Reviews (page 2 of 8)
New to me and very dull, far too pleased with itself. One star. Tom.
classical, pop, chanson, avant-pop.
Talented lady, terrible addition to this list. It feels like someone told the author "You know what genre is underrepresented? Cabaret!" so this album was shoehorned in.
Oh, sweet! An album from someone I've never heard of performing songs by artists I don't like. This should be loads of fun. [Listens to first four songs] I do not need to listen to this.
Uhm wow. Ladies art pop rock ala Kate Bush and the other girl vutna touch more accessible. If sex were an Olympic game we'd have taken home the gold... Ok 6/10
Punishing kiss? More like punishing listen, am I right?
This was an interesting album, not bad, enjoyed the guest artists too! But just kinda weird lol
1.42
not my thing
Do you remember when everyone was gaslighting each other that the Duran Duran song Invisible was a metal gear solid 5? I have a feeling you could take any of the songs from this album and do the exact same fucking thing with the same results.
Pre Listen: Before I even listen to this album, I really need to say that Chansons are bad, and that this is likely about to be really bad. I don’t enjoy judging books by their covers, but the album art and low site rating to this one really puts the writing on the walls. I actually really do like what little Nick Cave I’ve heard, coincidentally only from this project, but to advertise that there are songs by Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and Scott Walker on this album front and center on the cover art is just stabbing me in the gut and leaving me to bleed out off rip. It sets a terrible precedent, and that’s before I’ve even started the album. This album was made by an entire team of artists that I’ve already given a majority of 1 and 2 star reviews for, and I mention all the time that I don’t like giving 1 and 2 star reviews, but some of these albums really force my hand. Elvis Costello in particular is over represented enough, and makes music for people without ears. Let’s see if this one is special somehow. I doubt it but whatever, we’ll see I guess. Post Listen: No. Yeah, it’s bad. Ute can not sing and the lyrics are bafflingly cheesy. This came out in the year 2000 and should have been left on the draft stage. The instrumentation isn’t terrible. Some of these songs have a pretty interesting and pretty tone to them. But dude. Ute Lemper might actually be the worst singer on this entire list. What the fuck is she talking about?? Is this parody?? Talking about big red balloons and brothels and stuff, I don’t know what this is, but it’s not good. Also, of course it’s an hour long. All of the bad albums are an hour long. Now, it’s not 1 star bad like I thought it might be. The instruments and pretty production somehow save it. But this is rejected film music for a movie just blatantly ripping off James Bond to make a quick buck, or perhaps lose one. Call it “008 Jim Band” and ship it out to one of those cheap video on demand channels that no one in the current year watches and you’ve got yourself a film!! With a terrible soundtrack to boot. Ok, I’ve gotta call out the author of the book again. I know you like terrible music, but what the fuck is this, and why did you think I had to spend my Thursday listening to this before I died?? What is special about this album, what is worth listening to here?? Seriously. It’s pissing me off. If she could sing it would be a 4. God dammit, it’s making me angry. I could be listening to 1000 better albums than this, but the fact that it’s not even in the Bottom 20 as of this moment is telling. On top of that, I have heard worse. Despite its best attempts, this one does have redeeming qualities, just not with the singing. I’m struggling to find what those qualities are, but I was only in misery most of the time with this album, instead of the entire damn. Damn, no, the more I write about it and compare it to the other reviews, this might actually be a 1 star. I’m undecided. I have to painstakingly find a favorite song in this mound of heaping garbage made by people I have negative feelings towards. Going to go with “Split” because Ute is only singing half of the time and the sound was kinda different in an interesting way compared to the rest of the album. Oh well. It’s the only Ute Lemper album on the list, at least I don’t have to worry about another one of those showing up, unlike the 10 thousand other Tom Waits and Elvis Costello albums on the list. You want to know why this album is on here?? The guy who made this book saw both of their names associated with this album, and put it on the list without listening to it. That must be it for sure. It’s the only way it would make sense. If you have ears, this is unbearable water torture with occasionally pretty instruments. Throw it away. Punishing Kiss?? More like Punishing Album. God damn.
Sounds like a female tom waits. Oh wait guess who has guest appearances
Sometimes this cabaret style music hits just right. I really enjoyed this one. Good songwriting and vocals. Might be a 3.5 for me.
When I read it was produced by The Divine Comedy I knew it was up my street. Some songs are a bit sappy and maudlin but I really enjoyed The Case Continues and Scope J in particular.
Under a 3 on both rateyourmusic and 1001? Produced in part by the Antichrist himself aka Divine Comedy? I don’t know man. She’s like a blonde Morticia Addams. So, this artist is a German singer and actress, known for basically just being a really good actress in various musicals, and I guess that made it so she had connections with some of the more consequential artists of the 20th century, and The Divine Comedy, who doesn’t deserve the shit that comes out of him in the morning. Songs like “Little Water Song” are incredible, surely, and “Split” is a theatrical powerhouse of a song. However, songs like “Tango Ballad,” “You Were Meant For Me,” and the title track are all much harder to listen to in my opinion, for plenty different reasons. I don’t hate any songs here either, but Jesus, it’s almost an hour long and feels longer! This album is definitely strange. I don’t dislike all of it, but it’s more often than not very annoying, and the artfulness of the intent is wasted on the pretentiousness and vapidness that ends up as the album’s primary characteristic. 6.0/10 DOES IT BELONG ON THE LIST: NO REASON: Lack of relevance and interesting musical ideas WHAT ALBUM WOULD I REPLACE IT WITH: The Marble Index by Nico
Dramatic, cinematic
Interesting - I'll likely never hear it again
Weird and interesting.
That... was an ordeal.
𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 is a wonderfully odd choice for a list like 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It sits somewhere between classical music, jazz, cabaret, and art pop, never settling comfortably into any one category. That makes it difficult to classify, but also much more interesting than a conventional pop record. At times, it almost feels like a Divine Comedy album with Ute Lemper taking over the lead vocals. The theatrical arrangements and literate songwriting fit her dramatic voice surprisingly well, giving the whole record a distinctive personality. And naturally, Kurt Weill has to make an appearance. Lemper has built much of her reputation interpreting music from the interwar period, so 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗼 𝗕𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗱 from The Threepenny Opera feels less like an obligatory inclusion and more like a natural part of the album. I enjoyed 𝘗𝘶𝘯𝘪𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘒𝘪𝘴𝘴 enough to give it 4/5, but I still would not have chosen it for an essential-albums canon. Then again, its sheer oddness may be exactly why it is worth hearing.
Erinomainen laulaja mutta ei oikeen säväyttänyt
Hmm not sure what to make of this. Track one is mainly vocals, sparse, almost cinematic arrangement around them. The Case Continues is more folksy in terms of melody and percussion. Builds up with strings and brass though to become cinematic again Then a kind of jazzy, soulful Passionate. There's something I'm missing here. Are these covers? Or just a series of collaborations? Hmm, quite a lot of crooning, but not so much appeals to me. And an accordion comes out? Strange stuff for the year 2000. Oh Scope J drags on without release. Best track - The Case Continues 3 stars - starts strong but it just ends up rambling with no focus
I'm not sure what I just listened to. Was this off-Broadway songs that aren't at all related and tell no real story? Was it really supposed to sound like this? "I got the brain, and she supplied the brrrreast!" ????????????????? My fave tracks: I mean, gun to my head I guess The Case Continues because it sounds like a parody film noir theme song.
Not my thing
More like “Punishing Album”. There is something just absolutely abysmal about this album. It feels like it should be a parody but sadly it isn’t. Not saying she isnt a good singer but the songs just sounds melodramatic yet boring. No one needs to hear this before they die.
2.5 It’s fine I guess not bad so give it a reluctant 3. Why is it on this list ?
What is with the British and this style of 'over-the-top' singing? Save it for the 007 movies (the only logical placement for a decent reception) .
Nem a lista convidados ilustres consegue adicionar brilho ao disco, que traz canções intimistas com alguns bons momentos de arranjos de cordas, e só.
Would never really listen to this but it was alright
I really did not like this. I didn’t like her voice. The songs sounded like they should be in a musical. I don’t like musicals.
I've never heard of her or this but it does contain songs written by some luminaries (Cave, Waits) and once again, Elvis Costello manages to get get his grubby little hands further into this challenge! I found this to be ok... she clearly has a very good voice, but I found the performance overall to be quite hammy and the album is too long! Not un-enjoyable but not essential and I don't see myself returning to it.
Really not my kind of music. A few of the songs were nice, but most were borderline annoying
Fue bastante tranqui para el horario en que lo escuché, así que punto para el disco. Más allá de eso, no fue la gran cosa.
