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Rating:
Narrator, showman, salacious storyteller, ironic and characterized by a personal style, captivating and immediately recognizable: Hansi Holzel, known as Falco, was the prominent face (along with Nina Hagen) of the German way of synth-pop, the so-called Neue Deutsche Welle. A lively and explosive artistic movement, characterized by charismatic and unconventional characters, to which Falco contributed with his improbable cocktail of funk, rap, and sarcastic, ingenious lyrics. With his apparent rockstar persona and his typically pompous and bombastic sound, quintessentially 80's, this curious character, a Viennese and personal friend of another great Austrian, Niki Lauda, managed to ridicule that decade characterized by Ronald Reagan, Margaret Thatcher, Bettino Craxi, and Madonna, by social disengagement, ostentatious welfare, and the slow but relentless downfall of real socialism in the face of Western capitalism with lyrics full of hedonism, drugs, decadence, and fatalism: an anti-diva dressed as a diva, capable of expressing “underground” concepts using an unabashedly mainstream language.
Although his meteoric record success, dating back to 1982 with the famous “Der Kommissar,” may suggest otherwise to the more superficial, Falco had to work hard to carve out his place in the sun: coming from the punk scene of a musically marginal nation like Austria, his artistic credibility is in no way questionable, and his notable success was nevertheless less than proportional to the talent and personality expressed throughout his career: “Einzelhaft,” “Junge Roemer,” “3,” “Emotional”: a crescendo worthy of Rossini, then the sudden decline coinciding with the album under review, “Wiener Blut”, which in my opinion is a perfect paradigm of his style, and one of his most pleasant and interesting works.
An eclectic, flowing album, presenting some significant innovations compared to its predecessors: sung more in English than in German, the Viennese artist’s stylistic range unfolds in various forms, the ever-valid synth-hop of “Wiener Blut”, Falco’s typical stylistic canon, the hedonistic, robotic, and intriguing “Falco Rides Again”, a track of great charm and sophistication that caricatures the personality cult typical of those times while simultaneously anticipating that of nascent hip-hop culture. A delightful hint of glam-rock with the gritty guitars of “Untouchable” preludes what could have been the album’s leading single, a song potentially able to follow in the footsteps of “Der Kommissar” and “Rock Me Amadeus”, namely an overflowing and irresistible “Garbo”, boasting excellently chosen bombastic and orchestral sounds referring to the best ’70s disco tradition which, combined with Falco’s unmistakable flow, create a splendid programmatic and personal manifesto of the artist, also seemingly anticipating his future, and his controversial departure from showbiz; here we find one of the most significant maxims of Falco’s production, “No man can guess in cold blood what he might do in passion, but the things that he deplores today are tomorrow’s latest fashion.”
Enriched by the presence of pleasing background tracks like “Tricks” and the ballad “Satellite To Satellite”, “Wiener Blut” expresses its most innovative and characteristic content on the original B side of the LP with reflective and exotic atmospheres, with Oriental reflections, translating into small jewels such as “Walls Of Silence”, so hopeful and still very current in its content, the trance-like oblique rap of “Solid Booze”, and the philosophical suggestions of a wonderful slightly Bowie-esque “Sand Am Himalaya”, closing in grand style with a very personal reinterpretation of Steely Dan’s “Do It Again”, as had already happened in “3” with “It’s All Over Now Baby Blue,” but here Falco does even better by imbuing the song with a biting disco verve that ensures the album ends in grand style.
In conclusion, “Wiener Blut,” the fifth chapter in Falco’s discography, is an album that perfectly reflects all the winning characteristics of its creator and distances him from the spotlight, assigning him to a more “niche” dimension, thus creating the premises for the second phase of his career, unfortunately prematurely interrupted, which will be formalized by a controversial and inconsistent, but emblematic and courageous album such as “Data De Groove”. A watershed, in short, to be rediscovered as well as the entire production of its charismatic creator.
Tracklist Lyrics Samples and Videos
01 Wiener Blut (03:31)
Hearst
Was hat der Bua
Was braucht er
Für a Medizin?
