Mrtva priroda
Encyclopedia
Mrtva priroda is the third studio album from Serbian
and former Yugoslav
rock band
Riblja Čorba
, released in 1981.
The album was polled in 1998 as the 19th 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).
, "Ja sam se ložio na tebe". Nevertheless, Riblja Čorba frontman Bora Đorđević remained the band's main author, with six songs written by him.
The album was produced by John McCoy
. In his 2011 book, Šta je pisac hteo da kaže, Đorđević recalls how the band decided to hire McCoy:
Đorđević also states that the band was offered to record the album in one of the studios in which Deep Purple
recorded Deep Purple In Rock
, but refused, as PGP-RTB had just bought new equipment for their Studio V, so McCoy and Tony Taverner, who was in charge of recording, travelled to Belgrade
.
Đorđević states that he did not want to put "Vetar duva, duva, duva", a short humorous song about cannabis
, on the album, but was persuaded to do so by the rest of the members.
"Na zapadu ništa novo" (named after Erich Maria Remarque
's novel All Quiet on the Western Front
) was the band's first song with political-related lyrics. League of Communist Youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina demanded Mrtva priroda to be banned because of the lyrics "Za ideale ginu budale" ("Fools get killed for their ideas") and "Kreteni dižu bune i ginu" ("Jerks organize uprisings and get killed") from the song. Before the Sarajevo
concert on Mrtva priroda tour, Đorđević had to write an explanation for this problematic lyrics and sign a statement that he would sing the song "Na zapadu ništa novo" on his own risk.
(YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).
Serbia
Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans...
and former Yugoslav
Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia was the Yugoslav state that existed from the abolition of the Yugoslav monarchy until it was dissolved in 1992 amid the Yugoslav Wars. It was a socialist state and a federation made up of six socialist republics: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,...
rock band
Rock Band
Rock Band is a music video game developed by Harmonix Music Systems, published by MTV Games and Electronic Arts. It is the first title in the Rock Band series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions were released in the United States on November 20, 2007, while the PlayStation 2 version was...
Riblja Čorba
Riblja Corba
Riblja Čorba is a Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band. Their presence on the scene has lasted from 1978 to today. They reached their peak of popularity in the 1980s, but it has declined in the 1990s, partly due to controversial political attitudes of the band's leader Bora Đorđević...
, released in 1981.
The album was polled in 1998 as the 19th 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: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike
YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike is a book by Duško Antonić and Danilo Štrbac...
(YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).
Background and recording
For the first time, a Riblja Čorba album featured a song written entirely by the guitarist Momčilo BajagićMomcilo Bajagic
Momčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" is a highly popular Serbian rock musician born in Bjelovar. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the hard rock band Riblja Čorba.-Early career:Bajagić started his musical career as a...
, "Ja sam se ložio na tebe". Nevertheless, Riblja Čorba frontman Bora Đorđević remained the band's main author, with six songs written by him.
The album was produced by John McCoy
John McCoy (musician)
John McCoy is a British bass guitarist who is best known for his work with Ian Gillan and Mammoth as well as numerous other bands and sessions since the late 1960s. He currently plays in British rock trio Guy McCoy Torme with former Gillan/Ozzy guitarist Bernie Torme and Bruce Dickinson/Sack Trick...
. In his 2011 book, Šta je pisac hteo da kaže, Đorđević recalls how the band decided to hire McCoy:
Đorđević also states that the band was offered to record the album in one of the studios in which Deep Purple
Deep Purple
Deep Purple are an English rock band formed in Hertford in 1968. Along with Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath, they are considered to be among the pioneers of heavy metal and modern hard rock, although some band members believe that their music cannot be categorised as belonging to any one genre...
recorded Deep Purple In Rock
Deep Purple in Rock
Deep Purple in Rock is an album by English rock band Deep Purple, released in June 1970. It was their fourth studio album and the first with the classic Mk II lineup. Rod Evans and Nick Simper had been fired in June 1969 and were replaced by Ian Gillan and Roger Glover, respectively...
, but refused, as PGP-RTB had just bought new equipment for their Studio V, so McCoy and Tony Taverner, who was in charge of recording, travelled to Belgrade
Belgrade
Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe...
.
Đorđević states that he did not want to put "Vetar duva, duva, duva", a short humorous song about cannabis
Cannabis (drug)
Cannabis, also known as marijuana among many other names, refers to any number of preparations of the Cannabis plant intended for use as a psychoactive drug or for medicinal purposes. The English term marijuana comes from the Mexican Spanish word marihuana...
, on the album, but was persuaded to do so by the rest of the members.
Track listing
- "Volim, volim žene" (B. Đorđević) – 2:20
- "Ne veruj ženi koja puši Drinu bez filtera (Ostavi je)" (M. BajagićMomcilo BajagicMomčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" is a highly popular Serbian rock musician born in Bjelovar. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the hard rock band Riblja Čorba.-Early career:Bajagić started his musical career as a...
, B. Đorđević) – 3:22 - "Ja sam se ložio na tebe" (M. Bajagić) – 3:26
- "Prevara" (M. AleksićMiša AleksicMiroslav "Miša" Aleksić is a Serbian musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba.-Biography:...
, M. MilatovićVicko MilatovicMiroslav "Vicko" Milatović is a Serbian musician best known as the drummer for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba.-Early career:...
