Search - Xavier Naidoo :: Telegramm Fuer X

"...a man who makes music out of our dreams"

Calliope | Cambridge, MA | 02/06/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A visitor to Xavier Naidoo's website (www.xaviernaidoo.de) said, "In Mannheim there lives a man who makes music out of our dreams". This is simply the best way to describe this incredibly talented and poetic singer. Naidoo has a voice that goes straight to your soul and lyrics that make you wonder, all of it with music so effortlessly beautiful it could only be a dream; your dream.



In the 18th and 19th century the sons of Germany (or what we would think of as such today), made beautiful music for millions in their time and posterity: the short list includes giants like Beethoven, Mozart, Bach, Mahler, and Schubert. Their music, still as poetic and pulsing with life as it was when it was first heard, has unhappily been confined to inaccessible ivory towers by stiff bluebloods, creating the illusion that it is only for a 'certain kind of listener.' Poppycock! Just as those artists wrote music that could reach into the hearts and minds of their fellow men, so does this new son of Germany.



"Telegramm f?r X" is a masterpiece: a gem collection that is heartbreaking and delightful, inspiring and arresting. Intense. Urgent. Sage. Once you hear this, everything else you have ever heard sounds like child's play. Xavier Naidoo has been repeatedly described as a man of faith, and his music as an expression of that faith. Listening to him you find a man for whom faith is grounded in the ethical conviction that he IS his brother's keeper. Naidoo neither apologizes for his faith nor does he posture with it in two-dimensional iconic ritualism and dogma. For an atheist like me, his message of empathy and fraternity rings strong and true. The man is INTENSE and this intensity finds an outlet in multiple projects, including S?hne Mannheims (Sons of Mannheim) for whom he also writes and sings.



Choice tracks in "Telegramm f?r X" include the groovy "Was wir alleine nicht schaffen", an ode to the power of brotherhood; the pulsing "Du bist wie ein Segen" a song of wonder and devotion; and "Zeilen aus Gold" which will get you dancing in your chair. The only shortcoming of this CD is that it does not include the movingly honest "Abschied nehmen", released in a couple of exquisite 2-disk sets from 2001 and 2003.



I guarantee that once you have sampled a little of this music, you will want more. Luckily, Naidoo also stays busy with S?hne Mannheims. "NoiZ" is a good place to start. Here Naidoo is less introspective, but just as thunderously poignant. Take, "Babylon System" a haunting, stirring, thumping, pumping, j'accuse that takes its cue from Bob Marley's oeuvre, and jumps to the 21st century with terse rap and mellifluous choruses that ride a driving base straight into your very core. Its complement and counterpoint is "Vielleicht", a song that, once again, raises the banner of hope over hopelessness, indeed over experience (Visit iTunes to get an extra track of the unplugged version as well - you'll be glad). Also "Und wenn ein Lied" and "Wenn du schl?fst" have to be two of the most revealing songs about love. Don't take my word for it. Buy the CDs, and if you do not understand German, get someone to translate the lyrics for you. Then you'll see for yourself.



In these CDs you will get the best music in contemporary HipHop and R&B from this unexpected heir of Bob Marley, Beethoven and Mahler. Xavier Naidoo does his homeland proud, indeed he does music proud. If you cannot find a translator, don't worry. The poet's language is universal and Xavier Naidoo speaks it fluently."