Amazon.co.uk Review
Despite her roles in mainstream musicals like
Cats and
Chicago, Ute Lemper has never been a typical Broadway baby. Her long association with the works of Brecht and Weill, and her one-woman shows based on the repertoires of Piaf and Dietrich, have always marked her as a maverick in a world over-populated by bland belters and cute ingénues. Her distinctive voice isn't an instrument for easy listening. At full tilt it's dangerous and edgy. In subdued mode, it's dark, ironic and despairing. The cruelty that runs through many of her interpretations is taken on the chin. She deals in defiance rather than submission. With just one Weill song ("Tango Ballad") and a host of contributions from Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Philip Glass and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon,
Punishing Kiss is a modern, bleak look at love in the 21st century. At times the tone is murderous, even apocalyptic ("The Case Continues"). The duet "Split", sung with Hannon, is a grimly humorous riot of punches and counter-punches in a disintegrating relationship. There's also fleeting, poignant beauty in tracks like Waits's "Purple Avenue".
Punishing Kiss is essential listening for anyone who likes their torch songs blood-stained, not just dampened by a few tears. --
Piers Ford
CD Description
Ute Lemper's first pop album finds the German-born actress and cabaret performer seeking assistance from some impressive kindred spirits. Her remarkable voice-imagine a post--punkMarlene Dietrich, or Nico with chops--perfectly suits thesesongs by folks like Elvis Costello (the outstanding title track), Tom Waits, Scott Walker (whose "Scope J" is his best song in decades), Philip Glass, Nick Cave and The Divine Comedy's Neil Hannon, who duets with Lemper on his own "Split" and a harsh reading of "Tango Ballad" from THE THREEPENNY OPERA. Hannon's other two songs, "The Case Continues" and "YouWere Meant For Me", are among the album's highest points, suggesting that Hannon's arch tunes are best heard when he's not singing them himself. A chilly, sometimes difficult album, PUNISHING KISS also has more than a few moments of genuine beauty and empathy.
