KORNI GRUPA (KORNELYANS)

An early fan-favorite from Belgrade, Yugoslavia (now Serbia).

1. "Glas sa obale boje" (4:27) except for the two tracks devoted to THIN LIZZY-like "twin" guitars, this song sounds like a song from a GRAND FUNK RAILROAD album of this time. Nothing Jazz-Rock Fusion about this bombastic prog-related song. (But it may have been popular in Yugoslavia). (8.5/10)

2. "Put na istok" (14:20) (26.66667/30): - Prvi dan - more solid proto-prog like blues-rock sounding like something coming from Latin America at the same time. (8.5/10) - Drugi dan - shifting a bit into slightly more funk and jazziness--and then TRAFFIC-like, then back to blues-rock with a little more power. (8.6667/10) - Dilema - the BANCO MUTUO SOCCORSO (or AREA) comparisons are warranted for this gentle little baroque keyboard-centric movement. (4.5/5) - Zemlja - AREA might be the more appropriate band to compare the final movement to--especially dute to the hard- infusion of Serbian/Balkan/Ottoman music. (5/5)

3. "Moj bol" (10:27) more disciplined jazz-rock with true jazz foundations, electric instrumentation as well as Serbian percussion play. Vocals joining in during the second and third minutes again feel very RPI-like--the whole song's vibe becoming much more BANCO-like from here on despite some very TRAFFIC/"Low Spark of High-Heeled Boys" passages. Nice searing electric guitar soloing in the eighth minute. Quite an excellent and deeply satisfying song. (18.5/20)

4. "Bezglave Ja-Ha horde" (6:46) more nice-flowing Jazz-Rock Fusion that is a vehicle for vocals from the very start-- again giving it a very RPI sound and feeling. But it's so good! The vocalist has the voice and talent quite like AREA leader DEMETRIO STRATOS! If this had appeared on an RPI album during the same year it would have been an instant classic! (14.5/15)

5. "Tata Ko i mama Spo" (4:12) opening like a GEORGE HARRISON song, guitars (acoustic strumming, "weeping" electric soloing in the background). Full band joins in as vocalist starts to sing his powerful. voice--this time reminding me very much of LOS JAIVAS' lead vocalist Eduardo "Gato" Alquinta on the Pablo Naruda album. It's okay for a 1960s blues/folk rock song. (8.5/10)

Total Time 40:12

Not pure Jazz-Rock Fusion, more of an eclectic run through early blues-rock prog rock with some jazz-infusions and, more, lots of local ethnic melodies and styles as well as ethnic Serbian instruments. There are more instances of the band showing its being inspired by Grand Funk, Traffic, Santana, and Banco Del Mutuo Soccorso than any jazz-rock fusion band.

A-/4.5 stars; a minor masterpiece of early but eclectic (and imitative) prog music. There are some amazingly wonderful pieces here as well as some that would seem more rudimentary blues-rock and thus prog-related.

What a difference only a couple of years made to Yugoslavian rock band Korni Grupa. The group released one of the best prog-related works from that region with their self-titled LP in 1972, a mix of adventurous rock music with lengthy jazzy and heavily improvised instrumental passages, but two years later brought about many changes. Tweaking their name to Kornelyans and switching to English vocals to hopefully offer a more international appeal, 1974's `Not an Ordinary Life' also brought about a complete change in sound, the band adopting a keyboard heavy full-blown symphonic prog approach with interesting results that reminds of bands like Morgan, Omega and Yes, providing a crossover of tighter melodic appeal but not skimping on ravishing instrumental elements as well.

