SAMO SU RUZE ZNALE

The second INDEXI single on Diskoton label (seventh single overall) was released sometime in the spring of 1974, probably in April, since it contains two songs performed at the festivals - one from "Opatija 74", held in late February and early March, and one from "Vas slager sezone 74", which took place on April 13, 1974. These two tracks also stem from the November 1973 recording sessions at the Radio-Television Sarajevo studios, when drummer Miroslav Saranovic and keyboardist Vlado Pravdić were still band members.

The A-side track "Samo su ruze znale" (Only the Roses Knew), penned by bassist Fadil Redzic, is a love ballad composed around acoustic guitar chords, backed by gentle organ, cymbals and effective backing vocals ("la, la, la?") reminiscent of the BEATLES. The catchy chorus brings an electric guitar accompanying the lead vocal, at moments sounding like an electric sitar due to Kovacevic's inventive use of some guitar effects. There is also a brief slide guitar solo. This is a strong "progressive" pop/schlager that was, according to singer Davorin Popovic, one of his best vocal performances up to date. Although the song was frequently aired during the Radio Sarajevo competition for the festival "Vas slager sezone", INDEXI could not appear on the final night of April 13, because Popovic and Kovacevic were denied permits to leave the military service. "The Roses" was a minor hit in June when it charted on the top-30 singles list of the Dzuboks magazine.

The flipside contains a song that is as strong if not even better. Composed by Kovacevic, "Samoco, ljubavi moja" (Loneliness, My Love) begins as a melancholy "progressive folk" relying on the dominant bass guitar, bongos-type percussion, organ, and harmony vocals. Kovacevic again excels on acoustic guitar. The chorus is strangely in odd time signature, which is typical for INDEXI who always liked to complicate arrangements and experiment with standard formats of pop songcraft. Kudos for that, but it kind of spoils the flow of the song, which is the only minor quibble on my part. Yet, this is redeemed by a phenomenal brief bridge section when Kovacevic, Redzic, and Saranovic lock in a heavy rock groove - thundering bass, firm drumming, and sizzling electric guitar solo a la Eric Clapton. For this song, Popovic and Kovacevic did get a permit from military authorities to appear at the "Opatija 74" festival, which at the time served as a Yugoslav qualification to send a representative to the Eurosong contest. The winner, however, was Korni grupa (Kornelyans) who later shared the stage with the young and coming ABBA who triumphed with "Waterloo". "The Loneliness" was also a minor hit, peaking at the number 2 position of the top list of the youth magazine Zov, and remained on the chart for 5 weeks during late March and April 1974.

The single cover was again designed by Dragan S. Stefanović, but this time he was not very inventive. He copied the earlier photo of singer Popovic from the single "Sve ove godine" (1972) and added a string of yellow-reddish stripes against a dark brown background. Not his best design by any means, but it was kind of effective and catchy. This single is much better than either the previous one or the following one, and it is exciting to pay attention to Kovacevic's acoustic guitar and Redzic's backing vocal capabilities.