310 POLJUBACA

After participating in the Sarajevo festival "Vas slager sezone 79", Indexi soon had another festival appearance. At the beginning of May 1979, they went to Belgrade where they played at "Beogradsko prolece 79", which was only their third appearance at this festival. For this occasion, they collaborated again with Aleksandar Korac, performing his composition "310 poljubaca" (310 Kisses). Soon after, they released a new single record for Jugoton (the master disc was cut on May 9th), which, in addition to the festival hit, would also feature the lesser-known track "Bilo je lijepo" (It Was Beautiful). This was Indexi's twenty-third 7" record in total, or the tenth issued on Jugoton label. The single's cover shows the band in the lineup: Djordje Kisic, Nenad Jurin, Slobodan A. Kovacevic, Davorin Popovic, and Fadil Redzic, and the photograph is actually just a version of the same picture taken by Dragan S. Stefanovic (uncredited on the single's cover) that appeared on the inner sleeve of the album "Modra rijeka" (Blue River) a year earlier.

Indexi's previous collaboration with Korac had not always yielded the best results. Besides several commercially successful tracks (e.g., "Predaj se srce" - Surrender Your Heart), Korac was also the author of some of, in my humble opinion, the weakest compositions in Indexi's oeuvre (e.g., "Stani malo zlato moje" - Wait a Little, My Dear). However, it seems that this time things fell into place, and we got an excellent composition, which was also a big hit. Behind the not very promising title "310 poljubaca" lies a track with a very interesting and complex arrangement and instrumental details. The opening sequence with an atmospheric synthesizer, acoustic guitar, and a powerful bass solo (which is why Redzic was often called a four-string soloist) brings something of the atmosphere of progressive rock bands Yes or Camel. The verses introduce a somewhat lighter melodic pop expression with Popovic's standard quality vocals and Kovacevic's exceptional flamenco-style acoustic guitar playing. The chorus is in a somewhat more expressive danceable quasi-disco rhythm, with funky electric guitar riffs and discreet electronic drum effects. A couple more solo passages on the acoustic and bass guitars bring the track back to the main theme from the verses. This excellent composition, which we could conditionally label as "progressive schlager", was recorded, according to data from the RTV Sarajevo phonotheque, on May 6, 1979.

The flipside of the single features the song "Bilo je lijepo", whose complete author is Redzic. There is no data from the master tape in the Sarajevo phonotheque, so it can be assumed that it was probably recorded in a Jugoton studio in Zagreb. This track is also instrumentally rich and unfolds at a somewhat slower soft rock tempo. The performance alternates between acoustic and electric guitar (the latter occasionally treated with somewhat psychedelic flageolets and pedal effects), synthesizer, piano, and organ, while the tambourine stands out among the percussion. It is a very interesting and pleasant song, which for some reason did not catch on and remained lesser known.

All in all, this is one of Indexi's best singles from the second half of the seventies. The hit "310 poljubaca" reached the top 10 chart of domestic singles of "Politikin zabavnik" youth magazine for June 1979, and was also frequently played on Radio Sarajevo programs.

PA rating: 3/5, Personal rating: 4/5

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