Customer Reviews

Simple Man

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

 

 

There's plenty of variety on Nomi's second album, providing ample exposure for his impressive vocal range. Just as on his debut, the material is an interesting mix of catchy pop, like Just One Look and Falling In Love Again (sung partly in German) and classical pieces like Death, Return and From Beyond, the somber opening number. My favorite tracks include Rubberband Lazer, an addictive pop song with weird country infusions and brilliant bursts of synth, and the theatrical Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead with its singalong chorus. Klaus Nomi was part of the late 70s/early 80s synth explosion, but his embrace of classical music was unique (although OMD came close on Architecture and Morality), as were the operatic vocal styles he explored. This music remains highly original and inspiring.

Another must-get CD. The seeds in Klaus Nomi's debut album are grown in this second album "Simple Man". The most typical Nomi style "After The Fall", a combination of rock and opera, is a production after "Total Eclipse" in his debut album. "Just One Look", another "Lightning Strikes". "Falling In Love Again", a more playful version. "Death", this aria should be called "When I am laid in Earth", Nomi reached the notes heroically! After all, it's a mature of Klaus Nomi, it's more new wave than his first album. It's really a pity that Nomi can't poplarize his style before his death of AIDS in 1983.

Not everyone can hear past the campy-seeming alien persona NOMI was notorious for... to our ears, his work holds up better than most '80s offerings! We saw Klaus's 'debut' at Irving Plaza in Manhattan circa 1979, and knew a star was being born, as he transfixed the packed auditorium with his rendition of a beautiful rare operatic aria for soprano, NAILED by this ghostly Martian! & then he was signed to RCA (Europe), released 2 striking albums, but suddenly croaked from AIDS... There is a Tiny Tim/Eden Ahbez/Liberace facet to the Nomi oeuvre...but also a surprising soulfulness, artistic inventiveness, & range of material you could call daring! Thank God for the Nomi's of the Music World! RIP, Klaus! I hear a domestic compilation is at last in the works...

Now, I have listened to all of his three single albums,
and I think that this one, alias "The simple man" is the
best of these three.. Much has been said about Klaus Nomi, his life and career, so I won`t go into biographical info here.
Instead, I would more like to comment each of the songs on this cd individually:

1. "From beyond"
The album opens with this curious "song", wich is not a song in
itself, but merely a synthesized and mixed sound effect similar to this we can hear in "Nomi chant" from his first album. We can hear Nomi "howl" somewhere faraway in the background. He is accompained by the sound of wind and wolves. A ruther scary and
emotional effect-remix, to be heard with lights off in an abandoned cabin deep in the woods.. Rating: 2,5.

2. "After the fall"
Arghhhh, Nomi rocks!Again! Written by Kristian Hoffman, author of the "Total Elipse", this song has a nice tune when he sings "After the fall..etc" using his falsetto, but giving the fact that it`s too long (4`42), and too repetitive with not a very good end,
it deserves a lower rating.. Rating: 4,0.

3. "Just one look"
Oh, Beatles? Anyway, a pretty nice and romantic song, but ruther average, in my opinion. Nomi sings it totally in falsetto. The most funny thing is when he "splits" in the middle of the song and talks to himself, first in high then low voice. Rating: 3,5.

4. "Falling in love again"
Argghhhh, what`s that?? Obviously, this song lacks any kind of immaginable tune and harmony. For me, this is a 5`32m of pure noise. This song is probably the worst one in the entire album.
Rating: 0,5.

5. "Icurok"
Hehh. Cool. Nomi simulating a synthesized voice.. that goes over and over again. Looks familiar? Over 4 minutes with the same tune, switching from high to low voice periodically..ughh.
Rating: 1,5.

6. "Rubberband lazer"
A funny "spacy" tune in a rocky style - "I`ll blast you with my rubberband lazer.." Paw paw! Rating: 4,0.

7. "Wayward sisters"
Woww! That`s the way we`d like to hear him. A true Nomi style! His falsetto reaches incredible heights in this Purcell Aria, with "chest attacks" and astonishing strength - awesome, and somewhat creepy. Rating: 5,0.

