He collaborated on the record with his son David, also a musician and singer. And he decided, after his father’s death, to finish the work in progress. It was an undeniably natural choice, but also a very good one. On an album called The Last Things, David presents his dad in songs sounded like we didn’t know from his rich repertoire before.
–
We knew that Miro Žbirka listened to new music and was open to anything that would inspire him. However, such a fundamental entry of electronics and purely contemporary production into his songs is still unexpected. The biggest joke is that this method worked.
–
There is a record in the world offering so many electronic (and classic) sounds that it seduces them to write them down individually and then be surprised by their number. The resulting musical material perfectly absorbs Žbirka’s singing and melodic habits, as if they always belonged to each other. In other words: good old Mecca introduces himself in a new guise that fits him well.
–
The single You Are Not Alone, which he sang with his son David, is closest to its traditional sound. The next beautiful Coincidence is a kind of bridge to the new sound, so that this one firmly supports the other songs (with the exception of the straight rock and roll recorder Best Man In Town, in which instruments are played).
–
And while in Len sa, for example, there are plenty of those sounds, such a Realm of Dreams, on the other hand, is quite intimate. Žbirkové and those who worked with them simply created a really varied collection. There were many twists and turns in the new music world that were worth visiting for inspiration.
–
The album Posledné veci also bears signs of the difficulties that caused Žbirk his poor health and perhaps even his coming age. The record is basically sad. Slow songs and ballads are blessed on it, in this regard it would be worth a small reduction.
–
In the lyrics there is a desire to experience again the first time it is to love (As a god), to find a way to somewhere where one can heal the soul (Realm of dreams), the knowledge that hope is dark against darkness (Until the pilgrimage ends), or the belief that again a few nice moments come and the clouds fall off (I don’t mind). All texts from which the Czech translation is quoted were written by Žbirka.
–
Jozef Urbana, Václav Hrabě and Daniel Hevier shared their next song, whose poem set to music by Žbirka gave the name to the whole album. They are or were all masters of verse, masters of texts. And Žbirka, who is quite honest in his texts, does not cringe next to them, on the contrary, he is a real colleague of them.
–
The last thing is an album, after which the singer’s departure hurts much more. He and his son (and several others) created a team on it, to which he gave his interpretive personality, together with a vision and a dose of honest work. Surely they should still have something to offer. This album doesn’t just get bored. It can be played over and over again, although it is often sad to listen to it.
–
| Miro Žbirka: The last things |
| Universal Music, 47:55 |
—