Okay
A pleasantly surprising album with a handful of great moments. An interesting mix of classical elements with pop singing and vibes. It didn't blow me away, but it wasn't inoffensive either. Great for those looking for a new experience.
Her singing is downright annoying at times and perfectly soothing at others. The instrumentals are sometimes ecstatic and sometimes dreadful. Interesting album.
I assumed they included the writers in the artist listing to try and get people to listen? Not offensively bad, just dumb.
Schmaltzing up otherwise good songs.
No this sucks why was this included
Interesting. Sounds kind of like Bjork and a Broadway musical.
What if you took some of the most talented songwriters and reimagined their songs with not an ounce of nuance and enough over singing and over-the-top bombast that it's enough to make Meat Loaf blush? That's the question that, for some reason, Ute Lemper and her co-conspirators The Divine comedy, thought need to be asked. Even worse, they have an answer. Mangled all to hell are the lot of Tom Waits, Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Cait "Rocky" O'Riordan, Kurt Weill, and others. There are also a few original compositions by the aforementioned The Divine Comedy that seem like something Andrew Lloyd Weber would have written under extreme duress and post-lobotomy. This shit would have Celine Dion rolling her eyes. Punishing Kiss? More like Punishing Ears.
I liked this album, though I still can't decide between a 3.5 or 4 stars. On this scale, I'll go to 4, but I may actually feel it is more 3.5 due to it mostly being songs from other artists and less about the actual singer. So, it's more strong due to it being a bit of a compilation of well written and performed songs than Lemper herself.
German sensibility
Not as all consumingly bad as the reviews on here, but an album for acquired tastes. I get and applaud the idea and ambition. It's not for me as a listen. Soundtrack/musical score theatrics with a heavy vocal focus on the production. Don't get me wrong, it's still getting a one and can get firmly in the bin.
Can’t live with this
Who the hell was listening to this in the year 2000. Absolute collaboration soup and a real who's who of artists on this list that I don't like. Some of the instrumentation is decent, but the lyrics make me feel like I'm listening to a musical. Ute, Nick Cave and the gang all take themselves way too seriously to be singing lines like "if sex were an Olympic sport, we would have won the gold." Gun to my head, Streets of Berlin was my favorite.
the great gatsby baroque ballroom bit is pretty appealing, like an album of james bond music. the style invites a lotta sounds you don't see too much. that being said it's funny seeing so many returning hometown heroes in the credits. Scope J kind of bugged me. favorite song is You Were Meant For Me. solid 3
Rating: 4/10 Very, very strange album choice. Pretty theatrical in a way I'm not surprised by given the collaborators list, who I'm not the most fond of by the way. Really big surprise that I looked for the credits for Elvis Costello's contributions and yeah I really did not like two of those songs, god dammit. Passionate Fight was ok though I guess. There were some decent songs interspersed, like Little Water Song, You Were Meant For Me, but ultimately I disliked these songs more than I liked them. Didn't really feel like they serve as effective weird pop tunes that they aim to be. Scott Walker's Scope J was interesting but it being the last part of an album I was very weary of didn't help its case at all. Again, why is this here? Has anyone even ever heard of this?
This was quite long and strange at points
This was borderline intolerable. Too long, too theatric. Vocals reminded me of a female Scott Walker. Ambitious but not for me
Just not for me
First time listen—highly probable the novelty of the material is affecting keeper population. 3 keepers out of 12 (25%). 1 klunker [Scope J.] (8%). Math says 2 stars. Heart says 1. 17
Kinda tough to get through but there were some emotional highs with this, disappointed as the idea of all these great features and what I got was a let down
Nja... Detta gillade jag inte vidare mycket. Hon har en fantastisk röst men tycker liksom inte att den passar till musiken. Den enda låt som jag verkligen gillade är You were meant for me. Där kommer hennes röst verkligen till sin rätt. Annars... Sådär faktiskt.
It is a shame that the Divine Comedy has such excellent instrumentals just to be wasted on flat vocals and trite lyrics
This was a soundtrack to a musical that doesn't exist. Very strange
Heel dramatisch
#202/1001 🇩🇪🇬🇧 There is a lot of hating on here for this album. I listened to it twice through today and found it largely enjoyable. I'm no real fan of musical theatre or The Divine Comedy for that matter. It features a great many contributions from the likes of Nick Cave, Tom Waits and Philip Glass but its dificult to tell if the true driving force is Lemper or Neil Hannon. The worst moments are the fairground organ sounds and probably the final track which just goes on too long. But i do love the flambouyant, cinematic noir that backs Lemper's incredible voice. Really glad that i heard this having never heard of her before. Best Tracks: Little Water Song, The Case Continues, Streets of Berlin, You Were Meant For Me.
An interesting sad cabaret sort of thing. Sounds like a million bucks
Реально в наказание дан нам этот альбом, скука смертная, хоть и петь они умеют, а заинтересовать вообще нет. Вашей бабушке может быть понравилось бы, а так - унылейший альбом. Это вот знаете как когда вам какой-то пейзаж показывают люди которые ничего в искусстве не понимают, и говорят "ВОООТ это настоящее искусство, не то что ваши каляки-маляки, это КРАСИВО". Вот это то же самое в музыкальном формате. А еще сюда пробрался Элвис Костелло, что как бы не добавляет очков от слова совсем. В последнем треке есть какой-то намек на эксперименты, в остальном - дженерик кал
This album really wants to be taken seriously but also contains the lyric "if sex were an Olympic sport, we'd have won the gold". 2.0/5.0: Uses Gene Simmons interview talking points for lyrical content
she has a beautiful voice and the album is really well done. that said i absolutely hated almost every moment of this
Can't help but assume this is here because the author is a Divine Comedy fan. It's an interesting album - Lemper has a great voice, and the song choice is great, but do we really need another album of covers here? It's a high 3 / low 4 on quality, but not sure it should be here ahead of the artists covered within.
7/10 Buen album, buenos temas. Algunos no me terminaron de encantar pero muy lindo
Ute has a fantastic voice, but this album is honestly kinda shit. The curators of this list stan a little too hard for The Divine Comedy and I honestly don't get it...
Somehow big production and yet vacuous. Not the best singing voice
On the one hand, I don’t know if this is as bad as many reviewers make it out to be. It’s competently made, at least. With that being said, I found it boring. There can be music like this that is fun and interesting. This isn’t. The lyrics aren’t good. Disappointing all around.
I feel like this is a joke. I would strongly prefer dying without hearing a single sound from this album. This is now the worst thing I've ever heard in my life, when it comes to music.
Boring and very forgettable.
Нормально
1.5
It was nice actually
Didn't finish, this is boring as sin muzak, who listens to this outside of a law firm lobby?
like showtunes aka awful
This album was nothing but overproduced covers of better songs. I like Ute's voice, and there was some good moments throughout, but not essential whatsoever. 2/5
This sounds like if that one theater kid in high school got his wish for making a musical but had the grammatical skills of a second grader.
awful stuff, why is this on this list? was it even critically acclaimed in 2000?
Was mostly just boring then they decided to assault my ears with the last track
no lo pude terminar
But her debut Life Is A Cabaret is better
*shrugs in mediocre*
Oh man, we did not enjoy this and I usually am all for a covers album. Punishing kiss is a pretty appropriate name. My advice, listen to the originals.
2/10 Actually horrible. I hate musicals and I spent the tourtuous 1 hour of this audio turd working out why. It is soulless, it is overwrought, the lyrics stink and the music is banal. I struggle to find the words to express quite how painful I find musicals to listen to. I was dithering on my rating until the 10mins closing track. Boom, 1 star. Now piss off
C'était archi nul.
The true genius of Punishing Kiss lies in its production and arrangements, masterminded heavily by Neil Hannon and Joby Talbot of The Divine Comedy. They bridge the gap between traditional theatrical drama and modern alternative pop. The album carries a distinct, cinematic "noir" energy. It alternates between smoky, alcohol-hazed jazz clubs and grand, sweeping orchestral melancholy. Lemper’s vocal delivery remains unflinchingly severe, sardonic, and passionate—she doesn’t merely sing these songs; she inhabits them like a stage actor under a single, harsh spotlight.
Quite possibly some of the worst lyrics i've ever seen
Not my cup of overly dramatic tea.
Never heard of Ute Lemper before. Great album.
