Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: San Di Ego
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 2017
Runtime: 42:33
Rating: 3/5
San Di Ego are a quartet of seasoned musicians who, after their self-titled debut from 2014, are back on the scene relatively fast by Slovenian standards with its studio follow-up, »Doktor za Rock’N’Roll«. The new album digs deeper into and cements the foundations of the debut’s musical vision. It’s simply a stroll down the well-trodden path of classic hard rock, one that looks for inspiration in the most representative achievements of the genre worldwide, from the era of its great popularity in the eighties. Basically, it’s the transformation of that moment into a hard rock album of Slovenian geographic origin.
»Doktor za Rock’N’Roll«, within the broad scope of hard rock, couldn’t sound more Slovenian than it does. In that sense, with the new album San Di Ego edge even closer to the Šank Rock phenomenon (Šank Rock). Comparisons make sense with the essence of the latest Requiem album »Fallen Angel« and with moments from the »K-Metal« album by the Zabukowski project, and you can even sense a reconciliation with select moments from Aleš Klinar’s career.
The truth is, there’s no band like San Di Ego in Slovenia. Not these days. Genre-wise they’re not trendy, but alongside the revived Šank Rock (Šank Rock) they’re the only ones, and that’s exactly why they’re all the more special by Slovenian standards. They dare, they go for it! And courage counts. With their drive, San Di Ego have already earned a recognized name on the Slovenian scene, and they’re even knocking successfully on the door of regular rotation on Slovenian mainstream radio.
Artistically, San Di Ego don’t reach for anything unheard-of or special. They draw their inspiration from the legacy of eighties hard rock. Toss in a pinch of Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, Scorpions, Van Halen, and in your own musical revision you recode it all into your very own hard rock »macramé«.
The crew is incredibly experienced, and you can feel at every point and every moment of this album that the quartet has played a ton. Whether together or in earlier musical outfits (Requeim, Billysi,..). On top of all that, you can really tell that all four have played loads of cover versions of foreign acts over their careers and have also listened to enormous amounts of other bands’ hard rock, so they absolutely get the aesthetics of this genre’s musical culture. They basically carry it in the pinky of their left hand Singer Sergej Škofljanec has already proven himself as an exceptionally skilled composer and arranger, and he cashes in on his talents again, in a refined, selective and committed way.
Even though »Doktor za Rock’N’Roll is definitely a more than meaningfully themed album, addressing you in its messages straight up like a »doctor’s prescription for a rock’n’roll cure«, there isn’t a single moment on it that sticks in the listener’s long-term memory. Precisely because the songs bring nothing new or unheard. Even when Saša Mežek shows up as a special guest on the track Gledam tvoje slike, it doesn’t really turn the picture around. That track, for example, draws its composing inspiration from chorus melodies (vocal harmonies included) that even flirt with the musicality of AOR purism, while in its sonic and stylistic mold it sounds close to what Uriah Heep were doing on their albums between 1982 and 1985. In the track Junaki you can feel a fascination with Bon Jovi, in the title track with Whitesnake.
But there is something. The tunes are wonderfully packaged. Honestly, nothing’s missing. Compositionally they grab you right away. Instantly. The production is excellent, exactly what an album like this needs in 2017. Lively, robust, with the bass (as required) cutting through and clearly audible all the way. Sergej Škofljanec’s vocals are once again a chapter of their own. Right now the man has one of the most striking hard rock voices in Slovenia. Given that the quartet’s extraordinary camaraderie is instantly noticeable on the album, and that it’s what gives the album its conviction when it speaks to the listener, the special discovery here is Matic Ajdič’s soloing. Compared to the debut it brings even more expressiveness, even more finesse and a feel for placing the notes themselves within the subtleties of the solos. In that sense, Matic Ajdič is the most interesting thing about the new San Di Ego album. The man has developed into an excellent guitarist, also when it comes to crafting solos that mustn’t be »overwrought« and mustn’t tear apart the tightness and musicality of the songs. In that respect, Matic nailed the approach.
So? A lovely album in every respect. In the added vocal harmonies, in the mellow moments where the integration of piano also grabs your attention, and it’s interesting that two covers placed at the tail end of the album take the spotlight too. One is an incredibly effective cover of the hit Touch Me (the original belongs to Samantha Fox), the other the long-known reworking of Mežek’s Julija, which, in its keyboard setup, borrows the arranging trick from the song Here I Go Again (Whitesnake).
San Di Ego are an important band for Slovenian classic-style hard rock. The value is all the greater because in the new millennium there are simply no such bands here. Better that young people go to San Di Ego gigs than to Istrian klapa groups, “tribute to” bands and the whole crowd of “ex-Yu-rock Balkan extravaganzas” that long ago (sadly) got citizenship here, while Slovenian rock’n’roll is in short supply. Chronically. So let the doctor for rock’n’roll heal you!
San Di Ego – Doktor za Rock’N’Roll (official video):
Lineup
Sergej Škofljanec – vocals, keyboards, acoustic guitar
Matic Ajdič – electric guitar, backing vocals
Martin Rozman – bass guitar, backing vocals
Jure Doles – drums
GUEST MUSICIANS:
Aleksander Mežek – vocals on track no. 6
M.I.J.A.V. – backing vocals on track no. 5
Aleš Klinar – backing vocals on tracks no. 1 and 4
Mitja Gorše – keyboards on track no. 6
Maša Tomc – cello on track no. 2
Production
Matej Zalar, Franci Zabukovec, Dejan Radičevič & San Di Ego
Tracklist
1. Rock Star
2. Brez tebe
3. Najlonke
4. Doktor za rock’n’roll
5. Safr
6. Gledam tvoje slike
7. Junaki
8. (Ti) Bildaš mi ego
9. Nisem svetnik
10. Kaj je meni tega treba
11. Touch Me*
12. Julija*
*…. bonus tracks
