Customer Reviews

P.D.Q. Bach: Liebeslieder Polkas; Twelve Quite Heavenly Songs

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There are two types of PDQ Bach recordings, grand or intimate. This recording definitely is one of his intimate works, and is one of his best. It is riotously funny in parts, a tad slow in others.

Peter really shows his comedic genius, diversity, and originality here. It is amazing how how he comes up with a different, hilarious style of music for each sign of the zodiac. He runs the gamut from love ballads to carnival music, from blatant groaner jokes to very subtle humor. Be prepared to start playing the songs and jokes over and over in your head because you can't get them out.

i just wanted to bring the average up on this, my favorite schickele album. the polkas, robust and maniacally gleeful, give some very familiar texts the best setting i've ever heard, truer to the spirit of herrick, shakespeare, and jonson than any of the wan art-songs that feyly bungle the same words. the pun-saturated zodiac demonstrates that schickele is a truly gifted writer of comic verse, at times worthy of ogden nash. the music is irreverent and silly but not egregious, so listeners narrowmindedly expecting the usual p.d.q. bach travesties may well be disappointed at the accomplished, even virtuosic writing. schickele wears the guise of his alter ego very lightly here and thus shows more of himself than we usually get to see. we should be grateful.

From ANGEL WITH A BROKEN WANG by Emil Cioran: "The North's aspiration toward a different sky has engendered German music--geometry of autumns, alcohol of concepts, metaphysical intoxication. 19th-century Italy--that bazaar of sounds--lacked the dimension of night, the art of crushing shadows to extract their essence. One must side with Brahms or with the sun."

Yeah, well--whatever, Emil. But whatever you do, don't expect much from music which is tailored to fit pre-written words. (Instead of the other way around.) Because the inevitable result is the submediocrity on display here. The only 2 things I like are CAN YOU LEND ME 20 QUID and the shoop-doo-wah coda of THE CONSTANT LOVER.