Label: Dallas Records
Release date: 2023 (reissue)
Production: Tomaž Pengov & Aco Razbornik
Album length: 68.46 min
Genre: Singer / Songwritter (Singer-songwriter music)
Rating: 8.0/10
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In 2023, Dallas Records reissued the only live document of one of Slovenia’s most important singer-songwriters, a central figure of the scene: the famous Tomaž Pengov. The concert first came out on CD in 2006. Now you can finally get it on vinyl too! It comes from a show he played for a select crowd in the Knights’ Hall (Viteška dvorana) of Ljubljana’s Križanke, in December 2005.
Just under seventy minutes and 19 tracks make up this document, and they sum up the key moments of this artist’s career really well. No need to point out that Pengov carved out a timeless monument of Slovenian singer-songwriter music with his debut »Odpotovanja« (1973) and became one of the immortal heroes of Slovenian music. By the way, »Odpotovanja« got another reissue last year (on ZKP RTV), because it had passed Abraham and…? Got snapped up in an instant. That only confirms what a cult status the figure and work of Tomaž Pengov enjoy in Slovenia. And not just that, but above all the fact that both his persona and his work are timeless and define Slovenian musical generations. Present and future.
The setlist neatly spreads out material from all four studio albums of the legendary singer-songwriter, and his fascination with the (in a way) pioneering moves of Fran Milčinski Ježek in the sixties, which inspired Pengov so strongly, isn’t hidden either (three covers of Ježek originals: Črne pege čez oči, Vandrovček, Glažek Vina). Pengov plays and interprets. With a pleasantly caressing baritone he becomes a vivid conduit as he touches the depths of his fragile, shy but immeasurably deep soul. Space and time vanish. In that fragility lies a force of extraordinary penetration, with which Pengov ‘awakens’ and ‘stirs’ the listeners. There isn’t much talking during the show. It’s just music and poetry! In the clear glow of primal light.
Sure, here and there during the show the man slips up a bit with his vocals, but those are minor, almost negligible moments you just put up with, because his poetry stays elusive in this interpretation. Strapped with an acoustic guitar accompanying your voice, hmmm… There’s no hiding behind effects here, and you can’t hide anything at all. »Koncert« also contains a song that isn’t on those four albums. That’s Silba, with memories of long-ago hangouts on that Adriatic island.
If you don’t have at least one Tomaž Pengov album at home, »Koncert« is a pretty solid patch. Not an ideal one, because, as said, Pigl’s form on the day wasn’t exactly at an enviable level when he was pulling it off, but still. It does the job. If you’re not a YouTube ‘freak’, where you can listen to it in full, you can still get a physical copy, while all four studio albums are currently unavailable on the market. Even though the guy put out only four studio albums in his long career, he remains unique and inimitable in Slovenia because of them. Just like his performance was unique on that long-ago evening in Križanke in 2005! A performance forever captured on his only live album, »Koncert«.
Author: Aleš Podbrežnik
Tracklist:
Side A
1. Prihod
2. Cesta
3. Vrnitev
4. Nerodna pesem
5. Prišla je tiha
6. Rodovnik vina
7. Črna pega čez oči
Side B
1. Sarkofagi
2. Drevo
3. Vandrovček
4. Starec in zvezda
5. Glažek vinčka
6. Kratek odmor
Side C
1. Na nekem daljnem kolodvoru
2. Maškare
3. V nasmehu nekega dneva
Side D
1. Bila sva vse
2. Čakajoč nase
3. Stari klovni
4. Silba
5. Pomisli
6. Odhod
Musicians:
Tomaž Pengov – vocals, guitar
