Search - Marlene Dietrich :: Falling in Love Again

Good selection of Dietrich's recordings from the 40s and 50s

pm444 | Okemos, MI USA | 08/04/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's worth it just to get "Falling in Love Again" and "Lili Marlene", but there are other good ones here too. The "Live in London" CD is the other one I'd recommend: between the two of them, all the classic Dietrich songs are there. Yes, she's an acquired taste, definitely one of a kind, and they don't make 'em like that anymore. The remastering is quite good on most tracks, and the mono sound is very atmospheric."

Good, but not the best!

pm444 | 07/20/1999

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is fun but these are old recordings so the sound quality isn't super. I recommend the Die Grossen Erfolge [IMPORT] Marlene Dietrich for the real music lover that wants the most from Marlene more."

Great start, uneven finish

David A. Bede | Singapore | 09/16/2003

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Dietrich's heavily accented vocals definitely require some getting used to, but they're also what make her performances so unique and evocative of their era. Whatever her shortcomings in English and French pronunciations, Dietrich could purr sensuous lines like "My past that makes you hate me/makes you love me too" or "I gently untie the past" like no one else, and she offers up dozens of them here. The first eleven songs on this album sound like the ultimate romantic World War II movie soundtrack, from the joyous nihilism of "The Boys in the Backroom" to more bittersweet ballads like "Illusions" and the title track, and straight up love songs like "You've Got That Look" and "Symphonie." Tucked neatly into the mix is the more subversive "Black Market," which is open to interpretation and then some, and the classic "Lili Marlene," with which Dietrich reportedly brought soldiers on both sides of the lines to tears in her USO shows during the war. The fuzzy but surprisingly consistent sound quality (the recording dates range from 1939-1957) and distinctive orchestration add to the sense of atmosphere, to the point where you can almost imagine being in the audience in a battle-scarred nightclub in wartime Berlin, with Marlene and the band on stage just a few feet away. But the collection stumbles badly with what I'm guessing were the B-sides to her two 1957 singles. The awkward rock-and-roll arrangements of "Near You" and "Kisses Sweeter Than Wine" were originally released on the same record label that gave us Pat Boone, and they sound every bit the part. (Ironically, the flip sides of those singles, "Another Spring, Another Love" and "I May Never Go Home Anymore," are terrific.) The collection recovers its footing somewhat with the two final songs from 1965. "If He Swing by the String" and "Such Trying Times" don't quite measure up to the glory of the earlier recordings, but they're a nice enough ending to the album and certainly more in keeping with its overall style.I suspect the folks at MCA were aiming for a sampler of Dietrich's singing career regardless of context and how well the songs fit together. This would be a five star collection if they had opted for consistency rather than completeness. But in the era of skip-buttons, it's still worthy."