Hal Willner - Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
#494/1128
November 1985
Hal Willner & Various Artists
Lost in the Stars: The Music of Kurt Weill
Genre: Fuck it. It was important to me.
5 out of 5
Highlights:
The Cannon Song - Stan Ridgeway & The Fowler Brothers
Alabama Song - Ralph Schuckett with Richard Butler, Bob Dorough, Ellen Shipley and John Petersen
Youkali Tango – Armadillo String Quartet
September Song - Lou Reed
Surabaya Johnny- Dagmar Krause
O Heavenly Salvation - Mark Bingham, Johnny Adams and Aaron Neville
Call from the Grave/Ballad in Which Macheath Begs All Men for Forgiveness - Todd Rundgren
Brecht was at the height of some PR in 85. Every teacher at NYU I had was talking about him (and, of course, Weill). The sounds of the alleys in Berlin pervaded in Tom Waits’ music. So, it was, in retrospect, no surprise that this album would happen.
And, that I would buy it. And listen to it over and over and over and over.
And then not again for 30 years.
We include it here, not just because of the bevy of contemporary “rock” voices involved but also because it’s a cultural zeitgeist touchstone. A lot was happening in 85, splintering galore. While a new generation was trying to gain foothold (mine) another wasn’t really letting go (rock dinosaurs). This one threw all that out the window and said, “No. Stop it. Rock isn’t just what you think it is. It’s also rooted in 1930s Germanic Expressionism.
As I’ve said before, I adore the Dadaist movement, which is part of why I loathe Cabaret Voltaire. This is Dada. Is there really anything MORE Dada than putting an album out of Kurt Weill’s music while America is puffing out it’s chest and challenging other superpowers to nuclear war?
What a time to be alive.
There’s no menace in Sting, just pretentiousness, but it’s still a great and comforting way to ease in to this record.
Stan Ridgeway was born to sing these guys.
Just how old was Marianne Faithful at the time? And did she smoke a carton of clove cigarettes before recording “Ballad of the Soldier’s Wife”? Perfection.
Is “Alabama Song” the first pairing of Richard Butler and Bob (Schoolhouse Rock) Dorough???? Also, it’s fucking bold to include it since it’s so well known via The Doors’ version and this one kicks that one in the moon.
This might the only time I’ve ever really liked Lou Reed. Now that I’ve reached September I understand that song all the more and better.
One more: Todd Rundgren has never sounded more interesting or interested as he does here. Vital and exciting.
I could go on all day long but the fact is this is stellar. Haunting. Dynamic. Odd.
It’s Bresht, not Brecccchht. FYI.
