TIHOMIR POP ASANOVIC

1. "Majko Zemljo" (3:32) opening with some spacey synth noises, this one quickly falls into a brass rock sound similar to bands like Blood Sweat & Tears. I like the contrasting use of two alternating male vocalists. (8.875/10)

2. "Balada o liscu" (6:06) slow pop-jazz ballad with percussion and hi-pitched droning saw synth pervading the first three minutes beneath the vocalist. Then the horns enter and the tempo picks up, creating a more dynamic base, but then it all falls back into the slow pop motif for the fifth minute. Interesting and not bad--the singer is good (the sound engineering not as much). (8.875/10)

3. "Berlin I" (5:30) opens with some funky organ notes joined immediately by some smooth funk rhythm play from bass, drums, and percussion before being taken up a notch by banks of horn section accents and melody lines. The real player here, however, is Tihomir with his Brian Auger/Eumir Deodato-like funky organ play constantly exploring beneath the horns and horn soloists. This is such a great groove though laid-back in an "2001/Also Sprach Zarathustra" kind of way--at least until 3:40 when a very bluesy bridge signals Tihomir "Pop"'s turn for a solo. Very bluesy. Great two-handed work! Great cohesion from the rhythm section. (And no guitar!!) (9.25/10)

4. "Tema za pop LP" (3:39) Hohner clavinet with the rhythm section establish a very 70s funky base over which horns and female vocalists establish some hip-1960s surf- and bassa-nova-infused sounds and melodies. More great organ work beneath the horns which continues to remind me of the greats of the late 1960s like Auger, Rod Argent, Steve Winwood, and Jerry Corbetta (SUGARLOAF). Hip and cool but very dated. (9/10)

5. "Rokenrol dizajner" (2:56) more "early" R&B-modelled BS&T- and Chicago-inspired jazz-rock. Vocals enter in the second minute sounding not unlike Bill Withers. Some excellent bongo and trumpet play in the third minute before Pop plays his organ off of his clavinet in a very cool way. Banked horns and drums loosen up a little in that final 30 seconds and then poof! It's over! (9/10)

6. "Ostavi trag" (4:55) bass, sustained organ chords, and hand percussion support female vocalist Josipa Lisac's very passionate Lulu/Yvonne Ellemann-like vocal (presumably in Croatian). Electric piano and percussionists play off of each other in the instrumental passage occupying the third minute. Nice, smooth/chill soprano sax solo in the final minute. (8.875/10)

7. "Telepatija" (2:56) the choral vocal dominated attempt to recreate the Latin/Caribbean sounds of Sergio Mendes' Brazil '66 and Santana. Nicely coopted and performed--especially in the alternating group conversations between the women and men. (8.875/10)

8. "Berlin II" (4:41) Another song that feels a little mired in the surf- and burgeoning hippie culture of the mid- to late- 1960s--yet, again, I can only compliment Pop for his excellent integration and acculturation of said sounds and styles: heard on an American radio station I have no doubt that nearly all listeners would be tricked into thinking/believing that this music had to be coming from an American or perhaps even English band. (8.75/10)

Total Time: 34:15

The musicianship, compositional quality, and vocal performances are all deserving of superlatives--even in spite of the fact that Pop Asanovic is trying so hard (and accomplishing so well) the emulation of so many jazz-rock and jazz-pop musical styles that became popular in America during the 1960s.

B+/4.5 stars; a near-masterpiece of very solid and enjoyable jazz-rock and Latin-rock infused music. Definitely recommended to all my fellow jazz-rock/fusion lovers.

Tihomir Pop Asanovic joined a loose musical ensemble of excellent jazz and rock instrumentalists in mid 1970s, known under the tag of JUGOSLOVENSKA POP SELEKCIJA. It consisted mainly of the former TIME (Asanovic including) and the future SEPTEMBER members. Although highly accomplished musicians, SELEKCIJA never bothered with recording their own material, opting instead to provide session, studio and live support to other artists. This is sad because had they done otherwise, it would have stand as the prime jazz-rock or jazz-funk fusion work :-(

The problem with "Sweet Lola" (translation of the title of this record) does not end with its sexy cover sleeve. It is amazing how a group of such a good instrumentalists can waste their talents on releasing albums like this one. 12 tracks penned by Novkovic (hence the sub-title "The Prettiest Songs of Djordje Novkovic"), out of which 9 were from PRO ARTE catalogue, were far faraway from any rock music scene. On top of that, this is an instrumental album, with occasional female back vocals. So, the listener is tortured with 12 tra-la-la/obla-di pop tunes where the melody line is played solo mostly by rather awful synthesizers by Asanovic and similarly weak trumpet playing by another jazz giant Peter Ugrin. It is a shame that such prominent Hammond virtuoso accepted to take part in this project. In rare occasions, when Asanovic sticks back to his organ, when Ratko Divjak plays drums with wonderful jazzy beats and when Vedran Bozic takes his guitar in order to play more than a mere rhythm chords, this albums briefly shines. Alas, these moments are way too short so they are drowned in the overall disaster.

