Reviews by deksametazon

Tri Posleratna Druga je meni najdraži Balaševićev album, i zadnji za koji mogu reći da ga poznajem. Na njemu se Đorđe vraća svakodnevnoj melankoliji, oslobođen težih političkih tema, uz fin utjecaj vojvođanske folk muzike.

Odmah na početku stoji svojevrsni litmus test – “Sugar Rap (proces diferencijacije u kombinatu za proizvodnju i preradu šećerne repe)”. Balašević ovdje... repuje, što je samo po sebi dovoljno da zbuni slušatelja. Pjesma nosi irealan prizvuk, koji je baš onako hladan tuš za svakog ljubitelja. Istovremeno se ruga tadašnjim novim generacijama koje su furale b-boy stil i disco rap. Meni sve ovo nekako daje čudan okus. Vidi se da je Balašević bio staromodni gospodin koji je bio skeptičan prema novim idejama, što mi kvari njegovu sliku jedne osobe za koju sam mislio da će sve ove nove muzičke izume koliko toliko prihvatit. Dodamo li tome njegovu jugonostalgičnu auru, jasno je zašto je favorit starijima, ali i mlađima koji gaje taj stil. I da, pjesma je bila hit.

Ostatak albuma je nevjerovatno snažan. Dok je Bezdan bio teška depresivna epizoda, Tri Posleratna Druga donosi pastoralnu melanholiju. Ima i mračnih trenutaka, ali oni su uravnoteženi ljubavnim pjesmama koje daju laganiji tempo. Trilogija pjesama Ćaletova Pesma - D - moll i Kada Odem su klasična Balaš formula, dok je recimo Remorker možda najljepša balada u ovom perioud njegove karijere.

Naravno, ne bi to bio Balaševićev album bez jedne pjesme koja priziva propast Jugoslavije. Od ’85. godine on neumorno muze tu ideju – i uspijeva. Nekome drugom bih možda zamjerio, ali ovom šarmantnom mornaru teško je išta prigovoriti.
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Tri Posleratna Druga is my favorite Balašević album, and the last one I can say I truly know. On it, Đorđe returns to everyday melancholy, freed from heavier political themes, with a fine influence of Vojvodina folk music.

Right at the start comes a kind of litmus test – “Sugar Rap (proces diferencijacije u kombinatu za proizvodnju i preradu šećerne repe)”. Balašević here… raps, which in itself is enough to throw the listener off. The song carries an unreal vibe, like a cold shower for any fan. At the same time, he mocks the younger generations of the time who embraced the b-boy style and disco rap. To me, all of this leaves a strange aftertaste. It’s clear Balašević was an old-fashioned gentleman, skeptical of new ideas, which spoils the image I had of him as someone who might at least partially embrace these new musical inventions. Add to that his aura of Yugonostalgia, and it’s obvious why he was a favorite among older listeners, but also younger ones who cherished that style. And yes, the song was a hit.

The rest of the album is incredibly strong. While Bezdan was a heavy depressive episode, Tri Posleratna Druga brings pastoral melancholy. There are still dark moments, but they’re balanced with love songs that give a lighter tempo. The trilogy of Ćaletova Pesma – D-moll – Kada Odem is classic Balaš formula, while Remorker might be the most beautiful ballad of this period in his career.

Of course, it wouldn’t be a Balašević album without at least one song invoking the collapse of Yugoslavia. Since ’85 he’s been milking that idea – and he succeeds. With someone else I might complain, but with this charming sailor it’s hard to hold anything against him.

Eh, ovako. Jako sam potcijenio ovaj album. Mnogo su mi na tasu vagale u negativnu stranu pjesme kao Za Treću Smjenu, Pesma o Jednonm Petlu, a mala je težina bila pjesama kao što su Na Pola Puta, koja je izuzetna sada kad je slušam godinama kasnije, i Boža Zvani Pub koja je pjesma sa jakim i slikovitim tekstom.

Ali ono što je ostalo konstanta je ljubav prema prve tri pjesme, koje su mnogo jak start za jako dobar album. Pogotovo Ratnik Paorskog Srca, antiratna pjesma koja daje sliku vatrenosti Balaseviceih tekstova sa kraja decenije.

