Punishing Kiss

I don't see why an album of cover versions sung in a cabaret style is considered a great album. I played this twice and liked it even less the second time.

Not my thing

James Bond music. I just realized Nick Cave is part of this - checks out. It's very dramatic, theatrical and musical-esque; some of the reasons why I don't like it. Music like this has its place, I know, but it's not in my ears. It's just too corny for me. The last song is absolute pain on my ears.

This is wonderful and includes the words of some of the greats of modern songwriting

I hate overly theatrical music, and this just sounds like listening to a musical. If the musical isn't about men who like to be rich and fiddle on rooftops, I'm not interested.

good vocalist but at what cost

Yeah It's Punishing alright

If you wanna listen to a German lady warble about whorehouses then boy do I have the album for you. Rating: 2/10

Started off as something interesting, but it soon turned to "how long till this is finished"?

this is a bit of an interesting one, this is a collection of songs sung by contemporary german vocalist ute lemper, a woman who had made a bit of a name for herself with her film and theater work. she commissioned a whole bunch of writers to either create or give songs specifically for her to sing. the songwriter list is really stacked, we've got the likes of elvis costello, tom waits, nick cave, all sorts of people who gave their work to lemper. it's a difficult genre to pinpoint, with an emphasis on vocal performance and cabaret style compositions. you can turn this cd on and you can immediately tell this lady has performed more than a few stage shows, with the way she enunciates her words and her dramatic vibrato. the instrumentals are very european in nature, naturally... it's a weird blend of moderism and almost century-old vocal songs. i'm rather fond of those louder, dramatic... sometimes bonkers tunes. the first half was a bit of a slow burn, but as the album reaches the final quarter, it's one big hurrah being played right in your ears. the album started, i was a little confused, but by the end i'm opening up my puss and kicking my legs like a burlesque dancer. a true true true true true hidden gem. there's a lot of hidden gems but this one might be a big example of that.

This is hilariously over the top German performance art. Are there a bunch of people trying to take it seriously and then rating low because of that? Amateurs.

2.5. I don't know. It was fine

Genre: not particularly good. Voice: Not particularly good. To me this sounds like if Madonna and friends tried to write Shrek: The Musical. The other problem is I can envision the exact type of person that would like this. This is the type of shit Taylor Swift is gonna make once she enters her 50s and 60s

Not even that bad, it just pissed me off

Decent in small doses, but very cheesy in the long run. Given the talent involved in the making of this, it should have been SO MUCH BETTER. As is, it gets boring fairly quickly.

It's ok? Pretty whatever?

I enjoyed the theatrics but also thought that this was Bjork so mixed reviews

Hated this theatrical gothic cabaret shit. Realizing I don’t like Nick cave at all and to reinforce that, he had Tom waits collaborate.

Olikohan tuo nais vokaalisti oopperalaulaja?

Everything about this sounded something that could potentially be intolerable for me. Weirdly enough, this was actually quite good! I like her voice, which usually is the thing that turns me off the most with female singers of this kind particularly. Not sure what the over-the-topness people in other reviews are talking about; maybe my concept of over-the-top is a bit more over the top than for some. Anyway, this was pretty nice, indeed.

Actually incredible

Who is this for? People who only listen to show tunes? I can appreciate a decent vocal performance, but I don't need this one at all. Seriously, I don't even know why this exists.

Ehh

Unexpected collaboration(s) with the tone of an burlesque west end musical and a strong vocal.

Well, that was certainly something. Firstly, Ute Lemper has a compelling voice, and the orchestration that I find I often overlook in the Divine Comedy's work in the face of their gaudiness is impressive. That's the positive. It feels like a burlesque, cabaret album. I'm still not entirely sure what I make of it, whether it is authentic or somehow taking the piss. With lyrics like "if sex were an Olympic sport, we'd be bringing home the gold", I'm inclined to think the latter. Worthy of the list, not worthy of repeat listening. Also loses further credibility through the involvement of Scott Walker.

Little Water Song 3 The Case Continues 3.4 Passionate Fight 3.3 Tango Ballad 3.4 Couldn't You Keep That to Yourself 3.2 Streets of Berlin 3.2 The Part You Throw Away 3.5 Split 3.3 Punishing Kiss 3.2 Purple Avenue 2.8 You Were Meant For Me 3.2 Scope J 3.2 Score: 3.225

Waaayyyy too over the top. No thanks.

I put this on reluctantly, but then it won me over. Possibly the fever had something to do with it.

