HAUT UND HAAR
Reviews
From rock to exotic to reflective: Hubert von Goisern's live double album Haut und Haar offers great variety. Even those who aren't keen on Hubert von Goisern should consider getting hold of Haut und Haar. Certainly, von Goisern's alpine crossover of jazz, rock, folklore, soul and world music is ultimately a matter of taste. But a well-made album is and remains a well-made album.
The live CD is the result of a two year tour by boat, which led the Austrian with young musicians and old colleagues such as Konstantin Wecker, Xavier Naidoo, Klaus Doldinger and BAP across Europe. Whether Karlsruhe or Cologne, Rotterdam, Stuttgart or Antwerp - Goisern has collected 17 titles on the double album, all reproduced by his band in the highest, almost studio-level quality, thereby giving a good overview of his diverse work.
His version of the Janis Joplin cracker Mercedes
Benz is captivating, the rocky up-tempo numbers are inspiring
and Goisern's accordion and yodel pieces are reflective, dressed up
as the world musician likes to do with African harmonies and reggae
rhythms. All this takes place at a high, virtuoso standard.
Morgenweb -
7th January 2010 - lang
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From the Alps to the Balkans and back: Hubert von Goisern's unusual
European tour as a Danube ship expedition is a real gem on two CDs among
concert albums. Goisern and his band - as international as they are multicultural
band - give themselves time with the unfolding of their music, like the
barge converted to a stage with which they sailed downstream from Linz.
Many pieces are longer than five, even longer than ten minutes. The bass
has a heavy groove, the trumpet sounds sinfully beautiful like with the Temptations.
No matter whether jazz, rock or traditional music: this band is at home
in all genres and they want the listener, as the title Haut
und Haar says: completely. Goisern demands full attention, playing
the very opposite of an arbitrary stream of music. If you miss a beat,
you're out. So: put aside an hour each for Haut,
the name of the first CD, and Haar, enjoy
the atmosphere of Regen and the yodels of Juchitzer and Schönberger. Neuer
Tag is as harmonious as it is atmospheric and Fön, Auseinandertreiben and Leben do
not relent in intensity. Hubert von Goisern has already set several milestones
on his musical journeys from Himalaya to Africa and back to the homeland;
this live album is a very special one.
AP - 6th January 2010 - Uwe Käding
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Hubert von Goisern: Haut und Haar - Live / Recordings from his S'Nix tour are to be heard on this double album. Of course the Austrian presents a number of hits from his long career here. His excellent band is perfectly attuned and serves up the repertoire at times in new variations. Even the only recently recorded material undergoes surprising transformations at his concerts, making listening all the more exciting.
It seems as though the recent years have done Hubert von Goisern well, filled as they were with his tours, during which he sailed the Danube and Rhine with a flotilla of ships and invited a number of guest musicians on board to join him. The energy of his concerts is literally palpable on the new live album. The pieces on Haut und Haar come primarily from the last album S'Nix, on which he and his band wanted to both capture and process what they had recently experienced (and which they succeeded most impressively in doing). Thus this live album also arose under the influence of the Danube-Rhine tours.
On Herschaun, a very eastern European-coloured piece, you can abandon yourself to the art of the pleasant and highly-talented Bulgarian gadulka player Darinka Tsekova, who accompanied his tour as a guest. Once you you find that Hubert von Goisern and his band are apparently masters of all styles.
Hubert von Goisern doesn't stay still - even now after such a long time
he is still developing. He has never submitted himself to the rules of
the market, but has rather gone his own way. It is no stigma that he
has also been and is commercially successful - it is much more proof
of the quality of his music.
Weltmusik-Magazin -
29th August 2009 - Norbert Jäger
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This is, so to speak, the CD of the Linz Capital of Culture year 2009,
for which Hubert von Goisern undertook an expedition by ship. Music was
played at stops along the Danube, in the best cases with freshly-made
musical friendships. Goisern practises the principle of collaboration
with Haut und Haar [ie, completely] with
reggae, brass arrangements and/or acoustic guitar. The whole thing can
be seen as motivation for interpersonal behaviour. Or simply just as
Goisern, the way he lives and breathes.