Sada kad sve izvažemo, dođem na par zaključaka. Prvi, da je Đole ciljao na neki mejnstrim uspjeh (iako to vjerovatno nikad sebi ne bi priznao). Dosta pjesama je ovdje pop orijentirano i pravljeno sa blago gorkim ukusom nekog oblika jednostavnosti i lake probavljivosti. Drugi, bez obzira na sve prethodno rečeno, postaje mi mnogo drag album. Iako sam naveo jednostavnost u prethodnoj rečenici kao negativ, Pub i Balašević su pojave koje bi bile iskvarene pretjeranom, Dilanovskom magijom, prozom i tekstovima. Iskrenost i direktnost tekstova ovdje uspjeva.

I treće, i dalje stoji ona moja rečenica da Balašević ne može slab album/pjesmu iskomponovat. Barem do ovog trenutka.

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Well, here it is. I greatly underestimated this album. Songs like Za Treću Smjenu, Pesma o Jednom Petlu weighed heavily on the negative side, and songs like Na Pola Puta, which is exceptional now that I listen to it years later, and Boža Zvani Pub, which is a song with strong and picturesque lyrics, weighed little back then.

But what has remained constant is my love for the first three songs, which are a very strong start to a very good album. Especially Ratnik Paorskog Srca, an anti-war song that gives a picture of the fervor of Balasevic's lyrics from the end of the decade.

Now that we've weighed everything up, I come to a few conclusions. The first, that Đole was aiming for some mainstream success (although he would probably never admit it to himself). Many of the songs here are pop-oriented and made with a slightly bitter taste of a form of simplicity and easy digestibility. The second, regardless of all the above, it's becoming a very dear album to me. Although I mentioned simplicity in the previous sentence as a negative, Pub and Balašević are a phenomena that would be spoiled by excessive, Dylan-like magic, in prose and lyrics. The honesty and directness of the lyrics succeed here.

And third, my sentence that Balašević cannot compose a weak album/song still stands. At least until now.

Panta Rei je najvece iznenadjenje do sad u Balasevicevom katalogu. Smjesten izmedju dva, po mom misljenju, najveca njegova albuma, prije slusanja sam imao osjecaj da ce dijeliti istu sudbinu sa 003, a to je da ce i ovaj album biti filer epizoda sa 1-2 pjesme koje bi mogle da koketiraju na dnu liste Balasevicevih evergrina.

Album zapocinje sa "Soliter", pjesmom koja opisuje multietnicko stanje u soliterima socijalisticke Jugoslavije kroz koje su starije generacije prosle, jedina pjesma s ovog albuma koju sam vec slusao, i jedina koja ima veseliji ton. Ostale pjesme dijele istu atmosferu koju daje omot: melanholicno crnilo i jedan oblik prolaznosti i tok vremena, poput rijeke. Naravno, tu je jos udaraca na vlast, ali vecinski su pjesme usmjerene ka nekom osjecaju starenja, sto je razumno jer socio-politicka situacija zajedno s cinjenicom da je Balasevicevu ovdje bilo zrelih 35 godina je dovelo do toga.

Imam blagi burnout od ovog tipa muzike koju je Balasevic stvarao u ovom trenutku. Potentni Bezdan je usavrsio tu tehniku stvaranja sociolnog komentara u obliku albuma, a Panta Rei je tu vise kao ekstenzija. Ali iako je ponovljen tematski, jako je lijepo uradjeno, i odlicno se uklapa u njegov opus.
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Panta Rei is the biggest surprise so far in Balašević’s catalog. Placed between what I consider his two greatest albums, before listening I had the feeling it would share the same fate as 003—that is, to be a filler episode with one or two songs that might flirt at the bottom of Balašević’s list of evergreens.

The album opens with Soliter, a song that portrays the multiethnic life in the apartment blocks of socialist Yugoslavia, something older generations lived through. It’s the only track from this album I had already heard, and the only one with a more cheerful tone. The rest of the songs share the same atmosphere suggested by the cover: a melancholic darkness, a sense of transience and the flow of time, like a river. Of course, there are still jabs at the authorities, but most of the songs lean toward feelings of aging—which makes sense, given the socio-political situation and the fact that Balašević was a mature 35 years old at the time.

I admit I feel a slight burnout from this type of music Balašević was creating at that moment. The potent Bezdan perfected the technique of crafting a social commentary in the form of an album, and Panta Rei feels more like an extension of that. But even though the themes are repeated, it’s beautifully executed and fits seamlessly into his body of work.

