MUSIC HALL

MARTIN HALL
CD
SEPTEMBER 2003
PANOPTIKON (OPTIK 02)

Music Hall, der bærer undertitlen “Martin Hall songs performed by starlets, divas, chanteuses and comediennes”, præsenterede ved sin udgivelse publikum for 18 nye sange og indspilninger fremført af en række af tidens bedste nye danske sangerinder (flere af dem var kandidater til Danish Music Awards samme år). Albummet indeholder også hitsinglen “She Shines”.

1. Another Heart Laid Bare (3:19)
2. The Girl with the Moon in Her Eyes (3:15)
3. Lovers in the Rain (4:26)
4. Doing The Continental (2:37)
5. Catching the Dust 2:03)
6. Documentary 1 (Mads Nørgaard) (0:34)
7. She Shines (3:51)
8. Pantomime (2:29)
9. Face Map (1:51)
10. Moody (4:27)
11. Documentary 2 (Talkshow Guest) (1:02)
12. The Stranger in Your Voice (1:08)
13. Blue Eyes Bolero (2:50)
14. Etiquette (3:13)
15. Documentary 3 (Jeff Matthews) (1:38)
16. Introducing Burning Sugar (1:19)
17. Burning Sugar (4:13)
18. Goodnight (2:23)

ANOTHER HEART LAID BARE

Another heart laid bare on the doorstep to my exile
Another pantomime to disbelieve
I see your bended head
Always humble in the daylight
Playing the servant’s role to never see

Of all the images that you left for my keeping
The one I like the most is the world outside
I never thought I would but the distance seems so perfect
I can’t deny the fact that I’m pleasantly surprised

Another victim cries
Pointing fingers at the heavens
Declaring me the crime of centuries
The traces on my skin
They keep shining in the nighttime
A fingerprint on every memory

THE GIRL WITH THE MOON IN HER EYES

Hey
See that smile
High and dry
It’s the girl with the moon in her eyes
God
What a dress
What a mess
I wish I could look something like that
Chaotic and genius

Bang
There she goes
What a show
Better hold on to all you’ve got
She’s tearing the world apart
Guys in the crowd
Hanging out
Never know what to do
It’s a zoo
Behaving like imbeciles on the loose

Whenever she’s walking down the street
She’s breaking the heart of boys she meets
You wouldn’t believe the things she’s capable of
She’s dropping a handkerchief or two
And suddenly everyone’s acute
‘Cause all of the world wanna follow her home

She’s got them all in her hand
Her song and her dance’s gonna get you
It’s such a wonderful sight
The look in her eyes is divine
You simply ain’t got a chance
It’s out of your hands, better run boy
‘Cause at the end of the night
She’s kissing goodbye with them all

Hey
Do you see what I mean?
It’s the girl with the moon in her eyes
Don’t try to fight
Walk on by
If she gets you
You’re out of your mind
And into a bag of mice

LOVERS IN THE RAIN

It’s like a merry go round
That goes up and down all the time
You’ll see a face in the crowd
Without any doubt in your mind

You just know that he’s the one
Or that she’s where you belong
In her loving arms, the only place to be

Lovers in the rain
Strangers on a train
Everything will change and stay the same
Sweet as any lover’s words
Hard as any lover’s hurt

Lovers in the rain
Lovers on their way
Lovers on a thousand midnight trains
Hidden like a memory
A little bit of history

Another Hemingway girl
Who’s turning the world for a boy
You see them hanging around
In cafés and bars all the time

When they say the magic words
It’s the sweetest sound you’ve heard
No one cares about the writing on the wall

Lovers in the rain
Strangers on a train
Everything will change and stay the same
Sweet as any lover’s words
Hard as any lover’s hurt

Lovers in the rain
Lovers on their way
Lovers on a thousand midnight trains
Hidden like a memory
A little bit of history

They never see it coming
Hurting
Falling like a little scene
They’re always high and mighty
Only into in their own little dream
But just a little make-believe
A little bit of mystery
Is all you need