Album number 200! Starting off with Little Water Song. It was slightly boring, but the instrumental was nice. As I’ve said before, I always like some good strings. Moving on, Passionate fight gave me disney princess vibes. I don’t know why exactly, it just reminded me of the movies. It could even be a villain song. I actually enjoyed Die dreigroschenoper quite a bit. It was interesting with the dichotomy of the two voices. Also, “that whore house where we used to live” is objectively a great lyric. Couldn’t you keep that to yourself was pretty solid. Streets of Berlin felt very atmospheric. The part you throw away almost had a similar sound to la vie en rose. Again, you were ment for me was so dramatic. It was pretty great! Ending it off with Scope J, a very long track, but it was quite pretty. 3.5/5 200/1089
Actually good record.
Really not my thing. But Ute Lemper has a fantastically strong voice and, although too long, the songs have interesting instrumentation and structure. I'm not singing along in the car though.
She was cooking but I'm not hungry rn
Impressive voice for sure and not much of a German accent. The wannabe James Bond production is strange and gets old pretty soon, though, and the songs feel dead and empty to me. And not in a good way.
Shoo, I do love me some musical theatre and there were moments of joy. Early 2000s me would've loved this lounge (ala Honeymoon Suites) but it starts off "brand new discovery that I think I love" and wears you down to "are we there yet?"
I like this style of music if I'm watching a musical, but I'm having a harder time enjoying it as a standalone album. I feel like the music is taking itself too seriously, which comes across as almost cringy.
I guess in principle a Weillian chanteuse take on rock classics is cool, but this kinda mostly sucks. Theatrical stringy versions of "edgy" artists. Nah
No doubt that Lemper’s voice is a strong and astonishingly versatile instrument, and I was intrigued by a couple of the earlier tracks. But the appeal really wore off — this album needed a serious edit. It started to sound like a parody of itself.
No es tan malo como la gente dice que es, simplemente mira a camp en el ojo y sale ganando.
Now we're really cooking with gas, 1001 albums generator. An unexpected gem! Really enjoying this, camp, a bit goth for no reason. Fucking great honestly. The thinking man's (or in this case, woman) Jane McDonald. Get me on the Ute Lemper cruise!
What the hell is this lol. I think I kinda like it actually? Idk man it's pretty camp, I like all the songwriters who contributed and it captures a bit of that Nick Cave / Scott Walker kitsch-gothy pomp that I've always enjoyed. I doubt I'll ever listen to or think of this ever again, but have three stars as a treat
5/10
Theatrical doesn’t begin to cover the drama here. The torch-song singer’s voice and delivery are fantastic and she’s backed by an ensemble of great songwriters. There’s a distinctive mood and vibe, and even some humor. But it doesn’t quite work for me — it’s just too over the top. It’s on the border of a 2-3. It gets a 3, but could be downgraded on further listening. [On second thought, I’ll rate it a 2. Listening again isn’t going to make this into an album that I’d be happy to listen to from beginning to end, and I don’t think it’s very influential — my standards for a higher score]
An odd one. Kinda felt like a soundtrack to a stage play or something, but it hit really hard. Lovely vocals.
An incredibly out of touch inclusion to this list. These fuckers will put any album that features Nick Cave on here.
I hereby declare this genre of music "Withouta". We've had a soundtrack Withouta movie (see "Moss Side Story"), background music Withouta place (see "Ambient 1/Music for Airports") and now a musical Withouta stage.. I'm sure, buried deep in the list there's an album of jingles Withouta commercial, Muzak Withouta(n) elevator, and farts Withouta(n) ass. The pretentiousness of this effort looms large over it. Ms. Lemper is a fine singer, and the quality of the music is fine, but the songwriting is steaming hot garbage and the concept is, frankly, stupid. It is just a meta/post-modern intention that draws circles around itself for the sake of drawing circles. There's even a Waits track (not his best, nor from his best work) on here that is essentially an homage to his love of Brecht that feels -- in this context -- like a bunch of navel gazing. Out of character for his work and very misplaced here. All Withouta albums get a '1' from this point forward. (1/5) I hate musicals, and I feel like I need to apologize for this album's existence to actual fans of musicals. It's embarrassing.
This one's a head scratcher to me. Having heard my fair share of Broadway musicals at the urging of my wife, I recognize their styling and arrangement here. By the same token, I've discovered that I'm not particularly drawn to Broadway musicals and cabaret in the first place, and this one has the added bonus of featuring a bunch of artists I'm either not familiar with or do not find particularly compelling. Finishing the album didn't do much to convince me otherwise, or that I needed to hear it before I died. Not the worst this list has had to offer, but still scratching my head at its inclusion.
133. Punishing Kiss - Ute Lemper (2000) 7.5.26 Variety: 2 Adequacy: 2 Listenability: 2 Uniqueness: 3 Emotionality: 1 = 2.0 "And I can't help feeling as I close the door/ I have done all of this/ Many times before" Another artist I am completely unfamiliar with. The album cover gives us some hints though. Solemn looking German ( I assume from her name) with a list of songs I assume she'll be covering. That's not necessarily a pre-emptive strike against the thing as I do enjoy a good cover. It might hurt the originality metric a bit, but ok. A few questions though: Are they artists I general like? Mostly, yeah. What style are they in? Normally I try to avoid too much preparatory homework as I prefer to go in blind, but this one threw me, so had to check and uh, oh - this looks to be in the sort of modern take on the Edith Pilaf, cabaret mode, which is very hit and miss for me. The artists is also a well known theatrical singer and performer. Will this be more Shirley Bassey or more Nico, or somewhere in between? THE TRACKS "Little Water Song" - Well turns out some of these might be covers as I thought. This was written by Nick Cave ( whose stuff I generally like) and Bruno Pisek ( never heard of him) specifically for Ute Lemper to perform and backed by the Divine Comedy ( whose work I am largely unfamiliar with). I found this out when I went looking for the ( nonexistent) Nick Cave original to compare this to. This is more or less what I was expecting, and lands far on the Shirley Bassey cabaret side of the net. Lemper acquits herself just fine vocally, and the production all sounds very professional. This is just very much not my thing. It's the kind of thing that's so tasteful and restrained to be schmaltzy, but I find it snooze worthy and too self serious. The sweeping string accompaniments want you so badly to feel like this is important, this means something. "The Case Continues" - The instrumentation here at least is more interesting. We get what might be a harp or some sort of variant piano? This is a another track written specifically for this album by the Divine Comedy, and has a very Kurt Weill-ish ( who we'll see in just a few) feel to it and is much more dynamic and has much more going on both musically and lyrically. Still more out of my wheelhouse than in it. "Passionate Fight" - A much lighter, lusher entry, written by Elvis Costello and Steve Nieve ( also of the Attractions), who seem to be hungover from Costello's Burt Bacharach collaboration. This is feels like a Broadway tune from some unremembered show or a poor attempt at emulating such. This is the sort of thing I imagine modern era Sting might have playing in his home spa. "Tango Ballad" - Yikes. We get a guest singer in Hannon, front man for the Divine Comedy, who, along with Lemper, gives a not great interpretation of the perfectly fine Weill/ Brecht song from The Threepenny Opera. The instrumentation on this is dreadful, and sounds like the music that plays in between trick setups at a David Copperfieldd magic show. Or maybe the third closing credits track of one of the worse Pierce Brosnan Bond movies. As someone who has owned at least two cast recordings of this, I highly recommend you check out the 1954 cast recording instead to see how this can really work well (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD8SD48GIFo). Lemper is fine enough, but Hannon sounds like he's trying to sing like near-death Lou Reed, and oh dear lord now I'm having Lulu flashbacks... "Couldn't You Keep That to Yourself" - Another Costello penned number that seems taken from his mid 90s throwback easy listening crooner phase. This was painful to sit through. I wonder if Costello has performed it himself with more pop-friendly instrumentation, but I don't care enough to go looking. My reserves of goodwill have been stretched paper thin by this point and I can't promise I won't start skipping stuff past this point if I get far enough into the track to get the vibe. "Streets of Berlin" - We finally get an actual cover song, this one taken from the play Bent with lyrics by Martin Sherman and music by Philip Glass. So at least there's some sort of reference point to compare this to. A quick search reveals more than a few versions available, none of which seem that much more interesting. The Mick Jagger one maybe the most so. This has some interesting moments, and I could see maybe a popper take by someone like Kate Bush being a lot more palatable. This was not as offensive as some of the other stuff I