Korni Grupa. 1972 Serbia

For my tastes, Kornelyans' Not an Ordinary Life is one of Europe's great progressive rock albums. On paper, it goes against one of my key rules: It's sung in English verse the native tongue. There's always an exception. Two years prior to that, Korni Grupa premiered with their self-titled debut, and this time it's in the local language. And even with the one track they both share, I'll take the English version. But primarily because the band had matured greatly in two years. The tracks here are not as tight nor innovative, and there's the tendency to ramble on in a jazzy type way. Also there's hints of that somewhat annoying Eastern European pop style that was stubbornly hanging on. Having said that, the album is certainly excellent and continues to grow in my mind. It's not going anywhere.

Ownership: CD: 1996 PGP RTS. Basic CD reissue with nothing to recommend it beyond decent sound. That said, I don't think the album has ever experienced a great reissue (that I'm aware of). And originals on crappy Yugoslavian vinyl isn't going to change matters much. I bought the CD new online not long after release, and it appears it will be the lasting copy unless something better comes along.