Danger in your
paradise
We
already heard "Danger in your paradise" in the cinema as Sountrack to the
movie "Nur aus Libe" (Only for love). We were totally taut if we would
recognize it. There was no problem thanx to the simple,easily remem-bered
melody.Mainactor is the keyboard, supported from a characteristic beat
and marvellous percussions. The song is fairly calm, but becomes an absolutly
earwig after hearing it several times. Althought Uwe misses a kind of height
in the song. It`s really danceable and we can very good imagine as a single.
The lyrics is tailor-made for the movie. It`s unbelievable that it`s not
explicit composed for it. Marian and Janey Diamond accom-plished again
to present the disunion through inventive comparisions. In general we like
the ideas to say the life can be a bastard or a gigolo. Typical and unique
Gold!
Caroline
The
keyboard starts to play slight. Than the beat goes on - powerfull. This
beat leads through the whole song. It's a very still song. Marian sings
very deep and sometimes his voice seems to be harsh or better say: smoky.
So we haven't heard him anymore before. He interprets the words very excellent.
Caroline is like Carol Masters. She cannot get on well with the world.
She dreams, dreams from a better world and runs away of the reality. She
is very fragile and Marian shows it very well. With his harshy voice he
symbilised the hard reality. The beat is like hammering the reality on
her. The text carry us back a little bit to the Aquarian Opera "Afternoons
in utopia". ( Wasn't "Ivory tower" the goodbye of Utopia?!).After repeated
hearings you can see that the melody is permanent in your brain. That's
why it could be a single. Although we get sometimes the impression that
the certain i-point is absent in order to reach finally also the "normal"
listener.
Feathers and Tar
We
already waited a long time to get this Song in CD- quality. Since we`ve
heard it at the concerts it`s one of our favourites. Unfortunately on the
CD-version the keyboards sounding not more so full, so they carry the melody
not so much as in the liveversion. Marian sings still esentially higher
than we know it. That shows particulary the frangibility and the anguish
of the song (although Uwe likes it more if Marian sings deeper). Generally
Marian uses his voice in a special way, it seems as he would "play" with
the voice and so he`s able to express many items optimally for instance
in the first "I want more", he is nearly consumed by the thoughts to her,
just as at the "can`t you heal me...". And the lyrics is marvellous, romanesque
and you can feel it, too. He smarts under don`t knowing to or fro : "please
go away, no don`t go, I want more". So beautiful like the Song is we don't
think that it`s absolutely suitable as single. It`s only difficult to imagine
that the song will be played in the radio. We think it`s not enough commercial.
The song fits outstanding in a smoky nightclub and is a lot too pretentious
artistic for fast moving radio.
Missionary
The
following song is a little break. After the quiet pieces follows a faster
part. A strange atmosphere comes into being; anyway malicious. That will
be either supported through Marians voice. Sometimes he shouts nearly.
For us it sounds hopeless, accusingly, resignierend. A missionary on the
journey...musically symbolized perfect through the beat. It remembers to
massiness steps. Remarkable once more Marians vocal performance. The changing
from the bass, scraggly voice to the falsetto makes the song especially
interesting. But either sur- prising and of an extremely positive effect
for the whole song is the spoken , the stylistic reminds to "Middle of
the Riddle". "Missionary" is no song which you can listen just as a sideline.
It needs a special environment, in order to let works the ambience of the
song in the best way. There`s a great artistic performance in the song,
and Marian finished again successfully an experiment.
For the sake of
love
We
were already very taut to this Song since we knew it from the liveshow.
Marian begins with a halleffect during "I forgive" what remembers us anyway
to the Alpine pasture. The song is leant a little bit upon the actually
techno tedency , full of power and in our opinion is it a chartbreaker.
But it`s not so much Techno, like the remixes of Kid & John in the
past. The song has also a little from Sigue Sigue Sputnik. (we know Marian
liked).The song twangs fresh and barefaced; and the rhythm goes directly
into the legs. It`s impossible to sit on the seat while listening. That
we recognized already in the liveversion. Live Martin supported vocal Marian.It`s
realy amazing that Marian can sing/speak so speedy without support- payment
by a second singer and without making a knurl in his tongue. The text is
ironic, easy, to the point and above all facetious. Marian gives an account
to himself and the world . In all his texts before wasn't so much witticism.
The"I forgive" with the halleffect in between places the i-point on the
song. For us is the the best song of the albums qualified to be a successful
single.
Say it ain`t so,
Joe
It`s
Ilwas personally highlight of the albums. It is a coverversion but it`s
seems to be maked directly for Marian; full sounding keyboards, a hereon
tuned beat and underlines percussions. It creates an atmosphere similar
as in "What is love"..Marians typical voice twangs so clear that she feared
it could disrupt her heart. The tone of his voice lets a nearly freeze
her blood and a heebie-jeebies creeps up her back. The Song mirrors wishfulness,
dissappointment,sorrows and melancholy. Ilwa combines the song with a starlight
night, only the stars stand at the sky and you feels lonesome. In the middle
of the songs a spoken part remembers that originally it`s a Song of Murray
Head. Marian interprets the text excellent. You can hear the dissappointment
and the cling to a last possible hope, that it ain`t so. Incidentally you
can also referent the text to the actually politics even if the song is
written 10 years before. If the song is over you can hear the "Say it ain`t
so, Joe" still a long time because the melody and Marians voice are burned
closely into your mind.