guess, but still pretty boring. "The Part You Throw Away" - Another actual cover, this time of the Tom Waits/ Kathleen Brennan song off of Blood Money. I was already a fan of the original, so that helps some. The accordion playing on this does a LOT of heavy lifting and flatters Lemper's performance exponentially better than the sort of avant-garde industrial pop arrangements we've had on most of this stuff so far. While I far prefer the original, this was a fine take and the only song on this thing so far that I've legit enjoyed a bit. Who heard this and said "we need less of this"? "Split" - Another awful arrangement here and Hannon is back to soil himself vocally. This not making me want to visit any Divine Comedy stuff, I can tell you that much. "Punishing Kiss" - Another Elvis Costello song written with his wife and former Pogues member Cait O'Riordan. This one was originally written for the film Short Cuts where it's performed in a scene by Annie Ross at a bar where, amongst other notable people Tom Waits is present! The track from the soundtrack album is a jazzy, woe is me track that plays well enough for that sort of thing, and has the appropriate jazz quartet backing. Whatever is going on here bears little to no resemblance, and feels likes a track from some lost musical. While not to my liking, there at least appears to have been some genuine thought into the arrangement here, and the circus like music provides some contrast. "Purple Avenue" - Lemper gets another Tom Waits track, this one from the One from the Heart soundtrack that was recorded under another title. She doesn't shit the bed, but even with the simpler accompaniment and closer arrangement, it's not as successful as the prior Waits track, and is given too much romantic polish. "You Were Meant For Me" - Another Divine Comedy original. This one works better than the last one by Gannon and company, with a jazzy caberet tango beat, built on top of a John Barry james Bond score orchestration. Not sure the mumbled French in spots was necessary, but this plays at a level above most of the rest, even if it's not anything I'm chomping at the bit to re-listen to. "Scope J" - And we end on a Scott Walker song. A dark and moody, sinister art piece - this I can get behind more so than all teh stuff that sounds like fragments from 5 or 6 different musicals that I have no reference point to. The dizzying instrumentation that buzzes along reminds me of Univers Zero's Heresie, with it's textures f anxious horror. And when that section fades out Lemper's voice, especially in her higher register and seeming in distress reminds me a bit of PJ Harvey's more ghostly vocals when it's accompanied by just the piano. HIGHLIGHTS - "The Part You Throw Away" - "You Were Meant For Me" - "Scope J" MIDLIGHTS - "The Case Continues" - "Punishing Kiss" - "Purple Avenue" - "You Were Meant For Me" LOWLIGHTS - "Little Water Song" - "Passionate Fight" - "Tango Ballad" - "Streets of Berlin" - "Split" FINAL THOUGHTS This was a pretty mixed bag overall, but just a small handful of tracks that kept it out of the bottom barrel. The positives though are that it most certainly had intentional artistic motives, and attempted something interesting. How successful it was could be up for debate I guess depending on your tastes and artistic bent, but there were way more misses than hits for me, and even the hits I respected more than I enjoyed. Lemper's got a good voice with some range on it, and I might try and seek out some of her legit theater work, maybe from a Threepenny Opera performance if I can find it. At the end of the day though, I am fairly certain this is not one I'll ever be revisiting. PLAYLIST ALTERATIONS - The high lights are the best parts, but the Scott Walker thing is the only track I felt legit interested in. I see it's included on his massive box set, so there's a chance I could hear this again. FURTHER LISTENING - The Threepenny Opera - 1954 Original Cast recording - Heresie by Univers Zero - Tilt by Scott Walker - Blood Money by Tom Waits - White Chalk by PJ Harvey
I've seen this show before. Musical belter goes into the studio to put out an album. They've got the voice, talent, and a bit of name recogniztion so we assemble a list of songs from other song writers. Does the German-ness make her more unique in this regard or are we going to get albums from Sutton Foster or Kristin Chenoweth next? She's got the voice and is a talent, but this album had less punch to it than say an Adele or Amy Winehouse. Its a half jukebox musical without the connective tissues. "The motive is a mystery, I'll never understand The final cut went deep down to the very sinew The case continues" I will stop for a moment and say there is deliberation on this album. The song writers selected seemed like we're going for something urban and dark. This wants to be an album you might hear pouring out of an underground bar at 2:45AM. We've got Elvis Costello and Tom Waits and Nick Cave. I'll admit that shows some forethought. 2/5
Very cinematic. Not really my taste though
I see the idea it wants to push for but it fails to keep me interested through the majority. 5/10
This is #day695 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and… this record isn't available on either Spotify or YouTube Music, so how am I supposed to hear it? I was only able to find the first two songs on Ute Lemper's official YouTube channel. The rest of the tracklist is hidden, and the audio quality of those two uploads sucks. I wasn't particularly impressed by what I did hear anyway. "If sex were an Olympic sport, we'd've won the gold." Oh... okay. Based on what I could actually listen to, this is a 2 out of 5. Looking forward to #day696.
Una artista única y ejemplar. Al nivel de gente con la que se ha relacionado como Michael Nyman, Tom Waits, Scott Walker, Elvis Costello, Philip Glass o Nick Cave. Sin duda una influencia capital para otras artistas de la talla de PJ Harvey o Anna Calvi. Aquí nada nuevo aporta y sin embargo le sienta todo como un guante. Los coros son de Neil Hannon que aporta además 2 temas.
Not my style. Vaguely confusing in most ways, not necassarily a bad thing. I really like Split (track 8) but thats the only one.
Что-то есть в этой музыке. Вокал бы более соответтсвующий
Hello, it's me again. The person that gave Tank Battles a 5 mostly for enjoying it but also out of spite for all of the negative reviews. Got good news! This other German cabaret influenced album only gets a 2. I also really wanted to like this, and I somewhat enjoy the songs that were collaborated with Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Scott Walker (the Costello ones suck - surprise, surprise!). However, this is basically what I DON'T like about showtunes. Often shmaltzy, overblown, and over-sung, with very basic lyrical concepts. The production is hit or miss, I suppose it depends on the original song's composer. Lemper brings an interesting approach to the songs, but otherwise, what's it doing on here? Lots of cool releases in 2000 that still hold up well but not in the book. White Pepper by Ween, And Then Nothing Turned Itself Inside-Out by Yo La Tengo, Rated R by Queens of the Stone Age, Lift Yr. Skinny Fists Like Antennas to Heaven! by Godspeed You Black Emperor!, Flood by Boris, Voodoo by D'Angelo, Relationship of Command by At the Drive-In, Supreme Clientele by Ghostface Killah... Could go on and on the fact that none of these are on the list and that, as of today, Lemper's album is still in this book while dozens of great albums from new bands were removed in more recent editions. Absolutely baffling - I suppose Demery has a soft spot for this type of music but what is its significance? Only makes me want to listen to the artists that wrote these songs, without doing a service to Lemper herself. What a waste of time.
What is this about to be! Also thought that was Gillian mfin Anderson. Oh. This is a German woman who starred in cabaret and played Velma in Chicago so I’m immediately primed for obsession…. And the Viennese production Cats. Jfc. Now I need to hear Cats in German. AND tours an homage to Marlene Dietrich based on their chats?! Anyway settle down and listen. // God I fucking love theatre.
This is a bit odd, it's arty and a little avant garde without ever being dangerous or too edgy.
Fuck this
This was an interesting listen. Interesting in a good sense. Ute Lemper had a great voice and she puts a lot of emotion in these songs. This is not an essential must hear album though
This certainly was punishing
What the hell is even this
Dramatic and artsy cabaret-style music. It was interesting and she's a good singer but the album overstayed its welcome and there weren't any highlights that I'd want to listen to again.
Great voice, just not my kind of music
Inesperadamente rico. Sumamente ajeno a mi pero irresistible. Nota: 4.0
not bad just not my favorite
Wow, I wasn’t expecting that! Of course I know who Ute Lemper is: the German singer who went to the US to make it big – and make it big she did. As the saying goes, 'a prophet is not without honour save in his own country'. She performs musicals, jazz and Brecht-Weill songs. But an album like this? With Nick Cave, Tom Waits, Elvis Costello and Scott Walker as the songwriters and The Divine Comedy as the backing band (and songwriter). The result is a sombre, emotional avant-pop masterpiece of singer-songwriter music. The crowning glory is the lengthy 'Scope J.', written by Scott Walker. At over 10 minutes long, it is austere and profound — the antithesis of commercially accessible, light jazz songs. Some editions of the album also feature an additional Scott Walker track, 'Lullaby (By-by-by)', as a bonus. Another 11 minutes of uncompromising artistry. This is an album that really is a must-listen.
