Đorđe Balašević : biography
Balašević’s next studio album, Panta Rei, released in 1988. The song "Requiem" was dedicated to late Josip Broz Tito, while satire "Soliter" ("High-rise") caricatures Yugoslavia as a building in which only façade still holds while foundations slide. Blues sound was present in the songs "Neki se rode kraj vode" ("Some Were Born By the Water") and "Nemam ništa s tim" ("I Have Nothing to Do with It"). Balašević’s following album, Tri posleratna druga (Three Afterwar Friends), was subtitled Muzika iz istoimenog romana (Music from the Novel of the Same Name), referring to his novel Tri posleratna druga. The album was recorded by Dujin, bass guitarist Aleksandar Kravić, and two musicians from Rijeka, guitarist Elvis Stanić (a former Linija 23, Denis & Denis, and Dr Doktor member) and drummer Tonči Grabušić. The album featured radio hits "Kad odem" ("When I’m Gone") "D-moll" ("D minor"), "Ćaletova pesma" ("Dad’s Song"), "Saputnik" ("Fellow Traveler"), "O. Bože" ("Oh God"), and folk-oriented "Devojka sa čardaš nogama" ("A Girl with Csárdás Legs"). The song "Sugar Rap" featured caricatured rap sound.
1990s
The album Marim ja… (I Don’t Care…) was released in 1991. Beside Balašević’s old associates, the album featured Davor Rodik (pedal steel guitar), Nenad Jazunović (percussion), and Josip "Kiki" Kovač (violin). The songs "Nevernik" ("The Unbeliever"), "Ringišpil" ("Carousel"), Divlji badem ("Wild Almond") were the albums biggest hits.
As the Yugoslav Wars erupted, Balašević was forced to stop collaborating with Stanić and Grabušić (the two forming the jazz rock band Elvis Stanić Group). Balašević withdrew to isolation, partly due to his anti-war attitudes. His next album Jedan od onih života… (One of Those Lives…), released in 1993, featured Aleksandar Dujin on piano, Dušan Bezuha on guitar, Đorđe Petrović on keyboards, Aleksandar Kravić on bass guitar, Josip Kovač on saxophone, and Dragoljub Đuričić (formerly of YU grupa, Leb i Sol and Kerber) on drums. The songs such as "Krivi smo mi" ("It’s Our Fault") and "Čovek sa mesecom u očima" ("The Man with the Moon in His Eyes") heavily criticized and denounced the ongoing war. At the same time, the compilation album Najveći hitovi (Greatest hits), featuring songs recorded during the 1986-1991 period, was released. The songs which appeared on the compilation were chosen by Balašević himself. At the time, he started to heavily criticize the regime of Slobodan Milošević on his concerts.
After a long break, at the beginning of 1996, he issued Na posletku… (After All…). Beside Balašević’s old associates, the album featured young drummer Petar Radmilović. Na posletku… was mainly folk rock-oriented. Nearly all instruments on the album are acoustic, with the violin becoming dominant and woodwind instruments heavily used. In 1997, the live album Da l’ je sve bilo samo fol?, recorded on December 6, 1996 on a concert in Maribor, was released in Slovenia.
The album Devedesete (Nineties), self-released by Balašević in the spring of 2000, was his most politically involved album. The album was produced by Petrović, and, beside old associates, featured the saxophonist Gabor Bunford.
2000s
In 2001, Balašević released the album Dnevnik starog momka (Diary of an Old Bachelor). The album comprised 12 songs, each having a female name as its title. The song titles form the acrostic "Olja je najbolja" ("Olja is the Best"), Olja being the nickname of Balešvić’s wife Olivera Balašević. Balašević stated on several occasions that the girls the songs were names after are pure fiction. In 2002, the compilation album Ostaće okrugli trag na mestu šatre (trans. A Round Trace Will Remain at the Place where Tent Used to Be, named after a verse from the song "Odlazi cirkus") was released. The album featured the choice of songs from Balašević’s solo career, with some of the older songs rerecorded.