Like most Balasevic live releases, it radiates humor and banter, especially during tough times like the 90s in the Balkans. It features some of his greatest songs played with both emotion and energy. The same applies to the other part.

Like most Balasevic live releases, it radiates humor and banter, especially during tough times like the 90s in the Balkans. It features some of his greatest songs played with both emotion and energy. The same applies to the other part.

Na listi sam napisao da predosjećam jednu vrstu albuma koje će Balašević praviti do kraja svog života. I šta se desi? Čovjek me odmah demantuje sa idućim.

Moj opis ovog albuma bio bi kombinacija melanholije sa Odlazi cirkus i modernijeg tempa kojeg je sebi zadao albumom Tri posleratna druga. Čak i pjesme koje imaju malo brži tempo, kao što su Namcor i Sin jedinac, i dalje su čvrsto vezane za lagani vojvođanski stil. Na kraju vrijedi pomenuti tekstove, kao i za svaki album panonskog mornara. Ovdje su oni najviše nostalgičnog karaktera, prisjećaju se starih ljubavi i prolaznosti života, što je nekako prikladno za album koji se zove Naposletku.

Kao što sam rekao, Balašević me iz groba demantovao. Iznenađen sam kvalitetom ovog albuma. Naposletku je album čiji je najveći adut tekstualno umijeće koje je Balašević u tom trenutku dvadesetak godina trenirao. Možda njegov najkompletniji i najprijatniji album devedesetih, iako bi vjerovatno čovjeku kojem je srpski jezik stran ovaj album zvučao osrednje, što mu je jedina mana na kraju dana. Ako se to uopste moze navesti kao mana.
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On the list I wrote that I sensed one type of album Balašević would keep making for the rest of his life. And what happens? The man immediately proves me wrong with the very next one.

My description of this album would be a blend of the melancholy from Odlazi cirkus and the more modern tempo he set for himself with Tri posleratna druga. Even the songs with a slightly faster pace, like Namcor and Sin jedinac, remain firmly tied to that gentle Vojvodina style. And in the end, it’s worth mentioning the lyrics — as with every album by the Panonian sailor. Here they are mostly nostalgic in character, recalling old loves and the passing of life, which feels fitting for an album called Naposletku (“At Last/Finally”).

As I said, Balašević proved me wrong from beyond the grave. I’m genuinely surprised by the quality of this album. Naposletku is an album whose greatest strength lies in the lyrical craftsmanship Balašević had been honing for the past twenty years. Perhaps his most complete and most pleasant album of the ’90s, though to someone unfamiliar with the Serbian language it might sound rather average — which is its only flaw at the end of the day. If that can even be called a flaw.

Mnogo ljudi koje poznajem se kunu u ovaj Balaševićev album. Čak je i ovdje na RYM drugi najocjenjeniiji njegov album. Ima tu niza razloga: Marim Ja je zadnji Đoletov album prije raspada Jugoslavije, jedan je od najskupljih albuma na gramofonskoj ploči (koju sam vidio da se i proda), i što ima Ringišpil na njoj.

Vidim taj razlog kunjenja. Album je dobar, iako mi opet vuče ka šablonu sa Panta Rei, odnosno da se izbaci nešto, jer je prošlo dvije godine od Tri Posleratna Druga. Na svu sreću, album ima više mesa u sebi od Panta Rei, iako je izuzetno melanholičan. Najbolji opis bi bio miks izmedju licnih nota Tri Posleratna Druga i socijalnog komentara Panta Rei. Dupli udarac Bube Erdeljan i Ringispila su licne karte jadi mladjih i onih malo starijih, Olelole je divna pjesma sa utjecajem tanga i latinoamerickih melodija koja je mozda najjaca njegova ljubavna pjesma. Nekako odise vigorom Zadnja pjesma ciji mi je naziv mrsko pisati je prvi direktni Balasevicev komentar o ratu, zajedno sa pjesmom Marim Ja... Album sam od sebe je snimljen u junu 1991, kada se vec orilo u Sloveniji, a pripremao inferno u Hrvatskoj. Ova prva mi je draza, jer ima jedan saljiv ton u sebi, za razliku od Marim Ja koji je vise ozbiljan i jadikovan. Plus, prvi ima spomen Twin Peaksa i Bob Dylana. Gdje ces bolje.

