Verdammt wir leben noch

The Album "Verdammt wir leben noch" may be better than many people think, and some of the songs are really great-I think of the Hymn "Europa", "Krise"-a techno-song- or eg "Die Königin von Eschnapur". Only the two remixes at the end, also one of Club 69, aren't too good...All in all it's an amazing lp which reflects Falco's qualities in an impressing way.

Falco's second posthumous album (after the underrated "Out Of The Dark") is actually an odds-n-sods collection of cutting-room-floor material of previous recording sessions from different periods of his career, alternate takes of existing songs, and remixes, plus one truly "new" song "Krise" (the final track Falco recorded before his untimely passing). While that pedigree certainly comes across as a cynical recipe for cashing in on the memory of a fallen pop star (and one whose album sales saw a definite spike after his death-- "Out Of The Dark" was a top 3 album in several European countries, with two top-5 singles), the amazing thing is that this album works as a cohesive whole, and is one of Falco's better post "Amadeus" releases. Credit should go to Falco's production team and longtime band members who reshaped some of the raw mixes (some dating back to 1988's "Wiener Blut" sessions) into the sound Falco was then pushing into-- slightly darker, a little less overtly "pop" than his mid-1980's peak, though it should be noted that about half of this material was from the "Out Of The Dark" recording sessions, and was taken off of that album very late in the process. The song "Krise," Falco's last studio work, is notable for its indication of where he was heading. Much like his hero David Bowie, Falco was forever shifting and moving his styles, and "Krise" has Falco moving into a techno/club direction (similar to his stand-alone singles from the early 1990's "Naked" and "Mutter, Der Mann Mit Dem Koks Ist Da" that were included on "Out Of The Dark"), and away from pop entirely. Of the two remixes, one could count as filler (the title track is needlessly and only slightly recast, typical of Euro albums at this time), but the Club 69 remix of 1982's "Der Kommissar" is probably the best remix treatment of a song that has been remixed far too many times. Overall, the songs are uniformly strong, and unless these were noted in the liner notes, the listener couldn't tell that these were "castoffs"-- far from it. The final analysis is that this is well worth seeking out-- not as a curiosity or memento, but as a very good album from an artist just getting his second wind.

As has been noted in another review, there are TWO releases with this title, and it's important to get the 1999 release with the glowing blue font on the plain black background. The other release from 2008 (with gold font on a flowing navy background) is in fact a soundtrack/compilation from an Austrian biography film of the same name. I did see the movie-- not bad, actually, but the songs on THAT album are sung by the actor playing Falco, not by Falco himself!

I'm really glad I came across this album, though I'm not a huge Falco fan. I should mention I have Falco 3 on vinyl and enjoy it for what it is. I never thought Falco reached his full potential and this album is evidence of that. It's a distant departure from his earlier stuff and I somewhat wonder how much of this was actually him vs the production team. Still, it makes me wonder what could have been if he had lived longer. You can tell some heavy handed post-production tweaking went into making this album, but I actually think it's his best album yet.

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