What a nice, smooth LP. Some very good songs on here as well.

last track is weird af

A bit strange and unenjoyable, but otherwise, great singer and music.

Sooo...I dont really like this. But the talent all around is obvious. And its very different. So im giving it a 3. Maybe it is something to listen to before you die even if not that many people will like it and its unconventional. It has my respect but not my love

This wasn’t anything I’d heard of before but I really enjoyed most of it.

I didnt like it very much.

This album exists.

I've used this argument for another record on here, but I'm gonna do it again here. Somewhere in the USA today, someone is reaching for a Nirvana album. Somewhere, someone is turning on a 2Pac album or a Biggie album or playing one of their songs. Somewhere, someone is cranking Panama and blowing out a speaker. Someone is actively seeking out an Elton John album or one of his songs. I have a hard time believing that anyone is going "Know what I really want to listen to right now? Punishing Kiss by Ute fucking Lemper. Put THAT on right now." It's not all terrible. She has a nice voice. But she's fully committed to the bit and I guess the biggest compliment I can give here is that the 2nd track sounds like it could be a James Bond intro. Maybe I'd enjoy this if I were at a cabaret show or there were some visuals to go along with it. But as I'm sitting here on my couch listening to it? No. And this just doesn't belong on this list. It feels like whoever made it felt that campy cabaret music needed to be represented here so they reached for this one. I'm letting my own tastes show my bias here, but this over a Van Halen album? Come on. Fine, I'm not the biggest rap fan out there but this is more deserving than a great rap album that's not here? I'm not convinced.

Listened to like 2 songs and it wasn't great.

노래를 못 찾음..

Need to listen to the whole thing but it was better than I’d expected

A miserable listening experience.

Fabulous voice. Not the sort of album for this list though

Wow, what a production.

This needs to be taken as the kind of "performance art" and heavily stylized genre of music that it is. In that context, it's awesome. I think fans of opera, musical theater, and art song -- in addition to the cabaret/chanson française influences that get mentioned more in the reviews here -- are more likely to enjoy this than listeners expecting more earnest pop-song stylings.

(5/7) I don't get how these people all met (the songwriters and singer) and it's not explained on wikipedia but the product is interesting

Who's this album meant for? In what setting would I play this? It's got a killer lineup backing her but... it's still not good. I had never heard of the Divine Comedy before I started this 1001 project and every time I come across them, I'm left wondering why this/they were ever a thing. I'm also left wondering how popular cabaret/baroque pop was or is this just a handful of people thinking that it was popular/good/important and trying to shove it down the throat of the rest of us?

No rizz here. No idea why the 1001 editors tried to make The Divine Comedy a thing.

I have no idea why this is on this list. It's okay but there was nothing unique. If they cut out the last 10 songs it might be better

Why

Did they just throw any old shit into this book in the early 00s? No shade to this album in particular, it wasn’t terrible.

I didn't hate it but would need to be in a very specific mood to listen to this again.

Probably good Cabaret music. But I really don't like Cabaret music. 2 stars or D.

Very long album. Excruciatingly long. Awful. I would give it one star according to my taste, but I can see how this would be enjoyable to some, and there is definitely talent in the songwriting and performance. It's just too theatrical and polished for my taste. So....2 stars.

An immediate and enduring no from me, dawg. 0 Stars.

171 albums deep this is the very first one where I'm saying to myself "this doesn't belong on this list". It's well done which isn't surprising coming from Neil Hannon/Divine Comedy but there's just nothing interesting about this album at all. I guess if you like cheesy over the top theatrical singing it's great for you? Sometimes I'll hear an album I hate but understand the inclusion for cultural significance. I just can't find one single reason for this album to be among the 1001 greatest of all time.

It was... cool I think... but I didn't vibe with it.

Lots of the albums that don't deserve to be here I can at least figure out what they're thinking. This time I've got no idea. It's not great, but putting it on a list like this makes me judge it harsher than it probably deserves. But honestly, what were they thinking

Incredible list of collaborators. Bad execution - it’s like a terrible musical

What is this now. Always something random on this list. It’s very dramatic number in a serious musical. Her voice seems interesting at least. It’s all very dramatic though. I mean it’s not terrible but it’s just nothing. Instantly forgettable. But there is that intriguing quality to her voice sometimes. But then it becomes crap. Really not liking this. It’s just so much of the same and that same rarely is interesting. A few of them give me old school vibes that work but it’s a few songs of the many on this over long album. It’s somewhere between a 1 and 2. Dislike it yet find it randomly piquing my interest for a song then I dislike it. It’s nothing like the 1s that have really made me almost angry. But when the guy sings in this it’s the worst crap. And when they get really musical sounding it’s just not fun. I can tolerate it and find it okay in smaller doses. But as an album, not good.

not for me but i guess kinda opera vibes

Its not.. bad.. but I wouldn't ever listen to it

big 2

I wanted it to stop. Accomplished and ambitious. But I don't want to listen to the mix of a Broadway show and a Bond theme

Was this an accident?