Tiroler Tageszeitung - 28th June 2009 - jel
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Hubert von Goisern is a pedigree musician par excellence, no matter
whether he is playing with a rock 'n' roll combo or traditional folk
songs from the Alps. The Hubert von Goisern of 2009 (the recordings were
made during his Linz Europe Tour 2007-2009,
which led the Goiserer up and downstream along the Danube) offers electric
guitars and drums, accordion, violins and brass, and a lot of stellar
voices. Starting with "there's not German word for showtime" the
charismatic performer delivers a deeply touching show. The double CD
with not more than 17 titles contains many quiet pieces that can be a
good ten minutes long. Simply saying "it's really good" would
be an understatement. He probably played the old pieces (Hiatamadl etc)
live, but they're all missing here. You'll need to get hold of the other
two live albums for that.
Folkworld 39/2009 - Walkin' T:-)M
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In 2008 Hubert von Goisern followed the vision of travelling through
Europe with a flotilla of ships and bringing people from different cultural
circles and generations together with music. The 17 live songs of the
resulting double CD were recorded at concert stops in Antwerp, Graz,
Innsbruck, Karlsruhe, Kempten, Koblenz, Cologne, Leipzig, Mainz, Rotterdam,
Stuttgart, Tuttlingen and Zurich.
The way that Hubert von Goisern rejects established heave-ho alpine rock
clichés and as a headstrong artist - almost like a Peter Gabriel
from the Salzkammergut - looks for his personal expression between authentic
folk music, root and harder rock and world music (recently very close:
Balkan-oriented) means that this isn't a simple lining up of earlier
merits or hits, but is a real current mood live programme.
"There's no German word for Showtime", but whether you like
him and his music or not: Hubert's a good guy, a genuine guy.
Rating: Highlight
Schallplattenmann 29th
June 2009 - bs
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You must already like him in respect of his crossovers: the bottom line is that "alpine rock" remains the best description for Hubert von Goisern's music in 2009 too - without every number being connected to dialect, accordion and rock. Quite the opposite: world music, jazz, eastern folk and dub are part of the concept as well.
This double CD forms something along the lines of the logical conclusion to a (grand) project, from which came first a studio album and now a live album: in two stages Hubert sailed from the Black Sea to Holland, taking on board young musicians with him, with whom he jammed an album.
A challenge looked for - and met in every respect it can be said. Because with the aforementioned young band such a thing can easily be fought, as the recordings from 13 different European concert venues from Antwerp to Zurich show. Timing, interplay, solos: the seven musicians (drums, bass, guitar, keyboard, two violins, percussion and backing vocals) have taken in the songs and reproduce the often extra long versions in almost studio perfection.
Von Goisern's will for further development is documented by the keyboard-backed live dub Auseindandertreiben, or the world music yodel Juchitzer. The squeezebox, yodelling and world music soundscapes harmonise exquisitely, yes almost soothe the nerves, as shown by Schönberger: every well-made piece of music has its power.
Tracks like Regen or Die
Liab in contrast do without experiments and instead offer cultivated
evening entertainment with lyrical profundity and at times a dose of
scurrility (Weltuntergang). At end you
are left with the feeling that people went home happy after these concert
nights - and that is what matters.
Laut 29th
June 2009 - Eberhard Dobler
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Standstill or development? What happens to a live repertoire when you're on tour for two years and in addition, if you're Hubert von Goisern, you choose the unusual form of transport of a ship in order to play live in the harbours of your choice. The live document Haut und Haar gives the answer.
It was a tour that went to the boundaries of feasibility just with logistics
and bureaucracy for starters. The effort and expense was rewarded. People
came in droves to the harbour concerts, Hubert von Goisern and band played
- if you take a concert from the middle, Stuttgart, as a measure - superbly,
and as is well-known, musical guests joined them at each concert (many
will be to be heard at the Linz09 harbour festival, but not on this album).
The live double CD entertains, in this case of course only being able
to share a few snapshots in time from two years and has to almost serve
as the peak of the live mountain. The songs drive a great, at times bombastic
sound, starting with the (taking a bit of getting used to) brilliant
and not very different when live Showtime.
But with the second song, Auseinandertreiben and
the following songs like Regen, Juchitzer, Herschaun to Siagst
as, Fön and Mercedes
Benz you become aware of the flexibility and live atmosphere.
The live CD could of course just as well be called "Fisch und Fleisch" (fish
and fowl), because what is brought to one's ears is completely convincing.
