31-01-2017, 18:11
Iâve been listening to the previously unheard by me Prostitute, by Alphaville (1994). Still trying to figure out exactly why this album is so titled, but I seriously doubt that Marian Gold would do anything other than by careful design, so Iâm sure there must be a rational and philosophical explanation even if I canât figure it out just yet! Speaking of which, since his birth name is actually Hartwig Schierbaum, I wonder how he came to choose Marian?? I know John Wayne was one too, except JW was Marion and he obviously revolted, going instead for good old John! But I digress ...
Curiosity brings me to this experimental, eclectic and sophisticated album which delves a lot deeper and explores a much wider range of styles than the early and quite direct new wave/synth/dance pop of Forever Young and Afternoons in Utopia, both of which I have and both of which had some highly infectious melodies, delivered with great enthusiasm and aplomb IMHO. This German band never really made it big outside of Europe, although theyâve still managed to sell gazillions of albums and oddly, gained traction through a fair amount of airplay in South Africa (occasionally, we seem to have the good sense to latch on to artists who are discounted by the rest of the world â e.g. Rodriguez and Shawn Phillips).
Itâs something quite different, thatâs for sure! One or two curious moments, but on the whole itâs a revelation â had no idea they had done something like this which runs the gamut of rock/pop/ballads/fusion and even includes a reggae track which was quite a surprise! There is some notably superb saxophone playing and Mr Goldâs voice is untarnished, as always. Now I want to go backwards to the album before this, Breathtaking Blue, and find out what having Klaus Schulze as an arranger/engineer/producer on that one did for them.
Yep ⦠itâs all a bit dated, but MG has never cared about that and continues to play exactly what he wants to a devoted following â¦
âThe Impossible Dreamâ ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzKHsdI5uyw
âAint it Strangeâ ⦠funky ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFXQM24Fltc
âAll in the Golden Afternoonâ ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bosnc5bPgtQ
âFaithâ (reggae style track â way out of character for this band) ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjnLCCGtLps
âOh Pattiâ which segues into âIvory Towerâ â¦
[video=youtube;mkj5nnz9pfg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkj5nnz9pfg[/video]
Curiosity brings me to this experimental, eclectic and sophisticated album which delves a lot deeper and explores a much wider range of styles than the early and quite direct new wave/synth/dance pop of Forever Young and Afternoons in Utopia, both of which I have and both of which had some highly infectious melodies, delivered with great enthusiasm and aplomb IMHO. This German band never really made it big outside of Europe, although theyâve still managed to sell gazillions of albums and oddly, gained traction through a fair amount of airplay in South Africa (occasionally, we seem to have the good sense to latch on to artists who are discounted by the rest of the world â e.g. Rodriguez and Shawn Phillips).
Itâs something quite different, thatâs for sure! One or two curious moments, but on the whole itâs a revelation â had no idea they had done something like this which runs the gamut of rock/pop/ballads/fusion and even includes a reggae track which was quite a surprise! There is some notably superb saxophone playing and Mr Goldâs voice is untarnished, as always. Now I want to go backwards to the album before this, Breathtaking Blue, and find out what having Klaus Schulze as an arranger/engineer/producer on that one did for them.
Yep ⦠itâs all a bit dated, but MG has never cared about that and continues to play exactly what he wants to a devoted following â¦
âThe Impossible Dreamâ ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jzKHsdI5uyw
âAint it Strangeâ ⦠funky ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qFXQM24Fltc
âAll in the Golden Afternoonâ ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bosnc5bPgtQ
âFaithâ (reggae style track â way out of character for this band) ⦠https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjnLCCGtLps
âOh Pattiâ which segues into âIvory Towerâ â¦
[video=youtube;mkj5nnz9pfg]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mkj5nnz9pfg[/video]
"The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us." ~ Bill Watterson