Draft:Modra rijeka

• Comment: Discogs is user-generated, and thus unusable as a source Mach61 12:55, 20 March 2024 (UTC)

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Modra rijeka (1978)
by Indexi
Released	September 1978
Recorded	January - February 1978
Studio	Jugoton Studio, Zagreb
Genre	Progressive Rock
Length	43:37
Language	Serbo-Croatian
Label	Jugoton
Producer	Nikola Borota Radovan, Indexi
Indexi chronology
Indexi (1977) Modra rijeka (1978) Sve ove godine (1986)

Modra rijeka is a concept album by the Sarajevo rock band Indexi, conceived around a series of songs from the poetry collections of Mak Dizdar, a well-known Bosnian poet.

Introduction

After 16 years of work, Indexi released their first studio album in September 1978. Prior to this, they had recorded 22 singles and released three compilation albums.

Album Overview

The lyrics of Modra rijeka are drawn from the poetry collections "Kameni spavač (Stone Sleeper)" and "Modra rijeka (Blue River)" by Mak Dizdar, with music composed by guitarist Slobodan Kovačević and bass guitarist Fadil Redžić.

Recording took place at Jugoton studio in Zagreb in January, with only a hundred working hours available and a single interruption – to celebrate the birth of Fadil Redžić's daughter, Sanja. Joining Indexi in the studio were Tihomir Pop Asanović on solo organ and Ranko Rihtman on solo piano. Musical production was jointly handled by Nikola Borota Radovan and Indexi, with arrangements by Slobodan Kovačević, Fadil Redžić, and Ranko Rihtman.

Contributing to the conceptual atmosphere were the renowned Zagreb actor Fabijan Šovagović, who recited Mak Dizdar's verses "Modra rijeka" and "Zapis o zemlji" on the album, and the famous Sarajevo painter Mersad Berber, who provided the artwork used for the album cover, capturing the spirit of the musical and poetic narrative.

After recording was done in January 1978, mixing was done in the following month in February, at Barbarossa Tonstudio in Munich.

Track Listing

1. Modra rijeka (recited by Fabijan Šovagović) (1:01)
2. Blago (Fadil Redžić) (4:05)
3. Brod (Slobodan Kovačević) (5:00)
4. More (Slobodan Kovačević) (11:19)
5. Zapis o zemlji (recited by Fabijan Šovagović) (0:38)
6. Slovo o čovjeku (Fadil Redžić) (5:52)
7. Pustinja (Slobodan Kovačević-R.Rihtman) (4:32)
8. More II (Slobodan Kovačević) (4:19)
9. Modra rijeka II (Slobodan Kovačević -R.Rihtman) (6:51)

Duration: 43:37

Credits

On the Original 1978 Jugoton Release:

• Cover, Artwork By – Mersad Berber
• Cover, Design – Dragan S. Stefanović
• Design, Restoration – Darko Kujundžić
• Editor – Siniša Škarica, Vojno Kundić
• Engineer – Mladen Rukavec
• Mixed By – Ullmann Ulrich
• Organ [Solo] – Tihomir Pop Asanović
• Performer [Band Member] – Davorin Popović, Fadil Redžić, Nenad Jurin, Slobodan A. Kovačević, Đorđe Kisić
• Piano [Solo] – Ranko Rihtman
• Producer – Indexi, Nikola Borota Radovan
• Supervised By – Želimir Babogredac
• Technician [Sound] – Branko Podbrežnički

On the 2021 Abbey Road Half Speed Remaster:

• Transferred By – Goran Martinac
• Mastered By – Miles Showell

About the Album

Indexi during 1978.

The first studio album by Indexi is a compact, unique work comprising eight chapters, eight songs, where the sound of piano/keyboards and subtle string arrangements thread through each, connecting them from start to finish.

The album begins and ends with the theme "Modra rijeka", approached from two different perspectives. While one might have expected a more prominent role for guitarist Slobodan Bodo Kovačević, known for his distinctive solos in previous intricate works, such as "Dvojnik", "Negdje na kraju u zatišju", "Plima", "Ugasila je plamen", "Hej ti", this time, the only notable solo, quite impressive indeed, occurs in the song "More" (another lengthy 11-minute piece by Indexi), albeit unexpectedly – on the acoustic guitar. There are just two more discreet and gentle solos on his famous electric guitar beneath Davorin's voice in the song "Slovo o čovjeku" and another similar one between two stanzas of the song "Pustinja".

The closing track "More II" is the only instrumental, and on its calm sonic waves, the album simply drifts toward its logical conclusion.

Of the eight Songs on the album, six were composed by Slobodan Kovačević and two by Fadil Redžić – "Blago" and "Slovo o čovjeku"

Regarding the latter, Fadil considers it one of the best he has ever done, explaining:

I am truly proud of this composition. I still feel good about it, how it develops, how it grows... It also has a peculiar solution. I got the idea stuck in my head that the guitar should sound an octave lower than it naturally does. I don't know why I suddenly liked that so much, but I really tormented Bodo during the recording to do what I envisioned. We played back the matrix tape from the tape recorder twice as fast, and Bodo had to play the guitar twice as fast as well. Hmm, it's not that simple, but he was very patient and disciplined... So, when we recorded that, we returned the tape with the new matrix to normal speed and got that unusual effect. Today, it can be done effortlessly on some new recording devices, but we managed to produce it ourselves, with our ingenuity and Bodo's phenomenal playing.

"Modra rijeka" is not a classic rock album. It's hard to label it a rock opera, like "Gubec Beg," the first Yugoslavian domestic rock opera from 1975. Perhaps somewhere in between and certainly unique within the Yugoslavian rock genre.

Far from being commercial in terms of catchy, radio-friendly songs and memorable choruses, with heavy odd meters and even heavier lyrics, "Modra rijeka" nevertheless found its way to the audience, who embraced these serious Indexi after years filled exclusively with festival-friendly tunes. As a result, after its initial release in September 1978, the album would have three reissues by Croatia Records, in 1995 and 1999. In 2021 the Album was Half Speed Remastered in Abbey Road Studios and was Re-Released, both Digitaly and on Vinyl.

Album Reviews

Reviews were universally filled with praise.

In one of them, Belgrade journalist and rock critic Petar Peco Popović writes: "Modra rijeka completely bewildered me. These suspected, disputed, forgotten Indexi from the past have gone a step and a half into the future. 'Modra rijeka' is not just a record. It is a complete work that I dream of with excitement even while awake. Unable to regret occasionally doubting these same authors. Everything that needed to be done to restore the name of Indexi to the heights of respect was done flawlessly."

There were no major promotional tours. Just a few concerts. One of them took place at the Pionir Hall in Belgrade, in front of about 3500 attendees, and from that concert, journalist Marko Lopušina noted:

"The audience at the concert was somewhat confused. They wanted the old stuff, they wanted to applaud to the hits, but they were listening to 'some' music. However, believing in them, they endured the premiere of the new album. A tumultuous applause showed that music prevailed... In statements the next day, Davorin Popović admitted that he was afraid that they wouldn't be understood, that nobody would like the music, but after the 'grand finale,' he was thrilled with the audience's reaction."

Literature and Film

Literature: U Inat Godinama, a biography of Indexi

Documantaries: INDEXI (2022), a Documantary-Film about Indexi