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Baal was not one of Bertolt Brecht's most appealing visions. The tale of a dissolute itinerant wretch whose natural talent for composing amoral ditties was mere accompaniment to his life of debauchery, it was the saga, according to David Bowie, of the original Super Punk -- which is doubtless what attracted him to it, when he was offered the title role in a 1982 BBC TV play.
Bowie perform five songs during the course of the play, each of which coupled Brecht's original lyric (as translated by John Willett) to a contemporary Dominic Muldowney arrangement. Recording in the same Hansa studios in Berlin where Brecht's own future partner, Kurt Weill, once worked, Bowie and producer Tony Visconti also borrowed Weill's favorite recording set-up -- a German theater band, one player per instrument, all arranged in a semi-circle. (Bowie would recreate this set-up for the video accompanying his next UK single, "Wild Is The Wind".") RCA originally intended releasing the Baal soundtrack as part of a new Bowie album -- the star's continued reluctance to record anything more than dilettante side bars, however, left them with no option but to pare their plans down to a single EP, released in Britain on the Friday before the play's March 2, 1982, transmission. The result was an uncompromising collection, considerably truer to Brecht than many outsiders expected, with its closest relatives within Bowie's own catalog being his occasional assaults on the Jacques Brel songbook -- early live favorites "Next" and "My Death," and the 1973 b-side "Amsterdam"." But even with that comparison, one is grasping; quite frankly, Baal served up a side of Bowie that he had often claimed existed, but which even his closest friends had seldom seen.
© Dave Thompson /TiVo
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Bertolt Brecht, Writer - David Bowie, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Tony Visconti, Producer, Bass - Dominic Muldowney, Writer
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 1982 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Bertolt Brecht, Writer - David Bowie, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Tony Visconti, Producer - Dominic Muldowney, Arranger, Writer
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 1982 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Bertolt Brecht, Writer - David Bowie, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Tony Visconti, Producer - Dominic Muldowney, Writer
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 1982 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Kurt Weill, Composer - Bertolt Brecht, Composer - David Bowie, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Tony Visconti, Producer, Bass - Dominic Muldowney, Arranger - Thomas Hoffmann, Drums - Michael Bucher, Tuba - Ingo Cramer, Guitar - Axel-Glenn Müller, Tenor Saxophone - Erwin Milzkott, Flute - Bernd Machus, Bandoneon - David Kreitner, Alto Saxophone - Eckehard Scholl, Piano - Joachim Welz, Clarinet - Ralf Armbruster, Trombone - René Waintz, Trumpet - Ulrich Berggold, Contrabass Bass - Uwe Weniger, Viola - Jans-Joachim Glas, Concertmaster - Rolf Brecker, Cello
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 1982 David Bowie under licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Bertolt Brecht, Writer - David Bowie, Producer, Vocals, MainArtist - Tony Visconti, Producer, Mixer - Dominic Muldowney, Conductor, Writer - Thomas Hoffmann, Drums - Michael Bucher, Tuba - Ingo Cramer, Guitar - Rolf Becker, Cello - Axel-Glenn Müller, Tenor Saxophone - Erwin Milzkott, Flute - Bernd Machus, Bandoneon - David Kreitner, Alto Saxophone - Eckehard Scholl, Piano - Hans-Joachim Glas, Concertmaster - Joachim Welz, Clarinet - Ralf Armbruster, Trombone - René Waintz, Trumpet - Ulrich Berggold, Contra-Bassoon - Uwe Weniger, Viola
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 1982 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd, a Warner Music Group Company
Album review
Baal was not one of Bertolt Brecht's most appealing visions. The tale of a dissolute itinerant wretch whose natural talent for composing amoral ditties was mere accompaniment to his life of debauchery, it was the saga, according to David Bowie, of the original Super Punk -- which is doubtless what attracted him to it, when he was offered the title role in a 1982 BBC TV play.
Bowie perform five songs during the course of the play, each of which coupled Brecht's original lyric (as translated by John Willett) to a contemporary Dominic Muldowney arrangement. Recording in the same Hansa studios in Berlin where Brecht's own future partner, Kurt Weill, once worked, Bowie and producer Tony Visconti also borrowed Weill's favorite recording set-up -- a German theater band, one player per instrument, all arranged in a semi-circle. (Bowie would recreate this set-up for the video accompanying his next UK single, "Wild Is The Wind".") RCA originally intended releasing the Baal soundtrack as part of a new Bowie album -- the star's continued reluctance to record anything more than dilettante side bars, however, left them with no option but to pare their plans down to a single EP, released in Britain on the Friday before the play's March 2, 1982, transmission. The result was an uncompromising collection, considerably truer to Brecht than many outsiders expected, with its closest relatives within Bowie's own catalog being his occasional assaults on the Jacques Brel songbook -- early live favorites "Next" and "My Death," and the 1973 b-side "Amsterdam"." But even with that comparison, one is grasping; quite frankly, Baal served up a side of Bowie that he had often claimed existed, but which even his closest friends had seldom seen.
© Dave Thompson /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 5 track(s)
- Total length: 00:11:15
- Main artists: David Bowie
- Composer: Various Composers
- Label: Parlophone UK
- Genre: Pop/Rock Rock
© 2007 Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC This label copy information is the subject of copyright protection. All rights reserved. (C) 2007 Parlophone Records Ltd ℗ 2007 The copyright in this sound recording is owned by Jones/Tintoretto Entertainment Company LLC under exclusive licence to Parlophone Records Ltd
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