CRNA DAMA [AKA: BLACK LADY]

Ex-Yugoslavian bands are rather hard to find in progressive rock style, so it's always a challenge to listen to an album coming from that region.SMAK were a popular band in Yugoslavia and ''Crna Dama'' reached my hands so I decided to give it a few listens...

Well,the conclusion I've made is that this is an uneven album.On the one side we have to deal with the great talent and excellent musicianship of these guys that are delivered in instrumental tracks like ''Domaci zadatak'' and ''Tegoba'', where the band shows how insiped prog/fusion must be played...But on the other one there are some weak tracks such as ''Crna Dama'' and ''Daire'' that aren't even prog and the additional vocals are weak as well.So this is a rather mediocre album,recommended mainly for fans of BRAND X and DIXIE DREGS,which I cannot rate higher than 3 stars...