Geh schau
Geh schau da was an
Der was genau -
Der Peter und der
Rote hab'n dem Kas
Ane geb'n
Eahm hat's wie
Hauptfett aufg'stellt
Volle Wäsch' in d'Wand
War des scheen.
Der Guck schmiert ab
Der Stockchef kommt
A G'spiel wird inszeniert
Wobei der Rote 'n
Peter sein komplette
Auslös
Inhaliert.
Man ruft den Doktor
Doktor
Der Peter sieht rot
Doktor
Doktor
Ana fragt: "Is der tot?"
Wiener Blut
In diesem Saft die Kraft
Die Wiener Glut
Kommt ana link uns
Kommen wir in Wut bis
Er erkennen tut:
Wir hab'n die Medizin
Der Dekadenz hab'n wir
An Preis verlieh'n
Dabei san wir moralisch
Überblieb'n
Wir steh'n und
Fall'n und lieg'n.
Wir hab'n die Medizin
Oh, oh, oh
...
Hearst
Der is da arg
Was is des für a Medizin?
Der Professor hat an
Dreia ausg'faßt
Heut geht er ham
Sein Weg führt ihn
Direkt in Prata
In d'Allee mit de Bam.
Kein Bein allein
Er fasziniert sein
Gürteltier erblickt
Jedoch die Beste mit an
"Jetzt kummst?"
Stop retour
In Krieag ihn schickt.
Man ruft den Doktor
Doktor
Weil der Professor sieht rot
Doktor
Doktor
Ana fragt: "Is der tot?"
Wiener Blut
Mit Mord und Todschlag
Hab'n wir nix am Hut
Doch sind für eine
Hetz wir immer gut
Für dich und mich in Wien.
Wir präsentieren Wien
Auch im Club 45 samme drin
Dort sind wir unter uns
Dann sehr intim
Im steh'n
Im fall'n
Im lieg'n.
Wir präsentieren Wien!
Bis er erkennen tut:
Wir hab'n die Medizin
Der Dekadenz hab'n wir
An Preis verlieh'n
02 Falco Rides Again (04:45)
''These are the given lyrics for this song, but to my ears, most of the first verse sounds to me to be in German.''
This is the story of a lonely man
Who's seen the world
From Japan to Afghanistan
Hey! Ho!
Everybody thought that I was gone for good
But I'm back - understood
Hey! Ho!
I've been through the snow and the storm
Felt the cold
No one to keep me warm
Agony and pain
Falco rides again - Bang bang
I won't break
I won't bend
Falco rides again
It's me and my gang
I came back just like a boomerang
I'll fight 'till the end
Falco rides again
I've been up, I've been down
I've been pushed around
Beated, mistreated,
Gagged and bound
Hey! Ho!
Not a soul in the world thought I would survive
Took every muscle in my body to stay alive
Hey! Ho!
I'll break down the walls
No more defeat
I want the taste of victory
Revenge is sweet
... rides again!
03 Untouchable (03:18)
She's not just another pretty face in a magazine
This girl is real - She's every schoolboy's dream
She fills my fantasies, my eyes and my ears
But every time I try to touch her - She dissappears
Oh oh oh oh oh She's untouchable
Oh oh oh oh oh untouchable delight
Oh oh oh oh oh She's untouchable
Oh oh oh oh oh She's outta- sight
In my mind I'm always with her - moans and sighs
I touch her full red lips - her silken thighs
We meet in the city, she begs: "Please take me home"
But when I wake up in a cold sweat, I'm all alone
04 Tricks (03:54)
Es hat uns sehr gefreut
Man fragt sich was ist dran an ihm
Was könnte es wohl sein
Ist der Wein aus Österreich
Den er uns einschenkt immer rein
Bavarian Hungarian
Happy hippie vegetarian
Was ist das Wiener Blut
Was tut daran uns gut
If I feel for driving crazy
In the middle of the night
I smash the party den ich zahle bar
Dass mein Bentley und mein Penthouse
Jemand stören ist mir nicht klar
Wollt ihr'nen Liedermacher oder einen Star
Oh oh oh oh
Man tut dass es gefällt
Wofur man es auch hält
Ich weiss genau worauf ihr scharf seid
Sind noch immer meine Tricks
Don't know what I would do without
Tricks yeah yeah
Gimme Tricks
Ihr wisst ich bin alleine
Ohne meine meine Tricks yeah
That's the only reason my heart
05 Garbo (03:51)
She had exquisite style
She was upper class
She had supernatural grace
A mélange of Aphrodite and Venus
Combined with an angel's face
She didn't talk to the press
She couldn't care less
She didn't even answer the phone
She said on one occasion,
Without persuasion:
"I want to be left alone."
