ISPIJMO ZLATNI PEHAR

After returning from Zagreb, where they recorded the album 'Modra rijeka' in late January, INDEXI were back at a Sarajevo studio where they recorded material for a new single during February 1978, which was soon to be released by Diskoton. The tracks were recorded for the purpose of participating in the upcoming pop festivals, first in Opatija, and then at Sarajevo's 'Vas slager sezone'. Their frequent collaborator Maja Perfiljeva wrote the lyrics for both songs, in her characteristic poetic-romantic style. Indexi were by then a well-established quintet lineup: Davorin Popovic on vocals, Slobodan A. Kovacevic Bodo on guitar, Fadil Red?ic on bass guitar, Nenad Jurin on keyboards, and Djordje Kisic on drums, and in the Sarajevo studio they were assisted by sound engineer Antun Markovic and producer Esad Arnautalic.

For the single's A-side, Fadil's composition (music and arrangement) 'Ispijmo zlatni pehar' (Let's Drink from the Golden Cup) was chosen, with which Indexi won the second place at 'Vas slager sezone', held in early April 1978. It was recorded on February 12th in the studio, and it is one of the group's better pop hits. This slower-tempo ballad features a pleasant melodic phrase on the piano, accompanied by acoustic and electric guitar. In the second verse, the organ and rhythm section join in, while the chorus is accompanied by an effective solo guitar. On the live recording of the performance, which can be found on YouTube, a thunderous applause from the audience is heard, and instead of the piano theme from the studio version, the leading melody is played by Bodo on electric guitar, as Jurin was in charge of keyboard backing as a member of the festival orchestra.

The B-side is occupied by the almost six-minute ballad 'Svidjas mi se' (I Like You) by former member and frequent 'external collaborator' Ranko Rihtman (music and arrangement), which Indexi performed during the rock evening of the Opatija '78 festival, held from March 15th to 18th. With a slow and melancholic tempo and atmosphere, the song stylistically relies on the sympho-progressive rock of the album 'Modra rijeka', and in addition to the piano and acoustic guitar, Bodo's solo on the electric guitar with the use of an EBow also plays a notable role. The composition also contains elements of jazz that are noticeable during a short instrumental mid-section, in which the solo parts of the acoustic guitar and soprano saxophone complement each other, with a light and unobtrusive rhythm of drums and bass guitar, and discreet organ backing. The track was recorded in the studio on February 22nd, and in addition to this single, it was also released on the festival's various artists' LP record 'Vece rok muzike JRT Opatija '78' by PGP RTB label, alongside selected tracks by several rock bands, the most famous of which are YU GRUPA, SEPTEMBER, and LEB I SOL. With this track, Indexi showed that they still had the strength and will to step into a more progressive rock territory intended for devout listeners beyond instant pop-hits, which they prioritized during the second half of the seventies.

The single was released in March 1978 (the matrix was cut on March 14th), and was packaged in a generic Diskoton cover designed for a series of festival releases. The front side of 'Vas slager sezone' is adorned with a detail of a flock of pigeons flying around Sebilj, a recognizable symbol of Sarajevo's Old Town Bascarsija square, while the back side of 'Opatija' is accompanied by illustrations of sea fishing with a fish trap. The author of the design is unknown, but the cover also includes a smaller photograph of the trio Davor, Fadil, and Bodo, which is a copy of an identical photo from the earlier single 'U jednim plavim ocima', taken by Dragan S. Stefanovic back in the spring of 1976. This is one of the better singles by Indexi during the seventies, on which they successfully combined a decent and catchy festival hit with a more challenging progressive music for more attentive listeners. 'Zlatni pehar' became a popular hit; during April 1978, it reached the top-10 chart of domestic singles of the Hit-strana of 'Politikin zabavnik' youth magazine, and in the decades to come, it was often included in compilation releases, and remained part of the group's standard concert repertoire. Unfortunately, this cannot be said for 'Svidjas mi se', which after its release practically fell into oblivion. Quite undeservedly, because it is a very good song that is a real pleasure to listen to.

PERSONAL RATING: 4/5 PA RATING: 3/5