Artist: Korni Grupa
Label: RTB
Release: 1972
Rating: 4.4/5
Korni Grupa was the first true progressive band out of Yugoslavia. Time existed at the same time, sure, but they weren’t progressive in the same sense of the word as Kornelije Kovač and his crew. Most progressive bands from Yugoslavia only put out albums in the late seventies (Tako, Leb i Sol, Smak, Galija, Aerodrom, Igra Staklenih Perli,…), but Korni Grupa were the exception. They were way ahead of their time, considering they were playing in a scene where the genre hadn’t even developed yet. With this debut they made an album that shocked audiences across the former Yugoslavia with its one-of-a-kind blend of jazz, rock and classical.
Bandleader Kornelije Kovać dominates the album from start to finish with his mighty keyboards. The electric piano takes the lead above all, but the other keyboards are in the mix too. Interestingly, the Hammond organ isn’t exactly front and center, even though that was the instrument that made Kovać’s name. But Kovać isn’t the only virtuoso in the lineup. All the members were the cream of the Yugoslav music scene, and they prove it. Boček is a top-tier guitarist who can hop from rock to jazz to pop without breaking a sweat. Vladimir Furduj has a distinctive jazz style that suits this album perfectly, and together with the bassist he forms a tight jazz rhythm section. And finally there’s today’s pop-stage star Zlatko Pejaković, whose voice is without a doubt a better fit for Korni Grupa’s music than for the stuff he torments us with these days.
The first song is one of the band’s hits. It’s all about the charming guitar and the vocal melody. The lyrics are just as colorful, describing the power of music. It’s a bit ironic that such a message turns up in a hit of all places. The title is interesting too, evoking the different color spectrums of a musical rainbow.
“Put Za Istok” is definitely one of Kovać’s greatest masterpieces. It’s an epic piece made up of four parts. The first two parts describe the narrator’s journey and all the hardships that come with it. In the third part, fittingly called “Dilema”, the narrator faces a tough decision. Should he stay at the inn with the lovely girl who’s warmed to him and takes good care of him, or should he move on? He decides to continue his journey (“Idem ja dalje.” “I’m going on.”). In the last part, the traveler sees the end of the road, the goal right before his eyes, but he doesn’t want the journey to end. The narrator sings: “The East is over there, but I’m not going any further.” He’s torn between East and West. That split is felt in the music too, since eastern and western traditions are mixed together. The vocals and the tamburica are eastern, while the other instruments play in a more western style. But these two opposites fit together beautifully, which shows that opposites don’t exclude each other, but can sometimes complement each other brilliantly. No wonder the lyrics deal with the East-West divide, since plenty of people in Yugoslavia at the time were wrestling with similar dilemmas. But even though the lyrics are superb, the music is rich and varied as well. The electric piano and guitar stand out the most, but there are some excellent stretches on the percussion and bass too, especially a few of the more jazzy lines. The clavinet on “Dilema” also adds some variety and a classical touch.
“Moj Bol” has a jazzy intro on piano. The soloing slowly grows into the main theme. In the middle of the song there’s a really high-quality instrumental section where guitar and piano trade solos while bass and drums carry the main melody. The lyrics are pretty depressing but also packed with emotion, which Pejaković knows how to express well. The song is about lost love and how everyone feels it. The chorus: “And one day we’ll all take that road, waiting for our turn like calm children…”
The next track later showed up on the album “Not An Ordinary Life” by Kornelyans (Korni Grupa under another name), but in an English-language, reworked version. It’s about wars fought over women. Women are the ones who own the land, and the men fight to win the women, not the land. The title alone makes it pretty clear. The track is a lot faster and more dynamic than the previous ones, and there’s plenty of soloing too. On “Not An Ordinary Life” it was reworked into a much less jazzy version than here.
The last song is basically a lullaby for a child. It’s a sweet, catchy tune with the focus mainly on the acoustic guitar. That way the album closes in a similar manner to how it opened.
Korni Grupa play a style that combines rock, symphonic music and jazz. The structures are mostly similar to symphonic progressive rock, but there’s a fair bit of improvisation too. Bass and drums are mostly anchored in jazz, while the keyboardist switches between jazz, classical and rock, and the guitarist between jazz and rock. The vocals are top quality throughout, and it’s hard to believe that Pejaković is the same singer who now spews out unlistenable “schlagers.” And he used to be such a good rock singer.
Unlike some equally popular bands from the region (Bijelo Dugme, Teška Industrija, Pro Arte,…), Korni Grupa have excellent lyrics (at least on this album). The album is pretty hard to track down, but that makes it all the more valuable (and not just financially) for the lucky few who own it.
One of the best Yugoslav progressive albums.
Lineup
Kornelije Bata Kovać – keyboards, vibraphone, backing vocals
Josip Boček – guitars, backing vocals
Zlatko Pejaković – lead vocals
Vladimir Furduj – drums, congas and tamburica
Bojan Hreljač – bass guitar and percussion
Production
Korni Grupa
Track list
1. Glas Sa Obale Boja 4:33
2. Put Za Istok 14:30
– Prvi Dan
– Drugi Dan
– Dilema
– Zemlja
3. Moj Bol 10:30
4. Bezglave Ja-ha Horde 6:48
5. Tata Ko I Mama Spo 4:15