From this moment on, from dusk till dawn
Till the end of time, I'll be with you
You'll be with me, forever in my mind
It's you I see before me, oh oh, Garbo
C'est toi que je t'adore, oh oh, Garbo
A lovers' greatest story, oh oh, Garbo
They say: "Well that's amore!" oh oh, Garbo
People say on the day of victory, no fatigue is felt
Garbo, it's you that has the power
That makes ev'ry man's heart melt
They say that, when the heart is a fire
Sparks fly out of the cage
But beauty is like a good wine,
The taste is sweeter with age
No man can guess in cold blood
What he might do in passion
But the things that he deplores today
Are tomorrow's latest fashion
Serving one's own passion
Is the greatest slavery
But if in wanting you
I become your slave
I intend no bravery
From this moment on, from dusk till dawn
Till the end of time, I'll be with you
You'll be with me, forever in my mind
It's you I see before me...
....Garbo
06 Satellite to Satellite (05:16)
Und der Prophet sagte:
"Die Zukunft liegt in den Sternen"
Und sie griffen nach den Sternen.
Sie fuhren aus und sie nahmen sich die Sterne
Aber weit über alles Denken hinaus
War immer eines unerreichbar
Der Ewige Traum der Kinder von den Sternen
So hatte der Prophet recht behalten:
Im Traum gehören die Sterne uns
Aber in Wahrheit leuchten sie hell weiter!
''Refrain 1:''
Satellite to Satellite Lo-ove
Satellite to Satellite Lo-ove
Our love will shine so bright
When were lovin' via Satellite (Lo-ve)
Satellite to Satellite Lo-ove
Satellite to Satellite Lo-ove
The world will be a better place
When were longin- for the inner space (Lo-ve)
''Bridge 1:''
Set the lights on satellites
Die Kosmokraten Tagen
Major Tom lässt fragen
What's about communication
High Tech li info information
Auf eine Art und Weise ist das Spiel der Kinder weise
Wenn sie die Politik des Schwebens zelebrieren
Und die Fussbank zum Aeroplan wird
Nur weil auf Wolke sieben kein Platz zu kriegen war
Und wir alle sind uns darin einig,
Dass das ernste Spiel der Kinder
Mit der Imagination so dicht ist,
Dass man nicht mehr hineinsehen kann,
So dass es fast Dichtung ist
''Refrain 2:''
''Bridge 2:''
Under the sun-yeah
We'll be as one
Hey
''Refrain 1''
''Refrain 2 and Intro''
...
Our love will shine so bright
When we're lovin' via satellite
Für das Licht deiner Liebe ich danke dir
Bin so nah, bin dir nah und so weit von dir
Seh den Glanz unseres Sternes so hell vor mir
Du gehörst du gehörst zu mir,
Hörst zu mir
Hörst zu mir
Hörst zu mir
07 Read a Book (03:57)
Und wenn ich einen Wunsch frei hätte
Ich wünschte würden wir verstehen
Alle Schatten hinter uns lassen
nur weißes Licht vor uns zu sehen
No hate, no fight hearts killing
I wish no trouble anymore
There's nothing more to tell about
There's nothing left to be decided
Just read a book
So, read a book about love (reaching love)
Read a book, read a book about love
Und wenn du einen Wunsch frei hättest
Ich wünschte, würdest du verstehen
Nur weißes Licht vor uns zu sehen
And if we just should be together
Oh, we could feel so warm an tight
All we need is only two of us
To show the world that we've decided to
Read a book
To read a book about love (reaching love) ...
