DAB IN THE MIDDLE

This is an English version of SMAK's acclaimed album "Stranice naseg vremena", recorded for the Western market. Several Yugoslav bands of the time wanted to pursue international career and break into the pop-charts. They erroneously thought it was enough to translate lyrics into English so as to indulge into fame and glory. SMAK was no exception, and after unsuccesful deed done in the shape of "Black Lady", they tried second chance with this follow-up. The main problem is translation of the lyrics and vocalization of such an end product. I can't really feel how these attempts sound to a native English speaker, but for me it's awful. It was not done in the spirit of English language and moreover, singer Boris Arandjelovic could not adapt it to his already problematic falsetto vocal. I mean, I don't even understand his regular Serbian singing, much less his English acrobatics. What comes to mind is a similar problem I have with German ELOY whose singer is equally pathetic when singing in English. Even the cover of this album is obviously meant to attract a part of British heavy metal audience of the era (1978), with this cheap macho/erotic appeal. I can expect this sort of cover design from some ridiculous metal acts of the late 1970s like JUDAS PRIEST, SAXON or SCORPIONS, but not from the famous Yugoslavian blues/rock/fusion masters! If I gave 3,5 marks to the original "Stranice naseg vremena", then for this release I cannot go over 2 stars. Still, because many of the English-speaking audience cares a lot about understanding of the lyrics, they can try to grasp this rare record. Otherwise, you better stick to Serbian original, you don't miss much of the meaning, trust me.