8. "Ding dong - the witch is dead"
Ahhhhcool!! Another funny song that`s too cool and entertaining to be called "average". This song has some nice instrumental tunes, an background applaus and Nomis` everswitching voice from high to low, that makes you doubt wether this is the one and same person singing. The ending is also funny when he simulates a witch screaming on a firebowl, with an applauding public happy over that the evil witch is finally dead. Rating: 5,0.

9. "Three wishes"
Ah, those three wishes.. The fairy gave Nomi three wishes. What would he wish? Though this song is pretended to be serious, it`s
still funny, especially when Nomi sings in his cracked German accent, and trying to simulate a capricious soprano.
Rating: 4,5.

10. "Simple man"
Probably one of the best tunes on this album. "I`am a simple man, and I do the most simple things a simple man can do". Nowell. Finally Nomi is trying to be a simple man, and do simple things,
instead of being a space cowboy ardently blasting enemies with his "Rubberband lazer". Rating: 5,0.

11. "Death"
Death.. It`s must be said that Nomi was expecting his near end as
a result of AIDS. I think that this Aria by Purcell haven`t been chosen just like that - it was with obvious reason. Not funny at all, pretty much serious and sometimes disturbing - this Aria is defenately not the one he`d like to sing.. Anyway, Nomi goes very high in this Aria, up to G" in fact, with his "Remember me, remember me!!". However, getting somewhat noisy at times, with not a very pleasant tune, this recording gets a lower rating. Rating: 4,0.

12. "Return"
Still in shock after his "Death", Nomi ends this album with this
special gregorian-chant like song. Sung totally in falsetto with no accompainment at all, but in an acoustic space, like a huge
hall, that gives the voice a mysterious, distant, sustained and prolonged echo - this is the only song of this kind in Nomis repertoire. Rating: 5,0.

Well, that was it.

Alex.

Just look at the album cover - how could you doubt this man's genius? "Simple Man" was Klaus's second and final original album, and it's stuffed with pop, new wave and opera gems. Even though he never really managed to become mainstream (and given his totally queer persona and breadth of musical genres it's debatable he could have broken through) he left enough of an impression to intrigue (and scare) decades later. This is my favourite of his albums, mainly because it builds on the debut and is a little more generous with the number of tracks. The Japan-only remaster sounds very crisp and clear, and the bass on tracks like "After The Fall" has real heft. The mini lp sleeve, inner paper sleeve and fold-out lyric sheet are also beautifully reproduced. If you're a little adventurous in your pop tastes I couldn't recommend this more highly.

Klaus Nomi is a brilliant artist, but doesn't get his chance to truly shine in this album. When he started out, he was doing live shows performing the same songs for a number of years before settling on a record label; the songs that he's had for so long, the material for the debut, show that they've been refined over that time.

The music on Simple Man never reached that kind of maturity, and that's a major downside for this album, not to mention Klaus's talent is scattered over mindless pop tunes. Songs like 'Simple Man' and 'After The Fall' don't display Nomi's strengths in making artistic pop music, and don't forget the god-awful reggae-inspired 'Just One Look'. Some of the more serious tracks like 'Death', 'Wayward Sisters' and 'Return' take fans back to what originally caught the public's eye about him. I'm also a big fan of the song 'Ding Dong!'; it's rather annoying, but just really fun at the same time, and does still display a unique sense of the pop meets classical approach. While 'ICUROK' and 'Falling In Love Again' don't feel like classic Klaus Nomi, they're not nearly as bad as some of the others.

Overall, this album has some flaws, some great pieces, and does pick up as you listen through.

There's plenty of variety on Nomi's second album, providing ample exposure for his impressive vocal range. Just as on his debut, the material is an interesting mix of catchy pop, like Just One Look and Falling In Love Again (sung partly in German) and classical pieces like Death, Return and From Beyond, the somber opening number.

My favorite tracks include Rubberband Lazer, an addictive pop song with weird country infusions and brilliant bursts of synth, and the theatrical Ding Dong The Witch Is Dead with its catchy singalong chorus. His music has however, improved with age and sounds even better now.

Klaus Nomi was part of the late 70s/early 80s synth wave, but his embrace of classical music was unique (although OMD came close on Architecture and Morality), as were the operatic vocal styles he explored. This album remains highly original and inspiring.

Painful to listen to. I recommend it only for seriously masochistic individuals or farm animals. Probably used by the East German secret police in their heyday as a means of torturing political prisoners.