The keyboard-driven change in style is completely evident right from the short two-minute opening introduction `Rising', a lightly prancing and breezy symphonic theme full of bubbling synths and trickles of crystalline piano. But the ten-minute title track `Not an Ordinary Life' is an instant statement-of-intent, full of a ravishing selection of ideas and great playing, and there's an almost loopy Frank Zappa quality weaving in and out of the exotic percussion breaks, quirky group-vocal driftings, eerie sound-collages and dynamic instrumental runs. There's no let-up to Vladimir Furduj's rumbling drums, Josip Bocek delivers fiery electric guitar bursts, Bojan Hreljac aggressively attacks his relentless bass, and Kornelije Kovac's plentiful thick and exhilarating keyboards are often very much in the manner of Rick Wakeman's work on the early Yes albums. Zlatko Pejakovic's vocals remain as curious and challenging as ever (he's either very effective as on the first Korni Grupa album or unbearable when he falls into the screeching wails on the Grupa Dah one), but there's a jubilant energy to his charmingly accented voice here. The track probably doesn't really hold together too well, but it is admirably ambitious and never dull. `Generation 1942' keeps up the same diverse approach but attempts to graft it to a more accessible tune, with jangling acoustic passages and moody organ carrying a melancholic lyric with a soaring and hearty chorus, and listen out for the cool playful Yes-like infectious Moog solo spot!

The spirited lead vocal and battery of keyboard attack resembles Greenslade on side two's opener `Fall of the Land of Women', and instrumental `Temporary Parting' has a touch of Camel to its playful and dreamy excited keyboards and peppy Moog runs, book-ended with a sparkling piano and sombre organ reflection. The near-twelve minute `Man with a White Flag' offers plenty of infectious grooves slinking in and out of an endless selection of winning little symphonic themes jammed to the gills with an ocean of keyboard sheen and smouldering guitar embers. An extended instrumental E.L.P-like sprint in the middle and the lovely jazzy outro are especially pleasing, but the whole closer is truly a sublime showcase of the versatility and talent of the band.

The album cover boasts `Includes `Generation 42' suggesting it was a single of note, but it unfortunately didn't appear to win the band any great success or further acclaim, and they ended up splitting the same year that this album was released, with a later 1975 LP `Mrtvo More' including parts of their farewell concert performance. For those wanting to investigate the band, there's two options - if you like the early adventuresome proto-prog rock bands that stretched out with lots of jamming, go for the `Korni Grupa' debut, if you prefer terrifically performed keyboard-heavy symph-prog, grab this colourful and confident work first. Better yet, why not just track down and enjoy both?!

Four stars for a sterling effort from a great band.

Considered one of the first and most important Yugoslavian rock albums, Korni Grupa's debut LP, this self-titled affair from 1972, saw a band, formed by ex-Indexi keyboard player Kornelije Kovac, that had previously had to focus on shorter pop songs bravely step up into more adventurous and explorative ambitious rock. Strong melodic compositions with loose improvised jams in the style of hard rock, blues, jazz fusion and fuzzy psychedelia with confident vocals and a heavy use of electric piano were the results, and it may be one of the strongest Yugo prog related albums of that time.

Opener `Glas Sa Obale Boje' jumps back and forth between a slightly downbeat acoustic ballad that comes alive with togetherness in the chorus with fiery and brooding electric guitar riffs in the middle and end. The fourteen minute four-part `Put Na Istok' shares a similar unpredictable and all-or-nothing eclectic approach to Italian band Banco del Muruo Soccorsso and well as the jazzy vibes of Samurai/The Web. Full of lengthy instrumental displays, Josip Bocek's electric guitar is all thick muscular grinding one second, dirty grooving Santana-like sweltering strutting the next, Kornelije's red-hot electric piano a dazzling swirl of movement. Drummer Vladimir Furduj is all wild yet controlled fury, and Bojan Hreljac's bass weaves throughout the background and constantly leaps forward. Plenty of tempo changes, some sedate and thoughtful rests, psychedelic dreaminess and lots of call-and-response dueling interplay between Zlatko Pjakovic's commanding vocals and the rest of the musicians makes for a thrilling extended piece that is truly infectious and addictive.

