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CD Review
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The Virginia Pilot, CD Review >>
Max Raabe & Palast Orchester -
"Heute Nacht Oder Nie (Tonight or Never)"
Probably one of the most unique live recordings of 2008 has to be this two-disc set chronicling a November sold-out gig at Carnegie Hall featuring Berlin-based Max Raabe and his 12-person Palast Orchester. Raabe and his tuxedo-clad crew wonderfully inject new life and verve into the popular music that pervaded the Weimar Republic of 1920s-30s Germany.
Resembling a Thin White Duke-era David Bowie, the lean, blonde singer effectively commands the mannered crooning style of the era, chipping in everything from a lush baritone to a honeyed falsetto in the pop of the period taken from operettas, musical and film scores, cabaret, early jazz, tangos, rumbas and foxtrots.
Make no mistake, this music is no mere mimicry, novelty or museum piece. Raabe and his group lovingly - and with tongue slightly in cheek - perform with tight arrangements, first-class musicianship and plenty of swing. This Orchestrer is serious, but they sure have fun getting all you vamps and gigolos up and dancing. Ach du Lieber, diese Kätze can really schwing!
By: Eric Feber
10/31/08
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