I initially thought I wouldn't like this album but Lemper's vocal performance and the whole grandiose vibe this album presents kind of won me over. This album was very unconventional compared to the usual music I consume. It presents itself with this grand atmosphere that makes some of the tracks feel bigger. This album seems to be a collaboration project; Elvis Costello is here! I would have never noticed. The whole piece feel theatrical. This album falls under the genre, I never heard of before, called 'chanson' which leans into a French-vibe lyrically. A lot of the tracks have that French feel to it and normally it wouldn't be something I'd mention but a lot of the tracks reminded me of Lies Of P's soundtrack (Purple Avenue feels exactly straight out of Lies Of P's). That alone gives it massive brownie points. The vocal performance from Lemper is great but I particularly like when she duos with Hannon like in the song Split. Though it can feel sorta weird (i.e. Tango Ballad). The track does feel like I'm hearing an audio recording of some play-performance; which I guess was the point. I almost didn't like Tango Ballad but that guitar solo and riff (with an organ supporting it I think) was sick as fuck. Overall, this album tries to feels big and performative (in a good way). I was very much surprised listening to this. Lemper is insanely talented and tires to implement her theatre experience inside this album. I personally think she was successful in that. Also, Streets of Berlin fucking slaps! T3: Split, Purple Avenue, Tango Ballad
The songs seem so dramatic, but she has a great voice and the instrumentals are good too.
Could’ve easily lives without ever hearing this. Spent 57 minutes with a sneering grimace on my faces and reactivated with every new song.
Come on, list. Do better.
A collection of what sounds like bad show tunes. On more than one track I was baffled by lyrics like “If sex were an Olympic sport you’d have won the gold”. I couldn’t take this album seriously and neither should you.
There must be a German word for utterly unlistenable…
Punishing Kiss by Ute Lemper sounds like the title of a weird German porn. It seems the writing was quite on par for that so she made a weird album instead.
I can completely understand why someone might hate this. I like this. It’s essentially another Divine Comedy album and I liked the other two. You can clearly tell who wrote each of these songs even without having the credited clearly. The Elvis Costello songs could have been done by him and the Nick Cave song has his fingerprints all over it. Little Water Song also has vocals that feel like Bjork could have done them well. This sort of schmaltzy cabaret is entertaining with some really funny lyrics. Favorites were Little Water Song, Tango Ballad, and Split.
Interesting (as one would expect from Neil) without being instantly loveable. I definitely feel like a better person for having listened to it, so I will be able to nod along should it ever come up in conversation in future. Wouldn't make it onto my 1001 list though.
Non. Est-ce une joke? Ou de la musique d'hôtel? "if sex were an Olympic sport, we would've won the gold..." J'ai abandonné vers la 4ième chanson
There are some pretty damning reviews for this and I don't think it's as awful as they would make out. On paper it's some sort of bizarre cabaret meets Divine Comedy, and in reality that's exactly what it sounds like. It's never going to make anyone's top ten and I'm not sure why it's included in this list but it wasn't awful. It sounds like it's slightly tongue-in-cheek, but even if it isn't, well, that's sort of funny too
Strong vocals but outside a few tracks near the end the instrumentation wasn’t particularly memorable
5/10
This was a strange one and definitely something I would have never listened to or heard of if I hadn’t done this. It almost felt like a musical soundtrack. I could almost see the over dramatic scenes play out on a stage while it was playing. Not something I’d ever listen to again but interesting to try.
Out of line with my usual listening, so didn't really enjoy this. Just strange and not in an enjoyable way.
hasdjasdjnrgjnerogunerogune SHUT UP UTE!!!!
Very up and down but worth a relisten.
There are a lot of big names on this album. But it's a strange album. More like a concept album, where I'm unfamiliar with what's going on. Feels like listening to a musical, without no anything about the context. But not bad, just bizarre.
Best part of this album is the list of features. Could take or leave the music
Ærlig talt jeg synes det er lidt halvhjertet sammenlignet med sådan noget som Dagmar Krause. Lidt sjovt at se så mange kunstnere fra 1001 Expanded Universe på coveret
Havde 0 forventninger, aldrig hørt om det før. Synes sgu det var meget cool, mærkeligt og ret unikt
As if this was made to please the 1001 albums crowd (at least the ones who like the some of the obscure artists)
No me deja escuchar este álbum en Spotify y en YouTube no lo encontré completo. El puntaje solo refleja eso, no puedo juzgar el álbum.
This is the kind of album there should be a 0 star rating for... I think I'd rather listen to PiL... (I wouldn't)
She’s a great vocalist. The Divine Comedy got on my nerves, though.
Heard the name but don't think I know any of her work. I have always enjoyed the Divine Comedy so came into this with an open mind. Definitely an interesting listen. I think it's one which needs a few plays to really get. Didn't like the last track much. Others were a bit musical theatre which was fun but you need to be in the right mood.
Overall: 4.1 (rounded to 4) Consistency: 4.41 Originality: 4 Enjoyment: 4.5 Virtuosity: 4 1. Little Water Song - 4 2. The Case Continues - 5 3. Passionate Fight - 4 4. Tango Ballad - 4 5. Couldn't You Keep That to Yourself - 4 6. Streets of Berlin - 5 7. The Part You Throw Away - 4 8. Split - 5 9. Punishing Kiss - 4 10. Purple Avenue - 4 11. You Were Meant for Me - 5 12. Scope J - 5
I am unfamiliar with her, but her cabaret-pop styled covers are interesting. Pitchfork: n/a Rolling Stone: n/a Best songs Little Water Song The Part You Throw Away
Parts of this were listenable. Other parts, not so much.
The Case Continues is top tier, everything else is instantly forgettable.
Nå baladigt singer songwriter feel. Ljummen.
Yeah, not my kind of music. She has a good voice, to be sure.
A strange album. It sounded like the score to a third-rate shitty stage show in the West End. Every single song sounded the same to me. Just progressive chords and lyrics that are semi-spoken and don;t really fit the meter of the song. I quickly switched it off at track 9 as I was getting close to making it the way through without enjoying a single second. I suppose I could concede that it wasn't 'hurts my ears' bad, but it was still shite.
A valiant attempt at making the wankiest album on the list.
This was interesting. Lemper has a big theatrical voice that made me think she would be great for singing a theme song for a James Bond movie. She didn’t quite win me over. I added the title tune to my playlist.
Luister naar 'Troy' Van Sinéad O'Connor en je zal horen wat Ute Lemper met dit album probeert te doen. En hoe hard ze tekort schiet. Wat overblijft is een dumpster fire die zelfs door de schare aan ronkende namen op de cover niet kan gered worden.
Dit doet me denken aan een musical, en op een hele slechte manier
klinkt als een Sherlock Holmes movie soundtrack, met Georges Bataille als regisseur tis oke, zolang je het maar ni al te serieus pakt would not listen again
HET IS ECHT ECHT SLECHT??? ze denkt echt dat ze cool is en kan opera zingen ofz maar nahhhh OHELLNO ER IS EEN GUY???? “I GOT THE BRAIN AND SHE SUPPLIED THE BRRRREAST” NAHHHH
ik weet echt oprecht niet waar k naar aan het luisteren was
Cringe lyrics, instruments were okay, vocals were good
i guess 1001 was too many to only put like, real meaningful ones huh? tho i didnt hate it so whateva
Has several songs that should put it at 5 stars, but overall doesn't feel like a 5 star album.
punishing is right. I strongly dislike this, and its whole sleazy cabaret theater vibe, with "Scope J." as maybe the only exception. this might end up being one of my bottom albums of the entire list.
Lots of great songwriters on here; Tom Waits, Scott Walker, Nick Cave. She has a pretty good voice and the last song here was pretty cool actually
Who's who of my least favorite artists from this list. Awful theater-kid garbage.
I don't lack an appreciation for musicals, theater, opera, etc, but there is only one word for this album- theaterslop.
Nice! Far outside my usual listening, but a very nice album overall. Makes me wanna watch more cabaret.
Meh. The music is fine but the vocals...
Lounge and avant garde are two styles that don't really mix. Nice vocals and interesting production in places but it was mostly too out there for its own good
Its like a secret album that no one has ever heard. Only one song (the first) has over 100,000 listens on Spotify which is obscenely low...the lowest maybe of all the albums thus far. It's pretty. I guess. Showtuney vocals. Not my jam. At all.