Side B's `Moj Bol' is a sultry upbeat strolling jazz workout, comprised of spiraling piano, hand percussion and slow-burn electric guitar ripples around Zlatko's voice, a mix of lustful croons and spitting deranged rants. Bojan's bass is a real highlight here, effortlessly adapting to the changing directions of the piece with ease. Right from it's opening seconds, `Bezglave Ja-Ja Horde' is a frantic jazz/fusion race, delirious electric piano runs, slithering bass and nimble drum-work running rings around each-other, the scorching electric guitar taking on a wicked snarl around Zlatko's theatrical bellowing. Closer `Tata Ko, I Mama Spo' is a warm acoustic ballad with a strong vocal melody and pleasing electric guitar fills throughout, displaying how well the band had perfected more compact pieces over the years prior to this, and the electric piano break in the middle is sublime and restrained.

The recent CD reissue by label Eastern Time in 2013 includes eight bonus tracks of singles and their b-sides, a nice way to hear the way the band evolved into what is offered on the main album here. Within two years they would rename themselves Kornelyans and release an English language album recorded in Italy called `Not An Ordinary Life', further heading in progressive rock directions. But for this first `Korni Grupa' album, it's a personal Yugoslavian favourite of mine alongside the self-titled Izvir album, and the lengthy soloing/instrumental improvisation and superior vocals makes it a winner to me.

Four stars.

A 3-disc box set of KORNI GRUPA under the title "Ne tako običan zivot - i posle trideset godina" ("Not an Ordinary Life - Even After Thirty Years") appeared in 2005. Although long awaited, the final product did seem to disappoint both the critics and the fans alike.

The content is divided between the first disc called "Progressive" and two other discs of "Hit Singles". If you know the opus of this group, you are already familiar with their "Jackyll-Hyde" approach towards the audience: on one side issuing hit singles with catchy pop and sometimes even downright bubble-gum tunes and on the other making long, elaborate musical pieces in the style of progressive and jazz rock that was presented on their two LP records and concerts. The intent of this box set is obvious: to present a whole spectrum of diverse musical styles and releases issued by the group in the course of their 6-year long career (1968-74).

And here we have a problem of selection of the best and most representative songs. The least objections I have about two discs of "hit singles" although it must be said that not all of them are poppy singalongs; there are many excellent and even progressive rock songs issued in the 7" format too. The track-list follows generally a chronological order starting from their debut single "Cigu ligu" of 1969 up to the English version of their Brighton Eurosong tune "Generation 1942" of 1974, thus presenting their five vocalists: Dusan Prelević, Dalibor Brun, Dado Topić, Zdravko Čolić and Zlatko Pejaković. Apart from the previously unissued title "Kosovka devojka" ("Kosovo Girl") all of these should be familiar to the owners of their previous compilations or the vinyl originals. Still, it is nice to have all these songs packed here together.

Bigger problem have I with the first disc, ambitiously titled "Progressive". Debut LP "Korni grupa" is represented with only one title, albeit perhaps the strongest one, "Put za istok" ("The Way to the East"); three tracks are taken from the second, so-called "Italian album" (because it was recorded in English language in Milan for the ltalian label Ricordi) "Not an Ordinary Life" - the title track, "Fall Off the Land of Women" and "The Man with a White Flag"; while two lengthier non-LP tracks, both with Dado Topić as vocalist - 17-minute "Prvo svetlo u kući br. 4" ("The First Light in the House No. 4") and a live rendition of phenomenal "Jedna zena" ("One Woman"). But, all of these were already available in the compilation CD "Prvo svetlo neobičnog zivota" from 1995, so we see no surprises here. For instance, a long lost song from Topić era called "Zena je luka a čovek brod" ("A Woman Is a Harbor, a Man Is a Boat") remains in the unreleased obscurity to this day. Also, the neglected is the entire "1941" musical poem featuring vocals by Josipa Lisac and Dado Topić, only the short "Oj sokole" ("The Falcon") is included in the hit singles list.

The booklet is also rather poor. Apart from several nice old photos of the band and thumbnails of the entire official vinyl discography covers, not enough details were included. No biography, no special events, no studio details, no recording dates... only a somewhat pathetic liner notes by the band leader Kornelije Kovač.

But maybe I am personally too demanding - this box set may be very useful for younger generations who do not recall the vinyl era but are eager to listen and discover old "classic" rock music with an attitude! I mean not to prevent them in any way.