DOING THE CONTINENTAL

Now really
Close doesn’t count
Not at all
It’s just your vanity making its call
You’re such a promising light
At least for a while
When I’m bored

So many little Napoleons fail
They’re never getting the point of the game
They’re trying too hard to please
It’s such a relief
When they’re gone
The laughter in the rain
We’ll take a turn again
When I’ve regained my breath

I’ve seen a lot of dead people on drugs
Hanging around in cafés like they’re not
Inhaling nicotine candy
And quoting that Andy cliché

In a world full of sad girls with great looks
I’ll be your Martini Girl
I’ll be late for a thousand appointments
But still I’m your girl
I’m flirtatious
Outrageous
Contagious
A three minute love affair
I’m so gracious
So spacious
Delicious
I’m all you can bear

So have a bite of my sweet lover’s heart
I’m irresistible right from the start
I’ll tell you when to start chewing
And when to be queuing to see me leave

CATCHING THE DUST

All of this time
Watching the lines
Slowly run out into the blue
Catching the dust
Staying untouched
Hiding the world within your hand

All of this time
Just catching the dust
Hiding the world

SHE SHINES

She shines like all tomorrow
There’s no need to beg or borrow now
She’s worth a million dollars inside
She doesn’t look like Marilyn Monroe
In that film where she’s so wonderful
She’s like a train that’s out of control

She’s feeling so good
She’s out of her mind
She’s fallen in love
She’s feeling divine
‘Cause ever since she met you
She knew that she would get you, now
You know it’s only a matter of time

Her feet on the ground
Her head in the sky
She’s having the time
The time of her life
The kisses on the mirror
Are meant to bring you nearer now
You know that it’s only a matter of time

Shining like a rainbow
Lighting up the sky
You can see her sparkling way up high now

PANTOMIME

Feeling like Berlin 1929
So many feelings all caught up inside
Falling like cities seen through lovers’ eyes
Shaking with fever as they say goodbye

Each time you look
Somebody hides
All of the world
Up in the clouds

Feeling so stupid in this pantomime
All that I need is one pair of starry eyes

MOODY

Feeling moody again
On a Sunday
Turning Monday all over again
I’m moody again
Sentimental
Never ending
I’m longing for you
Wherever you’re hiding
Still longing for you
And your silver lining

Counting the times that I’ve been here before
In need of a key as I’m closing the door
No need to find a reason
In every feeling that’s passing me by
It’s all in my mind

Feeling moody again
On a Sunday
Turning Monday all over again
I’m moody again
Sentimental
Never ending
And longing for you
Wherever you’re hiding
Still longing for you
And your silver lining

Cigarette burns on my pillow
Cigarette burns in my mind
Thin as the air that I’m breathing
Whenever you’re near

THE STRANGER IN YOUR VOICE

I always wait
For the light
For the day
When love has gone
All of the time
All of the lies
Turn inside of me

The stranger in your voice
Comes and goes
Never shows
I’m on my own
Feeling amused
Feeling accused
I’m a thousand miles away

Every tragic love affair will end itself
Always founded on a tragic lack of taste
No sweet applause
Not even a word
From the stranger in my heart

BLUE EYES BOLERO

Blue eyes, blue eyes
Blue like all of the sky
Blue eyes, blue eyes
Climb your helium high

Unbroken
Windows open
Blow you out
Climb the airwaves
On the staircase
Sliding down

Blue eyes, blue eyes
Feel the needles and pins
Blue eyes, blue eyes
Don’t know where to begin

ETIQUETTE

Five in the morning
All of the world is out of reach
Empty casinos
A city that turns within its sleep
The bed in my room looks so clean

Run out of reason
Waiting for time to make me see
A broken believer
More of the same is my retreat
I guess that it shields every need

I’m trying to rewrite a letter with feeling
But I’m out of season with etiquette
I want you know what it’s like to have been cheated
For all that I needed but didn’t get

Five in the morning
Don’t you believe a word I say
I guess that I’m asking
For somebody else to take my place

BURNING SUGAR

The carpet of stars
It shines from afar
Much further away than reason
A story that starts and ends with the heart
No words ever tell the tale