I tako nekako ostane ovaj sredisnji dio od Nevernika do Citron Pesme. Citron Pesma moze direkt u kantu. Jednostavno ne lezi. Divlji Badem je prosjecna balada, a Nevernik je isto dobar pjesma koja mi raste pri srcu sto je vise slusam, ali opet treba tu jos malo vremena.

Na kraju bi rekao da ovdje ima vrijednih pjesama. Mozda ne bas vrijednih onih novaca kojih traze za ovaj album, ali i dalje vrijedno.
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A lot of people I know swear by this Balašević album. Even on RYM it’s ranked as his second highest-rated record. There are plenty of reasons for that: Marim Ja was his last album before the breakup of Yugoslavia, it’s one of the priciest LPs on vinyl (I’ve seen it actually sell), and of course it has Ringišpil on it.

I get why people swear by it. The album is good, though it leans again toward the template of Panta Rei—something released because two years had passed since Tri Posleratna Druga. Luckily, this one has more substance than Panta Rei, even if it’s drenched in melancholy. The best way to describe it would be a mix between the personal notes of Tri Posleratna Druga and the social commentary of Panta Rei. The double punch of Bube Erdeljan and Ringišpil are calling cards for the woes of both younger and slightly older generations. Olelole is a beautiful song with tango and Latin American influences, maybe his strongest love song. It radiates vigor. The last track—whose title I’d rather not write—is Balašević’s first direct comment on the war, alongside Marim Ja. The album itself was recorded in June 1991, when fighting had already erupted in Slovenia and the inferno was brewing in Croatia. I prefer the first of those two songs, since it carries a humorous tone, unlike Marim Ja, which is more serious and mournful. Plus, the first one mentions Twin Peaks and Bob Dylan. What more could you ask for.

And so you’re left with this middle stretch from Nevernik to Citron Pesma. Citron Pesma can go straight in the trash—it just doesn’t fit. Divlji Badem is an average ballad, while Nevernik is a good track that grows on me the more I listen, though it still needs some time.

In the end, I’d say there are songs here worth holding onto. Maybe not worth the kind of money people are asking for the album, but still worth it.

Balašević je umro 1992. Kao zvanični uzrok smrti se navodi srce koje je puklo na 8 malih komada. Iako su vješti hirurzi pokušali da ga nekako zaliječe različitim akrobacijama na stolu, nisu uspjeli. Shodno tome, za sve poslije tog kobnog trenutka bi se moglo reći... da se nije ni desilo za Đoleta. Tako i ovaj album. Zvucno mi je dosta laksi nego albumi iz prethodnog perioda.

Vjerovatno najveci razlog tome je sto je Balasevic vec polako gazio u taj stadiji karijere gdje je imao svoju bazu pratioca i tesko je da bi mogao izmisliti toplu vodu sa iducim albumom. Naravno, to ne znaci da se on ponasao poput bezbroj drugih umjetnika pa izbacio album samo kada zafali novca. I dalje je bio sposoban da iskomponuje numere kao Ja luzer?, Putuj Evropo, Provincijalka i Čovek sa mesecom u očima, koje su vrhunac ovog projekta. Daleko od njegovog vrhunskog perioda 80ih, ali i dalje album koji vrijedi imati u kolekciji.
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Balašević passed away in 1992. The official cause of death was listed as a heart that shattered into eight small pieces. Although skilled surgeons tried to somehow patch it up with various acrobatics on the operating table, they failed. Consequently, everything that followed that fateful moment... could be said never to have actually happened for Đole. The same goes for this album. Sonically, it feels much lighter compared to his previous work.

The main reason for this is likely that Balašević was already entering that stage of his career where he had a well-established fanbase, and it was highly unlikely he could reinvent the wheel with his next release. Of course, that doesn't mean he acted like countless other artists who drop an album only when they run out of cash. He was still more than capable of composing tracks like Ja luzer?, Putuj Evropo, Provincijalka, and Čovek sa mesecom u očima, which stand out as the absolute highlights of this project. It is a far cry from his peak era in the '80s, but still an album well worth having in your collection.

