But One Day: Ute Lemper: Amazon.ca: Music

1. September Song

2. I Surrender

3. Speak Low

4. Lena

5. Ne Me Quitte Pas

6. But One Day

7. Buenos Aires

8. Living With You

9. Oblivion

10. Little Face

11. Amsterdam

12. Ballad Of Marie Sanders

13. On Brecht - Epilogue

Product Description

From Amazon.com

"The singer, not the song"--it's an adage as old as cabaret itself, yet one that seems to have generated as much stifling cliche as liberating music. German chanteuse Ute Lemper has forged a career that's willfully confounded the first at the same time it's gratifyingly taken the latter mission to heart. While this release turns from Punishing Kiss’s more contemporary Tom Waits/Elvis Costello/Nick Cave flirtations to the traditions of Lemper's beloved Weill/Brel/Piazolla repertoire, it also folds four of her own original compositions into the mix for the first time, songs that underscore her forceful voice and muse with ambitious grace. The melodic sophistication of "Lena" (the tale of her manager's Holocaust survivor mother, with guest Laurie Anderson providing subtle colorations) is the most artfully determined of the quartet, a song that seems more akin to the intensely personal prog/alterna universe of Bush and Amos than it does a smokey Berlin club. That sense of illumination is the key throughout this masterful, beautiful portfolio. Lemper's takes on Weill's "September Song" and "Speak Low" sparkle gently, while her covers of Brel's "Ne Me Quitte Pas" and Piazolla's "Buenos Aires" and "Oblivion" positively glow with determination. At once musically expansive and thematically personal, Lemper boldly challenges any number of hoary genre assumptions with what's arguably her most accomplished and satisfying album. --Jerry McCulley

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Customer Reviews

9 Reviews

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

Average Customer Review

4.7 out of 5 stars (9 customer reviews)

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Most helpful customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars "On the Weill side", Jan 10 2004

By

A. Hickman (Blagoevgrad, Bulgaria) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But One Day (Audio CD)

According to the liner notes, this album, which was recorded in New York ("where nothing is the same"), is Lemper's response to the events of September 11 (the World Trade Center is visible in one of the photographs). Perhaps that accounts for her inclusion, at the beginning, of "September Song," a song she has recorded before but which serves here as the perfect umbrella for an otherwise motley assortment of tunes, including four that are self-penned. There are no American songs, as such, although both Weill compositions were written for Broadway, but most are rendered in English, often with new lyrics, as in the Piazolla selections, by Lemper herself. I can't help wondering whether her decision to write her own material as well as to include two Jacques Brel numbers, both covered elsewhere by Scott Walker, may be the fruit of her collaboration with Walker on "Punishing Kiss," a masterpiece of its kind but not really representative of what Lemper does best. Whatever their inspiration, the four new songs are easily the freshest things on this album, and the most immediately engaging, representing a culmination in Lemper's search for material that is both pop-inflected and worthy of inclusion among her international repertoire. The Heymann/Ziegler compostion, "Living Without You," also falls into this category and would make an excellent single. The more I listen to this ablum, the more I like it, at the same time that I am impressed by its artistry. No pretension here, and that's amazing on an album that includes Lemper's own "words inspired by" Bertolt Brecht. "But One Day" is a watershed in the constantly evolving career of one of the world's most challenging and creative artists.

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5.0 out of 5 stars cabaret goddess strikes again!!!!, Sep 18 2003

By

jai (georgia, usa) - See all my reviews

This review is from: But One Day (Audio CD)

i was first introduced to the work of ute lemper as a manager in a music store in NYC. "illusions" was my first taste of that heavenly voice and since that day i have followed her career with
intense pleasure. in this age of celine dions' and sarah brightmans' it is so appealling to be in the musical prescence of what i personally consider a master of her craft.....this woman can do it all: sing (in various tongues no less!!!), act
and now with the release of "but one day" write personal, involving music that takes you to a totally new level!!! ute's
style and approach make me yearn for a seat in some dusky weimar-
era berlin cabaret drinking absinthe and watching the world pass by with all the ennui i posess.......

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3.0 out of 5 stars Challenging, Aug 4 2003

By

M. Bernstein "mjbernstein" (St. Louis, MO United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: But One Day (Audio CD)

This is a record that I bought because I was intrigued by the cover. I had no idea what I was getting. I'm a big fan of the jazz singers and standards.

Her voice is tremendous.

The songs are where the challenge lies. You've almost got to concentrate to hear what makes this music special. It doesn't just grab you, like for instance Frank singing "Fly Me to the Moon".

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Most recent customer reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars haunting and beautiful with an edge
My first exposure to Ute Lemper was the overly strong Punishing Kiss which blew me away. It's hard to find artists these days who are different from the mainstream. Read more

Published on May 7 2003 by tompan

5.0 out of 5 stars The Amazing Ute
In the world of singers, there are some singers who can do it all: sing, write, and play instruments. Then there are the singers who *strictly* sing, i.e. Read more

Published on April 5 2003 by Alan Caylow