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Albums
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by Uli Grunert translation by Astrid Nolde-Gallasch The big master of timeless ballads The Chris de Burgh story / part 3 Ludwigslust. On August 30 one of the very big ones of rock and pop can be experienced in front of the fantastic backdrop of the Ludwigslust castle: Chris de Burgh presents "midsummer dreams" live with his band during the big summer festival of SVZ and Antenne Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. At the end of our little series we examine why the soft ballads of the singer enthuse 17 as well as 70 years olds. In October 1991 Chris de Burgh received the very sought-after London Award by the British copyright society ASCAP for THE LADY IN RED, one of the most played songs in United Kingdom. After earlier success in rather exotic countries like Brazil or Norway, as seen from Dublin, he advanced to a world famous artist and songwriter through the mega success of the album INTO THE LIGHT. The name Chris de Burgh now stood as a trade mark for rock ballads with lyrical depth from the North Cape to South Africa. Tougher stance irritated the fans How should the "troubadour of the rock scene" (New York Times) surpass this brilliant success? Together with famous rock session musicians like Neil Taylor (guitar) and Phil Spelding (bass) de Burgh musically formed a tougher stance during the production of his album THIS WAY UP. His lyrics were now based in the present, dealing with unfair press critics (THIS WEIGHT ON ME) and sexual dreams (BLONDE HAIR, BLUE JEANS). But the change of direction irritated the majority of his fans, also the so far well-meaning critics were disgruntled. So this was a one off excursion into other musical fields. with BEAUTIFUL DREAMS Chris de Burgh returned in 1995 to the cuddle pop, letting himself be accompanied by a big orchestra and a many voiced choir. A succesful recipe, which he copied two years later with a pure LOVE SONGS album and continued to vary eversince. The enduring public appealing swing met with approval almost everywhere, only the Americans lost interest at de Burghs newer productions. As a brilliant live entertainer who can go back to a big catalogue of highly effective ballads, Chris de Burgh can do without a big hit nowadays. No matter in which part of the world he goes on stage, there are always sparklers and lighters and it is not unusual to see 17 year olds sitting next to 70 year olds. In his best songs, like the early A SPACEMAN CAME TRAVELLING, he develops a unique fascination, which builds a harmonic base through simple, very effective, constantly repeating repitition of chords, that completes perfectly the imaginative new age lyrics. Here he tells the Christian story of Christmas from the point of view of an extraterrestrial. Music as a tight anchor in unsecure times His timeless ballads always meet the often beseeched vanishing point of emotions that in cold times tells about the candlelight in a warm home. A concert with Chris de Burgh is a tight anchor in unsecure times, heartwarming and without big surprises. But we get those served for breakfast every day and they are mostly negative. So it's a good alternative to enjoy an evening with the grandmaster of civilized ballads. |
File last modified on August 26, 2006