JEDINA MOJA

The year is 1973 and INDEXI are in a serious crisis. In early spring, keyboardist Vlado Pravdic became infatuated by interesting new ideas of young composer and guitarist Goran Bregovic, so he decided to spend more time with his band JUTRO (soon to become known as hugely popular BIJELO DUGME) than with Indexi. This opened a space for ex-Indexi member Djordje Novkovic who also witnessed the collapse of his band PRO ARTE, so he rejoined Indexi under condition that they all perform together with Pro Arte singer Vladimir Savic Cobi under the new moniker INDEXI-PRO ARTE as a sort of "supergroup". This unholy alliance between a prog rock band and a bubblegum pop combo lasted only until November when Davorin Popovic and Bodo Kovacevic (two of three key members of Indexi) had to go for compulsory military service. This effectively put Indexi in hiatus for almost a year. In the meantime, Indexi-Pro Arte had a successful tour across Yugoslavia and Bulgaria, where they even recorded a live album during summer gigs in Sofia. The summer also saw the end of contract with Jugoton label, so Indexi proper (without Novkovic and Cobi who were by now based mostly in Zagreb) signed a record deal with a newly established record label Diskoton, based in their home town Sarajevo. This prompted an intensive recording sessions in November, with Pravdic still engaged on keyboards as a guest member, to provide new material for Diskoton to release records while the band is temporarily inactive.

The first single on Diskoton label appeared soon and in the sleeve depicting Indexi as a quartet: Popovic, Kovacevic, Fadil Redzic and Miroslav Saranovic. A-side carries a light pop number "Jedina moja" (My Only Love), whose brass section reminds of another Sarajevan band, AMBASADORI. Penned by Redzic, it contains typical schlager singing and discreet piano backing. Nothing remarkable is present here. The only interesting part, I would argue, is a brief solo on acoustic guitar. The song is just listenable, nowhere near their best pop hits. B-side is much better, containing Kovacevic track "I tvoje ce proci" (Even Your Time Will Pass) with lyrics by singer Popovic. It is an uptempo rock number with a distinctive handclapping rhythm and nice organ backing. Fiery electric guitar utilizes a recognizeable rock and roll scheme, especially during the chorus, with a slight glammy touches. This is a well performed "party" song that actually became a minor hit during 1974. As if they anticipated its commercial potentials, Indexi even shot a music video for TV Sarajevo showing the band (with Pravdic still on board) sitting on parked cars, handclapping and miming to this song. Not a great single by any means, but an occassional spin or two of the B-side won't hurt your prog-sensitive ears. 2,5/5