STRANICE NASEG VREMENA [AKA: DAB IN THE MIDDLE]

The follow-up to "Crna dama" falls a little bit in comparison because the material is not equally strong here. The title song "Pages of Our Time" in particular is a boring, cheesy and dull ballad sung in bad English and seems to never end. Good moments are still numerous, starting with opener a strong hit "Tendzi tandzi" which sounds like DOOBIE BROTHERS to certain extent. "Maht tema" an instrumental fusion jam is excellent sequel to "Tegoba" from previous album. Then there is a re-recorded, better version of "Ulazak u harem" their first succesful instrumental hit from 1975. This is again an important fusion work from the period when old stars of classic prog scene started to wear and tear and give spca to the coming forces of punk/new wave explosion. This is good enough to be recommended for prog/fusion fans but far from essential record. Due to bad closing number "Biska 18" where Arandjelovic shamelessly screams too much like Ian Gillan in his worst moments, this is not exactly pure 4, but whatever...

This is perhaps the best album by Smak. It includes some great songs, like the 11-minute "Ponocni lovac(Midnight hunter)/Biska 18", "Nebo je samo drum bez dna" and "Povedi me s njim" and features some of the band's best instrumental and vocal performances. Boris Arandjelovic's voice is more rasping here and less high than before, while R.M.Tocak and Tibor Levay both have some decent show offs on guitar and keyboards respectively. Zoran Milanovic is also great here, specially on "Povedi me s njim".

The title track is oddly enough sung in english, although the title of the album is in Serbian. English just doesn't fit with Yugoslav singers, but what the heck. This album is still a treat and a little broken english doesn't spoil it.

This album is great but i prefer better english version of this album.It has relly exellent songs like Tendzi-Tandzi,Enter to Harem ver.3,Nebo je samo drum bez dna,Ponocni Lovac-Biska 18.On yugoslavian version this last song is divided into two songs which i must say is total stupidity of music company.On english version of album this song is called White Sails and it is relly good.The bass lines especially and keyboards sound great on this album !!

Without question this is one of the best bands i've heard from the former Yugoslavia.Their previous album "Crna Dama" blew me away and while this one isn't nearly as good it's a solid 4 star album regardless.

"Tendzi-Tandzi" has a good beat with guitar then the vocals arrive before a minute. Catchy stuff. "Povedi Me S Njim" is mellow with reserved vocals to start. It picks up quickly as bass and drums join in. It's quite funky when the vocals stop.They return later. "Maht Tema" opens with atmosphere as guitar, bass and drums join in and build.The guitar is soloing over top 2 minutes in then it settles with atmosphere like the intro as themes are repeated.This is a great sounding instrumental.

"The Pages Of Our Time" is ballad-like with some organ and reserved vocals but it's still good. I like the guitar solo around 4 minutes to end it. "Nebo Je Samo Drum Bez Dna" features electric piano, drums and atmosphere then it kicks in.Vocals before a minute. Good song. "Ulazak U Harem" opens with atmosphere then the guitar comes exploding in before a minute with drums and bass in tow. This is uptempo as well. "Ponocni Lovac / Biska 18" is the over 11 minute closer. A funky rhythm early then vocals come in after a minute. An uptempo section is led by synths then the guitar takes over leading. Nice. Vocals are back after 4 minutes.The vocal melodies and drums before 8 minutes sound so good. It's building. A change once again follows.

I would say this is more fusiony (is that a word?) than the previous album but the songs aren't as strong.

Whilst I preferred the more instrumental take that Smak would take on 1980's Za?to ne volim sneg, this release does at least benefit from some nice vocals from Boris Arandjelovic.

Buyer beware: there was an English-language version of this album issued called Dab In the Middle, notable for cover art which looked like a rejected idea for a Scorpions cover. That version is best avoided, because the translation of the lyrics was slipshod and Arandjelovic clearly struggled to deliver the lyrics in English (which is perfectly understandable - singing outside of your native language is *hard*). The tragic thing is that the translation really wasn't necessary - you don't need to understand the words here to appreciate Arandjelovic's beautiful performance in his own, more comfortable mother language, and I would in fact set his performance here next to those of the greatest vocalists of the Italian prog scene - there's the same command of both operatic majesty and delicate nuance.