Release Date: 26 February, 2002
Audio CD
Tracks
- Cold Song
- Can't Help Falling in Love
- Keys of Life
- Lightning Strikes
- Twist
- Nomi Song
- You Don't Own Me
- Wasting My Time
- Total Eclipse
- Samson and Delilah (Aria) [Live]
- Der Nussbaum
- From Beyond
- After the Fall
- Just One Look
- Falling in Love Again
- Icurok
- Rubberband Lazer
- Wayward Sisters
- Ding-Dong
- Simple Man
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Rating 5.0
A good introduction to Klaus Nomi Klaus Nomi was a rare and special being. He made the world a little less drab.
This CD is a strange and happy mix of songs from all sides of Nomi. This is important in understanding Nomi - a strange and happy artist. Nomi was equally comfortable in many styles and equally proficient at all of them. He was at home in pop, opera, and new wave.
He shows off his classical side in a Saint-Saens aria, Der Nussbaum, and the Cold Song, among others. He surprises with a
cover of 'Can't Help Falling in Love' that wisely resisted the temptation to go soprano.
Any collection of Nomi is incomplete without the 'Nomi Song,' 'Total Eclipse,' and 'After the Fall,' and these are here, along with the Rush-Limbaugh-Favorite 'You Don't Own Me.'
This does not have any of the 'hard-to-find' tracks, but it's an excellent introduction to Klaus Nomi.
Incidental note - liner notes are in french.
Hopefully, with the movie out, people will begin to look at Nomi again, and we may even see a revival of interest in his music.
It may be cliche, but it's true: Nomi was an artist who lived before his time.
Experience the divine!Klaus Nomi was one of the brightest stars of the New Wave era. His haunting countertenor and astounding stage image--a seductive combination of Conrad Veidt and Mickey Mouse--are still as fresh and entrancing today as they were in the early 1980s. After seeing "The Nomi Song" I went looking for a soundtrack album--there isn't one yet, but this selection is a satisfactory substitute.
Though onstage Nomi's pose was that of some sort of extraterrestrial puppet, this compilation demonstrates the marvelous depth and range of his gifts as an interpreter of popular song. So many New Wave singers were into weird vocal mannerisms and eccentric line readings to no particular purpose--with Nomi eccentricity was just a launching pad, and he takes you into his neo-Expressionist aural world with the absolute conviction of a master.
As always with a true original it's hard not to bubble over with comparisons--his soaring, off-key "Can't Help Falling In Love With You" is like an incisive retort to Sid Vicious' "My Way"; "Lightning Strikes" becomes an invitation to BDSM love by a sinister Bavarian Fred Schneider erupting into orgasmic Nina Hagenisms; his disco-Sprechstimme "Falling In Love Again" captures the heart of Weimar Berlin in a manner that knocks Dietrich and Joel Grey smack on their kiesters. And those are just the covers. His anthem of Reagan-era dread, "Total Eclipse" will stalk you like Peter Lorre the rest of your life, and that's the way it ought to be. You must become Nomi! Masterpiece of operatic rock and synth-popThis compilation contains tracks from all Nomi's solo albums plus a stunning live version of the magnificent Samson And Delilah Aria, composed by Saint Saens. The material is an interesting blend of catchy synth-pop, like Just One Look and Falling In Love Again (sung partly in German) and serious choral pieces like From Beyond. Rubberband Lazer, an addictive pop song with weird country infusions and effusive synth textures, and the theatrical Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead with its singalong chorus are amazing tracks.
Nomi's most famous tracks like Cold Song, an impressive operatic number and Total Eclipse, a magical marriage of rock and classical from the first album, still sound awesome. My only complaint is that I think the studio version of Samson And Delilah ought also to have been included. Klaus Nomi was part of the late 70s/early 80s synth explosion, but his operatic angle was unique. His music remains highly original and inspiring. The Essential Klaus Nomi is definitely the best album to investigate this obscure genius.
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