Thees Uhlmann (Deluxe Edition)

Very well done rock and roll along with good music from other genres

     

Ich spreche und verstehe nur ein bisschen Deutsch. In spite of my limited knowledge of German or, maybe, because of it, I'm a big fan of rock/alternative artists such as Kettcar, Silbermond, Luxuslärm, Tomte, and Wir Sind Helden. So, when I learned that Thees Uhlmann, a front man for Tomte, had his own album, it seemed like it was worth downloading. I was not disappointed. If anything, I find Uhlmann's solo music to be more enjoyable than that of Tomte.

For what I understand of the lyrics (mostly, through the assistance of Google translate), much of the CD is about the struggle of life. Listening to the English version of “Zum Laichen und Sterben...,” which is on the the album under the title, “To Mate and To Die....,” reinforces this assessment.

Accompanying some good old rock and roll, there are addictive piano melodies on several of the tracks, including “Zum Laichen und Sterben ziehen die Lachse den Fluss hinauf,” “Die Toten auf dem Rücksitz,” and “Römer am Ende Roms.” These accent, rather than upstage, the songs themselves, as does the incredible percussion on “Die Nacht war kurz” and “Vom Delta bis zur Quelle.”

The album certainly contains variety with “Paris im Herbst” being sort of a slow waltz. There's a French version of the same track on the CD. Also providing a break from straight rock and roll is the tune called “Hummingbird” which is all in English and rather reminds me of the kind of folk music that Jim Croce or Simon and Garfunkel might have recorded.

In summary, besides being very good music, this CD shows how incredibly talented Thees Uhlmann is: he sings in three languages, writes lyrics that are not trite, uses a variety of instruments to compliment the drums and guitars, and comes up with tunes which play over and over again in your head (which is helping me with my German).