Take a look about yesterday
I guess you know
That you're here to stay
Read a book, ...
Read a book, read a book about love (rep many times)
Read a book, ... (rep till fade)
08 Walls of Silence (04:40)
Sie erzählt von sieben Dimensionen
Die in, die in ihrer Seele wohnen
Und du, du denkst es ware für allemal vorbei,
Sieben leben sollst du, sollst du leben
sollst der, sollst der Weisung dich ergeben
Und es, und es ist der Tag, du liebst sie wieder
Gestern, heut - für alle Zeit
''Refrain:''
If we never gonna break the silence (break the walls),
If we break the silence anyway
We never gonna make it for sure, we wanna break through
Distrust
Wanna get what we fought for
We give up, we give in, never give it away (Hey, hey)
Polticians,
Ihr erklärt euch uns in Dimensionen
Die nie - Niemals in unseren seelen wohnen
But you, ihr erkennt wir werden
We realised that we'll never never fight it at all - no more
Politicians, seid ihr
Seid ihr weise
Seid so auf eure strange Art und weise weise
If we go out trying to break the chains
Refrain:
Cause we'll have to break the walls of silence
We'll have to break the walls of emptiness
Say what
All the Presidents wait a minute
We would love to wait, to wait a minute
All the Presidents wait a minute,
Forget the button and wait a minute
Cause the world is standing still it is love
And we are breaking the wall of silence
We try to break the walls again
We go straight to the heart of 5 billion friends
If we should have a last one try -
We would try
And we are breakin the walls of silence
09 Solid Booze (04:32)
And we are growing along spiritual lines
Will never mean we should stop to have big fun time
Oh oh oh
Should it be for the very first of all to pray
and to report it to your next in an effective way
But whatever our ideals turn to be
We must be willing to break it through
We must be willing to make amends where we
Ever have to put some harm on too
She is my she's my all
She is my all surrounding solid booze you know
She is my all surrounding solid booze you know
She is my all surrounding solid booze you know
And we are growing along the spiritual lines
Would never mean we should believe in all those
Different kinds
Oh oh oh
Could it be the very first of all to recognize
Its the better sense to take it once and give it twice
But whatever our ideals turn out to be
We should be willing to break it through
We should be willing to realize
That attitudes have got us too
She is my
She's my all
10 Sand am Himalaya (04:01)
Come on, come on
Das Licht ging aus
Und du dachtest schon dich streift ein Bus
Oder war's ihr Kuss-Twilight-Zone
Abgehoben ist die Welt von Heut
Ob zu zweit oder
Am Canapee bei Sigmund Freud
Zu, zu immer zu
Wondering why I'm feeling blue 'cause of you
Der Wahnsinn sucht uns stets zu animieren
Auf neuen Wegen uns zu amüsieren
Wir suchen Sand am Himalaya,
Suchen Schnee am Playa
Das Schicksal ist ein schweres
Ein Schatz am Grund des Meeres
(Doch dann)
Das Licht geht an
Und du denkst, oh Mann
Hat sie dich
Oder hat sie nur das Radio an
Ungeachtet des Geschlechts
Folgt im Tango jedem Schwung
Nach links der Ruck nach rechts
We're drivin' drive' drive overdrive
That's the rhythm of our life, oversized
Doch eins und zwei und drei und Wiegeschritt
Läuft die Zeit dem Geist davon, wer läuft mit?
Wir suchen Sand am Himalaya
Suchen Sand am Playa
Das neue Salz des Lebens
Die Politik des Schwebens
Die Schrägen Schwebenslagen stimulieren
Wie immer neuen Wahnsinn inszenieren
So schräg wie Sand am Himalaya
Suchen Schnee am Playa
Das Schicksal ist eines schweres
Ein Schatz am Grund des Meeres
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