Jan 13, 2015

491/917 Izhar Cohen: Ole ole (Israel 1985)

In 1985 Israel used a seemingly perfect recipe to create a perfect eurosong. Put together the singer who won the contest in 1978 with the composer who made the winning song of the 1979, add some singing dancers and make the song and the choreography emulate the two preceeding and higly succesful Israeli entries. In the preview video the song looked and sounded like a given winner. What could go wrong?


Quite a few things actually. Olé olé (written by Kobi Oshrat, who had composed Hallelujah six years previously) surely was a irresistibly catchy song and Izhar Cohen was still, seven years after his Eurovision victory, charismatic performer. Although the singing and dancing worked well together for Israel in 1982 and 1983 (Israel did not take part in 1984), this time the elements fitted together with unease. With a breath taking dance steps the backing group had hardly time to sing their few lines in tune, and the result sound more like shouting than singing. The wide white smiles that the group was able to present during their other activities did not look genuine anymore and the feeling "do we have to this again" could be read on their lips.

Watching the Gotheburg contest today the overall performance by the Israeli enseble seems ok, but I remember that in 1985 my reaction was quite similar,  "the same thing again?". I may not have been the only one who thought that too much is too much, and that the entry was far from the perfection I was expecting after seeing the preview video. The song finally settled at 5th position, which must have been some kind of disappointment to the Israeli delegation, which was looking for the victory by the team that had secured the two previous victories.

I find the song a bit dated but still an enjoyable track, of which I prefer the studio version.

My points 3/5.

Jan 8, 2015

242/917 Jaime Morey: Amanece (Spain 1972)

Often a most nondescript song turns into a masterpiece on a Eurovision stage with a tasteful arrangement, possibly a good stage setting and most importantly with a passionate delivery from the artist. Sometimes a complete opposite happens, a song with a great recording loses all its appeal when seen in the actual Eurovision song contest. This happened, in my opinion, to the Spanish entry from 1972.


The recorded version of Amanece (here linked to the original preview video clip) sung by Jaime Morey is not that special either, but I cannot say no to a good quality stereo recording of a song with powerful orchestral arrangement and the adequate performance of Jaime Morey with just enough pomp and circumstance. An ok song and an ok recording among many great entries by Spain.

I of course didn't have the opportunity to see and hear the song in person in Edinburgh 1972, so I cannot say what the song really looked and sounded like, but the video recording of the song is a real let down. Jaime Morey is slightly too earnest and tries too much to impress the audience, but the song is not enough for the audience to be impressed about.

Decades before the HD, digital surround sound and home theaters the average sound quality of a television broadcast was not suitable for big musical experiences and the elaborate arrangement by the composer Augusto Algueró is lost on its way from the Usher hall stage to the home of a television viewer.

The result is rather forgettable and bland Eurovision entry and not one of the better Spanish entries of the 1970's. Between the two runner-ups (En un mundo nuevo from 1971 and Eres tú from 1973) this song is mostly forgotten.

My points 2/5.