I never understood why this type of music exists, and I'm even more baffled why would anyone put it in a list of music I need to hear before I die. I mean, I heard it, but I don't feel it added anything to my life.

Kind of interesting sounding. Some thought provoking lyrics and a theatrical sound. I won't listen to this agian though.

A who’s who of garbage performed by a broadway German. Nah.

I don't really know what this is meant to be? Is it a musical, a concept album? It's not for me. Her over the top vocals feel like they'll never end

Dnf

Huh?

DNF. Orchestral Lounge Jazz meets Medieval Times. 0/5.

Я так охуел и слушать это больше не хочу

Una cosa locochona

zzz

Hams of the 1001, assemble! One listen was a good time, though not enough to test the impression that this was more cake than banquet. I like her voice and, predictably given The Divine Comedy’s presence, the arrangements are tidy. The Scott Walker-written finale is a very earnest impression of late-period Scott Walker that topples helplessly into parody. Looking across, I see a TV ejected from Si’s window only to be sucked back in by the gravitational force of his eyes rolling at 1,000,000,000 rpm, and I make a mental note for his birthday to find Neil Hannon on Cameo and request he record himself explaining how Si ought to listen to the Scott Walker song correctly and why it’s very deep.

My eyeballs were circumnavigating my forehead before this even began. I don't want to pick on anyone involved, so I'll just question why the hell we are listening to this *at all*? "Split" is particularly horrible.

Not a fan of this, only reason not a one is she has a good voice.

Sounded good

Fine. I don’t really know what was going on here. Sounded good but sounded like historical fiction put to music which isn’t really my jam.

Was this supposed to be a Spinal Tap, rock opera, Meatloaf vibe??? Don’t care for it at all

When I saw that The Divine Comedy was involved with this album, I was prepared to hate it. And to its credit, I didn't hate it! I just disliked it! And I wondered what kind of people listen to this. This sounds like Broadway music except there's no play.

Sounds like a cocktail bar in the 90s

At first, I thought this album was parody, something akin to Richard Cheese. Then I considered, maybe it’s actually just a talented singer doing bad muzak covers. Then “Die Dreigroschenoper” kicked in and I was convinced it’s parody again. By the end, I realized, it didn’t really matter.

This didn’t really do much for me. It was like a lifesaver mint, enjoyable for half a second and then leaves an aftertaste that is neither clean nor refreshing.

Yucking someones yum

Very interesting and cool featured artists. Not sure I'm down for it every day, but certainly willing to listen again. 3.

I didn't hate it, but I won't go out of my way to search for this again.

1/5

4.5

Strange. Very strange but interesting.

Wack. Only 2 stars bc of the tango song being funny

Absolute legendary voice from a legendary diva. Sounds like an 80s Weber musical, which isn't a compliment. Great craftsmanship, but not good to my ears.

I like Neil Hannon, and although this album had its moments, it was a bit too much in more ways than one.

Lots of talented musicianship, but too show-tuney/loungey sounding for me.

Not fun and I like musical theater

No

so musical style. 3-4 hani sehr nice gfunde aber de stil wird mer schnell too much. es esch wök gsi als wöri imene musical hocke aber i han halt nüt dezue gseh

It was worth listening to. Probably to far away from mainstream, which is a positive thing.

I made this mistake of reading the reviews for this album before listening and went in expecting me worst. Luckily it wasnt that bad. There's some interesting song writing in here, and also some ludicrous lyrics. If it was shorter I probably would have enjoyed it more but it began to grate me towards the back 1/3. 2*

I really like the supporting cast - Nick Cave, Elvis C, Neil Hannon & Scott W - but this was less than the sum of its parts. 2 stars for the final track, a Scott Walker belter

This isn't for me really. Neko Case does this sort of thing a whole lot better. The line about winning gold for the Olympic sport of sex made my toes curl. Orchestration was nice though.