Composer and performer of the hit “Night Rendezvous” Vadim Uslanov covered Gagarin

Has the courage of starry youth returned to the author?

Singer, composer and musician of difficult fate Vadim Uslanov released the author’s version of the song “You Don’t Kiss”. Written to the verses of the poet Mikhail Gutseriev, the song became a hit back in 2020 performed by Polina Gagarina. According to some observers, thanks to this particular work, the singer then gained a second wind and a new round in her career.

The hit success of the song, apparently, prompted the composer to pinch off, or rather, to sing, his piece of glory, especially since it was expressive performance that once became a real springboard in the fate of the author himself. Entering the service in the Rock Atelier group with frontman Chris Kelmi in the late 80s, the young and effective Vadim Uslanov recorded the main vocal part in the song “Night Rendezvous” composed by Kelmi and poet Karen Kavaleryan. Chris himself did not have high hopes for the track, however, despite his will and forecasts, “Night Rendezvous” soon acquired not only the status of a hit, but was performed in every self-respecting restaurant 10-15 times per evening.

Even Alla Pugacheva herself was impressed with the song and urgently requested a number in her “Christmas Meetings”. However, having learned that the official frontman of Rock Atelier (Chris Kelmi) in this construction only opens his mouth to someone else’s voice, she lowered the status of the song to an accompanying playback in the dance number of the Recital ballet, where Christina Orbakaite began as a dancer.

Legend has it that the director of the video, Vadim Korotkov, allegedly “accidentally” left a frame with Chris Kelmi “singing” in the studio, but, be that as it may, the entire late 80s passed in the music world under the cannonade of a terrible scandal and showdown between Uslanov and Kelmi about “who really sings”, and not only “Night Rendezvous”, but also other hits like “Tired Taxi”, “Down the River”, etc. As a result, the tracks re-recorded by Kelmi with his own voice lost that vocal charm , which was an undoubted component in the success of the song.

Such kind of picks in the years of the “Russian pop renaissance” of the late 80s – early 90s of the XX century were, however, unheard of game, it is enough to recall similar merry incidents with the then tops like “Mirage”, “Tender May” and others . Uslanov eventually left the Rock Atelier, moving to the Red Panther group, where the musician also had a talent for composition. With the first song of his own composition, “The Time Has Come” to the verses of Margarita Pushkina and as part of the “Red Panther” with Olga Kormukhina, Vadim nevertheless took part in 1989 in Alla Pugacheva’s “Christmas Meetings”. The following year, his first solo album, Dancing on the Water, was released.

The second author’s album “You Are Made of Fire” was released only in 1998. There were many milestones in the fate of the performer and composer, including the radio business. Over time, he established himself as a composer and music producer, working with both stars and newcomers. Cooperation with the poet Mikhail Gutseriev began in 2016 with the joint song “He and She”, which was performed by a duet of Valeria and Alexei Glyzin.

However, as it turned out, there are not only former spies, but also singers. Passion for performance, apparently, all these years gnawed at the successful author and producer, and now he could no longer be silent. Moreover, the proverb “repetition is the mother of learning” has long become one of the system-forming trends in the mass music industry. Rehashings, rethinking of past hits, cover versions, tributes have become almost a self-sufficient genre.

At first glance, it is somewhat strange that the choice of Mr. Uslanov fell on the romance “You Don’t Kiss”, in the original the song is purely feminine and, according to Gagarina, has become “one of the most unusual and special” in her work. The composer himself explains that he loves songs “with deep content that immerse you in an emotional stream”, that “only “live” lines give birth to music in the head, and Mikhail Gutseriev has a unique poetic language.” Apparently, all this haunted Uslanov for a long time so that he decided on the author’s version of the song, which he considers “our great common creative success.” As a result, the poet made changes to the text, and “the song was miraculously transformed into a male song.”

Now Uslanov hopes that his author’s performance will please the listener, although quite prudently he does not pretend to compete with the singer Gagarina and her right to the “first night”. A more reasonable outcome is that, after many years, Vadim Uslanov quite convincingly demonstrated not only his composing, but also his vocal and performing form, thanks to which he once rose to the top of the music lymp. Perhaps the awakened courage will return the author to the bosom of performing that was once successful for him, especially since the mass exodus of personnel from the local musical glade in the last year and a half has acquired the scale of an almost irreversible catastrophe, and now every grain, if it bears fruit, is worth its weight in gold in a suffocating rampage toxic weeds.

Published in the newspaper “Moskovsky Komsomolets” No. 29053 dated June 21, 2023

Newspaper headline:
Unexpected “Non-kiss” from Vadim Uslanov