Is Djordje Balashevich Considered the Yugoslav "Elton John?"
The former Yugoslavia has seen many prominent rock and pop stars during the so-called Schoo of Pop Rock - concentrated on and around the Sarajevo area between 1961 and 1991, but none have been more prominent and more important than Serbian chanson star Djordje Balasevich.
He was born on May 11, 1953 in the town of Novi Sad, Serbia to a Serbian father, and a half-Croatian/half-Hungarian mother. Developing an early interest in music, it was not until he was twenty-five years old that he got any exposure at all.
His style: rock, folk rock, and chanson
From 1978 till about the early 90s, Balashevich was known for a large number of ballads. His first two LPs were recorded with Rani Mraz (The Early Freeze). While the band saw a solid amount of members come and go, the only two that persevered in its short, four-year term were Balashevich himself, and co-founder Biljana Krstich.
It was here that Balasevich defined the sound for most of his solo career - a balance between ballads and easy listening songs; however, unlike Sir Elton John, whom this blog compares Balashevich to, Balashevich was a guitarist, yet he featured numerous piano ballads in his career - especially on his 1986 LP Bezdan (The Abysiss). Take a listen to "Moja Prva Ljubav," (My First Love), "Neki Novi Klinci," (Some New Kids - essentially about the evolution of the kids in the area he grew up on), "Mirka," and "Pa Dobro gde si Ti," (Well, Where Have You Been?) from his Rani Mraz era, as well as "Svirajte mi Jesen Stize Dunjo Moja," (Play Me Autumn is Here My Dear), "Ne Volim Januar," (I Don't Like January), and his signature song "Ne Lomite mi Bagrenje" (Don't Break my Locusts). While some of these songs are mostly love songs, Ne Lomite mi Bagrenje is actually a touch of politics - as have been the case with many of his later lyrics from the 90s and beyond, especially with the reign of Slobodan Miloshevich in the mid to late 90s. Regarding Bagrenje, Balashevich had this to say, and I quote. "it is not a song about ethnicities, but about good and evil, and I don't regret, I called the Evil its full name even when others praised it."
Another political song from this era was the 1987 hit Samo da Rata ne Bude (Just Don't Let There be War) about the looming Yugoslav wars at the time. In short, the song's lyrics state that anything can be survived, but war would be difficult to survive.
So from his era from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, we can see that Balashevich is something of a "guitar-playing Elton John," with maybe even traces of Neil Young present on his folkier tunes.
But there's more...
Folks, it wasn't all rock and pop for Balashevich. The 90s brought on a new dimmension with Chanson hits. Chanson, in short are songs with French lyrics or even French influences, and while Mr. Balashevich's lyrics contain very little French, the sounds of the violin and accordian introduced later in his career, show a much different Balashevich.
Two of the best examples from this era are the songs "Djevojka sa Chardash Nogama," (The Girl with Chardash Legs) and "Ringispil," (The Merry-Go-Round).
His concerts
Balashevich's concerts are very significant. Unlike most artists who merely say "good evening (insert city name)" after the first or second song, Balashevich speaks after almost every song. Some live versions are different or stripped unlike their studio counterparts, and his shows can go on as long as four hours! There are very long, and sometimes humorous, speeches betwen songs.
To sum up
Although many of the hits you have seen portrayed here sound a bit like Sir Elton John's music, there's more to Balashevich than that. His folky hits of the 90s also make hin something of Ian Anderson. Balashevich, then can be thought of as a cross between Elton John, Neil Young, and Jethro Tull - possibly other simillar artists.
He was born on May 11, 1953 in the town of Novi Sad, Serbia to a Serbian father, and a half-Croatian/half-Hungarian mother. Developing an early interest in music, it was not until he was twenty-five years old that he got any exposure at all.
His style: rock, folk rock, and chanson
From 1978 till about the early 90s, Balashevich was known for a large number of ballads. His first two LPs were recorded with Rani Mraz (The Early Freeze). While the band saw a solid amount of members come and go, the only two that persevered in its short, four-year term were Balashevich himself, and co-founder Biljana Krstich.
It was here that Balasevich defined the sound for most of his solo career - a balance between ballads and easy listening songs; however, unlike Sir Elton John, whom this blog compares Balashevich to, Balashevich was a guitarist, yet he featured numerous piano ballads in his career - especially on his 1986 LP Bezdan (The Abysiss). Take a listen to "Moja Prva Ljubav," (My First Love), "Neki Novi Klinci," (Some New Kids - essentially about the evolution of the kids in the area he grew up on), "Mirka," and "Pa Dobro gde si Ti," (Well, Where Have You Been?) from his Rani Mraz era, as well as "Svirajte mi Jesen Stize Dunjo Moja," (Play Me Autumn is Here My Dear), "Ne Volim Januar," (I Don't Like January), and his signature song "Ne Lomite mi Bagrenje" (Don't Break my Locusts). While some of these songs are mostly love songs, Ne Lomite mi Bagrenje is actually a touch of politics - as have been the case with many of his later lyrics from the 90s and beyond, especially with the reign of Slobodan Miloshevich in the mid to late 90s. Regarding Bagrenje, Balashevich had this to say, and I quote. "it is not a song about ethnicities, but about good and evil, and I don't regret, I called the Evil its full name even when others praised it."
Another political song from this era was the 1987 hit Samo da Rata ne Bude (Just Don't Let There be War) about the looming Yugoslav wars at the time. In short, the song's lyrics state that anything can be survived, but war would be difficult to survive.
So from his era from the late 1970s to the early 1990s, we can see that Balashevich is something of a "guitar-playing Elton John," with maybe even traces of Neil Young present on his folkier tunes.
But there's more...
Folks, it wasn't all rock and pop for Balashevich. The 90s brought on a new dimmension with Chanson hits. Chanson, in short are songs with French lyrics or even French influences, and while Mr. Balashevich's lyrics contain very little French, the sounds of the violin and accordian introduced later in his career, show a much different Balashevich.
Two of the best examples from this era are the songs "Djevojka sa Chardash Nogama," (The Girl with Chardash Legs) and "Ringispil," (The Merry-Go-Round).
His concerts
Balashevich's concerts are very significant. Unlike most artists who merely say "good evening (insert city name)" after the first or second song, Balashevich speaks after almost every song. Some live versions are different or stripped unlike their studio counterparts, and his shows can go on as long as four hours! There are very long, and sometimes humorous, speeches betwen songs.
To sum up
Although many of the hits you have seen portrayed here sound a bit like Sir Elton John's music, there's more to Balashevich than that. His folky hits of the 90s also make hin something of Ian Anderson. Balashevich, then can be thought of as a cross between Elton John, Neil Young, and Jethro Tull - possibly other simillar artists.
Comments
Post a Comment