I'm not a fan of traditional German music. Mind you, Ute Lemper is barely traditional, but it leans enough that way that I didn't enjoy this album. The final song, Scope J, is very unique, feeling more minimalist, but still barely to my likiing. There is good music here, but not in my wheelhouse. 2/5
Out there, but I don’t think in a good way. I was impressed with her vocals on the first song, but it started to transpire into some theatrical work I wasn’t a fan of. Yikes on the last song… Rating: 3/10 Favorite Song: Little Water Song, you were meant for me
2/5 Favorite Song: Split
tower of terror hotel lobby-ass music
Did not really care for any tracks until "Streets of Berlin" then I saw who wrote it and was like "oh that's why haha." Couldn't really figure out if I liked her vocals or not. I think they just might not have been my thing.
I don't know what to do with this. Adding a star because Kurt Weill, Phillip Glass, Joby Talbot, and an omnipresent bandoneon, all of which makes me feel like I should like this but also I spent the entire album thinking "what the actual f is happening right now," and not in the super-cool-but-out-there-art-that-makes-you-think kind of way, just in "what the actual f" kind of way. I don't regret listening to it, it was an experience, but it also is not an experience I need to have again.
No.
I liked her voice. And that's the end of the list of things I liked. So, she's recorded a 1988 album of Kurt Weill songs. Those are well done, and are performed truer to the original compositions than the weird one on this album.
not great
Rlly gas but not for me! Like the coolest musical sound track ever?
merkwürdiges Album
nope
This album is a bit tragic because it could have been incredible. The production is kind of, off. The best way I can think to describe it is like Ute's vocals were pasted on top of something intended to be an instrumental and the vocal production was haphazard. Coupled with an apparent lack of someone producing the vocal performances, it all comes off as somewhat unnatural and unbalanced. It sucks because the underlying idea of this album had solid bones to work with. .... The case continues is rad!
1.5 Absolute shit sorry i meant scheisse
Mid mid mid skip skip; 2
i almost wanna rate this 4 out of spite. the truth is, i can't imagine i'm going to relisten to much of this. but the reviews are wayyy too harsh, it's cohesive and fun and full of drama. let's all live!
Holy holy holy Lord Smaug almighty Burn baby burn This ain't no disco inferno Outside the collaborations with Cave and Costello I didn't get much out of this album when it later waded into the psychedelic serial like music waters.
This is so theatrical. It makes me think of musicals from the 80s like Les Mis or Phantom of the Opera, complete with a psychotically dissonant 10 minute wrap-up. I really liked it.
This is too show tune for me
Bah oui hein c'est bien
Il faut probablement que je lui offre une nouvelle écoute, mais j'ai passé un bon moment. Sacré casting à l'écriture, à mon avis l'album est là pour donner un point supplémentaire à Costello dans cette liste... Playlist pick : Talbot: Split
Eh. Didn’t really enjoy it. Every once in a while there were elements I liked. Very theatrical sounding. What are the odds I get this and Divine Comedy in the same week?!?
Sounds like bjork. I appreciate the craft, but the content isn't always compelling.
im listening to it but its not that good. lol
This isn't nearly as bad as I was anticipating, nor as bad as he site's consensus seems to think it is. That isn't to say that I've found my new German muse. And this whole style isn't really my cup of tea. But at least I found it engaging throughout.
The arrangements and lyrics are great, but like…
No
< the Beatles
Increíble. Nunca le había entrado a Ute y no sé cómo serán sus otros discos, pero este me pareció de un dramatismo y teatralidad imposibles de resistir: canciones con arreglos orquestales espectaculares, la increíble voz de Ute y algunos duetos muy sorprendentes. Fan de Punishing Kiss.
It's v dramatic
2x 2.4 unique and unexpected
Nick cave, Elvis Costello, Tom waits are featured songwriters. May as well give up now.
This is high Art and might be hard to consume. Give it some space ... Yes to Ute being on the list. I've seen her live. O have this album. She is amazing. But sometimes hard to listen to. Her instrument does extreme things and is pushed to sounds and styles you're unlikely to hear anywhere else. Plus we all need some good Cabaret and Kurt Weill from time to time to bring respite from all the pap and pop out there. In rarely I the mood for Ute. But she is perfection, a comforting and chilling contradiction for warmth and cutting ice in a single voice A master of her craft. Singular. essential listening and an essential station for all music pilgrims.
I wanted to take the piss out of this, in Cabaret...in Cabaret.. but I really enjoyed it. A fine collection of tunes and produced by Scott Walker. The synergy of Brecht/Weill/Walker/Costello/Waits et al works, a real pleasant surprise. This sort of stuff is not usually my cup of tea but I'd recommend this deadbeats.
There is too much Art and not enough Pop in this Artpop. There are some songwriters here I really admire, but all at their most pretentious on this record (Elvis Costello, I'm looking at you, buddy). And I never liked Scott Walker. Ms Lemper is a great singer and the backing is well arranged and recorded, but I just don't enjoy the material.
What a weird album to end this entire endeavour on
It was fine.
calkiem spoko chocuqz nie zapowiadalo sie zobaczylam slowa jednak i wtf? zmieniam na 2, dobrze ze sie nie slupialam na nich jak sluchalam
Interesting.
I don't get why the ratings are so low. The album is a little long but it's also really good, especially the Philip Glass and Scott Walker written songs. This is the closest they'll ever get me to care about Divine Comedy though.
Oh god I hated it. I have the feeling it's just on the list because it has some Elvis Costello covers on it. But it really shouldn't.
Thoughts before listening: I don't know. Based on the name and the 2000 release fate, I'm going with some sort of Euro industrial techno thing. Add in the list of featured artists, and I'll guess this will be pretty out there. I mean with Nick Cave, Tom Waits, and Scott Walker singing these songs, I have to assume this is going to be pretty dark. Review: Nope. I was very off on this one. Ute is a female vocalist performing overly dramatic orchestral pop that seems as if it could be a movie soundtrack or cast recording from a musical. I immediately thought that Ute must be a major influence on Florence and the Machine, but AI informed me that while they occupy a similar space, there are no direct connections. Ute certainly has a powerful voice, and this is interesting music for sure even if its not really my cup of tea. Also, the contributions from Elvis Costello, Tom Waits, Nick Cave, etc is as songwriters not performers. I kept waiting for their recognizable voices but never heard them. I'm going with 2-stars here. Its perfectly fine, but I kept looking at Spotify to see how close I was to the end.
Yeah, I didn’t like this. It had snippets, not much more.
*Joe Pesci "what the fuck is this piece of shit" gif* I don't know what this is or who it's for, but the answer to the second is a very emphatic "NOT ME". 2
--Little Water Song…oh my. I like the instrumentation. Vocals are, uh, provocative --The Case Continues…about a murder. surprised this wasn't the Nick Cave song --Passionate Fight…pleasant --Tango Ballad…melodrama. kind of fun in an over-the-top Broadway musical way --Couldn’t You Keep That to Yourself?…I hear the passion but the song is nothing special --Streets of Berlin...this is poppier than most Phil Glass, I guess --The Part You Throw Away...the recording is nice, but it feels like everyone here is trying to pull extra emotion when there isn't any --Split...fun duet. some straightforward pop I enjoy --Punishing Kiss...kind of a Bond song, but a weak one --Purple Avenue...I dig the accordion. I wish the the entire album was this. relaxing. elegant. --You Were Meant For Me...this one confuses me a bit. sounds like it's for a musical that doesn't exist --Scope J...read that this was written by Scott Walker. I assumed it would get weird and was not disappointed
An elevator in a hotel lobby crashed into an interpretive dance group and said "let's collaborate and sell it to some corporates who want to get some artistic cred".
beautiful voice
not nearly as bad as the reviews would make you believe. you get some questionable lyrics occasionally, but for what it is, it's damn good. mrs. Lemper's voice is killer and the arrangements are real pretty. its greatest sin is being a little overly long, but "Scope J." is a good reward for you patience. you've just gotta meet it where it's at.
Net meins
This album was an interesting prospect as i love The Divine Comedy, but this album has either slipped my mind or i missed it entirely. Ute’s voice brings an almost theatrical feeling to a lot of the songs, which makes me sad the we are never getting Neil Hannon’s Father Ted musical. Punishing Kiss is the highlight for me, skipping along and was surprised to see this was an Elvis Costello song. You Were Meant for Me, runs it close with its stomping broodiness. These two aside the album works best for me when Ute and Hannon are duetting, but this could just be my obvious Divine Comedy bias. Overall an interesting listen, but not one i would be rushing back to as a whole, more likely to just listen to the select tracks.
This peaked my interest from the moment I saw the array of artists who had written the songs - and the frequent appearance of The Divine Comedy. I wasn’t sure if it would be my thing when it began but, as it went on, I found myself quite enjoying it. You can hear the musical theatre influences throughout which, in parts, makes it all go a bit warbly Liza Minnelli; in general though, this was likeable and interesting.