, B. Đorđević) – 3:10 - "Pobeći negde" (R. KojićRajko KojicRadislav "Rajko" Kojić was a Serbian and former Yugoslav guitarist best known for his work with band Riblja Čorba.-Biography:...
, B. Đorđević) - 5:18 - "Pekar, lekar, apotekar" (B. Đorđević) – 2:48
- "Odlazak u grad" (M. Aleksić, M. Bajagić, B. Đorđević) – 2:48
- "Vetar duva, duva, duva" (B. Đorđević) – 2:33
- "Na zapadu ništa novo" (B. Đorđević) – 3:03
- "Neću da ispadnem životinja" (B. Đorđević) – 3:40
Personnel
- Bora Đorđević - vocals
- Rajko KojićRajko KojicRadislav "Rajko" Kojić was a Serbian and former Yugoslav guitarist best known for his work with band Riblja Čorba.-Biography:...
- guitar - Momčilo BajagićMomcilo BajagicMomčilo Bajagić "Bajaga" is a highly popular Serbian rock musician born in Bjelovar. He is best known as the leader of the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Bajaga i Instruktori, as well as a former member of the hard rock band Riblja Čorba.-Early career:Bajagić started his musical career as a...
- guitar - Miša AleksićMiša AleksicMiroslav "Miša" Aleksić is a Serbian musician, best known as the bass guitarist for the Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba.-Biography:...
- bass guitar - Miroslav Milatović - drums
Additional personnel
- John McCoyJohn McCoy (musician)John McCoy is a British bass guitarist who is best known for his work with Ian Gillan and Mammoth as well as numerous other bands and sessions since the late 1960s. He currently plays in British rock trio Guy McCoy Torme with former Gillan/Ozzy guitarist Bernie Torme and Bruce Dickinson/Sack Trick...
- producer - Tony Taverner - recorded by
Reception and "Na zapadu ništa novo" scandal
Three weeks after the album was released it was sold in 100,000 copies, which was the fastest-selling album in the history of Yugoslav rock music. By the end of the year the number of copies sold was 450,000. Several songs became huge hits: the ballad "Neću da ispadnem životinja", rock anthem "Pekar, lekar, apotekar", "Volim, volim žene" and "Na zapadu ništa novo"."Na zapadu ništa novo" (named after Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque
Erich Maria Remarque was a German author, best known for his novel All Quiet on the Western Front.-Life and work:...
's novel All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front
All Quiet on the Western Front is a novel by Erich Maria Remarque, a German veteran of World War I. The book describes the German soldiers' extreme physical and mental stress during the war, and the detachment from civilian life felt by many of these soldiers upon returning home from the front.The...
) was the band's first song with political-related lyrics. League of Communist Youth of Bosnia and Herzegovina demanded Mrtva priroda to be banned because of the lyrics "Za ideale ginu budale" ("Fools get killed for their ideas") and "Kreteni dižu bune i ginu" ("Jerks organize uprisings and get killed") from the song. Before the Sarajevo
Sarajevo
Sarajevo |Bosnia]], surrounded by the Dinaric Alps and situated along the Miljacka River in the heart of Southeastern Europe and the Balkans....
concert on Mrtva priroda tour, Đorđević had to write an explanation for this problematic lyrics and sign a statement that he would sing the song "Na zapadu ništa novo" on his own risk.
Legacy
The album was polled in 1998 as the 19th on the list of 100 greatest Yugoslav rock and pop albums in the book YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzikeYU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike
YU 100: najbolji albumi jugoslovenske rok i pop muzike is a book by Duško Antonić and Danilo Štrbac...
(YU 100: The Best albums of Yugoslav pop and rock music).
Covers
- Serbian hardcore punkHardcore punkHardcore punk is an underground music genre that originated in the late 1970s, following the mainstream success of punk rock. Hardcore is generally faster, thicker, and heavier than earlier punk rock. The origin of the term "hardcore punk" is uncertain. The Vancouver-based band D.O.A...
band Sick Mother FakersSick Mother FakersSick Mother Fakers , also known as SMF for short, is a Serbian hardcore punk/crossover thrash band from Belgrade.- 1980s :...
released a cover of "Odlazak u grad" on their 1998 album Lako ćemo. - Serbian punk rockPunk rockPunk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
band Six PackSix Pack (band)- 1990s :The band was formed in early 1993 by Branko Mitrović , Milan Radojević , Dragan Bojić "Bojke" , Saša Bogdanović "Bogda" , Miloš Novaković and Vladimir Čupić "Čupa" , and got the name by the Black Flag song of the same name.The band recorded their first eight-song demo during the late...
released a cover of "Na zapadu ništa novo" on their 2000 album Minut ćutanja. - Serbian pop punkPop punkPop punk is a fusion music genre that combines elements of punk rock with pop music, to varying degrees. Allmusic describes the genre as a strand of alternative rock, which typically merges pop melodies with speedy punk tempos, chord changes and loud guitars...
band Lude Krawe released a cover of "Vetar duva, duva, duva" (alongside a cover of song "Dva dinara, druže" from Riblja Čorba's album Pokvarena mašta i prljave strastiPokvarena mašta i prljave strastiPokvarena mašta i prljave strasti is the second studio album from Serbian and former Yugoslav rock band Riblja Čorba, released in 1981....
) on their 2007 cover album Sve tuđe.