Just listen to Herschaun. It pulses, vibrates,
liberates and is also a persuasive argument for buying the CD. Haut
und Haar = passion cubed: passionate music, played passionately
by passionate musical ambassadors.
Music: @@@@@ Sound: @@@@@@
Kulturwoche 29th
June 2009 - Manfred Horak
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Things go fast with the Goiserer. First the Danube tour down to the
Black Sea, then came the S'nix CD as
a result of these impressions, then onward with the Rhine tour up to
Holland and now as a reminiscence final work the double CD Haut
und Haar with the high points of his most recent live appearances
between Linz and Rotterdam. The wonderful notion of travelling through
Europe with a flotilla of ships and meeting every possible artist and
culture along the way was probably the smartest idea Hubert von Goisern
ever had and has consequently let him become an icon of alpine rock,
I daresay more so than the activities with his at that time highly-regarded Alpinkatzen.
The new band, which melded together on the ship tour proves itself to
be a highly-motivated and euphoric troupe, that was ultimately the necessary
and solid foundation for great success. The 17 songs on this album are
mostly familiar old numbers, but as live versions with playing times
between 6 to 10 minutes are detailed examples of this memorable and eventful
journey, which incidentally can be followed with the help of two DVDs
too. Hubert von Goisern has a licence for international understanding
and has used it meaningfully. A nice guy, an appealing tour and - as
a final result - a powerful and rousing album. After the well-earned
peace and quiet will a new storm soon be coming?
Sound
and Image June 2009
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Hubert von Goisern lives out that of which others only dream, for example
sailing a ship downstream on the Danube to gain new impressions and friends.
His declared intention: to pass on the stimulation felt in the form of
music, to those whom he met at each stop along the way to the Black Sea.
A new form of music-making was born, namely standing on stage with musicians
from twelve European countries not just with regard to creativity, but
also to human contact. The claim for "collaboration"
is settled in an impressive manner on his live double album Haut
und Haar. "There's no German word for 'showtime'"
von Goisern declares right at the start of the first CD like a circus
ringmaster and marks out the musical obstacle course in the following
song Auseinandertreiben: word acrobatics
between profundity and games, in a musical hardness that is reminiscent
in places of Frank Zappa. He likewise enjoyed crossing hard guitar riffs
with brass arrangements, and had the ability to present these songs live
with conviction. As does Hubert von Goisern. Vital reggae beats are to
be found on Haut und Haar, just the same
as contemplative sounds from acoustic guitar, accordion, brushed drums,
violin with excellent backing vocals (Regen and Die
Liab). The song Juchitzer provides
the successful synthesis of meditative singing (it prohibits being called "yodelling",
but is still reminiscent thereof) with guitar sounds, which climb to
archaic alpine hard rock, before they once more fade away into nothing:
with Hubert von Goisern it is an original expression of wild joy for
life that runs like a thread through the whole album Haut
und Haar, a successful crossover of rock, jazz and folklore, that
is: world music in the very best sense!
Amazon.de June
2009 - Andreas Schultz
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The force with which he calls "Showtime" is captivating. Immediate.
Unexpected. The double album record on his Danube journey for the Linz09
project shows the power of the musician who has long played in his own
category and has an important - not just musical - function as a bridge-builder
and as someone who looks beyond boundaries. Superb music from a great
person.
OÖN 19th
June 2009
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Anyone who still only thinks of Hiatamadl when they hear the name Hubert von Goisern has missed something of the Austrian's repertoire. Haut und Haar, the new live album, offers the opportunity to become acquainted with the artist beyond the Alpinkatzen.
The recordings for the double CD were made during his Linz Europe Tour 2007 - 2009, which led the artist with his band from the starting point of Linz upstream and downstream with a ship on the Danube through Europe. Along the way he was accompanied by guest musicians from twelve European countries, among them Haydamaky (Ukraine) and Rambo Amadeus (Serbia), as well as the German artists Xavier Naidoo and BAP.
A unique project, which is now coming to an end in July with the Linz
Harbour Festival. Here Hubert von Goisern and nearly all his guest artists
from the tour will reunite musically once more. The CD cannot replace
the experience of a live concert with Hubert von Goisern, but it is a
great success in terms of mood-setting and as a document of the last
couple of years.
Musikmarkt 23/09 - jk