Ne znam da li postoji bolji trenutak za recenziranje Dnevnika starog momka od ovog, kada je u Srbiji pala jedna autokratska vlada, 26 godina nakon što je pala prethodna. Za priču oko albuma: već ste upoznati da je Balašević bio strogi kritičar vlasti koja je naslijedila Jugoslaviju i koja je povela ovo područje u krvavi pir, što je očito u albumima s kraja 80-ih pa do 2001. godine, jer su svi imali ili političke ili duboko melankolične pjesme. Pa tako je pad Miloševića kod Balaševića donio jednu suprotnu, uzlaznu trajektoriju, pa smo dobili album od 12 pjesama, koje su sve ljubavne. Jel to zbog novopronađene zrelosti, zbog pada Miloševica koji je dao Đorđu novu energiju, ili kako se šuška, zbog problema u njegovom dugogodišnjem braku, to nikada nećemo saznati, ali se da naslutiti.

I nekako su najdublje odavno, i najteže za shvatiti. Meni je lično Balašević najdraži kad istražuje ili političku scenu, ili melankolični vihor, a te ljubavne pjesme su mu bile dosta mlakaste za moj ukus, ali Dnevnik starog momka predstavlja ljubav kao ono što ona u stvari jeste: niz pobjeda i poraza koji se završavaju nekad kao zbunjujući rastanak, a nekad kao trijumfalna pobjeda. "Eleonora" i "Nevena" lijepo predstavljaju taj jaz i konfuziju u ljubavi gdje je ljubav prekinuta i nedovršena, ali vrijedi pomenuti da, iako su pjesme ljubavne, kroz strofe imamo dodire na druge teme, subtilnije, kao na narkomaniju u pjesmi "Branislava".

Ali da... većina pjesama su ljubavne, urađene na različite načine. Često je to klasični njegov pristup, nekad vuče na bluz, a nekad i na dixieland. Iako nema direktnog političkog zbora, cijeli album s jedne strane signalizira buđenje iz tog začaranog sna.

Još jedna stvar: dvanaest pjesama, dvanaest ženskih imena, čija prva slova daju jednu rečenicu "Olja je Najbolja". Poslije svih tih pobjeda i poraza, poslije dvanaest portreta dvanaest žena, poruka je jedna, i upućena je Olji, njegovoj supruzi. Ljubav kao niz pobjeda i poraza, a to je ta trijumfalna pobjeda, i poruka ovog albuma. E svaka mu čast!
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I don't know if there's a better moment to review Dnevnik starog momka than this one, with an autocratic government having just fallen in Serbia, 26 years after the last one fell. For the story around the album: you're already familiar with the fact that Balašević was a strict critic of the government that inherited Yugoslavia and led this region into a bloody feast, which is obvious on the albums from the late 80s up to 2001, because they all had either political or deeply melancholic songs. So Milošević's fall brought something opposite in Balašević, an upward trajectory, and so we got an album of 12 songs, all of them love songs. Was it newfound maturity, was it Milošević's fall giving Đorđe a new energy, or, as the rumour goes, problems in his long marriage — we'll never know, but you can sense it.

And somehow they're the deepest in a long time, and the hardest to grasp. Personally, I like Balašević best when he's exploring either the political scene or a melancholic whirlwind, and those love songs of his were always pretty lukewarm for my taste — but Dnevnik starog momka presents love as what it actually is: a series of victories and defeats that end sometimes as a bewildering breakup and sometimes as a triumphant win. "Eleonora" and "Nevena" capture that gap and confusion in love nicely, where the love is cut off and unfinished, but it's worth mentioning that although the songs are love songs, through the verses we get touches of other themes, more subtly — like drug addiction on "Branislava".

But yeah... most of the songs are love songs, done in different ways. Often it's his classic approach, sometimes it pulls toward the blues, and sometimes toward dixieland. Even though there's no direct political chorus, the whole album on one hand signals a waking up from that enchanted dream.

One more thing: twelve songs, twelve female names, whose first letters give one sentence — "Olja je najbolja." After all those victories and defeats, after twelve portraits of twelve women, the message is one, and it's addressed to Olja, his wife. Love as a series of victories and defeats, and this is that triumphant win, and the message of this album. Hats off to him, honestly!

