SVE OVE GODINE (CD)

Again we are witnessing exploitation of the title "Sve ove godine" (Eng. "All These Years") for an album collection of the most popular INDEXI material. First it was used 1986 for a 4 LP box set, then later for a double CD in 2001. This CD was released in 1994 by Croatia Records (ex-Jugoton) obviously trying to satisfy the market demand for a single "greatest hits" disc of INDEXI, given that the previous collection of hits "Indexi" (1991) quickly disappeared from the market due to shutdown of Diskoton label. Indeed this release follows the similar pattern like "Indexi" (1991): the core set consists of the key soft-prog compositions from their peak period 1969-73. These are "Sve ove godine", "Da sam ja netko", "Svijet u kojem zivim", "Sanjam", "Plima", "Predaj se srce", "Krivac si ti", "Balada" and "Budi kao more" and in fact they had been collected and released as the band's first ever LP album in 1974, which would never appear on CD in its original form. Unlikely "Indexi" (1991), "Sve ove godine" (1994) is more oriented towards pop listeners because the remaining songs are not from the psychodelic/beat 1960s but rather taken from 1977-80 pop/AOR years, where some of these are way too cheesy for prog rock ears. Finally, totally out of place included here is "Modra rijeka", a symphonic epic taken from the eponymous masterpiece. So the main problem with this collection is the selection of tracks. It is neither comprehensive, nor specifically targeted for prog, nor for pop listeners. However, it served a purpose due to collapse of Yugoslavian market in 1990-s and for several years it would remain the only legal CD release of INDEXI's old material before Belgrade-based Komuna label overtook the catalogue in 2001 and issued a more in- depth and prog-oriented 2CD compilation "Best Of: Sve Ove Godine 1962-2001". "Sve ove godine" (1994) was subsequently re-released by Bosnian label Naraton and it is still available at many online CD shops for purchase. If you never listened INDEXI before, you may start with this one, especially if you can find it for a cheap price. You may also go for this if you are generally interested to know about ex-Yugoslavian classic rock and pop scene. But if you are looking for the best of Yugo prog, try to get "Modra rijeka" album (available on CD) or find someone from ex-Yugo countries to burn you some mp3s. Between 2,5 stars.

Taking the risk to hurt feelings of this band's fans (sorry guys!) I have to say that this record is in terms of prog a rather poor compilation of their obviously most popular songs. There are a few songs more in a pop rock vein, but lots of "airplay hit" type ones which are absolutely not my cup of tea. Might be worth trying to find their only two official studio albums "Modra Rijeka " and "Kameni Cvjetovi". They are supposed to contain the more exciting stuff of this bosnian band. This one here is only interesting for their country fellows and die-hard fans but not for the general prog collector. That's why I'm rating it with 1 star (Poor, only for completionists).