PERSONAL RATING: 2/5

P.A. RATING: 3/5

Interesting compilation by Korni Grupa. Only first CD contains Progressive songs. Other 2 CD contains singles. This is also the musical story of Korni Grupa, a band with two souls: For LP the songs was long and complex. For singles the songs was POP but not distant to Prog. "Jedna Zena" is presented in two version: one (in CD one) is Prog version and it is over 12 mins long (but in Youtube is great a live version long over 20 mins) and in CD 3 it is presented the single version. The songs in English do not convince me too much, due to the diversity of the production that is not so kneaded as in the other songs.

This compilation sure to please all those who love the Rock of Yugoslavia. For others it will be just another compilation of a great band.

Korni Grupa morphed into Kornelyans somehow and made an excellent record of dynamic progressive rock. Overall, the music is characterized by piano/synth/guitar interplay with theatric, almost RPI vocals.

Looking at the cover, the song "Gereration 42" is highlighted, maybe this was a regional hit. It does begin slowly, the english lyrics nostalgic and syrupy. Great acoustics and synths about 2 and a half minutes in - ELP esqe. It's a full on prog fest from there, with haunting, fast paced guitar fed melodies leading the way. More vocals 4 and a half minutes in, still nostalgic, reflecting on childhood memories and dreams. The acoustic guitar and bright washes of synth close this fine tune.

This is solid prog. If you are starting with the genre, listen to Close to the Edge and Selling England by the Pound and ELP and In the Court of the Crimson King first. I've you need more and crave the old and obscure, seek out Not an Ordinary Life. While not a blockbuster, the record is consistently interesting, enthralling, and accessible.

4+

Very popular band from ex-Yugoslavia.They were formed in Belgrade in 1968 by former Indexi keyboardist Kornelije Kovac.The band had a rather stable branch of guitars,bass and drums with Bojan Hreljac, Josip Bocek and Vladimir Furduj respectively,but suffered from numerous changes on the vocal post.Initially they played in a Pop-Rock style with female singers,by the 70's they transformed into a Hard Prog band with Jazz influences and male vocals (even Time's singer Dado Topic was a member in 1971).After they recorded the musical poem ''1941'',Korni Grupa headed for their first full-length self-titled work with Zlatko Pejakovic on vocals and eventually released it on the big Serbian label PGP RTB.

A rather dated work by today's standards,''Korni Grupa'' opens with ''Glas sa obale boje'',a mediocre Hard/Blues track with little to offer and vocal lines being the most interesting moments.The 14-min. four-part epic ''Put na istok'' is also rather inconsistent,standard Blues/Hard Rock on the lyrical parts,but Kovac delivers some nice organ soloing after the middle with a decent jazzy rhythm section,while the strong end is also pretty good.Another long track,the 10-min. ''Moj bol'' will open in a pure Jazz manner with Kovac'es piano on the front all the way,but again very cliche work on guitar solos,certainly an overstretched piece of music.''Bezglave ja-ha horde'' holds the rhythm section's best performance with some good vocals throughout and fantastic electric piano by Kovac,definitely the most adventurous cut of the album.The short closer ''Tata Ko i mama Spo'' sees the band in a commercial Blues Rock style,again the fine vocals end up to be the most interesting part in here along with the electric piano performance of Kovac,while the guitars are deeped already in a very pale and forgettable style.

The album might have been a great release in ex-Yugoslavia,but it will not blow your mind by any means.It is a rather cliche Hard/Jazz/Prog album with some fine passages but also plenty of average parts,which reminds at moments Swedish bands of the time like KEBNEKAISE,RAG I RYGGEN or TRETTIOARIGA KRIGET.Far from a trully interesting release,hardly recommended,but of some interest for fans of the style...2.5 stars.

This is a compilation album that was released in 1996. KORNI GRUPA only put out three studio albums (in the seventies) but they released a lot of singles.This compilation combines both sides of the band as we get three singles (one of them done live) and four of their more Progressive tracks. Of the four proggy tunes only one of them isn't on the first or second album, so even to hear this one song will make this worth seeking out if your a KORNI GRUPA fan. It's also the longest song on here as well at around 17 minutes.