Odgovarajuće ime, jer je album je izdan krajem 90ih (ili početkom 00ih, zavisi kako gledaš). Iznenađujuće, možda bi neko očekivao da će album da detaljiše Balaševićevo iskustvo u 90im, i ima toga, ali je pretežno prožet klasičnom armaturom u vidu malo politike, malo ljubavi, malo poetičnih priča sažetih u par minuta.

I upravo to mi i smeta. Šta razlikuje ovaj album od prethodna tri, četiri ili pet albuma? Pa slabo šta. Duži je od prethodnih, pa to dopušta da Đorđe prikaže svoj lirički šarm u dugometražnim pjesama koje traju po pet do sedam minuta. To je još jedna od stvari koje ovaj album čine malo... težim za provarit u više navrata.

Najdraža pjesma mi je Legenda o Gedi Gluperdi, koja je i najhumorističnija. Ostale su jako intimne, i pomalo melanholične, što baš i ne odgovara u trajanju od 70 minuta. Kako god, solidan album.
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An appropriate title, considering the album was released in the late '90s (or early 2000s, depending on how you look at it). Surprisingly, while one might expect it to detail Balašević’s personal experiences during the '90s, and there is some of that, it is mostly built on his classic framework: a bit of politics, a bit of love, and poetic stories condensed into a few minutes.

And that is precisely what bothers me. What sets this album apart from the previous three, four, or five? Hardly anything. It is longer than its predecessors, which allows Đorđe to showcase his lyrical charm in extended tracks lasting anywhere from five to seven minutes. That is another thing that makes this album a bit... harder to digest over multiple listens.

My favorite track is "Legenda o Gedi Gluperdi," which is also the most humorous one. The rest are deeply intimate and somewhat melancholic, which doesn't quite sit well over a 70-minute runtime. Either way, it's a solid album.

Dosta paralela se moze povuci izmedju proslogodisnjeg Puba i Celovecernjeg The Kid-a. Oba imaju jako slican tako: Ilona i Celovecernji The Kid zapocinju album sa jako zabavnim tempom, u sredini imamo intimnu melanholiju Svirajte Mi Jesen Stize Dunjo i Lepa Protina Kci i opet po jednu saljivu pjesmu sa pocetka B strane, Don Fancisco Long Play i Pjesma o Jednom Petlu, i za kraj opet melanholicna nota pjesama Neko To Od Gore Vidi Sve i Na Pola Puta.

S time na umu, kao album mi je ovaj drazi. Ima dosta veće vrhunce, očito u pjesmi Svirajte Mi Jesen Stize Dunjo Moja, jedna od najboljih Balasevicevih pjesama, i iako A1 i B1 imaju više humoristicniji pristup, dobro se uklapaju, pa ti niski momenti i ne zvuce toliko nisko.
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A lot of parallels can be drawn between last year's Pub and Celovecernji The Kid. Both have a very similar sound: Ilona and Celovecernji The Kid start the albums off with a very fun tempo, in the middle we have the intimate melancholy Svirajte Mi Jesen Stize Dunjo and Lepa Protina Kci and again one funny song each from the beginning of the B side, Don Fancisco Long Play and Pjesma o Jednom Petlu, and at the end again a melancholic note of the songs Neko To Od Gore Vidi Sve and Na Pola Puta.

With that in mind, I like this one as an album. There are much bigger peaks, obviously in the song Svirajte Mi Jesen Stize Dunjo Moja, one of Balasevic's best songs, and although A1 and B1 have a more humorous approach, they fit well, so those low moments don't sound so low.

Bezdan označava početak nove, vatrenije ere Balaševića. Dok su prethodni albumi bili poetski, sa manje-više šaljivim karakterom i ponekim slabim, niskim udarcem, za Bezdan bi se moglo reći da je jugoslovenski „diss“ album osamdesetih. Voljeni kantautor napada političare, kriminalce, oportuniste, svirače narodnjaka, splačine od javnih orkestara, a ipak nalazi mjesta da ubaci i emotivne balade koje su zaštitni znak Balaševićevog zvuka.