This is the music one expects to hear at the Adriatic Riviera hotel resorts during the peak of the socialist working class bourgeois collective annual leave periods during the happy seventies. And no, the nude "Lola" from the cover is not a Yugoslavian girl, which by the way is perhaps the most "progressive" thing on this album. In spite of rather "liberal" socialist society of the Tito era, the naked tits were highly unlikely to encounter in public, so this was rather "avant-garde" :-) Therefore, it was probably printed abroad by CBS and then licensed for Yugoslav market, as the CBS logo on the cover suggests. In spite of weak musical material I am kind of sympathetic for this release due to its rarity and unconventionality, so I am not going to give 1 star. Rarity and oddity collectors may find this title worthy to obtain.

PERSONAL RATING: 1,5/5

P. A. RATING: 2/5

Asanovic took some extra time during his engagement with JUGOSLOVENSKA POP SELEKCIJA, a short-lived supergroup that gathered a dozen or so important Yugoslavian musicians, to record his second solo album. He kept his standard collaborators, J. Boncina, P. Ugrin and B. Doblekar in the team. These formed the core around which the band SEPTEMBER was about to release their debut the same year. Drummer R. Divjak (ex-TIME) was also kept in from the previous album "Majko zemljo". Instead of Josipa Lisac, Asanovic invited here another celebrated female jazz and rock vocalist, Zdenka Kovacicek. The vocal tracks were shared among her, Boncina and Asanovic (This time around, Dado Topic was missing).

"Pop" (Asanovic's nickname), as the vinyl was titled, is far less interesting work than its predecessor. It is not that the sound is more "pop", but the style is overall less challenging and set more into the mainstream crossover jazz/R'n'B territory. That would not be a serious problem if the material were better composed and arranged. Thus, it all sounds a bit lame and does not provoke a listener. Some songs like "Plejboj" (Playboy), "Hiljadu zena" (A Thousand Women) and "O ljudima danas, o ljudima juce" (On People Today, On People Yesterday) are outright stupid. On the instrumental side, it is very good record; Asanovic and Ugrin are brilliant especially in keyboards/trumpet duelling tracks, "Skakavac" (Grasshopper) and lengthy improvisation "Ekspres Novi Sad". "Vremena je malo" (There's Little Time) with its almost honky-tonk piano sounds a bit like taken from a scene shot in a drunken Western saloon. Zdenka Kovacicek gave good singing in "Mali crni brat" (Little Black Brother) and "Dodji drugi put" (Come Another Time), but she is surely capable of better things to do.

This album lies somewhere between 2 and 3 stars rating. Because of exceptional instrumental play of Asanovic and due to sincerity in pursuing his own musical style, I opt for a higher mark.

The title track is a strong and catchy jazz-funk number with clavinet and brass arrangements where Janez Boncina (SEPTEMBER) and Dado Topic (TIME) shared lead vocals. "Balada o liscu" ("The Ballad Of The Leaves") is a nice, bluesy jazz ballad with Topic's lead vocals singing about falling leaves and passing of life which is quite spoiled by excessive use of a synthesizer. I guess it was a novelty at that time so Asanovic could not resist playing with it more than necessary. "Berlin I" is excellent jazz instrumental with perfect brass melody, superb Hammond, Asanovic's signature instrument, and trumpet solo by Pero Ugrin. "Tema za pop LP" ("Theme For a Pop LP") is another instrumental featuring female scat vocals, electric piano, clavinet and Hammond. Nothing special but pleasant enough to listen to. There is a pure classic jazz feel in this song. A somewhat stupid title "Rokenrol dizajner" ("Rock'n'Roll Designer") uncovers a brilliant short funky and rhythmic track with Boncina/Topic singing the title words interchangeably, while Divjak and Doblekar provide strong percussions. Another slow ballad "Ostavi trag" ("Leave the Trace") features Josipa Lisac as lead female vocalist and her performance is excellent. Again too much syntesizers here, but improvement comes with fine piano and at the closing part a wonderful soprano sax solo, which recalls some Coltranesque feel. Too bad this part is very short. This song would resurface on the first SEPTEMBER album "Zadnja avantura" two years later. D. Topic sings lead with female backing in the Latino-flavoured "Telepatija" ("Telepathy") sounding similar to SANTANA at times. A danceable, catchy tune but nothing exceptional. The closing "Berlin II" instrumental is not as good as the first one although it showcases the jolly sound of clavinet again.

This is a very good jazz-rock album with certain funk and R'n'B influences that does not require close attention or extraordinary jazz knowledge as preconditions for enjoyment. However, the keyboard nerds will have enough time to explore the sounds of Hammond, piano, clavinet and vintage synths played by one of the best ex- Yugoslavian musicians during the "golden" prog era.