"Put Na Astok" is from their debut album and is probably the one I like the most. I won't get into details considering i've just reviewed this track. "Divija Jagode" was a B-Side single and is an uptempo track with vocals and some excellent guitar. "Prvo Svelto U Kuci Broja 4" is the one track worth hearing for Prog fans who already have their first two studio albums.This is an unreleased track that has some great moments. It is kind of bluesy though and I don't like the vocals before 2 minutes but the guitar shines.

"Etida" is the one song I dislike. An A-side single but it's too ballad-like for my tastes. "Jedna Zena" is actually the B-Side song to the previous single but this is live so they've stretched it out to around 12 1/2 minutes. The final two songs are from their second studio album called "Not An Ordinary Life". "Generation" is average but I do like the final self titled track. It sounds like a cross between Zappa and WIGWAM.

Sure this would be a good place to check out how this band sounds but I still think the debut studio album is their best and the place i'd recommend you begin.

This was KORNI GRUPA's second album and they recorded it in Italy with English vocals trying to break the international market. Unfortunately it didn't do very well at all.

"Rising" opens with some annoying sounding synths but then the song picks up and turns fuller. A calm with piano ends this short intro track. "Not An Ordinary Life" is much better.The vocals remind me of a Zappa recording, in fact i'm reminded of both Zappa and WIGWAM at times on this my favourite tune. The drumming is great early on. It settles with drums and almost spoken words before 2 minutes then kicks back in with guitar leading. I like the drums / synths section after 4 minutes. Guitar leads 5 1/2 minutes in. Vocals are back 9 minutes in. Excellent track.

"Generation" opens with intricate guitar which is replaced by reserved vocals a minute in. It picks up before 3 minutes with strummed guitar and synths standing out. The organ joins in. It settles then picks up as contrasts continue. "Fall Of The Land Of Woman" has a good low end rhythm with vocals.The organ joins in. Synths lead 3 minutes in and the guitar is aggressive a minute later. Nice. "Temporary Parting" features piano melodies until around 1 1/2 minutes when drums, synths and bass become prominant. Piano ends it though. "Man With A White Flag" opens with drums and floating organ as the vocals come and go.This is a pretty good uptempo tune. Not a fan of the synths though after 5 minutes. Love the section 7 minutes in that is very WIGWAM-like. Great section. Some nice drum work before 9 1/2 minutes.

A good album but not as good as the debut which I rated a low 4 stars. So 3.5 stars it is.

KORNI GRUPA were a very popular group in Yugoslavia in the seventies.They had the ability to churn out the pop hits but at the same time create Progressive albums like this their debut.The band was formed by the former keyboard player for INDEXI.

"Glas Sa Obale Boje" opens with this melancholic guitar followed by vocals as the sad mood continues. It picks up and gets fuller after a minute. Nice. It settles again 2 1/2 minutes in as contrasts continue. Great tune. "Put Na Istok" is around 14 minutes in length and divided into four parts.This is more lively and catchy than the opening track. Vocals around a minute. Some nice guitar after 2 1/2 minutes then we get a calm. Guitar, keys and a beat take over. This is really good. Vocals before 5 1/2 minutes then the tempo picks up. Another calm before 10 minutes as reserved vocals join in. It kicks back in before 11 1/2 minutes with more aggressive vocals.

"Moj Bol" opens with piano and percussion. Bass joins in as it builds.Vocals after 2 1/2 minutes. It then settles back as the tempo continues to shift. The guitar starts to solo around 6 1/2 minutes. Vocals are back late. "Bezglave Ja-Ha Horde" is led by drums, piano and vocals early then guitar comes in. A guitar solo after 2 minutes and some expressive vocals follow as they jam. I like this. Another guitar solo 5 1/2 minutes in as the tempo slows some. Vocals follow. "Tata Ko I Mama Spo" opens with drums, guitar and bass before the vocals join in.The guitar is playing over top after 2 minutes.The piano comes to the fore when the vocals stop, but then the guitar and vocals return to end it.

On their studio albums the band certainly were challenging themselves and their fans, especially the latter.