spiritual, another brother who is completely down- to-earth and successful in his material world. One of the many interesting things in this book is the explanation of transpersonal identification which is when you feel connected to universe, world and nature around you - this is something I believe we all sense from time to time, the sudden calm and serenity mostly achieved when we are alone somewhere in the nature - well, it is not accidental because Hamer suggest it is sign you might be one of the individuals "created" that way in your DNA and chances are you are spiritual person with higher sensitivity than your neighbor. Self-forgetfulness is another phenomenon usually connected to absent-minded professors, geniuses or creative artists who live in their own world - again, the sign of higher sensitivity that author explains was result of DNA. It happens when we are so completely focused and utterly absorbed that our concentration is complete. 

When it comes to difference between religion and spirituality, Hamer explains that religion is part of upbringing while spirituality (if we possess it) comes naturally - you might be born in certain society with religion typical for that geographical location but your inner feelings might gravitate towards completely different choice of faith. Somewhere along the line book gets bogged down with statistics and experiments but the main idea is fascinating, though with all this I must admit that it is still unproven theory and I am not 100% convinced. This kind of subject is right up my alley as I was always curious about religion, spirituality and reasons why we behave the way we do - typically, I would swing between books about historical background of religion and scientistic research of minuscule DNA, like this one in order to make up my mind but no matter what explanations are, I am aware of profound energy around certain churches, temples and various places of worship in the world. This is interesting read but than again, so its everything about alien abductions, ancient astronauts and possibility of our-of-space genetical engineering. When it comes down to it, I simply might be child of my time, raised on Erich Von Däniken, Graham Hancock and Richard Dawkins. I seriously don't think that I would ever embrace organized religion, though I accept individual spirituality and connection with the nature or even with our planet as living organism. Perhaps our so called Pagan ancestors were simply more connected to the nature than subsequent generations who got caught in too many rituals and strict rules. 

"Tužna je noć" by Doris Dragović (1987)

Croatian singer Doris Dragović may have started in soft-rock band with impeccable pedigree ("More") but mainstream success directed change of approach, masterminded by capable composer Zrinko Tutić (himself a singer/songwriter in previous incarnation) who saw charming young girl as a perfect addition to his already impressive list of collaborators - the song he previously wrote for her (Željo Moja" for Eurovision Song Contest 1986.) turned out massive hit so they continued with exactly same team (Tutić music, Marina Tucaković lyrics, Mato Došen producer, same backing band) producing not one, but two best-selling albums in the same year, cementing singer's popularity and at the time she was riding the waves of success indeed.

It is distinctly different music than the one she used to sing previously with the band: where earlier she was member of the group and as such had to work inside of the frame in order to play her part, the focus is now only and solely on her, with all the musicians and cellophane carefully placed around the main star. Luckily for her, Dragović is enthusiastic singer who don't need any extra studio wizardry and place in spotlight apparently don't intimidate her at all - she joyously dives into everything that composer serves, be it Greek melody of title song, tropical singalong "Daleko, daleko" or 1950s retro-ballad "Da te nema" sung as duet with pop veteran and king of arena concerts Mišo Kovač whose presence suggest that young singer was finally officially accepted in upper pantheon on biggest stars. Clearly, this is producers album and everything was carefully calculated to appeal to widest possible audience - we might regret that Dragović left that soft-rock behind but this kind of music successfully brought her into homes nationwide and this was intention in the first place so critics be darned. Huge seller in its days, the album does not sound any different from other work by same team in the late 1987 (Jasna Zlokić, Neda Ukraden, Mišo Kovač and Marina Perazić all had hits by them), looking back it seems they ruled the radio waves with that patented multi-chorus refrains and drum machines. 

"Robinson Crusoe" by Daniel Defoe

In his collection of essays, published as "Why Read Classics?" Italian writer Italo Calvino explains that classics are works we re-visit and re-read again - not only they create our collective memories, they never exhaust possibilities of interpretations, although they sound familiar they might surprise with new discoveries and they have power to enchant the reader although they might have been created in completely different times. "Robinson Crusoe" neatly fits all these definitions: simultaneously ancient museum piece and exciting adventure novel, it has been translated and re-created into various media to the point that we feel as we know everything about it, but if you attempt to actually re-visit this old friend, you might be surprised how strongly it still hold the spell on the reader. It is a perfect and quite unforgettable piece of escapism literature, camouflaged as adventure novel but in fact Crusoe's journeys are inward as much as outward - superficially we might see the main character just as a young and hot-headed adventurer who falls from one danger into another, however since he is stranded alone on desert island for a lengthy period of time, its just natural that he reflects and meditates about the life, destiny, faith and providence that brought him there and saved his life. 

