MAX RAABE Around The World (La La La)


Lady Marmalade-Much better than the original. Christina-who? Patti LaWhat?
Around The World (La La La)-The best version of the song....
Blue (Da Ba Dee)-A cover of the Italian Eiffel 65 but such is the brilliance of the Max Raabe you start to imagine its the German version that's the original...
Oops I Did It Again-This takes you to the Weimer Republic instead of bald Britneys. Suddenly it becomes a Kurt Weill lost gem. Wait till the end!

Max Raabe is the kind of act that DontStopthePop had always intended to feature but never got round to it. In fact, Max Raabe is a perfect DSTP sort of act and it should shock no one that he's German. A few years ago my boyfriend (from central west Germany!), brought home one of his Cd's and informed my naive brain that it was the best thing since buttered bread. And Max Raabe really is.

While the UK tends to look down on quality pop songs, Max Raabe re-invigorates them with the just fruits they deserve. Classics like ATC's Around The World and Britney's Oops I Did It Again are analysed and mixed with tools that scream 1920's rather than Almighty/Metro. Indeed, Britney's Lucky is remixed and utterly improved into a ode that Edith Piaf might have performed when she was still kicking her little feet.

You might think that this is merely an extended novetly-gag. But the sheer brilliance of the production of, for example, Around The World (La La La) exposes something that the original(s) could have never ever realised. Why? Because Max Raabe knows pop and pays its respect by, and I quote himself here, understanding the "music is the key". This doesn't just re-morph the original song, but collapses time, post-modern pop culture and the Weimer Republic. His takes on Blue (Da Ba Dee), Let's Talk About Sex and Lady Marmalade are comic to be true! But they also contain an absolute musical quality, a sense of macabre and lots of blushing winks. All of which makes his covers absolutely beautiful...

Max Raabe is a revelation.....
Buy his a music on Amazon.de
See his official website here

1 comment:

Paul said...

haha, he's rather ace actually isn't he?! I was expecting my ears to bleed but no!