3 years ago
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Posted On: March 19th 2024, 07:07 pm
Falco, Einzelhaft, A&M Records, 1982.
Einzelhaft means “Solitary” in English, which is an interesting title to me as while I was reading up on Johann Hölzel, aka Falco, he was the only surviving triplet - his mother miscarried the twins he shared the womb with. Wonder if some part of him felt this was the right title for his first album... moving on...
Likely Austria’s most successful pop star (thanks to his megahit “Rock Me Amadeus” in 1986), this is Falco’s debut album. I may have no idea what most of the songs are about - in fact the second track I would consider a bop (“Ganz Wien”) I discovered had lyrics about all of Vienna being on heroin. It is a lot of fun, I hear both pop and early techno folded into the tracks. Outside of the big hit we’ll talk about next, I really enjoyed “Helden von heute” and the title track “Einzelhaft” (talk about sick beats - second video here is the intro).
The largest hit from this album is “ Der Kommissoner.” It was actually the B-Side to “Helden von heute.” His production team decided the B-Side should be the lead single, despite Falco’s concerns it wouldn’t land since the track was in German, and about drugs. It went on to become a number one hit in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan. The version of this track many of us know in the US is actually a cover by a British Rock band, After the Fire. I picture my friend, Mike, in college rocking hard to the breakdown at the end of the song. Ja! Ja!
Einzelhaft means “Solitary” in English, which is an interesting title to me as while I was reading up on Johann Hölzel, aka Falco, he was the only surviving triplet - his mother miscarried the twins he shared the womb with. Wonder if some part of him felt this was the right title for his first album... moving on...
Likely Austria’s most successful pop star (thanks to his megahit “Rock Me Amadeus” in 1986), this is Falco’s debut album. I may have no idea what most of the songs are about - in fact the second track I would consider a bop (“Ganz Wien”) I discovered had lyrics about all of Vienna being on heroin. It is a lot of fun, I hear both pop and early techno folded into the tracks. Outside of the big hit we’ll talk about next, I really enjoyed “Helden von heute” and the title track “Einzelhaft” (talk about sick beats - second video here is the intro).
The largest hit from this album is “ Der Kommissoner.” It was actually the B-Side to “Helden von heute.” His production team decided the B-Side should be the lead single, despite Falco’s concerns it wouldn’t land since the track was in German, and about drugs. It went on to become a number one hit in France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Japan. The version of this track many of us know in the US is actually a cover by a British Rock band, After the Fire. I picture my friend, Mike, in college rocking hard to the breakdown at the end of the song. Ja! Ja!
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