Track Listing

1. Alles Schwindel (from "Alles Schwindel")
2. Sex Appeal (from "Ich tanze um die Welt mit Dir")
3. Peter, Peter, komm zu mir zurück!
4. Das Gesellschaftslied
5. Meine beste Freudin - Ute Lemper, Timothy Hutchins, Janet Creaser Hutchins, Matrix Ensemble, Jeff Cohen, Robert Ziegler
6. Ich bin ein Vamp! (from "100 Meter Glück")
7. L'heure bleue (The hour of parting)
8. Zieh Dich aus, Petronella!
9. Raus mit den Männern!
10. Der Verflossene
11. Gesetzt der Fall . . .
12. Ich weiss nicht, zu wem ich gehöre (from "Stürme der Leidenschaft")
13. Das Lila-Lied
14. Maskulinum - Femininum
15. Mir ist heut so nach Tamerlan!
16. Eine kleine Sehnsucht
17. Wir wollen alle Kinder sein!!
18. Münchhausen

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #45300 in Music
• Released on: 1996-11-11
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .25 pounds
• Running time: 72 minutes

CD Description
The different photos on the English and German-language versions of Ute Lemper's BERLIN CABARET SONGS are indicative ofhow differently these 18 songs come across in the two languages. The photo on the English album is sexy and vampy, while the photo on the German album is sexy and chilly.
Thesesongs were performed in the German cabarets of the '20s andearly '30s, and while English speakers won't catch the explicit political subtext of these songs, like the defiantly gay "The Lavender Song" and "When the Special Girlfriend" (originally a duet by Marlene Dietrich and Margo Lion--Lemper sings both parts) and the female empowerment of "I Am a Vamp!", Lemper sings them with such passion, sly humor, and total commitment--complete with utterly authentic musical arrangements--that it becomes disturbingly clear why Hitler banned cabaret along with other art forms not in keeping with his totalitarianism.

Customer Reviews

Political points at their best
I personally consider myself to be left wing, politically. And I find that I agree with every political point this album makes. Not because it takes a political line - because it makes common sense. The pieces written on it to satirise the Wiemar Republic, it is quite chilling to realise how relevant their points still are.

Tackling everything from the views of the elite, in "The Smart Set", to Feminism in "Chuck out the men", gay rights in "The Lavender Song", to the degeneration of society in "It's all a swindle". Taking an apolitical line ("The left betrays, the right dismays", from "It's all a swindle"), the simple message of sense is hammered home through witty lines, good music, and the wonderful voice of Ute Lemper. "Munchhausen" is quickly becoming my favourite piece - it is also the longest - where a person describes their seeing a perfect world, where women have the choice of abortion, where Justices are truly just, where films are not propaganda features, where disarmament has happened, where 'nowhere will you see those flags which sport that *thing* that zigs, and zags'. Except the narrator of the story is Munchhausen - a man infamous for being a liar. Lemper's powerful voice does this piece perfect justice, capturing the hope of the perfect world, the dismay of it not being true, the hatred in the chorus, repeating in ever more bitter tones 'Liar, liar, liar liar liar ... but how I wish your lies were true', and finally the disillusionment; 'truth's as hard and tough as nails, that's why we need fairy tales'.

The booklet in the CD cover does a good job explaining the context, and relevance of the songs, for those who have no knowledge of the history that these songs were originally set in, and yet in a way it is unnecessary; the songs have proved unfortunately timeless. Although they contain a possible note of optimism, it should be noted that that optimism was 80 years ago - and we have made nearly no social progress since then. Why should the optimism be any more relevant now, than then?

I consider this album to be a wonderful piece of satire, a timeless comment of society both of the past, and the present. Even if sociological criticism isn't your thing, Ute Lemper's voice will melt your heart - I would recommend that anyone buy this.

Wonderful
Cabaret songs are difficult to sing, in particular when they were written in the 1920's. Ute Lemper succeeds in making the music live again, and she recaptures some of hopes, desparation and anger of the time. Her ability to make the lyrics live through the music, and the music through the lyrics, is simply astounding. Unfortunately, it probably also means that one has to understand German in order to fully appreciate this recording: although Lemper's singing is a delight in itself, its effect is increased by the lyrics, and many of the nuances of this recording are accessible only through an understanding of the language. While this surely captures the spirit of cabaret music, it is a serious disadvantage for an otherwise splendid performance.