I believe in all that I see
In all that I know
In all that I feel inside me
I know that dreams will come true
If they’re burning

Burning sugar
Burns inside me
Burning sugar
Burning so sweet

A story that goes where nobody knows
I used to believe in answers
But sometimes it starts and ends with the heart
No words ever tell the tale

GOODNIGHT

Goodnight
Goodnight … sleep tight
Don’t worry ’bout a thing
The world you know and love
Will be the same again

As soon as when you wake up
It’s all right
Put on a little makeup
It looks nice
Forget a thousand feelings
From last night
And leave your troubles out

Goodnight
Goodnight … sleep tight
The morning’s coming soon
The dreams will lead you on
Like a wonderful balloon

It’s coming like a feeling
That deep sigh
Your heavy eyes are closing
It’s all right
You feel a little stardust
In your life
You’re gonna get so high

Don’t know what to believe
All the things that I see
If the clouds are for real
Or it’s all make-believe
Make a jump in the sky
Take a ride on the light
If you try suicide
You’ll only wake up

Goodnight
Goodnight … sleep tight
Don’t worry ’bout a thing
The world you know and love
Will be the same again

As soon as when you wake up
It’s all right
Put on a little makeup
It looks nice
Forget a thousand feelings
From last night
And leave your troubles out
Go leave your troubles out
Go leave your troubles out

Goodnight!

“Fine små sager – især Aud Wilken & Belgravias “Burning Sugar” falder smukt på plads. Fra det dybt teatralske til det fint afdæmpede.”
Politiken – Janus Køster Rasmussen (29. august 2003)

“Music Hall bærer undertitlen “Martin Hall Songs Performed by Starlets, Divas, Chanteuses and Comediennes” – og det er præcis, hvad det er. En lang række kvindelige stemmer, fra skuespillerinden Isa Holm over mezzosopranen Andrea Pellegrini til mere eller mindre regulære popsangerinder som Aud Wilken, Billie Koppel og Lise Westzynthius, går med åbent sind på opdagelse i Halls omfangsrige katalog. Det er ind i mellem betagende, og i hvert fald aldrig uinteressant. Hvis vi partout skal fremhæve noget, må det blive Westzynthius’ hjerteskærende “Pantomime” … Martin Hall kan og vil mere end de fleste.”
( * * * * )
Ekstra Bladet – Henrik Queitsch (31. august 2003)

“Martin Halls angreb på popmusikken har givet bl.a. Hanne Boel og Caroline Henderson sære ord på læberne. Music Hall er mere af samme slags. Udvalgte divaer synger Halls popsange, der svinger mellem æterisk kompositionsmusik og radiohits. Aud Wilken er (som altid) pladens stjerne i fire tidløse perler af typisk dramatisk Hall-snit.”
( * * * * )
Jyllands-Posten – Niels Pedersen (2. september 2003)

“Music Hall er slet ikke nogen popplade – den er som så mange Martin Hall-udgivelser før den en slags kronik i evig dialog med sig selv – forklædt som musik. Og som sådan er det absolut en af Martin Halls bedste af slagsen … overraskende varm – og forsynet med melodier, der både er runde og mulige at synge med på. Næsten som i rigtig popmusik. En både vellykket og organisk konstruktion.”
( * * * * )
DR Online – Jan Laursen (3. september 2003)

“Music Halls mange smil smitter, efterhånden som de 15 melodiske sange og tre indlagte kommentarer af bl.a. modemanden Mads Nørgaard får lov til at bundfælde sig … især (Tanja) Thulau leverer gode takter på det dæmpede og intense “Moody”, og Wilken gløder på “Burning Sugar” og Texas-klonen “She Shines”.”
Information – Rune Skyum-Nielsen (5. september 2003)

