Russian rock veteran Andrei Makarevich's joint album with Kvartal looks set to be a hit, whether it deserves it or not.

Rock performer Makarevich and pop band Kvartal's lead singer Arthur Pilyavin got to know each other in 1989 during a tour of Northern Europe organized by Komsomolskaya Pravda newspaper.

Kvartal were the support act, while Makerevich was at the height of his fame with "Mashina Vremeni" (Time Machine), which meant cooperation between them was out of the question.

Today, Makarevich is better known for his culinary prowess in the TV program "Smak," while Kvartal have never had hits. Both are looking to keep their old fans while winning new ones.

The idea of a joint project first emerged in 1998, when Makarevich sang "Angel" for Kvartal's album "The World of Pink Flamingos." Then, in a move aimed at making the planned album a safer bet, the musicians decided to exploit time-proved hits. The core of the album is made up of 11 of Makarevich's classic hits, many of which have long since acquired the status of national favorites.

But, as often happens, the wait turned out to be much more exciting than the album itself, which offers nothing new, despite its attempts to give a range of sounds from punk to disco.

The exception, perhaps, is its multimedia track, which contains promotional information, a photo-gallery, a video and two remixes of "Solnechny Ostrov" (Sunny Island).

The launch of the album, which was recorded during July and August this year, was preceded by a Nox Music release of the "You and I" single which is still high up in the play list at "Nashe Radio" (Our Radio). In addition to the title song, the release included "For Those Who Are Sailing" and "Flag Over the Castle."