Customer Reviews

Einzelhaft

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Johann 'Falco' Hoelzl was undoubtedly the most successful
white male rapper of the 20th century. Not bad for an Austrian
singing in a strange Anglo-German mixture, in a time when rap
was considered to be more or less ghetto music and only
a few white pop stars dared to approach this new music idiom
(BLONDIE-Rapture, CLASH-The Magnificent 7, ADAM ANT-Ant rap,
WHAM-Wham rap and CAPTAIN SENSIBLE, MODERN ROMANCE,
NINA HAGEN & others). But Falco made a big mistake:
with songs like Ganz Wien or even European smash hit
Der Kommissar he made a lot of enemies in his hometown
Vienna, people who didn't like a native son of theirs
giving worldwide the impression their city was a drug antre.
Since then Falco was never welcome at home, which I
believe was a burden to heavy for him to handle, leading
him to his tragic death back in 1998 in a mysterious car accident in the Dominican Republic where he lived
auto exiled the last years of his life.
Though non of this LP's songs were US or UK hits,
English cover version of Der Kommissar, by British
band AFTER THE FIRE, hit US #5 (& UK #47) in 1983.
Falco enjoyed the success he was seeking in 1986 when his
all time classic hit Rock Me Amadeus topped both UK & US
charts and ballad Jeanny was a smash hit all over Europe.
Falco's songs are exceptional, his interpretation unique
and beyond comparison. Rap music may owe a lot of things
to German myth KRAFTWERK for helping them in creating their
music forms, but they owe equally to this descendant of Mozart
for opening their way to the top of the charts and the Land of
Loadsamoney. Beware though: the rating refers only to
German speaking Amazon friends, though you never really know
what language that crazy son of a gun is rapping in!

"Einzelhaft" (what the LP cover indicates) or Solitary Confinment, is the end result in Falco's classic observation of anti-establishment and social disorder. From the opening track "Zuviel Hitze" (Too Much Heat) we're placed in Falco's world of deception and reckless abandonment, and it only gets worse for him in his constant attempts to snub his nose at authority. The mega-smash "Der Kommissar" (or The Commisioner, which was also covered by After The Fire) is another example of his refusing to bend to the rules and regulations of society (the classic video confirms it as well). In "Siebzehn Jahr" (Seventeen Years) Falco becomes consumed with the charms of a beautiful blonde minor which would explain the sequel of Der Kommissar on the following track. That being "Auf Der Flucht" or On The Run, is another poke at the police atmosphere that excist around his every movement. Not to be mistaken as a concept LP, but it sure would have made an interesting one as every song leads to his altimate demise, hence; Einzelhaft.

Whatever your opinions are of Falco's reckless approach concerning law and order and living on the edge. You can't deny the power and intensity of this 1982 (his first) release. Produced by long time cohort Robert Ponger, Einzelhaft is an "in your face" look at the social disorder and graphic decay of society, and the anti-establishment attitudes that excisted during the post-punk era. The David Bowie-esque "Helden Von Heute" (Heroes Of Today) is mere confirmation of this testament. If you're just discovering Falco because of the ever popular Rock Me Amadeus (which is still in rotation on VH1), his first release is a poignant place to start. With the exception of "Junge Roemer" (Young Romans) Falco would never again make such a relevant and definitive statement as he does here. As popular as "Falco 3" was, it was quite a departure from what he was really capable of. Because of the "high fashion" oriented success of his third release Falco would go on to become bogged down by the dance/hall daze assembly line of the disco-tronic 80's.

olofpalme63

Even if you do not know a word of German, you'll have a lot of fun with this cd, easily Falco's best. Being an import, it is a little pricy, but it's definitely worth every cent that you spend. The finest cd from Falco...what more can I say?

This album is a must have for Falco fans! The remastering makes the album come alive like never before and the bouns tracks are icing on the cake! Completely satisfied with the purchase!

Einzelhaft is definately the best album (next to Falco 3) of Falco. "Der Kommisar" really demonstrates what Falco is all about with his "cha cha's" and "oh oh's". Eizelhaft is probably the best song of the whole album if you enjoy songs experimenting with sounds and rythyms." Na Na Na " is an awesome song for relaxation and just simply rocking. In conclusion, this album a a lot to offer and is cheap considering how good it is.

THE FIRST AND BEST VERSION OF DER KOMISSAR REMINDS ME OF THE OLD VIDEO OF FALCONER HIMSELF BEING CHASED BY A POLICE CAR THROUGH THE STREETS OF VIENNA. GANZ WIEN IS A TRULY,TRAINSPOTTINGLY LOOK AT THE COUNTER CULTURE IN VIENNA FROM HEAVY METAL TO PUNK TO DRUGGIES TO THE RAPSTERS. THIS CD IS TRULY A CLASSIC.

By the way, the diffinitive version of "Der Kommissar is on this LP. The After The Fire version is weak and gutless by comparsion; the version here has all the euro-trashy grit of a Berlin metro in it. Very appealing. There are other rock-disco songs on this LP, as well as some different types of 80s rock. The whole LP is mainly rap-sung in German by the maestro Falco himself.

Hey, I've been listening to this for almost 30 years, obviously I am a fan. And the CD is definately a step up from my old cassette, which I have mislayed. My favorite is "Nie mehr Schule" and "Zu viel Hitze", "Der Kommissar" is over rated but virtually no English speaker will even get the reference to the television series.

for any one who has ever worked in a record shop, ya know that the first time you hear this LP, that if ya play it 'in store' it will sell & sell & sell & I did( play it ) & it did( sell quite well ). that was 1982 & it would work just as well today in late 2007. I have two copies on vinyl, one japanese pressing & one beautiful blue label telefunken austrian pressing. the austrian pressing being a teldec german direct metal mastering which was very unusual for any genre other than classical. side one is better than side two which is no surprise as that was always how it was done. side one is solid kraut-rock through & through ...great vocals & great musicians. the kind of sounds that will put a smile on your face for sure mahn : ) ya don't need to know the german language to love this one & it almost is better to not know what he is saying most of the time..so get out your jack boots & goose steps & rock out all you fuhrer cats... zeppelin_graf99@hotmail

I liked this album quite a lot.I consider it's modern music and it can be listened everywhere because you won't realize it's from the 80's; i think the best are: Granz Wien and Einzelhaft. Interesting music but not for ordinary people.