„Ne lomite mi bagrenje“ je pjesma koja je možda najpoznatija koju je Balašević napisao, i svakako jedna od najemotivnijih. Njena simbolika prevazilazi konkretan kontekst (jer se Balašević u devedesetim nije ustručavao govoriti i protiv svog naroda, pa i onih koje je veličao ovom pjesmom) i govori o osjećaju nepravde, o krhkosti života i zajednice, o tome kako se rušenjem stabla ruši i dio čovjekove intime. Iako su se tokom godina vodile rasprave o njenom značenju, pjesma je ostala univerzalna metafora otpora i bola. Retrospektivno, ona pokazuje da je Balašević uvijek stajao na strani pravde i ljudskosti, a ne ideologije — i upravo zato ostaje bezvremenska.

S ovim albumom, Balaševićeva slava i popularnost dostižu novi nivo. Neki ga smatraju njegovim najboljim albumom, jer kombinuje emociju i vatru, osjećanja koja i danas odjekuju republikama bivše Jugoslavije. To je sasvim opravdano, jer Bezdan zaista jeste jedno od njegovih najboljih ostvarenja, koje bi trebalo da se nađe na većini top lista.
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Bezdan marks the beginning of a new, more fiery era for Balašević. While his earlier albums were poetic, with a more or less humorous character and the occasional weak jab, Bezdan could be described as the Yugoslav “diss” album of the eighties. The beloved singer-songwriter takes aim at politicians, criminals, opportunists, folk performers, the mediocrity of public orchestras, and yet still finds room to include emotional ballads that remain the hallmark of Balašević’s sound.

“Ne lomite mi bagrenje” (“Do Not Break My Locust Trees”) is perhaps the most famous song Balašević ever wrote, and certainly one of the most emotional. Its symbolism transcends the specific context (since in the nineties Balašević did not hesitate to speak out even against his own people, including those he once praised through this song) and speaks of injustice, of the fragility of life and community, of how the felling of a tree also destroys part of a person’s inner world. Although debates about its meaning have continued over the years, the song has remained a universal metaphor for resistance and pain. In retrospect, it shows that Balašević always stood on the side of justice and humanity, not ideology, and that is precisely why it remains timeless.

With this album, Balašević’s fame and popularity reached a new level. Some consider it his finest work, because it combines emotion and fire, feelings that still resonate across the republics of the former Yugoslavia. That view is entirely justified, for Bezdan truly stands as one of his greatest achievements, a record that deserves a place on most top lists.

Uh, kako opisati ovaj album... Balašević ide u pop? Dugo očekivani kiks?

Jedno je sigurno, dosta slabiji nego prethodnih par albuma. 003 otvara sa najjačom pjesmom, Noć Kad Sam Preplivao Dunav (The Night I Swam Over The Danube) koju vrtim od kako sam počeo slušati album. Pjesma je o prelasku kroz tesku situaciju do voljene osobe, ali meni nekako više liči na neku odu smrti i ponovnim viđenjem sa osobom koja nas čeka na nebeskim vrtovima. Suština je ista na kraju.

Opet, ima tu i pjesama koje su šaljivog karaktera. Baby Blue, Al Se Nekad Dobro Jelo mi iz prve naumpadaju, prva od kojih mi često ostane u glavi. Mani Me Se Lepa Nasto me previše podsjeća na Galiju (u ne tako dobrom kontektsu), a Bela Lađa i Morao sam da se Odselim su zaboravne pjesme, a Put u Središte Zemlje je više ustaljen trop o rudarima.

Pored pjesme iz prvog paragrafa, pjesme Badnje Veče, Olivera su mnogo jake i dižu prosjek inače prosječnog albuma.
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Uh, how to describe this album… Balašević going pop? A long‑awaited misstep?

One thing’s for sure: it’s noticeably weaker than the last few albums. 003 opens with its strongest track, Noć Kad Sam Preplivao Dunav (The Night I Swam Over The Danube), which I’ve been replaying ever since I started listening. The song is about crossing a difficult situation to reach a loved one, but to me it feels more like an ode to death and a reunion with someone waiting in the heavenly gardens. In the end, the essence is the same.

Still, there are songs here with a playful character. Baby Blue and Al Se Nekad Dobro Jelo come to mind right away, with the first often stuck in my head. Mani Me Se Lepa Nasto reminds me too much of Galija (not in a good way), while Bela Lađa and Morao Sam Da Se Odselim are forgettable tracks. Put u Središte Zemlje feels more like a worn‑out trope about miners.

Aside from the opening track, Badnje Veče and Olivera stand out as powerful songs that lift the average of an otherwise average album.