Five years
The
second coverversion of the albums. We all know that Marian likes Bowie
very much what maked our tension to his version of "Five Years" higher.
Marian displays us a further possibility to use his voice and comes very
close-up to Bowie. The song is mystical and a little bit like universe.
But also this is typically Bowie, because he tells with a great pleasure
stories. He did the same in "Five years". Look more intensive to the lyrics
and you recognize that Bowie is also Marians idol in writing lyrics. It
is often bizarre and indiscrimi-nate. It was a problem to translate it
some extent meaningful into German. But anyway straight that is so interesting;
look to the appointment with the girl! "i don`t think you knew you were
in this song".The topic of the song is very interesting. What people would
do if they knew in 5 year everything will be over. This chaos and the desperation
Bowie has described in the lyrics fine. We don`t wonder that Marian likes
this song very much. Also with the music Marian did his coverbersion very
well, particularly fine in the choir at the end of the song. A sparse irony
is naturally also there, because who thinks about this topic knows that
it`s really actual. We destroy our own world but nobody wants to belive
it or do something against it. The most prefer to wait patiently to the
end ofthe five years.
Change the world
Equal
in connection follows a very positive hopeful song. So that is probably
also confutes that Alphaville are pessimists and dusky. The mulattoes-backroundsingers
give the song also nightcharacter. in our opinion the song is in a certain
way similarity with the german song "Laura Jane" of Howard Carpendale but
that`s not really bad. It's larghetto and very equal. Uwe don`t likes such
a kind of music that was also so at "Red rose" and "Sensations". But that`s
only a personally establishment and no objective judgment for the songs
quality. Fundamentally ii is a very beautiful song with a very good message.
Marian has perfect right that we are able to change the world if we really
want it and wouldn`t be so selfish.
Cosmopolitician
The
song starts and awakens immediately our attention: a confusion of different
instruments and styles...like the different cultures collapsing all at
the same time on you. Again there`s a little bit Bowies in the song special
in the way of Marians singing;a further "new" kind of Marians canto. The
text mediates how much richer and eternal a cosmopolitician is. But it
sounds also restless, melancholic, longing, misunderstanding. "Cosmopolitician"
is an absolute highlight. As i-point there`s the spoken part after the
little break. The effects (as well as the abruptly end of the song) make
the song perfect. At the endyou can hear the call the whales- a symbol
for freedom...free but also caught. Congratulation Marian! Super!!!
Soulman
Based
upon the length of 8 minutes we were very curious. It starts very calm,
remembers to soulmusic (suitable to the title) and Marian speaks first
of all an eternity , almost low. The beat , which produces a tenseness,
drowns over the recitative. Anyway this song is outlandish, not danceable,
more experimental. For Ilwa it is honest said very difficult to chum with
it. You cannot listen this song in order to be amused, your have to listen
to it very concentrade. Also while translating the song this impression
continued, at first it was totally difficult to bring a sense into. finally
created, the song became very marvellous , because it tells about the real
life for instance "smiling faces when you`re No.1". Marian describes the
pure materielle life, everything turns only around money and the human
side is ignored. Nobody has anymore fantasie and the few persons who could
save that becomes instead scoffs and everybody says they are mad. Anybody
is satisfied, if he`s not striking. Anybody thinks only to himself, to
the undamaged survival, to be carefull never to sell the own soul. Marian
revelates quite much of his own past. He still believes in his way he had
to go, would certainly do it again.In the meantime there`s a break in the
song and after it goes faster, more powerful and also a bit more commercial.
But it leaves still a strange-appreciate impression. We are also irresolute,
if it was clever to place "Soulman" as last song. The last song left the
final thought of an albums. "Soulman" is totally different from other songs
at this position like "Red rose" or "Apollo".
RESULT
"United"
is a marvellous album, but very otherwise in the comparision to "Prostitute".
"Prostitute" was a variety with innumerable kinds of styles. At "United"
every song is more or less of the same atmosphere, however Marians voice
never before was so many sided. Interesting appears to us also the chain,
which is of all pages of the booklet. It might to be a symbol for the life.
Sometimes the chain is riped, just like the countless breakings in the
life. Then a new episode begins. The chain is riped for instance at "Feathers
and Tar" and "For the sake of love". Right 'cos what does us put more from
the path than the love. Naturally the chain riped also at "Five Years"
because with destroyed world everything will be changed, it`s the end.
Also"Soulman" contains breakings, returns and recommencements. Originally
"United" could be also an Alphaville album because look into the Booklet
you`ll recognize that Ricky and Bernard were also present there. It is
probably only Marians soloalbum because Alphaville never wanted tp publish
these songs on aa album, but Marian liked the songs too much to let them
unpublished. It`s very remarkable for us, that Marian thinksso . He's not
oriented towards at the commercial and has the Courage just to do what
he wants. That`s realy an artist and others before him (Bowie, Oldfield)
did the same successfully. In our eyes "United"is an uncommercial album,
more an expe-rimentelly one, and this is in our opinion also the reason,why
it`s released untill only in Southafrica. A recordcompany think mainly
to the sold copies and not to the work of the artistic works . Maybe so
it`s better for the names Marian Gold if it`s unpublished at the moment
here in Germany, because after the less successful " So long Celeste" it
would be not the best for him. Look to the charts and you will understand
why we think so. If it would be otherwise we were the first who are more
than happy about because "United" is a real timeless album, what never
will become boring. We wish there would be more "Soulmens" who follows
regardless the hearts voice. Then good music can be more successfull again!