Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Mežek, Aleksander
Label: Self-released
Release date: 01.08.2012
Length: 35:54
Rating: 4/5
This review is running late too, which isn’t cool. Good thing we got a copy at all. One way or another. Better late than never. If the album »In« was a linguistic mix, Fair Play stays that way too, though this time the songs sung in English take the lead. »Fair Play« is, after all, dedicated to London.
When the Council of Europe picked Mežek’s song Fair Play as Europe’s sports anthem in 2003, the legendary Slovenian singer-songwriter would never have dreamed that almost ten years later he’d record the song once more, in English and Slovenian versions, and even name his, oh-oh-ho, 22nd studio album after it. One way or another, the album »Fair Play« stays sporty in flavor, too. It ties in with the Olympic Games in London, which took place there in the summer of 2012.
Aleksander Mežek is considered one of the most important Slovenian singer-songwriters. The famous Slovenian singer-songwriter trio of Šifrer (Mežek’s first manager), Mežek and Domicelj historically stirred up the »scene« across Great Britain. It was a moment in history that never happened again, and never will. And if the facts don’t lie, Aleksander Mežek is actually the first Slovenian musician to release an album abroad. So his destination, no less important than his native Slovenia, is Great Britain. The man had to find a creative refuge there, since that was the only way he could keep growing and developing as an artist.
The guy is joined by seasoned master Steve Smith, Mežek’s longtime musical ally through thick and thin, who once again took care of the album’s sound, played keyboards and painted in the vocal harmonies. A real »jack of all trades«, in other words. Mežek also kept guitarist and bassist Simon Johnson by his side. Top-notch English musicians once again form the tried-and-tested sonic backdrop, which contrasts with and colors Mežek’s vocal presence and the emotion tied to the message of the lyrics in just the right way. And Mežek’s voice has by no means dried up over the years. It stays delicately soft, instantly recognizable, just the way we’ve always known it. And the kind you instantly and generously take to your heart. In short, the elemental magnet of every one of his albums.
The reworked Fair Play, plus the new It’ll Redeem and Say A Prayer, show in this new era the artist’s urge to bring his standard, well-worn singer-songwriter vocabulary closer to modern times musically. Flirting with Coldplay’s arena-chorus culture isn’t such an out-of-place remark. »Fair Play« also has that familiar warm density of organic-sounding acoustics hugging Mežek’s gorgeous voice. Besides Fair Play, Mežek also remade two singles from the seventies. The evergreens Vremenska napoved and Ljubljanske ceste, to which he added an English »extension«. The latter is an adapted take on the original by English singer-songwriter Ralph McTell. It’s the album’s moment that nostalgically reflects an era of carefree days, when the world was still honest and rock was young.
Even though “Olympian” Aleksander Mežek has »spiced up« the album “Fair Play” this time with revamped classics (Fair Play, Vremenska napoved, Ljubljanske ulice), the new songs prove that Mežek the composer hasn’t run out of inspiration yet. As long as Mežek keeps getting under the skin as effectively as he does with the contagiously tender Someday and, near the end, The Artist’s Hand, plus the rousing It’ll Redeem and Say A Prayer, there’s no fear we won’t get another lovely studio album from this internationally highly esteemed musical artist.
Lineup
Aleksander Mežek – vocals, backing vocals
Simon Johnson – guitar, bass guitar, backing vocals
Steve Smith – keyboards, backing vocals
Tim Bye – drums
Ricci Ricafdi – drums on tracks 2 & 3
Production
Steve Msith & Aleksander Mežek
Track list
1. Fair Play (Slovenian version)
2. Vremenska napoved
3. Ljubljanske ceste / Streets of London
4. Someday
5. Godalni vložek / String Interlude
6. It’ll Redeem
7. Say a Prayer
8. The Artist’s Hand
9. Fair Play (English version)
