Artist: Šank Rock
Release: 2004
Velenje band Šank Rock could easily be called legendary on the Slovenian music scene — they’ve been around since way back in 1982 and put out their first record five years later, the album Pridite na žur…
The second half of the nineties wasn’t the best stretch for the band, with feuds and a few lineup changes shaking things up, but to the delight of many fans they buried the hatchet and recorded the album Vzemi ali pusti with what many consider the best lineup – Matjaž Jelen (vocals), Bor Zuljan (guitar), Aleš Uranjek (drums), Davor Klarič (keyboards) and Cveto Polak (bass).
In 1993, Šank Rock released the album (or maybe just a cassette, I’m not totally sure) V živo na mrtvo, and eleven years later, of course, Na mrtvo v živo. The show went down on 27.8.2004 in Anhovo, where seven thousand fans of the band packed in.
The record has seventeen tracks, all played live, of course, though in a few spots I got the feeling the whole thing was pretty heavily polished — the vocals always sound more than great, while the music is pushed a bit too far into the background, and so the “live” feel gets a little lost.
Among those seventeen tracks, a few of the bigger hits are missing – personally I miss the once-indispensable Laški pir, and I’m surprised that at such a big show, and of course on the recording, there’s no 6 Pack Čukur and their collaboration on one of this year’s biggest hits, Dej bolj naglas. Instead, Šank Rock put the upcoming hit Ne smem se stret on the record.
This might sound odd, but the best part of the record is definitely the really nicely made sleeve, which everyone who swears by mp3s will miss out on. It was designed by Saša Hes, who also worked with the band on the videos for their last two hits, TV and Dej bolj naglas, and who can rightfully hope for one of the Slovenian design awards.
Sure, you can enjoy all seventeen tracks, since Šank Rock show most of their power and musical chops at live gigs, though you do miss a bit more originality in how the songs are strung together, a few of those hits mentioned above and maybe a touch more improvisation.
Live releases from our artists are rare, since they’d rather reach for the tried-and-true formula of a greatest-hits collection plus a new song or two, and I hope Šank Rock will be followed by other bands who are just as well known for their quality live shows.
Lineup
Matjaž Jelen – vocals
Bor Zuljan – guitar
Davor Klarič – keyboards
Cveto Polak – bass
Aleš Uranjek – drums
Track List
1. Intro (2:22)
2. TV (4:29)
3. Korak naprej (4:25)
4. Ker te ljubim (4:53)
5. Hiša strahov (4:07)
6. Tih bod in igraj (5:26)
7. V balado spremenjen (3:40)
8. Ne smem se stret (3:34)
9. Maček (4:31)
10. Hvala za vse (5:13)
11. Delam kar paše mi (4:17)
12. Pridite na žur (4:38)
13. Metulj (5:28)
14. Vzemi ali pusti (3:34)
15. Rokerji (5:04)
16. Pravljica o mavričnih ljudeh (4:25)
17. Jaz nimam noč za spanje (5:29)