“Martin Hall må fremfor alt betegnes som en europæisk kunstner i ordets gammeldags stefan-zweigske betydning. Fællesnævneren må være, at det er galant musik, vi nu har med at gøre … Martin Hall fejrer, at også dåbsattesten er blevet voksen med cd’en Music Hall, som indeholder “Martin Hall songs performed by starlets, divas, chanteuses and comediennes”, hvilket vil sige et bredt aspekt spekter af danske sangerinder lige fra diverse rocksangere til operadivaen Andrea Pellegrini, kun afbrudt af en række dekonstruktive “documentaries” med realoptagelser. Resultatet er blevet en popplade til det midaldrende segment, der er blevet for gammelt til radikale eksperimenter, men for nysgerrigt til gentagelser og stilstand. For at sortere de umodne fra allerede ved indgangen åbnes der da også med en operaudgave af “Another Heart Laid Bare” – et af de store Martin Hall-numre, som også findes på både Random Hold og Performance – hvorefter mainstream’en kan slippes løs. Men vel at mærke “mainstream” i en større forstand med lån fra hele den populære musiktradition. Et af højdepunkterne er således Europa-nummeret “Doing the Continental” med cabaretsangerinden Isa Holm.”
Weekendavisen – Søren E. Jensen (5. september 2003)

“Eneren: Martin Hall – fascinerende som altid. Som regel er selvglæde en lidet flatterende egenskab. Men Martin Hall har så meget at have selvglæden i, at man ikke kan lade være med at tage del i tilbedelsen. Og på Music Hall viser hverken magre Martin eller selvglæden det mindste tegn på svækkelse. 15 nye og gamle kompositioner fra mesterens hånd bliver her fremført af en række charmerende piger, som Hall med vanlig pompøsitet kalder starletter, divaer og chanteuser. Bedst er Aud Wilken og Andrea Pellegrini. Men Halls geni smitter af hele vejen rundt. Og ikke én gang bliver de elegant arrangerede popsuiter mindre end fascinerende.”
( * * * * )
B.T. – Henning Høeg (6. september 2003)

“Godt håndværk fra Martin Hall: På hans nye og mest tilgængelige cd Music Hall går han på jagt efter den klassiske popsang ledsaget af en perlerække af danske sangerinder … Mette Sand Hersoug fra gruppen Moon Gringo har stort held med den veloplagte “The Girl with The Moon in Her Eyes”, der har samme insisterende up tempo-beat som som Motowns soul-hits. Men det er Aud Wilken, som lyser klarest op med sin gådefulde elegance og eftertænksomme stemme, som former en fortælling og et forløb ud af albummets bedste bud på eviggrønne popsange, “Lovers in the Rain” og “She Shines”, der promoveres aktivt af P3.”
( * * * * )
Berlingske Tidende – Per Reinholdt Nielsen (8. september 2003)

“Eurowoman anbefaler Music Hall.”
Eurowoman – Katrine Ring (15. september 2003)

“Sære sange og små chok: “The Girl With The Moon In Her Eyes” og “She Shines” med Aud Wilken er et oplagt pophit.”
Alt For Damerne (25. september 2003)

“Man ved aldrig, hvor man har multikunstneren Martin Hall. Og det skal man nok heller ikke. Hos ham forenes ferm professionalisme med et rastløst ungdomsoprør uden alder: Music Hall er et livsbekræftende album i sin spraglede, sære sammensathed – sådan som music hall nu en gang altid har behandlet kortene og genrerne. Hér er der gyngende rock-popnumre, jazzede ballader blandet med Martin Halls speciale: En sangstemme kastet ud i et sødt, sprødt akkompagnement, der lyder som en legetøjsbutik efter lukketid … Martin Hall er på én gang eneren og samtidig medlem af en social sammenhæng. Han kan ikke løbe fra sit ansvar som kunstner, selv om han tilsyneladende ofte er løbet i den modsatte retning. Men det er som om, at han med Music Hall har fundet en ny vej. Han er i mere end én forstand– og det skal opfattes positivt – trådt ind i de voksnes rækker.”
Opus – Steen Chr. Steensen (1. oktober 2003)

“Lige så produktiv Martin Hall er, lige så alsidig er Music Hall: En dansk pladeoplevelse af de mere kuriøse.”
( * * * * )
Undertoner – Martin Pedersen (5. oktober 2003)