As someone who believes Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy can do no wrong, I was looking forward to hearing this. Ute's voice completely threw me on the first song though. It was a bit Bjork-adjacent and while that should be right up my alley, I really wasn't sure about it. The moment track 2, The Case Continues, started however, I was fully on board - that song was genuinely great, all stabbing strings and Bond-y. Later discovering it was one of the ones written by Neil Hannon made a whole of of sense*. By track 4, Tango Ballad, Neil the vocalist arrived. Oh, how I love Neil's voice and the really weird way he delivers lyrics - both loungey and jumping around all over the place at the same time. Their voices mix really well on some Bertolt Brecht lyrics. On the second track to feature Neil vocals (Split), true to form, I loved it then checked Wikipedia and found out it was another track he wrote. I'm nothing, if not consistent in what I like (speaking of which, I also loved You Were Meant For Me, the final Neil penned song). I think this album taught me that I like Elvis Costello songs if they're sung by Elvis Costello, but I'm not so bothered if anyone else is taking a run at them. Don't get me wrong, I really did grow to like Ute Lemper's voice over this album, but it did veer into Bonnie Tyler territory in places and I don't think that meshes well with the Elvis Costello tracks. Her delivery of the Tom Waits songs I enjoyed more (and I loved the instrumental of Punishing Kiss). Rating this is difficult. I really, really loved parts and then was completely indifferent to other parts. I think this would get a 3.5 from me, and I genuinely agonised over moving the rating down or up right until the last second, but I don't think it's a 4, so: 3/5 (*After falling a bit in love with The Case Continues, I discovered a live version sung by Neil from an Oui FM Session from 2001 on YouTube, and I might love that even more)
Oh man. It's a treasure trove for 1001 heads. Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits and moody blonde women in one neat little package?? What did we do to deserve this. I thought this was an art house film soundtrack. I don't even know what "art house" means, but it is one of the funnier genres I can conjure up. Is "Jurassic World 3D" an Art House movie? Probably. I never saw it. The top review for this record says more than I ever could (in a more entertaining way) about the dismal mediocrity this record inflicts upon the public. Although, the blast radius really only extends out to people who wrote or entertain the foolishness held within the book we're all enduring. This album is ludicrously bad. The feigned depth is so very unlikeable. There are people who have interesting, absurdist takes, and then there is Ute Lemper and her band of pretentious prisoners. She sounds like she wasn't told "NO" as a child, and thus we're forced to endure this talentless hack croon through 57 god damn minutes of amateur cabaret. Oooh wow! A song about sex work?? Ground-breaking. May the Shenzen warehouses containing the last unsold copies of this dreck collapse under mysterious circumstances. 0 HIGHLIGHTS: Teach your children a modicum of humility. For all of our sake. GENRE: Mom had too much wine again
This was quite confusing to me, sounded more like a soundtrack for an art film than a cohesive music album. Unfortunately it’s a record that was a chore to finish and I dread listening again to see what I missed.. 1.5/5
This was just so bland, why is it here? I had to keep fighting the urge to hit skip on every song. It's like they took James Bond music and tried to make it as beige as possible. 1*
Kluven. Bitvis ok, bitvis sämre än ok. Lite kul att man kan höra soundet från tex Nick Cave och Ton Waits (efter att jag tänkt på det ska tilläggas). Jag väljer att fria denna gång!
Hon har en riktigt bra röst, vilket också är den stora (enda?) behållningen. Har bitvis inslag av musikal, vilket jag alltid har svårt för. För att vara textdriven musik så imponerar de inte heller. I övrigt ganska slätstruket. Stark tvåa blir det ändå pga hennes röst.
This album is an impressive recording with great vocals and songwriting. That being said, I do not understand its direction and that makes it a challenging listen. I likely will never listen to this again.
What a peculiar list of credits. Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Tom Waits... And to be frank, this music sounds nothing like any of them (at least not those I'm familiar with). It also sounds aggressively retrograde for something released in Y2K. Remember, this is the same year Radiohead's Kid A was released. Compare a track like Everything In Its Right Place or Idioteque to the majestic, beautiful, but ultimately extremely dated, strings and vocals of Little Water Song. Then we get a string of bad songs, mostly for the level of hamminess and bad lyricism overshadowing any potentially decent musical ideas. The first good track after the opener is Streets of Berlin, followed by the similarly passable The Part You Throw Away. Both get a little sappy, but don't actively work towards their own detriment, so that's something. The next "great" song, though – and easily the strongest on the record – is the monumental, finale-like You Were Meant For Me. Great textural build-up and classic high-tension chord progression. Speaking of the opening track, I normally don't pay much heed to lyrics, but I had to do a double take for one of them: "For under here, my pretty breasts are piled high / With stones, and I cannot breathe / And tiny little fishes enter me". Yeah. I can't say this is particularly relatable. And this isn't a one-off lyrical gaffe. The following track, The Case Continues, ery much lives up to its name with some of the suspicious lines: "Why did the blood stained sheets / That burned turn quite so cold? / My only crime was passion, wild and uncontrolled / If sex were an Olympic sport, we'd've won the gold". A couple of songs later: "I got the brain, and she supplied the breast" These might be the most unintentionally bad lyrics I've heard during this project. Or maybe they're intentionally bad and I'm missing something that makes up for it, some star factor, a catchy riff or chord progression... anything. But no, everything is just faux-drama with horrifically clumsy poetry, a nostalgia(?)-conjuring production style, and a dense, waxy layer of camp that (from past experience) clearly only works in small quantities. Another reviewer put it best: "A performance hammier than a telenovela set on a pig farm, wrapped in spun-sugar arrangements so saccharine they made my teeth melt." The 11-minute track at the end is stupid, indulgent, misguided, unnecessary. Coupled with all the other wasted time on the album, and even moments like the relatively brilliant You Were Meant For Me can't save it. 1/5 Key tracks: Little Water Song, You Were Meant For Me
As I was totally unfamiliar with this work, I read some reviews before listening (something I try not to do). Seeing they were overwhelmingly negative, I went into the listen with an incredibly open mind, after all this isn't just a list of 70s and 80s rock and pop albums as some reviews seem to wish for. The large positive is the backing music from the Diving Comedy, who provide some excellent orchestration throughout, particularly in the darker, more powerful numbers. Ute's voice is also strong in these darker, Bond theme like songs. Lyrically however, I struggled with this album. As many have said, it is like listening to a musical to which you don't know the story. Lots of that talking/singing type of thing with forced rhymes and crammed in lyrics which don't flow particularly well. It's a 2 because I didn't totally despise it and there's definitely talent in there. However, not one I'd return to, and certainly not an album I'd suggest people to listen to before they die.
Erikoista oli tämä uutte lempperi. Vähän niinku elokuvamusiikkia tai perinteistä ranskalaista laulantaa. Siinoli mielenkiintosiakin kipaleita, mutta tuskin tämä jatkoon menee.
Kovin hämmentävää artpoppia. Paikoitellen siistejä juttuja mutta valtaosin ei ehkä oma juttu.
All very dramatic, and more a stage performance than a song. Backed by a symphonic score to add to the drama with lots of hand selected deep lyrics to deliver with that powerful voice. But sorry it’s really just not to my tastes.
One of the worst rated album of this website. Is it really that bad ? Yes The lyrics are first draft, the album is overproduced as hell, the songs are uninteresting, painfully boring and the album doesnt have anything new to offer after the 2nd track and just keeps repeating itself for a fucking hour. And I cannot stand her voice. It sounds like shes trying so hard to have a cool low voice, im-not-like-other-female-singers shit. Its miserable, stop, do all of us a favor and stop music forever. All skips, no hits/10
Experimental chamber pop? I don't know. This really tested my patience. The Case Continues would fit on a Bond soundtrack. I don't know what this album is trying to do but now I'm at the title track and it sounds like it's from a stage musical. Ultimately, I'm perplexed at this album's inclusion here.
lol this album has such bad writing but i think it's kinda cool. would i listen to it again??? besides the nick cave song, probably not. but i actually kinda liked this
i honestly don’t understand why this is here
I have been meaning to listen to The Divine Comedy forever (two albums in this book....) because I think I'd like them. This doesn't feel like a super representative survey of their talents -- BECAUSE IT'S NOT THEIR ALBUM!!! I pulled out the Tom Waits songs immediately, he has a distinct style. The Scott Walker track is my favorite thing here and very wild. Overall it's OK.
