Was Ist Was Die Sterne

Tocotronic - Digital Ist Besser
EAC+LOG+CUE | FLAC: 561 MB | Full Artwork | 5% Recovery Info
Label/Cat#: Rock-O-Tronic Records # RTR. 004 | Country/Year: Germany 2007, 1995
Genre: Rock | Style: Indie Rock, German Alternative, Hamburger Schule

Tocotronic is a German rock band founded in 1993 (see 1993 in music). Similar to Blumfeld or Die Sterne they are considered a part of the Hamburger Schule (School of Hamburg) movement. They are influential for bands such as Wir sind Helden. (…) Despite never being overly commercially successful, Tocotronic have a steady fanbase in Germany and their records are regularly reviewed in mainstream newspapers and music magazines alike.

This recording of a live performance of MEISTERSINGER from Bayreuth 1957 definitely merits five stars. For those of you who don't already know this, Gustav Neidlinger (PeaceBeUponHim) was the undisputed master of Wagner's "howling-and-spitting" villain roles, Alberich and Klingsor, from the early 1950s until the mid 1970s. He sang with unmatched sulfur, cannon-ball density, huge volume, dark tone, and powerful dramatic interpretation. He sang more spontaneously and from-the-gut than most singers. He was the first of his generation to sing these roles with musical line and connected legato, rather than as a series of isolated shouts, grunts, and bellowings. He was typecast for these villainous roles as soon as he set foot on the stage, and almost never performed as a good-guy.