Bijelo Dugme (album)

Background and recording

Vocalist Željko Bebek left Bijelo Dugme in April 1984, deciding to dedicate himself to his solo career, and the band's new vocalist became a former Top and Teška Industrija member Mladen Vojičić Tifa. The band spent the summer of 1984 in Rovinj, where they held small performances in Monvi tourist centre, preparing for the upcoming album recording.

The album was recorded in Sarajevo, Skopje, Zagreb and Belgrade. The working title of the album, Još uvek nas ima (We're Still Here), was discarded after it was decided that Uroš Predić's painting would appear on the cover. Bijelo Dugme featured Radio Television of Skopje Folk Instruments Orchestra, folk group Ladarice on backing vocals, Pece Atanasovski on gaida and Sonja Beran-Leskovšek on harp. The song "Pediculis pubis" (misspelling of "Pediculosis pubis") featured Bora Đorđević, the leader of Bijelo Dugme's main competitors at the time, Riblja Čorba, on vocals. Đorđević co-wrote the song with Bijelo Dugme leader Goran Bregović, and sung it with Bregović and Vojičić. (Bregović would, in return, make a guest appearance on Riblja Čorba 1985 album Istina, singing with Đorđević in the song "Disko mišić".) Đorđević had an idea of political song, with lyrics mentioning names and nicknames of Yugoslav politicians, but Bregović persuaded him that the song should feature joking lyrics about pubic lice. The final mix of the album was done by German producer Theo Werdin, who initially came to Sarajevo to produce Divlje Jagode's album Vatra, but whom Diskoton, after his arrival, hired to work on Bijelo Dugme.

The album featured a version of Yugoslav national anthem, "Hej, Slaveni", as the opening track. The song "Lipe cvatu, sve je isto k'o i lani" ("Linden Trees Are in Bloom, Everything's just like It Used to Be") is musically based on the song "Šta ću nano dragi mi je ljut" ("What Can I Do, Mom, My Darling Is Angry"), written by Bregović and originally recorded by Bisera Veletanlić.

Personnel

Additional personnel

Reception and events following the release

The album was well received by the audinece. "Lipe cvatu, sve je isto k'o i lani" was the album's biggest hit. Other hits included "Padaju zvijezde", "Lažeš", "Da te bogdo ne volim" and "Jer kad ostariš". A large part of the critics, however, disliked the album.

The album sale and the tour were very successful. The album was sold in more that 420,000 copies.

Vojičić, however, under the pressure of professional obligations, sudden fame, and a media scandal caused by revelation of his LSD usage, decided to leave the band. He performed with Bijelo Dugme for the last time at a concert in Moscow.

Influence and legacy

Bijelo Dugme's folk-oriented pop rock sound, alongside the idea of Yugoslavism, present on the album via cover of "Hej, Sloveni", influenced a great number of pop rock bands from Sarajevo, like Merlin, Plavi Orkestar, Crvena Jabuka, Valentino and Hari Mata Hari, often labeled as New Partisans.

The album was polled in 1998 as the 28th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav rock and pop albums in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike (YU 100: The Best Albums of Yugoslav Pop and Rock Music).

In 2000, "Lipe cvatu" and "Za Esmu" were polled as 10th and 78th respectively on the Rock Express Top 100 Yugoslav Rock Songs of All Times list.

In 2011, "Meni se ne spava" ("I Don't Feel like Sleeping") was voted, by the listeners of Radio 202, one of 60 greatest songs released by PGP-RTB/PGP-RTS during the sixty years of the label's existence.

In 2007, Serbian critic Dimitrije Vojnov named Bijelo Dugme one of ten most important records in the history of Yugoslav rock, having, however, negative opinion about the album.

Covers