Majority of these probably went over my head when I first read the novel as a precocious little reader and back than I was too excited about adventure aspects of desert island survivor and his daily fights with elements - aspects which are still a thrill to read, mind you - Daniel Defoe had deservedly earned everlasting fame with painstaking description of every little detail his Crusoe had to go trough in order to survive, until it actually hypnotises reader into breathless excitement about mundane survivor techniques. After years of solitude and main focus on food, grain, goats and such, the discovery of another human footprint in the sand comes as the most thrilling moment in the novel - and this is just a start of completely new turn in the story already full of surprises. Reading it again, several decades and a whole lifetime of experience later, these adventures are still thrilling but they take a second place when compared to Crusoe's inner life and journey that his lonely spirit travels between desperation and hope. Separated from any kind of human contact, he is left absolutely alone to either busy himself with basic survival or (on occasion of rainy days and illness) meditate about destiny, God and chain of accidents that brought him here - naturally he gets in low spirits and succumbs to depression from time to time, though eventually the pride in "his kingdom" takes over and at certain point he actually feels affectionately towards the place that at the beginning seemed dangerous and unfriendly. When current of the Sea takes him almost away from security of the island, Crusoe actually feels horrified - on one hand, he wants to escape from this place, on the other, this is only security he knows so he desperately finds his way back. Once Friday comes along, the story picks up though I actually loved everything that led to this moment, years of solitude and hard work. As expected the language and writing style are extremely old fashioned and flowery, which in my opinion gives the whole work even better quality, since its clearly written centuries ago and we are constantly aware this kind of prose serves almost as time capsule - from my middle-aged perspective, this gives the whole novel completely different aspect and I honestly loved it because of the way it was written. 

“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. 

“The Definitive Tom Jones 1964-2002” by Tom Jones

Generous 4 CD retrospective that neatly summarizes career of Welsh singer who endured in fickle business so long that finally he might even get canonized. Yeah, I know, screaming housewives and all, scrap the surface though and the fact is guy was always magnificent, powerhouse vocalist who bulldozed trough anything that came his way and as this compilation testifies, there is still no music genre that Jones couldn’t tackle, be it jolliest of 1960s pop, Las Vegas swing, country ballad, disco or anything you could think of. 

Sheer diversity of music presented here also means that this might be CD box you might constantly return to - usually boxed music rarely excite me as they tend to show how much majority of artists have stuck in their ways, however with this one I have no problem whatsoever because its literary one feel-good highlight after another. In fact, this might be the only CD box in my collection that I actually play quite often and constantly find endearing. Versatile as hell, Jones always showed clear affection to old school R&B and no matter what show-biz trappings were and all that cellophane around him, that voice was always there, in fact all these stylistic wanderings eventually paid off handsomely as resulting music never gets predictable, it transcends genres, decades and trends to the point that listener might find himself truly awed with guy’s guts and perseverance. Vocally he was bomb from the very start - already noted similarities with Elvis Presley are not only superficial as they both delighted in both trashiest and best of popular music with same seriousness but where Presley eventually ended as parody of himself, Jones continued from strength to strength and lived long enough to achieve critical reassessment. If anything, the most astonishing thing about this CD box is how well his voice survived decades.

Few years ago I went to hear him live in concert - to my surprise, silver-haired veteran on the stage roared like a lion and playfully turned old favourites inside out in such imaginative way that they got completely new dresses (if I remember correctly, “Delilah” became full-bloodied flamenco), the voice was exactly like on old records and I could just bow down in amazement. That this retrospective was not the end and he still continued is one of the true marvels, in fact later albums found him even more daring in choices that encompassed gospel and blues. One of the best voices in pop music, period.

Photos of the day

Two interesting photos with some of my heroines, caught in the youth, long before they achieved success and equilibrium.

Marianne Faithfull (pictured here in 1974. by Torbjörn Calvero) was still classy, beautiful woman although at this point her personal problems completely eclipsed whatever music career she had in previous decade, when she graced British pop charts with her folksy, innocent ditties like “As Tears Go By”. I truly love this photo - what a beautiful woman - and it is a stunning transformation from virginal, pre-Raphaelite image she had not long ago.

Even though Tina Turner often confidently exploited her sex bomb image, I was always aware that this was never serious - you could tell she is a unrepentant tomboy fooling around for the sake of fun - on this early 1960s picture she is of course, pouting as some glamorous Hollywood star where in reality her life was far from glamour. Along with her than-husband Ike and the whole entourage of backing musicians, she was touring trough chitlin circuit  of segregated music scene, which included nightly bus travels and at least two concerts per day. Whatever public perception of her might have been, Tina was in fact hard-working, no-nonsense mother hen and even The Rolling Stones were surprised to discover that behind the stage she was indeed simple, good-natured country girl.

