MODRA RIJEKA

During the mid-70s INDEXI were mostly occupied with pop festivals of easy listening music and released hit-singles of such a genre, so the appearance of this album, marking the return to their prog roots, was a bit of a surprise. In fact, this is their first proper studio album, although it cannot be called a "debut" since it showcased the superior creative energy and musicianship rarely heard in Yugoslavian rock music, acquired through the experience of the previous 15 years! "Modra rijeka" (English: the Blue River) is a concept album conceived around a set of poems by Mak Dizdar, a renowned Bosnian poet. The line- up of INDEXI consisted of: Davorin Popovic-vocals, Fadil Redzic-bass, Nenad Jurin- keyboards, Djordje Kisic-drums and Slobodan A. Kovacevic-guitar, with two guest players: Tihomir Pop Asanovic-organ solo (ex TIME and SEPTEMBER) and Ranko Rihtman-piano solo (former INDEXI member). The sound is dominated by the keyboards and energetic Redzic's bass playing, therefore one can roughly describe the music style as being somewhere between YES and RENAISSANCE. Kovacevic mostly played acoustic guitar in a manner that sometimes reminds me of Robert Fripp's playing on "Lizard" by KING CRIMSON. However in those few electric moments on the album, he proved the originality and unique sound of his Gibson "Flying Arrow" model (allegedly once belonging to Jimi Hendrix!). Although it is hard to find a weak moment here, the album highlights would be "Blago", "More" and the closing title song. "Modra rijeka" was re-issued on CD by Croatia Records in 1995 and again by Croatia Records and Naraton in 1999, so all interested are advised to search it out. This is a true gem of progressive rock music in the former Yugoslavia.

Oh, boy... On of the best ex-Yugoslavian and Bosnian albums. One of the best bands. "Modra Rijeka" made music based on Mak Dizdar's poems, and Dizdar is one of the best Bosnian poets, his poems are full of mysticism and beauty.

Occasional spoken words on album won't mean much if you don't know the language; however they fit between particular songs perfectly, because each song is a little story. The lyrics are recited by late Croatian theatre and movie actor Fabijan Sovagovic.

The music itself is beyond description. Beautiful multivocal harmonies, so typical for this band. Breathtaking acoustic guitar parts, comparable to the finest moments of Italian symphonic prog. Skillful guitar and keyboard solos. Tasteful bass lines. Indexi caught magic of Dizdar's lyrics perfectly. It's a pity that translation would be far too difficult task. Let me try...

Let's try to translate one of the shortest songs, "Blago".

First we have to remove all the "li" syllables from all the words in the song and then we get:

BLAGO

(Pastir Pastirici kao i Kralj Kraljici)

blaga nema do ocinjeg vida

draza si mi od ociju

draga

Now we can try to translate it:

TREASURE

(Shepherd to a Shepherdess as well as King to a Queen)

there is no treasure like eyesight

dearer you are than my eyes

my dear

.....etc. And that was an easy one. The whole album is, actually, about mankind and man's place in the universe. The title "Modra rijeka" (blue river) is actually allegorical symbol of life (hundred years river is wide, thousand years river is deep, about the length don't even dare to dream)...and music is here perfect tapestry for the lyrics, strong as lyrics themselves.

Therefore, this album is a masterpiece. A milestone, but a milestone of what? Absolutely out of time, and so easy to fit in any era. Astonishing.

I apologize in advance because I didn't gave you too many relevant infos about music itself. But in this case, I'm driven with emotions more than facts.

I'm rating it 6/5, but since most of you folks don't understand the language, you're missing half of the story. And the remaining half is enough to be called a masterpiece. 5/5.

This is one of the most exciting discoveries in the last years. Being 1978, this album is far from being experimental but... well, it's fantastic, pure, rough (rough as a rough diamond), aggressive, sad, poetic, dramatic, anguishing, melodic, sensual, hard, intelligent, intense, deep, obscure, sweet, relaxing, pastoral sometimes... in few words:

perfect!

Of the ingredients above, sadness is the most important, musically, Sadness and poetry.

"Modra Rijeka", english for "Blue River", is based upon the self titled real cicle of poems and partially is based upon recitative parts, as in the opening move and in "Zapis o Zemlij".

Sound is a real joy, featuring, above all, impressive work on bass guitar, acoustic guitar, classic piano, hammond organ and moog soloing (sometimes duets and "battles") as you hear in the song "Blago" and in the extended track "More" (11,20 mns) and even in "More II" (4,19).

All instruments are definitely masterfully balanced. Attention! This is not a keyboard based album, it's more a mix between heavy and symphonic prog with that "GRANDEUR" that only comes from the masterworks. Great, great work on acoustic guitar. Passion, passion, friends. This is music I want to listen to.

And you, listen to me: "More", please. What a big, big, huge impression caused to me this song! Wonderful and aggressive bass guitar solo and duet within a superb acoustic guitar!!

I repeat: listen to "More", please. What a big, big, huge impression caused to me this one!

The album is a real gem, a must have for any good prog lover, especially for those who like symphonic and heavy prog. A very inspired yugoslavian band with attention to their own original mood.