Agnes: Vokal
Andrea Pellegrini: Vokal
Aud Wilken: Vokal
Billie Koppel: Vokal
Carsten Kronow: Tuba
Frank Hasselstrøm: Keyboards
Hans Nybo: Fagot
Henrik Marstal: Bas, cello
Iben Teilmann: Bratsch
Isa Holm: Vokal
James Crabb: Akkordeon
Jeff Matthews: Speak
Johnny Stage: Bas, guitar
Kenny Andy: Trommer
Lise Westzynthius: Vokal, flygel
Mads Nørgaard: Speak
Martin Hall: Trommer, networks, keyboards, flygel, bas, guitar, samples, kor, programmering
Mette Sand Hersoug: Vokal
Ole Hansen: Trompet, flygelhorn
Sara Wallevik: Violin
Søren Tarding: Guitar
Tanja Thulau: Vokal
The Vista Dome Ensemble: Orkester
Torben Engberg: Orgel

Design: Kenneth Schultz
Foto: Casper Sejersen

Blandt de deltagende solister finder man navne som Lise Westzynthius (nomineret som bedste kvindelige sanger ved Danish Music Awards samme år) og Mette Sand Hersoug fra det på det tidspunkt fremadstormende danske band Moon Gringo (også en Danish Music Awards 2003-kandidat). Catbird feat. Billie Koppel var endnu et navn, der var nomineret i adskillige kategorier ved samme ceremonishow, og så var der Tanja Thulau, sangerinde i gruppen Luke, der i perioden nød heftig radio-airplay med hittet “Heaven’s on Fire”.

Ud over disse yngre navne bød Music Hall også på bidrag fra Aud Wilken, den store, varme stemme fra det danske post-punkband The Poets’ (samme sangerinde gav i øvrigt Danmark sin første top 5-placering i 40 år ved det Internationale Melodi Grand Prix i 1995). Andrea Pellegrini, den klassiske mezzosopran fra Halls meget roste soundtrack Camille, medvirkede også på den nye plade, og sidst, men ikke mindst, bød albummet på en pladedebut for dansk teaters grand old lady, Isa Holm, der på det tidspunkt var 58 år gammel.

Ud over bidragene fra de kvindelige solister indeholder Music Hall ligeledes korte intervaller med kommentarer og speaks med designer og entreprenør Mads Nørgaard, der medvirker på “Documentary 1”, samt romanforfatteren Jeff Matthews, som reflekterer over charme and femininitet på “Documentary 3”.

“She Shines” blev i løbet af sommeren 2003 et stort P3-hit, men sangen blev udelukkende udgivet som promotion-single. Dette nummer er produceret af Johnny Stage, mens “Blue Eyes Bolero” er produceret af Frank Hasselstrøm og “Burning Sugar” af Thomas Li. Pladens andre indspilninger er produceret af Martin Hall.

1. Andrea Pellegrini: “Another Heart Laid Bare”
2. Mette Sand Hersoug: “The Girl with the Moon in Her Eyes”
3. Belgravia feat. Aud Wilken: “Lovers in the Rain”
4. Isa Holm: “Doing The Continental”
5. Tanja Thulau: “Catching the Dust”
6. Documentary 1: “Mads Nørgaard on Pop Music”
7. Belgravia feat. Aud Wilken: “She Shines”
8. Lise Westzynthius: “Pantomime”
9. The Vista Dome Ensemble: “Face Map”
10. Tanja Thulau: “Moody”
11. Documentary 2: “Talkshow Guest on Meeting the Maestro”
12. Andrea Pellegrini: “The Stranger in Your Voice”
13. Catbird feat. Billie Koppel: “Blue Eyes Bolero”
14. Belgravia feat. Aud Wilken: “Etiquette”
15. Documentary 3: “Jeff Matthews on Charm and Femininity”
16. Agnes: “Introducing Burning Sugar”
17. Belgravia feat. Aud Wilken: “Burning Sugar”
18. Mette Sand Hersoug: “Goodnight”