Artist: Kovač, Tinkara
Label: Dallas Records
Release: 2009
Runtime: 78.00
Rating: 3.5/5
Tinkara Kovač is a fixture on the Slovenian music scene. After 13 years of making music and 7 albums, the singer came back in November with a compilation of the triumphs from the musical road traveled so far. It’s a move usually reserved for symbolically closing the life chapters of artistic souls, and Tinkara has pictured it as a sprawling tasting menu of career discography highlights, wrapped in a tidy chronological flyover of the work to date, to which, following the usual routine, a couple of fresh numbers were tacked on just in case.
Even a cursory skim through Tinkara Kovač’s catalog shows why the tireless hunt for commercial recognition has always ended in success over the course of the career so far. The fairly simple musical formula drifted further and further from harder rock forms and shapes over the years, until, with harmless pop-song catchiness, it finally settled in comfortably under the skin of the musically above-averagely well-read Slovenes. Tracks like “Spezzacuori”, “Med zemljo in zrakom” or the pleasant balladeering of “Še tam ne” are a nice example of this teasing of mostly undemanding musical tastes. The novelties “Če je to vse” and “Ljubezen je padla z neba” are just the next in a line of cautious nods to the tried-and-tested pop-rock direction. This is where Tinkara’s boldly inserted role as a flutist really comes in handy, bringing along, at least on the surface, a spirit of musical breadth and creativity that you can’t exactly spot in the music of most of the competition.
Without a doubt, Tinkara Kovač deserves credit for laying the foundations of popular rock on which many local “estradniki” now build their sound. Unlike the latter, Kovač delivered with a heaping dose of individuality very early on, with solid, well-produced releases like the albums “Ne odhaja poletje” and “Košček neba”. Those two hide quite a few excellent moments. Favorites like “Znam živet (na tleh)” and “Veter z juga”, and in the same breath “Lahheeiyee”, will quickly remind you of the songwriting maturity of Tinkara’s camp, which stormed past the outer limits of the domestic pop-rock industry of the time without breaking a sweat. While sifting through the key elements of pop and rock, Tinkara’s voice successfully distilled a recognizable mix of both, and the music understandably gained in accessibility, which, as said, blended more and more with the cuts of pop culture over the years. Fans of heavier musical pursuits will therefore, while sipping through the contents of this first collection of works by Tinkara Kovač, surely get stuck on the pick of the first three albums. Either way, it’s a nicely served discography flyover, and it’s hard to stay critical about it, apart from one thing: the sorely missed booklet that would have delighted us with a pictorial or, even better, written outline of the singer’s musical journey.
Lineup
Tinkara kovač: vocals, flute
Zdenko Cotič: guitar
Roki Petkovič: guitar
Paolo Bembi; guitar
Matjaž Sterže: guitar
Matej Mršnik: guitar
Marko Stopnik: guitar
Jani Hace: bass
Uroš Medved: bass
Anže Langus: bass
Marko Oblak: bass
Denis Scher: bass
Uroš Maver: keyboards
Marino Legovič: keyboards
Ferdinand Maraž: keyboards
Rok Lopatič: keyboards
Teo Kahrimanovič: keyboards
Grega Gorenšek: drums
Boštjan Gradišek: drums
Max Felix: drums
Jure Rozman: drums
Production
Tinkara Kovač
Track list
1. Če je to vse
2. Ljubezen je padla z neba
3. Ne odhaja poletje
4. Znam živet (na tleh)
5. Veter z juga
6. Ko bo prišel
7. Zakaj
8. Brez laži
9. Grem
10. Lahheeiyee
11. Slepa sreča
12. S tabo
13. Sonce v očeh
14. In sta šla
15. Med zemljo in zrakom
16. Kje ste vi (kaj tu dogaja)
17. Spezzacuori
18. Še tam ne
19. Quello che
20. Ujeti svet
21. Kamokoli greš