“No Regrets: The Life of Édith Piaf” by Carolyn Burke

For years, the most famous (and notorious) biography of Piaf was sensationalistic, warts-and-all account by her self-proclaimed half -sister Simone Bertaut, known as Mômone, who sadly was just one the many parasites who surrounded legendary French singer during her lifetime and continued to live off her posthumously. Piaf own fanciful memoirs published a year after her death, were apparently romantic re-imagination of what she wanted public to know about her, which along the tons of books written in subsequent decades about her helped to create the perpetual myth that sometimes tend to eclipse facts. 

Carolyn Burke approaches Piaf’s life story with a zest of true detective, going trough documents, archives and newspaper clips with passion of archaeologist who finds truth under layers and layers of accumulated gossips, rumours and stories wrongly remembered. She is not exactly Kitty Kelley, as her admiration for subject is palatable and perhaps occasionally hindrance, when she demurely closes her eyes faced with undisputed unsavoury facts. Initially, the book is a delight as it deals with those romantic early years when Piaf clawed her way from the streets into the nightclubs and Burke shows great understanding of social and political atmosphere of France, explaining how this street singer fitted into music scene of the time. Piaf was often compared with Judy Garland, but where Garland had Hollywood machinery behind her, French singer spiritually perhaps had more in common with 1920s blues singer Bessie Smith who was similarly embraced by blasé white audiences that visited New York’s Harlem in search for something authentic - as Burke points, before she became national treasure, Piaf was presented and marketed as singer from the slums and gutters, something refreshingly contrasting with current glamorous stars. That she later managed to educate herself and even inspire celebrated artists is a tribute to her genius and appeal. 

Inevitably book slowly turns into long, show-biz list of concerts, tours and airports although Burke heroically tries to keep it interesting with her explanations of singers motivations and inner life. Personally, I couldn’t care less who were her lovers - imagined or real (apparently lots of men looking for her favours were not exactly interested in ladies) - what fascinated me much more were stories explaining background of some classic songs from her repertoire and in all honesty, music is what she is remembered for. When dust settles on all those scandals, sordid stories and melodrama that filled magazines, it is her music that still lives on and touches our hearts - at this point Piaf has been 

away from this world longer than she had been in it (some half of century, to be precise) but her appeal is universal and timeless. 

“Željo Moja” by Doris Dragović (1986)

In every successful career there is one magic moment when combination of good luck, right collaborators, carefully selected material (or pure accident) clicks with public interest and suddenly all the years of apprentice pay off with big time - most of the time audience is not even aware that stars actually worked for a quite bit previously and have earned their overnight acclaim. In hindsight, I wonder did Doris Dragović recognised this is her moment or was invitation from singer-songwriter Zrinko Tutić to perform his song on pre-selection for Eurovision song festival just another gig? Dragović was not exactly unknown debutant - she was well-known as singer in the band “More” and was ready to move further into solo waters, but as it turned out, that particular moment when she appeared in simple white dress (I still vividly remember it, some 30 years later) and sung “Željo Moja”  she became national darling and there was not looking back, in fact massive success of that song completely overshadowed everything that happened before. 

It would be too simplistic to say Dragović just joined the well-oiled hit factory that served cutter-cookie radio fodder - as we all know, in music business there is no guarantee that project will be successful and although both Zrinko Tutić and producer Mato Došen steadily worked in business since early 1970s (list of people they collaborated is basically who’s who in Croatian pop music) nobody could for certain predict this will catapult young singer into stratosphere. She didn’t win Eurovision but for once, our representative performer was not worldwide embarrassment placed in the bottom of the contest - her song and supermodel looks captivated TV audiences around continent with solid voting results and back home Dragović was welcomed as heroine.

“Željo Moja” of course is highlight of this album that finally presents Dragović as a full-blown solo artist. Its slightly different from music she performed with “More” and it is not accident - with the band she sung breezy, winsome soft-funk and now, following instructions from masters of big sales and commercial pop, everything is about  feel-good, easily memorable choruses and multi-tracked backing vocals (carefully assembled session band seems to have start its life just around this time and it became producers trademark). Her old colleague from previous band - still performing as Milo Vasić but later much better known as Jasmin Stavros - makes cameo appearance duetting in “U Tebe Se Neću Zaljubiti” and “Leti, Leti, Lastavice” is a rousing, celebratory little joy of song but even the rest of the album seems like carefully planned showcase for the young singer who got the best possible professional treatment from certified songwriters like Marina Tucaković and Aleksandar Sanja Ilić (even our ex-Eurovision own Daniel Popović wrote one song). If there is one thing to criticise, its that subsequent releases from this team eventually started to sound alike and individual voices tend to kind of blend in without distinction - after a while, every artist got wrapped in exactly same cellophane - but it must be taken in account that this was just a beginning of immensely successful collaboration and resulting music was widely loved and accepted at the time. From now on, Dragović will continue from strength to strength but I believe she will never forget this particular moment.