Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Artist: Various Artists
Label: Front Rock Records
Release: 2013
Runtime: 69:54
Rating: 5/5
Just how important and highly revered the body of work by Pridigarji is in Slovenia is felt especially intensely in these very years. These are years of total (moral and material) impoverishment for the citizens of our beloved republic. Slowly but surely, the cult band is clawing its way toward legend status! And the release of this compilation confirms an incredible realization: with their persona and their work, Pridigarji were actually an influential band, inspiring with their unbridled garage ska/punk rock satire many of the bands that followed them in Slovenia. Many of those featured on this compilation have, while developing their own authentic voice, reached varying degrees of recognition in Slovenia today. From, say, the eternal kings of the underground Wasserdicht, contemporaries of Pridigarji, to the mainstream-friendly crowd-pleasers Elvis Jackson.
The brilliance of this compilation comes down to one huge fact: every band on it has breathed its own authorial stamp into each of the chosen covers in an extremely effective way. Within the room for maneuver that the originals allow, of course. The ingenuity of the “twenty-five” crew varies in terms of arranging inventiveness. Some of them naturally win out over others on ideas, but the whole squad of chosen bands has nonetheless done its job with exceptional distinction. All the covers carry a credible performance character, which keeps the quality of the compilation sky-high. From the first second to the last, “Tribute to Pridigarji” is a superb musical adventure that thrills with its variety, and above all with the exceptional commitment all 25 performers bring to the task.
Given that the legendary Ormož crew are, in their original conception, a band whose idiom stands completely on its own in a teasing, homegrown originality, the act of restructuring the arrangements so that you breathe your own stamp into them actually gained extra intensity, and by an even easier route (let’s just call it a shortcut).
Even though the compilation gathers a large bulk of bands that belong within the punk rock genre framework, there was room for some acts whose own character vividly steers away from a bare genre label. Such are the incorrigible jokers Ana Pupedan with a tongue-in-cheek version of “Norost”, then the experimental geniuses Srečna Mladina, who deliver the most radically reworked cover on this compilation with “Alarm” (an intro on hurdy-gurdy and hand claps that carry over into a danceable beat throughout the song, while the sonic picture gets “swallowed” by an extremely gritty, punk-tuned and fat wall of sound from both guitars – world-class production), and then the Slovenian hardcore veterans, actually Pridigarji’s fellow countrymen, Wasserdicht with an extremely brutalized version of “Izterjevalec” – Datura comes close to it too with the hardcore-flavored “Dva metra pod zemljo”. Then there’s Cyphre Louis with their cleverly conceived “bang-bang country” gallop of “Živalska farma”, complete with a wildly warped guitar solo before the final chorus (which, in the “gang-chant” style, effectively evokes the bleating of sheep and nails the very essence of the song’s message – after the model of their own authentic voice). The cover of “V interesu preiskave” radiates, in the hands of The Mor(r)ons, exactly what lies behind the core of the band’s expression. The same goes for “Mesarjev sin” in the hands of Kinzie Was A Pornstar. Both bands caught the essence of that skate punk oath. When it comes to speed, Elvis Jackson take first place on this compilation with an imposing version of the SKA/skate punk pulsator “Gremo naprej”. The cult Demolition Group remain mercilessly, effectively sharp, delivering an outstanding finale to the compilation with their gutsy version of “Diktatorska”.
Judging by the choice of bands and the free hand they had in shaping the arrangements, the ska element of the originals has been noticeably stripped back. Not entirely, though, especially when we get to the versions delivered by bands whose expression is fundamentally rooted in ska. Such moments come from these tracks on the compilation: “Jastrebi in golobi” (SZD) and “Zombi v katakombi” (Sell Out), SAZAS (Superhiks) and “Knez in puščavnik” (Orkester selotejp). Most of the bands on the compilation use a distorted, punk-tuned sound in their lineups (destructively heavy), where the guitar riff naturally takes the lead role. The overall mood of the compilation gains from this very realization.
This compilation is a first-rate testament to how strong the Slovenian alternative rock scene is. Colorful and diverse like never before. Through the transformation of the originals, the homegrown character of the chosen bands shows a great talent for ingenuity and uniqueness. Which leads to the closing thought that Slovenia could be home to one of the strongest alternative rock festivals not just in Europe, but on the planet.
So the compilation’s basic purpose has been achieved. Besides honoring the 25th anniversary of Pridigarji, the far more important realization, when weighing up the artistic side, is that the songs in their new outfits really do work like new songs. That’s how much room the performers have effectively carved out for themselves by crossing their own voice with the arrangements of the originals. An anniversary! 25 years! 25 bands! Each with its own dedication to the band. Each with its own take on how it understands and embraces the musical message of Pridigarji.
Tracklist
1. Je kdo doma – Muškat Hamburg
2. Jastrebi in golobi – SZD
3. Izterjevalec – Wasserdicht
4. Gladovalec – The Great Reverse
5. Živalska farma – Cyphre Louis
6. Pa kaj – Rukola
7. V interesu preiskave – The Mor(r)ons
8. Alarm – Srečna mladina
9. Dva metra pod zemljo – Datura
10. Topla bomba hladna bomba – Parazit p.13
11. Dekle iz lunaparka – Kvazi cirkus
12. Mesarjev sin – Kinzie Was a Pornstar
13. Null Komma Josef – Živi zid
14. Norost – Ana Pupedan
15. Dornata – Kakšna noč
16. Grešni kozel – Sarkofuck
17. Zlobne babice žrejo dojenčke – Bütli
18. SAZAS – Superhiks
19. Progres Teksas – Zašenki
20. Mi nismo sami – Tadej Vesenjak & Dežurni krivci
21. Knez in puščavnik – Orkester selotejp
22. Zombi v katakombi – Sell Out
23. Gremo naprej – Elvis Jackson
24. Poraženci – Drek u pest
25. Diktatorska – Demolition Group
