DNEVNIK JEDNE LJUBAVI

Josipa Lisac is all-times Croatian rock diva, and her debut is probably the best Croatian rock album ever (along with HAUSTOR's "Treci Svijet"). And when a best rock album from one country easily fits under the progressive rock blanket, that is really something to write home about!

This is conceptual - or at least thematic album. "Dnevnik Jedne Ljubavi" means "The Diary Of One Love" and it is indeed a diary, a set of songs connected to each other, all touching the subject of love and relationship, varying from acoustic ballads to furious jazz-rock stampedos.

There is no weak song on the album. All the songs are filled with EMOTIONS, the most important aspect of Josipa's career. Some of them are really mellow, utilising a lovely and relatively simply pattern on acoustic guitar as a guidance, ornamenting the lyrics sung by Lisac - a best thing that could happen to lyrics, and some of the melodies are occasionally transformed into a gorgeous theme played by brass section, or something else. The songs are floating one into each other from furious 7/8 hard rock guitar licks to beautiful moments blessed by flute surrounded by percussive Hammond, or simple yet powerful jazzy bass line. If I mention that Josipa's backing band was prog band TIME, who were at their peak of popularity (and creativity!), there is not much more to add.

If a listener is unfamiliar with the language, (s)he will miss lots of charm and appeal, and of course the story...but the Josipa's unique voice is here and it can't be overlooked by anyone. As for the instrumentation, try to imagine the most beautiful moments of brass-rock (let's say BLOOD, SWEAT & TEARS), with with furious, top-notch jazz-rock bordering heavy rock, brave Hammond soloing, all that underlined with beauty typical for Italian progressive rock.

I said there is no weak song on the entire album; and I must correct myself: there is no average song on it.

This is pure joy and celebration of life itself.

TIME band split up shortly after the release of their influential debut in 1972, but not before carving up another hugely successful and pioneering work that was to remain one of the cornerstones of Yugoslav pop and rock scene. This time they backed Josipa Lisac on what was to become her first LP record.

A young talented female singer had already proved herself by participation at several important pop music festivals from 1968 to 1970, collaborating with beat groups O'HARA, MI and ZLATNI AKORDI, as well as releasing a few 7" single records. In early 1973 she teamed up with composer Karlo Metikos (under the assumed name Matt Collins he had a brief rock'n'roll career in France during mid-1960s) and lyricist Ivica Krajač who penned a concept album (more in a sense of an imaginary melodramatic movie than a then popular rock opera format, like "Quadrophenia" from the same year) about a love affair of a woman and her introspective and intimate musings. Josipa, who already fell in love with Metikos (they remained together as a couple until his premature death in 1991), was a perfect match for the story and all the members of TIME were gathered to provide a powerful instrumental base. On top of that, musical arrangements were enriched with plenty of strings, horns and backing voices so "The Diary of One Love" was born. Along with B. Zivković (piano, flute, musical arrangements), T. P. Asanović (organ), V. Bozić (el. guitar), M. Mavrin (bass), R. Divjak (drums) and D. Topić (tambourine), notable appearances included S. Kovačević (ex-INDEXI) on acoustic guitar and B. Doblekar (ex-MLADI LEVI, SEPTEMBER) on congas.

The storyline follows a pretty straightforward narration that could be a synopsis for a short novel or a film. A young woman is dreaming about her perfect love and one day she meets a young man. They fell in love and everything seems perfect until she notices a suspicious behaviour from his side and starts wondering. He seems afraid of commitment and runs away leaving her in tears. After a while he returns and has trouble remembering things they experience together, so she cannot recognise him. Still, she forgives and offers him another chance since she is firm in her belief in this relationship. With Josipa's convicted and passionate performance the idea celebrates female courage, endurance and love over a weak and unstable male character, so it's no wonder why this album has been so popular amongst the female audience, being a sort of early "proto-gender" conscience-making.

Musically, the themes are interconnected although separated by actual songs. The Side 1 of the vinyl is especially strong and could be even taken and listened as a multi-part suite composition. The album is highly eclectic and one can hear traces of blues, soul, orchestral pop, and boogie, jazz, brass-rock up to progressive rock. Contributions by Zivković on piano and flute (especially on the prog-jazz-rock "Lezaj od suza"/"The Bed of Tears"), Asanović on Hammond organ, Kovačević on acoustic guitar (his leading chords on the opener "O jednoj mladosti"/"A Teenage Dream" are shivering) and Bozić on electric guitar are outstanding while the rhythm section of Divjak-Mavrin, enhanced by excellent Doblekar's congas are proving their mastery of both rock and jazz forms of musicianship. In general, the first side is simply flawless, while the flip side has its less strong moments with final two tracks not bringing many new ideas and ending the album with a sense of unfullfillingness. But, let's be honest and say that in Yugoslavia at this time (early 1973) "Dnevnik jedne ljubavi" had no many peers or models to build upon.

I will not overstate if I say that each and every song from this album became a major hit and influenced legions of rock and pop listeners and musicians alike. And if John Lennon was true when he allegedly said that an album's quality should be measured by the number of hit singles taken off it, then "Dnevnik." deserves 10 stars for each of ten songs that became classics in the former Yugoslavia but also continue to be highly valued in the post-Yugoslav countries in the region.

PERSONAL RATING: 4,5/5

P.A. RATING: 5/5