German cabaret singer. Mildly spoken-word at times, but MUCH more melodic than, say, Leonard Cohen or Tom Waits (who incidentally is featured throughout, with Elvis Costello, but I think it is more instrumentally). Not something I would voluntarily go listen to but a nice exploratory discovery. Wish we could rate with 1/2 points - this would be a solid 3.5.
Edgy Céline Dion
People who worship Scott Walker shouldn't make records.
This album was a lot more of a cabaret sounding album that I was expecting. It was a nice change. Good artist that Ute Lemper was collaborating with.
Not my cup of tea
It insists on itself
Di k like
I really didn’t care for this album at all. Obviously well crafted, lots of talent went into it. That being said it was almost pseudo musical theater, which I do like, but for some reason the combination of sounds didn’t gel with me at all.
Why? I think it’s good. Like a musical. And many acquaintances on the cover.
A lovely voice with an insufferability in mind of Morrissey.
Favorite Song: The Case Continues
She sounds like she's singing Disney show tunes
an odd listen but pretty captivating
Actually a 2 for my enjoyment level but I appreciate that it was weird
nada muy especial, la verdad. un album bastante lineal, muy pegado al estilo “musical” pero que no le termino de encontrar el vacilon. siento que se queda muy en la superficie en muchas canciones. no me termina de cuadrar su participación en la lista de 1001 albumes que debes escuchar antes de morir. normalaso.
Holy crap. I tried being open minded and understanding, but this album was shockingly bad. I laughed out loud several times in spite of myself. Actually, there are some strong instrumental moments, but those are immediately ruined by the most dramatic and extra vocals and lyrics you could imagine. Absolute solid 1/5.
Her voice is nice. The album makes me think it was a musical. It's got that kind of vibe to it, or at least that's what my brain is saying. It's alright. I won't listen to it again most likely. Not a bad listen at all it's just not my thing.
일단 유튜브로도 스포티파이로도 들을 수가 업고요(이유는 모르겠음) 비공식적으로 올라온 오디오를 하나하나 들었고(9번 트랙은 아무리 찾아도 없어서 못 들었다) 아무 느낌도 안 듦
I think this album is unfortunately less than the sum of its parts. Each individual song I thought was very neat, with songwriting credits by a myriad of artists I love and plenty of influences from sources like cabaret, musette, baroque pop, and tango, but as a whole it didn't go together as well as I hoped. That said, the closer Scope J., with its very obvious Scott Walker writing credit, was easily the highlight, and if more of the album was like that it'd easily reach or surpass 4 stars.
This album was painful to get through. I knew I was in trouble whenever the first track contained singing that I could only describe as Bjork-esque, but she didn’t sing like that on the rest of the album. Instead, the singing was like a musical theatre performance that I had never seen but everyone thinks is so good. Her singing was so dramatic and overpowering that it overshadowed anything good that might have been going on elsewhere. Outside of just her singing, the album is a collection of Robert Dimery’s all-star cast: Nick Cave, Elvis Costello among the names I recognized as having multiple albums on the 1001. I did not like any part of this.
I didn't hate this! Was it the most consistent record, no, but each song offered a different scene that kept the whole experience pretty engaging. Loved the French moods in Purple Avenue and You Were Meant For Me. Standouts: The Case Continues • Passionate Fight • Punishing Kiss • Purple Avenue • You Were Meant For Me
Weird album for me because individually, it has everything I like. I love melodrama, string arrangements, lush production. I love Scott Walker! However, there is just too much going on in this album. Ute Lemper has a generational voice and I understand cabaret is its own style. Many times it felt like the auditory equivalent of being beaten with hammers. If the lyrical content had been more hard hitting or interesting I think it would've saved this for me - kind of like Evita - but it was absolute lyrical nonsense for most of this.
No sé qué pensar. No está mal como canciones. Pero no me llamó nada que sea medio comedia musical y eso. Ella canta excelente igual. Muy buena intérprete. 4/10
Weird record. I don't love her voice, mostly because she makes the songs sound like they were B-sides from any random Broadway soundtrack. But I kind of like the songs themselves and wish they were recorded by Nick Cave and Elvis Costello and Tom Waits. I probably won't revisit this, but I'm not sure I quite understand the vitriol from some of the reviews of it either. 6.5/10
2 musiques bien sinon on s'fait chier
Bien aimé sa voix, et pourtant les feats de l'album faisaient pas rêver. Trop long par contre
not a fan of cabaret
It's a collection of show tunes
Unmitigated bumwater. The names in this - Cave, Waits, Hannon, Costello - should not be producing bad backing tracks for an abominable vocal style. It was like the worst cruise ship cabaret you could ever imagine, sung with piercing clarity into your ears. Very small congrats to Project Sponsor Elvis Costello for writing the only vaguely acceptable track.
A sort of Andrew Lloyd Weber / Meatloaf / ABBA love child. The more you listen the worse it gets.
L'un des pires albums que j'ai écouté du site. Production value au top et une brochette de stars mais pour quoi? Des textes ridicules pseudo intello de comédie musicale/cabaret ringarde. Dommage parce que la musique sans les paroles ou si on arrive a en faire abstraction est plutôt agréable.
I really like the over-the-top cabaret style. And Lemper's voice is superb for this type of project. You Were Meant For Me is an absolute powerhouse of a song and I found Scope J to be the perfect haunted ending.
No. 166 Thoroughly did not enjoy it.
awful spotify tagging that'll mess up my lastfm aside, i actually liked this one quite a bit. i like her voice, i like the instrumentation, i like the dark and melancholy tone... i don't really know what else to say. i just enjoyed it i see people complaining that it's too "cheesy," "theatrical," or "dramatic," but i found that to be the best part. it brings to mind the image of a woman hugging her large coat around her and looking wistfully out into who-knows-where as the wind whips her hair around, and it's so fucking corny and outdated, and that's what makes it good. like of course the song with french lyrics features an accordion in the outro. she's literally looking camp right in the eye i actually wish it was even MORE melodramatic because it lost my interest for a bit in the middle. maybe it's because i spent my entire teenagehood in my school's choir and theatre departments. once a theatre kid, always a theatre kid. we should all have more fun fave track: the case continues
Podľa mňa to medzi týmito albumami vôbec nemá byť. 0
"You Were Meant For Me" sold me on this album as a whole. Also it's super funny to get The Divine Comedy on this album after my last experience with them (Casanova). I'll be back to this album, especially for that song.
I couldn’t finish this album… it sounds like nobody really cared about what was happening, but the pay was good so they slapped something “good enough” together. Like, it’s passable at a glance, but when you listen to it it’s lacking the intangible “soul” that most of the albums on this project have put into them.
Hey chat gpt, make me an album of sad sack alternative songs in the style of that song from "Frozen".
this was very interesting, almost like a movie soundtrack style of songs but not quite
Was not in the mood for whatever this is.
Well made and an interesting album, but probably not something id listen to again.
Punishing Ears.
This is just not it. 1/5
Had never heard of this album or Ute Lemper. I am a fan of some of her collaborators here, including Nick Cave, Elvis Costello and Tom Waits. Enjoyed this on first listen.
This album made me question if I like music.
In the nicest way possible - I really did not enjoy this one. To be honest I couldn’t even finish it.
I could have skipped this album entirely.
This feels like the soundtrack to a musical and not a good one. The songs aren't particularly catchy or vibrant, they are just consistently over-dramatic & cringe. The vocals are borderline painful to listen to and the instrumentals don't capture my attention either, they feel too polished and lack depth at moments where I was hoping for something a bit more interesting. The record definitely tries to capture some atmospheric tone but for me it doesn't hit the mark at all.
Comically bad
Theres absolutely nothing wrong with this album. Its got great bones and timeless structure and sound. I enjoyed what I could about it but, in the grand scheme of things this is not my preferred genre of music. Cabaret/lounge tunes are good for background music most times and do not deserve a dedicated album listening. This one features cool names like Costello, Tom Waits and Nick Cave. Although I don't think I hear there contributions it must have been behind the scenes or something. But I can't complain much. Just not something I would come back to. Also its by that guy the Divine Comedy. That english fuck had a miffed album on this list and I won't forget it.
It's giving Musical. I didn't hate it but it's surely the first and last time I'll be listening to this one.
Ah, one of those. This is just so not my thing that it’s hard to judge. If I was stuck listening to it it would’ve been worse. Gonna go very high 2. Counts as a nick cave entry btw.
Yuck. Never needed to hear this and certainly never need to hear it again. No reason to be on this list at all.
Schmaltzy and over the top. I couldn’t finish this.
Ambitious, partly good, also strange at times.