It's good, but the individual songs are better than the sum. The punk songs soar quickly in and out, and those reggae/dub songs are also great, but when you combine them on one album, you notice cracks in sequencing and overall quality of the album as a whole. Still, the songs on their own are good, so the score is what it is.

Orpheus Listening Challenge 2025: #29 An album from an artist with fewer than 1000 monthly listeners on Spotify (49th Album)

Have you ever been hit by that unbearable toothache that painkillers fail to tame, leaving you staggering in a half-state of agony and analgesia? That’s kind of what this feels like. Bablicon – In a Different City swings between lethargic and wildly hectic moods, yet never loses the intensity it establishes from the start.

Genre-wise, it leans heavily into avant-garde jazz and avant-prog, with a bunch of unusual instruments you don’t often hear. Even the fucking theremin shows up briefly and it’s used surprisingly well. The track “2 Birds” really stood out to me. It’s got a great jazzy rhythm that’s oddly danceable, even though it sounds terrifying at first.

It’s a fine, atmospheric album, but honestly a bit too much for me. There are moments that work really well, but there’s just so much going on in these songs that it ends up hurting the overall quality. Like they poured in too many ideas at once: interesting, sure, but not to the album’s benefit.

Thank you [~SpeedKills] for the recommendation!

WIld Planet is at the same time better and worse that the predecessor. It's more musically sound, with it being more rooted in the punk that surrounded it at the time, but at the same time it loses a bit of the charm it had with the mysterious and fictive aura their debut had.

Still, it has enough of the charm lingering to make it very good and enjoyable. Dare I say buy worthy? Private Idaho is great, and a classic, and Give Me Back My Man gives a darker aura to the album, while Strobe Light is punk done well.

Blood Operatives of the Barium Sunset wears its influences proudly on its sleeve, which includes Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen, which means you're getting Waits' atmosphere of the underground society with Cohen's/Waits' style of storytelling.

Overall, a net positive. Particularly enjoyed the back half, with Dracula Drizzi, Ballad of Colonel Fawcett and Missy Undertaker being favorites.

My father bought this compilation for a euro a few years back and it's still regularly played. We go to the store? Slap this bad boy on. We go on a vacation? Slap this bad boy on. We're visiting relatives? Slap this bad boy on. This compilation has followed me everywhere I went with my father, and it might as well be the reason for my love for Azra and Yugoslavian music in general.

In all seriousness, this is a great starting point for someone just getting into Azra. It has all the essential tracks (though I'd wager that the first three albums + the 1st compilation of singles are pure essentials with no filler whatsoever) and everything you would need from the back end of Azra. The only gripe I have with this compilation is the lack of live recordings and Stulic's solo stuff.

Something was brewing when Azra released their first album in 1980. But what they decided to do next is a bold move by any standards and measures. Releasing a double album is no joke. Releasing a double album that's without its down moments is downright impossible.

Yet they delivered.

The entire album is filled with memorable, catchy tunes laced with rebellious, hedonistic lyrics with the occasional storytelling moment about the life of a slacker in the big city. While the first Azra album was good, it lacked the iron willed and gung-ho songwriting style Johhny Stulic would become known for, which is abundant here. Structurally, the songs range from being simple and pop commercial like, to intricate storytelling packed up in 3-4 minute songs. The album is packed on a double LP format, but it doesn't feel like it, because it just flows naturally, no filler whatsoever. The production is a few steps above their previous endeavour, being slick, and clear, with the right moments being accentuated to create a perfect atmosphere that fits the brand of pop, new wave, punk and reggae they were playing.

With Sunčana Strana Ulice, Johnny cemented himself as the voice of the 80s in Yugoslavia, and Azra as one of the greats of the Yugoslavian music scene.

You can make the argument that this compilation is the best compilation ever released in Yugoslavia. Even better than "Paket Aranžman" to some people. Now, I wouldn't go that far, but it's very close. This album boasts all the heavy hitters from Azra's earlier career. Listening to this piece you can see the roots of what would become the real Azra later on Filigranski and Sunčana Strana.
I wanted to highlight "Balkan" "Lijepe Žene Prolaze Kroz Grad" and "E Pa Što", but truth be told, every song here is amazing, and most are a staple of the Yugoslavian musical repertoire.

Recommended!