Artist: Various Artists
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 2008
Rating: 4/5
It was 1976. Calm all around, everybody dutifully did their civic labor and sat in front of the TV in the evenings, waiting for the rousing speeches from the days of self-contribution levies and old-newspaper drives. Nobody asked about anything, nobody thought about anything. It was bliss, it was an idyll, we had the Fičo. Yugoslavia, of course. Right before the power cuts and the gas coupons. And then? Right before the degradation of humankind itself. How ironic, looking back from 2008. Who’d ever have thought we’d still get the “hiccups” for those times.
Then Rijeka stands up and a full-blown new wave of punk madness kicks off. Like a bolt from the blue, from a solid core along the magic triangle of Rijeka-Ljubljana-Zagreb, with not a shred of gentlemanliness and a noise of shocking proportions, it told the innocent, hardworking little lambs of the late Yugo that young punk rock partisans were heading for the woods!
We’re talking about the triple-CD compilation called “Riječki novi val – antalogija”. Hats off. There’s practically nothing left to say, nothing to add, when something like this hits the market. It’s an outstanding cross-section of the scene between roughly 1977 and 1989, showing the growth and development of rock in Rijeka in the most selfless and authentic way. It captures the very beginnings, personified by the pioneering rock n’ roll souls of the first dilettante bands, Paraf and Termiti, with the torch later carried on by the likes of Umjetnici s ulice, Grč, Proces, Istočni izlaz, Mrtvi kanal, Walter, Sikters, Let 2, Let 3 or Excess. All of it is right there on the compilation!
This movement wasn’t special just for the territory of the late Yugoslavia. You could say it was a worldwide phenomenon and a cultural-artistic one-off, unique in every respect. The compilation offers a look at the evolution, from the primal origins of the first punk bands through new wave, pop, avant-garde and art rock. Even in the days of brotherhood and unity, Rijeka breathed free air, blowing in from the Kvarner Gulf. The fact is that the young Rijeka enthusiasts diligently followed the trends in rock music through the eighties, which came in on the Western winds. That’s how quite a few splendid bands were born, ones that combined their original alternative stamp with new wave, post punk and artiness, like Laufer, Grad, Ogledala, Fiume, En Face, Vava, Idejni nemiri, plus the writers of light electro pop ditties (Cacadou Look, Denis & Denis) or art pop (Xenia). The common denominator of all these add-ons is the great punk bang mentioned in the previous paragraph. The compilation presents, in an interesting way, the stylistic development and growth of the bands through the different periods of recording their own material.
The compilation is also special because it brings previously unreleased tracks by Denis & Denis, Konjak, Transmisia, Fit and Laufer, and Paraf’s work is put on an audio CD for the first time. Besides the big bands that left their mark across the wider area of former Yugoslavia, the triple compilation documents material from many smaller, obscure bands whose names have practically sunk into oblivion, but thanks to this release they won’t go unheard. After all, they’re co-creators of the Rijeka rock phenomenon.
What stings the ears the most are some of the new wave-obscure experiments by bands like Kaos, the total mayhem of Transformatori, or the lucid schizophrenia of musical perception from Strukturne ptice.
We also find a few blunders. Hey, compilation makers!!! What a sloppy job! In the track list in the booklet that comes with the second disc, the song Rusi dolaze by Via Viktor Kunst is cited at the end, but it’s not on the audio. Further, the dismal quality of the live version of NNNI by Vijetnamska ruža is open to question, and so is the downright silly ending of the first CD with street accordionist Zdravko Lulić and his annoying live Sjedi Ćiro medley. The opening section (the cut-off) of Nikad moj kurac by Excess is flawed too. The evergreen hit by Laufer called Moja voda gives away more than obviously that the recording was lifted straight from the original vinyl onto the audio medium (the warbling of the tape in the fading outro).
The anthology isn’t in chronological order, which may bug a lot of people. But the significance and quality of everything contained in this compilation, the spirit of a certain era, the clear and recognizable essence of Rijeka’s rock culture, turn every minus into a plus. On top of all the music, the package also includes an extensive extra booklet (besides the individual one that comes with each of the three CDs), with rare photographs and contributions from authors who lived through the Rijeka new wave and were important activists of the movement, which gives the release a special extra charm and value. So this is a very special document, a bible of exceptional value. A package of explosive content from days long gone, laid bare in the most spotless light.
Track List
CD 1.:
1. PARAF – Rijeka
2. PARAF – Narodna pjesma
3. TERMITI – Ja ne želim ništa
4. TERMITI – Mama s razlogom se brineš
5. MRTVI KANAL – Oglasi
6. MRTVI KANAL – Dijagnoza
7. ISTOČNI IZLAZ – Plava koverta
8. ISTOČNI IZLAZ – Hladne ruke vruća ljubav
9. ISTOČNI IZLAZ – Ujutro
10. OGLEDALA – Samo ti
11.OGLEDALA – Kako ti je sada
12. CACADOU LOOK – Sama
13. XENIA – Vjetar u kosi
14. GRAD – Bol
15. GRAD – Vrijeme promjena
16. WALTER – Olupine
17. WALTER – Boris
18. FIUME – Vidiš li
19. IDEJNI NEMIRI – Dosada
20. KAOS – Samo prvom klasom
21. KAOS – Roboti
22. KAOS – Uzbuna
23. PROCES – Šugavi dan (live)
24.VIJETNAMSKA RUŽA – NNNI (live)
25. ZDRAVKO LULIĆ – Sjedi Ćiro medley (live)
Running time CD1.: 74.22
CD 2.:
1.TERMITI – Vjeran pas
2.TERMITI – Kišni razdraganci
3.GRAD – Ima li nešto
4.GRAD – Riječi
5.CACADOU LOOK – Kao pjesma
6.CACADOU LOOK – Ljubav i raj
7. OGLEDALA – Ogledala su oko mene
8.XENIA -Troje
9.XENIA – Moja prijateljica
10.FIT – Rijeka (live)
11.FIT – Kao mačka
12. DENIS & DENIS – Program tvog kompjutera
13. DENIS & DENIS – Soba 23
14. DENIS & DENIS – Braća Grimm i Andersen
15. UMJETNICI ULICE – Humana revolucija
16. UMJETNICI ULICE -Libanonska jutra
17. PARAF – Zastave
18. PARAF – Praznik
19. GRČ – Noćas se Beograd pali
20. GRČ – Još ima krvi
21. MRTVI KANAL – Samo tijelo
22. TRANSFORMATORI – Gospodar
23. SIKTERS – U parku (live)
24. VIA VIKTOR KUNST – Rusi dolaze
Running time CD 2.: 78.20
CD 3.:
1. LAUFER – Moja voda
2. LAUFER – Ljubav je bol
3. FIT – Zaboravit ću sve
4. IDEJNI NEMIRI – Bombe i bomboni
5. IDEJNI NEMIRI – Mala mala
6. IDEJNI NEMIRI – Ja sam narkoman
7. SPAHIJA I ULTRAGLUPAŠI – Ultraglupaši
8. KONJAK – Ona i ja
9. KONJAK – Pretežno vedro
10.EN FACE – Kuća
11. LET 3 – U rupi od smole
12. LET 2 – Zora
13. LET 2 – Let
14. STRUKTURNE PTICE – Hramovi
15. STRUKTURNE PTICE – San
16. GRČ – Teške čizme na nogama slobode
17. VAVA – Stigma
18. TRANSMISIA – Šume umiru
19. EKSCESS – Nikad moj kurac
20. PORKO DIO – Riba
21. RI VAL – Učinimo nešto
Running time CD 3.: 76.25
