Plava Trava Zaborava "Country" 1985***

After presenting country-fied bands from Germany and Greece, I thought I'd do the same for probably the most surprising C&W album in my collection: Plava Trava Zaborava formed in 1982 in Zagreb (then part of The Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, now Croatia). The band's name translates as "Blue Grass Oblivion", and they deal strictly in traditional country, mostly bluegrass. This is their 2nd LP, released in 1985 by the local (state-owned, of course) Jugoton label. Apparently, in a time when Ronald Reagan spoke of the Soviet Union as the "Evil Empire" and Eastern Europe supposedly lived behind an impenetrable Iron Curtain, the denizens of communist Yugoslavia got their kicks dressing like cowboys and lovingly recreating the "enemy's" music. Who knew? I don't know whether this was a trend in other Eastern European countries, but it certainly wasn't a unique occurence: during a recent visit in Prague I was surprised by the many old Czechoslovakian C&W records I found in used record bins. I'm not by any means a country music connoisseur, but there's no denying that Plava Trava Zaborava play with skill and gusto and generally sound to me like a legit country band. The instrumentation is just right for this genre, and includes lots of fiddle, as well as mandolin, banjo, dobro, and pedal steel guitar. With the exception of sprightly instrumental "Yugo Goes to Nashville", the rest of the songs are covers: each side starts with a traditional bluegrass tune (Bill Monroe's "I'm Ready to Go" and "Blue Moon of Kentucky") and closes with a John Denver cover ("Country Boy" and "Take Me Home Country Roads"). Inbetween we get covers from Johnny Cash and The Band, among others. The singers' English sound natural without the heavy foreign accents one might fear to come across. Eduard "Jimmy" Matesic takes lead on most of the songs, while a couple of them feature female lead vocals by Rajka Sutlovic. (Pedal steel guitarist) Davor and (banjo and bass player) Vladimir have one lead vocal each, while all of them harmonize nicely throughout. It's strange to associate these Slavic names with this kind of music, but that just proves what we all knew all along: that music is a universal language. Asians can rap, whites can play funk, blacks can play metal, and Slavs can play country and western, and it all sounds good as long as the music connects with something deep inside. I'll admit I only bought this LP as a curious addition to my collection, but it's actually a very enjoyable record within its genre. A solid C&W album, recorded in the Balkans at a time when Nashville was moving away from tradition and towards crass commercialism. How about that?

**** for Voila an American Dream, Thank God I'm a Country Girl, Take Me Home Country Roads

*** for I'm Ready to Go, Corina Corina, Cripple Creek, Country Boy, Blue Moon of Kentucky, Yugo Goes to Nashville, Evangeline, Shot Full of Love, I Been to Georgia on a Fast Train