Falco
Emotional

LA RECENSIONE

In 1986, Falco was at his peak.

A triumphant tour had just concluded in Europe, with impressive sales figures in the United States, magazine covers, and awards and accolades pouring in.

Inevitably, it wasn’t long before the pressures from his new—and decidedly generous—record label arrived, convincing him—or more likely, forcing him—to rush back into the studio to record a new album, thereby capitalizing on the commercially favorable moment.

The result: barely a year after Falco 3, "Emotional" was released—an ambitious album, tinged with grandeur, featuring atmospheres and sounds largely similar to his previous work.

The end of the promotional commitments for the previous year’s album thus coincided with a hasty return to Holland for the recording sessions.

For this reason, the Austrian artist wasn’t able to dedicate much time to creating the new LP, only partially participating in the lyric writing, and delegating almost the entire artistic direction to the confirmed production team Bolland & Bolland.

The launch single chosen was the joyful anthem "The Sound of Musik," supported by another boisterous and slightly gaudy music video in the style of Rock me Amadeus.

The goal was clear: to try to replicate the success of the track that had made him a star. The move didn't work. The European market reaction was lukewarm, and outside the EU things went even worse.

The same fate befell another single from the album, the outstanding "Emotional," with an Elvis tribute in the music video and soulful sounds chosen to court the US audience. Another fruitless move: to the disappointment of WEA, neither the singles nor the LP achieved notable sales figures in commercially “juicy” markets like the UK and America.

Still, it was the second part of the Jeanny saga that secured the podium on the German-speaking charts, this time timidly titled "Coming Home" to simmer down controversy, with softened lyrics to avoid new censorship problems and media hostility.

The stylistic mood was nonetheless preserved, effectively creating a sort of "carbon copy" of the original track to ensure the public’s approval.

These moves proved decisive for the single’s success and, in turn, that of the entire LP.

Falco thus embarked on another tour—sometimes missing a show due to increasingly fragile physical and mental health—that lasted until spring 1987, even reaching Japan. There he was greeted with a warm reception, complete with scenes of hysteria at the airport and outside the hotels. Unexpected flashes of exotic glory.

It would be his last, before a rapid decline that was already looming on the horizon.