The album is at the same level of other big opus: it has also its own "Lucky Man": the beautiful, melodic, sad and joyful "Slovo o Covjeku".

I see that my english cannot really give you the idea of what I've found in Modra Rijeka. Please, pay attention to internet where you can find this wonderful album. The best from Yugoslavia. On the top 5 of my entire discography.

3.5 stars.There's no doubt from reading the other reviews that i'm missing something by not understanding the lyrics. Apparently it's a concept album and there are two tracks that consist of spoken words only. INDEXI were a very popular Pop band in Yugoslavia, so popular that the record company didn't mind that they veered off into Prog territory on this release in 1978. To my ears this is Symphonic-Prog with lots of keybords, acoustic guitar and deep bass lines. For some reason I think "Italian" when I hear the vocals.

"Modra Rijeka" is the intro consisting of spoken words only. "Blago" is uptempo with chunky bass and drums leading the way. Synths come in as it settles some. Almost spoken vocals 2 minutes in. Organ follows then it kicks back in. "Brod" is the first song I like although the aggressive vocals take a while to get used to. It opens with water sounds as acoustic guitar and vocals come in. Vocal melodies follow. Drums 1 1/2 minutes in followed by organ then those harsh vocals. It settles before 3 minutes as themes are repeated. "More" is the over 11 minute epic. Synths to open as the song builds. It kicks in before 1 1/2 minutes with vocals. Guitar and bass take over before 3 minutes then it settles with intricate acoustic guitar melodies. Solo piano melodies follow. It kicks back in with some bombast after 6 minutes. Organ 7 1/2 minutes. Acoustic guitar, bass and vocals are back 9 1/2 minutes in.

"Zapis O Zemlji" is another brief spoken word track. "Slovo O Covjeku" is a song I just can't get into at all. Ballad-like with fragile vocals and piano to open. The vocals do get passionate and the guitar comes and goes.The tempo picks up 2 1/2 minutes in then back to earlier sound 4 minutes in. "Pustinja" is pretty good. I like the mellower parts of it more than the fuller sounding sections. I don't like the guitar later though. "More II" is my favourite song on here. It's almost like an instrumental reprise of "More" but a lot shorter. I'm reminded of a few different bands during this track. "Modra Rijeka II" is pastoral to open. Reserved vocals a minute in. Strings follow. A full sound 3 minutes in. Chunky bass before 6 minutes.

These guys sure know how to create a melody, i'll give them that. And that's the strength of this album and what I like about it. I wish I could give this 4 stars but there's too many things (almost in every song) that I just don't enjoy.

Indexi were apparently a big deal in the former Yugoslavia, but I don't personally find much that's truly distinctive about Modra Rijeka, their venture into prog concept albums. With a sound ranging from keyboard-dominated prog-psyche to straight-aheard hard rock, the album seems rather directionless and unfocused musically speaking, though I understand that if you understand the lyrics it's a fairly cohesive concept album. Still, the album has a nice meaty organ sound to it, which is a plus, and will doubtless be of interest to anyone interested in Croatian/Yugoslavian rock music. However, it should be remembered that Indexi adopted many different styles over the years, often at the prompting of fashion, and to my ears it seems that their adoption of a progressive approach for this album was a mere affectation rather than something they felt passionately about.

Modra Rijeka by Indexi is a showcase of musical craftsmanship, with each piece a testament to complex songwriting and gifted musicianship. I wish I could understand the language, because even to a listener spoiled by English, the lyrics flow and adhere to the music perfectly. I highly recommend this to Kansas lovers, particularly "Magnum Opus" and Point of Know Return.

"Modra Rijeka" The recitation of poetry ("Blue River") commences.

"Blago" Florid poetry is quite the antithesis to this creeping and spiraling combination of punchy symphonic rock and psychedelic brooding. The bass warbles and growls as the organ twists and turns in this snarling beast of a song; it's quite ELP-ish in places.

"Brod" Fresh-sounding acoustic guitar with an agreeable melody and keyboards to match initially impart something in progressive folk territory, while the distorted organ and boisterous singing amplify this track into harder rock. To and fro it goes.

"More" Starting out like Camel's "Lunar Sea" (and almost the same length), "More" gives just what the title implies: More heavy progressive rock laced with acoustic guitar and a downright sinister bass. One may expect a few interludes, including an acoustic guitar one full of fingerpicking and alternate tunings as well as a delicate piano that just glistens. The keyboard work is outstanding, especially the organ.

"Zapis O Zemlji" A second poetic excerpt follows.

"Slovo O Covjeku" Dynamic vocals (a Yugoslavian Roger Daltery?) and a distant piano lead into a light acoustic rock tune.

"Pustinja" In addition to the organ and energetic drumming one could come to expect by this point, the guitarist treats the listener to the tasteful use of a Talk Box.

"More II" Bright guitar and synthesizer shine together to generate one happy instrumental. Compositionally, it channels Steve Hackett, whilst the organ nods in the direction Canterbury fellows like Dave Stewart.

"Modra Rijeka II" Stunning textures over a halcyon acoustic, followed by equally soothing vocals, soon erupting into a satisfying amalgamation of all the aforementioned ingredients, topped off with a catchy refrain. This is a suitable finale to an excellent and consistent album.