R.M. Tocak - "R.M. Tocak" {Yugoslavia} [1976] (Hard Rock)

The one and the only 70's solo effort from the SMAK's guitar player, Radomir "Tocak" Mihajlovic is very similar in style and sound with the SMAK's albums from the same era. A very nice, emotional bluesy progressive rock. Musicianship is very good, actually is almost on the same level as usual SMAK setup. There are loads of interesting ideas here ("Modifans"), rocking moments ("Svrabez") and a nice diversity of styles, including some Mihajlovic's experimentation using drum sticks on his Fender Stratocaster.

This album, although it is an instrument-oriented one, is as very intimate reflection of author's state of mind - it was made in the year when Tocak's father died. So we have here a perfect blend of - let's say - Santana-style blues, Robert Wyatt's introspection and DEEP PURPLE rocking, all spiced up with LEB I SOL-like style of fusioning Balkan folk with rock music.

The tracks vary in the quality, but there are no weak songs on the album. Perhaps the highlight of the album is the opening track itself ("Oro"), because it's one of the first efforts in rock music to blend rock with Balkans' irregular time signatures in a very particular form of a dance called oro. Radomir's guitar really rocks here, and it's quit difficult to follow the song, since it's written in 11/8+11/8+11/8+14/8 !

The weakest point of the album is the sound itself. It's...well...bad. Sound production is very seventies and very raw, but both in the bad way. The instruments sounds distant, and one can get an impression that they tried to get sophisticated sound out of the raw material, and at the end of the day you have great instrument interplays, but all muffled and emphasised in the audio mid-range. Pity. I'm not sure if this issue has ever been re-publish onto digital format, and if so, I hope someone skillful did a good remastering.

This is very good album (design and inner sleeve of a LP are nice too) with no bad songs, but it's not a masterpiece. Chronologically, it fits perfectly in the era, both from the genre's and the band's point of view.

A decent record, but try a few SMAK albums first.(progarchives)

Aria Daimond..