Search - Kayah, Goran Bregovic :: Kayah & Bregovic

Best-seller for a reason

R. A. Bosch | Brighton, UK | 11/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had the chance to borrow this CD from my new housemate, and I have just ordered it myself. It's an excellent CD that deserves to be a best-seller outside Poland. It offers a good balance between very strong ballads (with a relatively important role for a cello (?)) and some very nice up-tempo songs, some of which sound more Mediterrenean than Polish (one song mentions Ofra Haza in the credits). The CD has a traditional and ethnic feel about it, but it sounds modern at the same time (without being over-produced like some remix projects). A definite must-have if you like World Music!"

Bregovic, the genius from Balkan

smiljan spasojevic | Houston, Texas United States | 10/23/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is more than very good! Goran Bregovic is without a doubt the greatest rock and ethnic music composer that Balkan ever had! In this excellent CD,he blended the styles of Serbian, Polish, and Russian Gypsies with his old rock hits from his ex band Bijelo Dugme [the most popular rock band in Yugoslavia ever].Bregovic also picked the two very popular Serbian Gypsy songs and he arranged them in Polish-Serbian style, which only he could make.The sound of Serbian traditional brass band with oriental style of improvisations, makes this CD an incredible state of the art of Eastern-European ethnic and Gypsy music! His arrangements are excellent and one more time he showed his enormous talent for ethnic music from Balkan and Eastern Europe. The voice of Polish singress Kayah is very powerful and deeply emotional, but in songs of Bregovic, sounds even more deep and compassionate.His melodies are full of deep emotions and magic, wraped in truly Balkan traditional arrangements, most of the time the Gypsy style. I recommend this album to all people who like the traditional and ethnic music, especially from Balkan. And whatever Bregovic composes or rearranges, that will always be fascinating and interesting, without a doubt!! SMILJAN..."

Recycling and recycling and...recycling again!

Sasha | at sea...sailing somewhere | 12/12/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I am not surprised that many listeners find this music beautiful and haunting,it is.Its not without a reason that Goran Bregovic is the only composer coming from ex-Yugoslavia (Bosnia to be precise) who achieved international succes.But if you like this album,you should know this:Goran Bregovic was a leader of one the most popular rock group in the country (1970's and 1980's) called "The White Button",group that used folk motives instead trying to be second-rate western copy.As he left Sarajevo in the middle of the war (which his fellow citizen never forgott and never forgave),he find succes as a film composer,mostly cleverly using his old hits as a "new" film melodies.No doubt,his movie music is still excellent,as compilation "Ederlezi" shows,with a contributions from Iggy Pop,Cesaria Evoria and (perhaps the best of all) Ofra Haza.But its basically his old melodies recycled.This "new" album,which is best-seller in Poland,is again compilation of same material,the only difference being its sung by polish singer.Its very effective yes,but honestly we all heard this before - just listen to "Ederlezi" and you will find out that same songs were recorded before,used in films (not to mention in his earlier incarnation as a rock group leader).So ask yourself where is the point of using same material three times,as a hits,as a film music and now finally as a "polish" album? Fortunately, Bregovic is not universaly known as say,Mark Knopfler who could never use same music twice without being hugely criticised - so there is no way of stop him of using his music again and again and again... If this is your first introduction to work of this composer,nice enough,but be warned - these songs are all recycled material and its a fact that dont really warm me up to him."