Rio Reiser
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THE REVIEW

Ralph Christian Mobius, known as Rio Reiser, was one of the leading artists of that anthill of talent, innovation, and supreme musical intelligence that was the Neue Deutsche Welle. He never achieved international fame like other members of the movement, but after all, he has always been a cult, niche figure even in his homeland. This status, despite his great melodic and songwriting abilities, innate pop sensitivity, and ability to create crystalline melodies, is due to his being an artist who was always sincere and consistent with himself. As the frontman of Ton Steine Scherben from 1970 to 1985, he never hid his homosexuality or his political ideas, so much so that in 1990 he was boycotted by many radio stations for his public support of the SED, the Communist Party of the newly defunct German Democratic Republic.

 Naturally, Rio Reiser was, first and foremost, a splendid artist. His style was much closer to classic rock than to the new wave quirks à la Nina Hagen, with countless pop, reggae, folk, punk as well as NDW variations and a prolific and characteristic production of ballads; his voice had a distinctly rock timbre, strong, intense, and slightly husky, completing the picture. His flagship work, as well as his only significant chart success, remains “Konig Von Deutschland”, the lead single from his solo debut, “Rio I” of 1986, which masterfully combines the grit and irony of punk rock with orchestral magnificence worthy of the best of Queen, deserving to be remembered as an unforgettable evergreen not only for Germany. Yet, of course, it is not the only example of Rio Reiser's undeniable talent. His ability to blend irony, reflection, and political commitment is evident in various forms, in catchy and light melodies like the synth-pop of “Alles Luge” and “Arche B.”, fresh and summery sounds like the sunny reggae of “Manager”, “Alles”, whimsical marches like “Geld”, the fun and breezy rock of “Jetzt Schlagt’s Dreizehn” or more “adult” like the midtempo “Ich Denk’ An Dich”, another perfect and admirable example of the synthesis between rock and synth-pop or the intense new wave journey of “Menschenfresser” or the even better and inexplicably excluded here “Blinder Passagier”, touching territories usually covered by the illustrious colleague Falco in “Wart’s AB” and “Neun99Zig”.

 One of the peculiarities of Rio Reiser's production is the abundance of slow songs and ballads, so much so that there is an additional collection dedicated exclusively to this aspect of his production, appropriately titled “Balladen”; Rio Reiser's ballads express his most introspective, fragile, and sensitive side, the other half of his varied and complex personality; songs intense and full of feeling, where his voice can be fully expressed, such as “Fur Immer Und Dich” or the heartfelt “Zauberland”, but more often with delicate tones, like “Wann?” and the elegant “Nur Dich”, reaching peaks of poignant beauty with the melancholic “Junimond” and the sweet waltz of “Ubers Meer”.

 These are just some significant examples of Rio Reiser's pure talent, in a career that lasted a total of twenty-six years, ten of which as a solo artist, which could have been even longer and more fruitful if it were not for his premature death in 1996 at just 46 years old, due to circulatory complications related to hepatitis C. It would have been interesting to see how a character like him would have reacted to the new millennium with all its issues, but these are discussions destined to remain mere conjectures; however, a precious legacy remains, the legacy of an artist from another time, of whom no potential heirs are even remotely in view; a symbol of an era that unfortunately is becoming more and more distant and remote in time and, unfortunately, also in depth.