But One Day

Ute Lemper | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (March 11, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00008J2L9
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #277,256 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

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 Without You

9. Oblivion

10. Little Face

11. Amsterdam

12. Ballad of Marie Sanders, the Jew's Whore

13. On Brecht - Epilogue

Editorial Reviews

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

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Amazing Ute, April 5, 2003

By 

Alan Caylow (USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: But One Day (Audio CD)

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. they don't write any of their own material, or play any instruments. They just sing, and that's it. You can just see them in the recording studio, and the producer says to him or her, "Just sing along to this pre-recorded track, baby, and we'll sell millions!" But I DO make exceptions for "strictly" singers who are unquestionably, without a doubt, 100% *phenomenal* at the microphone, whose passionate voices can instantly grab you & hold your attention, and who can make any song they sing completely their own. Frank Sinatra was such a singer. Tom Jones is such a singer. And, on the female side, German cabaret goddess Ute Lemper is such a singer. Ute Lemper is a magnificent, outstanding vocalist (AND stunningly gorgeous, which doesn't hurt either). Ute completely throws herself at the mike with tremendous passion, sensuality, and presence on every song she sings, quite often within the many characters of these songs. Ute Lemper doesn't just sing, she *performs*. If ever there was a woman who was born to sing, it's Ute Lemper. Her latest album, "But One Day," is quite possibly the best thing she's ever done. She serves up a marvelously sung collection of songs by Weill, Brel, Piazzolla, Heymann and Eisler, AND, in the nicest surprise of all, Lemper herself. She can now add "songwriter" to her list of talents, as she sings five songs of her own, a first for her. Ute's own compositions, including "I Surrender," and "Lena" (featuring Laurie Anderson), are excellent, emotional songs that perfectly showcase what she can do at the mike. And, as Lemper has proved many times before, she also knows how to wrap her silky voice around anything by the likes of Weill, Brel, or Piazzolla, like "Speak Low," "Buenos Aires," and "Amsterdam." The album's arrangements and production are both sparkly, and a perfect match for Lemper's commanding, sultry pipes. With her blossoming songwriting talent, "But One Day" shows tremendous growth for this already-established German diva. It's arguably her best album to date, and her most accessible. If you're interested in checking out the amazing Ute Lemper, this is a wonderful place to start.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Smoky, sultry, complicated Ute shines again, March 17, 2003

By 

Bettyboy72 "Thom" (Buffalo, New York United States) - See all my reviews

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

I have read several unflattering reviews of the import version of this CD. Reviewers described the CD as unlistenable and too avant garde. I have to disagree. I think it is a very accessible, beautiful, and haunting CD. I think that anyone who has "expectations" for a performer as fluid and as connected to humanity as Lemper are doomed to be disappointed. Lemper is a soulful, spiritual singer who needs to connect with her material and tell a story. On this new CD, she does it with grace. Ute's work will always take a few listens before you can properly engage it.After a while you really start to pick up the subtlety of the delivery and the power of her phrasing. Ute is never going to be a Linda Eder or Barbara Streisand (sorry, folks,Ute's not singing too many show tunes anymore).She is political, theatrical, a mother, a women, and her work reflects her unique experiences. Ute's "But One Day" is a great CD for relaxing or reflecting. One of the best qualities of Ute is knowing that her music evolves as she does. As people we all change over time. Why wouldn't an artist's music change over time. If you don't "get" Ute Lemper, check her out in concert, you will instantly be converted and will understand her music much better. The standouts on this CD are "September Song", "Buenos Aires", and my favorite, "The Ballad of Marie Sanders". Enjoy!!!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Main Stream Ute. Great mix of traditional and personal, September 19, 2004

By 

B. Marold "Bruce W. Marold" (Bethlehem, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: But One Day (Audio CD)

`but one day...' is a long drink of water for Ute Lemper fans. Its choice of songs is positioned almost perfectly in the middle of her defining repertoire of Kurt Weill, Jacques Brel, Steven Sondheim and classic German cabaret songs. It is neither all German / all Weill nor very edgy like her selection of songs on `Punishing Kiss' nor too conventional like the selection of songs on `Life is a Cararet' where Ms. L tries the Lisa Minelli mantle.

The selection is centered on two very classic Weill songs, `September Song' and `Speak Low', both originally written by Weill for two of his best Broadway shows. This traditional material is joined by two from Brel, `Ne me quitte pas' in French and `Amsterdam' done in French and English. From Bertolt Brecht and Hans Eisler is an obscure English / German song `Ballad of Marie Sanders, the Jew's Whore'. From Werner Heymann and Robert Ziegler we have `Living Without You' which is sung in English.

This is the first Lemper album on which I recall seeing works by Astor Piazzolla. Apparently, Ute has been doing them in concert for quite some time. The two Piazzolla selections `Buenos Aires' and `Oblivion' are sung in English. In the liner notes, Lemper says she would have really liked to sing them in Spanish but it is not a language she knows well and she felt she simply could not do the songs justice without giving a lot of time to learning the language well enough to put the right feeling into the songs. As German is her native language, which I know, I have always been impressed by the interpretation she is able to give equally to both German and English lyrics, and I can really appreciate and respect her reluctance to risk slighting the interpretation of songs in a language with which she is not comfortable. To my ear, neither of these two Piazzolla songs are true tangos, although one can sense the typical Piazzolla Euro/Argentine fatalism in both.

Finally, there are four works by Ms. L herself, all in English. From the liner notes for the album, I gather that Ms. Lemper now lives and works in New York City, as all of her material was recorded in New York with New York musicians, all in a very few sessions, and, like all of her albums, there is a great sense of uniformity in the quality of the performances. Ms. Lemper's songs are selected from a large number of her works that begin as poems. I believe these songs are not quite as soulfully memorable as the Weill, Brel, and Piazzolla classics, but they are definitely out of place, as they do not try for memorable music, but rely on heartfelt storytelling. The title song `But One Day' and `I Surrender' are straight love songs. Her children inspire `Little Face'. `Lena' is based on the mother of Ms. Lemper's Mexican publicist. While one can glide through her other three songs carried simply by the allure of the Ms. L's voice, the lyrics of `Lena' reach out and capture your attention. I simply did not have to read the lyrics of this song to catch all of the references to Holocaust and post World War II history.

I first ran across Ms. Lemper's singing when I picked up her early recordings of Kurt Weill German works, as she started as a Kurt Weill specialist who, to my ears, brought something new to the traditional Lotte Lenya gravel voiced interpretations. I have reveled in all the new material Ms. Lemper has taken on without abandoning for long her European Marlene Dietrich / Edith Piaf inspired style.

Ute Lemper fans will find more of everything we find appealing in her work. I also recommend this to anyone who likes female vocalists in general. Much more substance than the run of the mill diva and even a bit more genuine than Ms. Streisand.