Simple Man (Klaus Nomi album)

Simple Man
Studio album by Klaus Nomi
Released	23 November 1982
Recorded	Track 4 recorded at Electric Lady Studios, New York. (No information provided for all other tracks)
Genre	New wave rock synth-pop disco classical crossover [1] [2] [3]
Length	41:02
Label	RCA
Producer	Ron Johnsen Klaus Nomi
Klaus Nomi chronology
Klaus Nomi (1981) Simple Man (1982) Encore (1983)
Singles from Simple Man
"Simple Man" Released: 1982 "Ding Dong" Released: 1982 "Just One Look" Released: 1983 (Canada) "ICUROK" Released: 1983 (Canada)

Simple Man is the second album by German countertenor Klaus Nomi, released on 23 November 1982 ^{[1] [4]} by RCA. It was also the last album of original material to be released during Nomi's lifetime.

The album consists of a mix of opera and pop music, songs by Renaissance composer John Dowland and excerpts from Baroque composer Henry Purcell's Dido and Aeneas juxtaposed with "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from The Wizard of Oz and Marlene Dietrich's "Falling in Love Again". ^[5]

Songs and musical style

Simple Man takes inspiration from a variety of musical genres. Art rock, new wave and disco are combined with Klaus Nomi's love for classical opera, and glazed up with early 1980s synth-oriented pop music. ^[1] The pop rock tracks "After the Fall" and "Simple Man" are written by Kristian Hoffman, who also contributed songs to Nomi's eponymous debut album. ^[1] Hoffman had been musical director and keyboard player in Nomi's live band prior to the recording of Nomi's first album. ^[6] However, disagreements with Nomi's management over song publishing issues had let to the band being discarded in favour of session musicians. ^[7] "They had to come back and rehire me for the second album," Hoffman said in 2019, "because they did a second album without me and the label rejected it. I'd already had those songs written for him. So it turned out to be really great because those were my favorite recordings of his." ^[8]

The rhythmically tight "ICUROK" ("I see you are OK") is synth-pop disco with shades of Kraftwerk, written by guitarist and Nomi-collaborator George Elliott. He also wrote the music for "Three Wishes", which is much closer to a new wave sound, with its slashing guitar lines and fast tempo. ^[1] It has lyrics by artist Jamie Dalglish, including a poem from his young niece Sierra. ^[9] The country-influenced disco track ^{[1] [10]} "Rubberband Lazer" features pedal steel guitar, violin and sci-fi lyrics, and is written by former Nomi-collaborators Joey Arias and Anthony Frere. ^[11] The album also contains disco and synth-pop takes on Doris Troy's 1963 R&B song "Just One Look" and "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead" from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz (here shortened to "Ding Dong"); and a post-punk-influenced, guitar-oriented version of Marlene Dietrich's Falling in Love Again, originally recorded in 1930. ^[1]

Moving into classical territory, "Wayward Sisters" and "Death" (a.k.a. "Dido's Lament"), both from the opera Dido and Aeneas by Baroque composer Henry Purcell, showcase Nomi's countertenor voice to a synthesizer arrangement by keyboard player Jack Waldman. ^{[1] [2]} Bookending the album are the tracks "From Beyond" and "Return", both based on the choral piece "If My Complaints Could Passions Move" by Renaissance composer John Dowland. The wordless melodies are delivered by Nomi to an atmospheric synthesizer backing. ^{[1] [10]}

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[10]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Sean Carruthers wrote that "while the album starts out promisingly with an atmospheric fade-in followed by a hard dance number with the occasional Birthday Party-style guitar thrown in, the rest of the album did its damnedest to move the album's overall tone to one of self-parody." As examples, he pointed out the "hyper-sugary" cover of "Just One Look", the "faux-country disco" of "Rubberband Lazer", and the version of "Ding-Dong! The Witch Is Dead". Dismissing most of the album as "kitsch", Carruthers felt that Nomi's "true capabilities are shown off by his versions of classical works." ^[10]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Publisher	Length
1.	"From Beyond" (based on "If My Complaints Could Passions Move" by John Dowland)	John Dowland	Spindizzy Music	2:51
2.	"After the Fall"	Kristian Hoffman	Adra Music/Scorpio Music	4:43
3.	"Just One Look"	Gregory Carroll, Doris Payne	Freimer Music Publishing, Inc. 1968	3:19
4.	"Falling in Love Again"	Frederick Hollander, Sammy Lerner	1930 Famous Music ASCAP	2:39
5.	"ICUROK"	George Elliott	Spindizzy Music/Strange Party Music 1982	4:24
6.	"Rubberband Lazer"	Joseph Arias, Anthony Frere	Spindizzy Music/Strange Party Music 1982	4:20

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Publisher	Length
7.	"Wayward Sisters" (from Dido and Aeneas )	Henry Purcell, Nahum Tate	Spindizzy Music	1:43
8.	"Ding Dong"	Harold Arlen, Edgar Yipsel "Yip" Harburg	Leo Feist, Inc. ASCAP	3:03
9.	"Three Wishes"	Elliott, Jamie Dalglish, Sierra	Spindizzy Music/Strange Party Music 1982	3:18
10.	"Simple Man"	Hoffman	Adra Music/Scorpio Music	4:17
11.	"Death" (from Dido and Aeneas)	Purcell, Tate	Spindizzy Music, Inc. 1982	4:18
12.	"Return" (based on "If My Complaints Could Passions Move" by John Dowland)	Dowland	Spindizzy Music, Inc. 1982	2:07

Personnel

Musicians

• Klaus Nomi – vocals, backing vocals (2-4, 8, 10), arrangement (5)
• Kristian Hoffman – keyboards (2, 8, 10), synthesizer (8), percussion (8), arrangements (2, 4, 8, 10)
• Jack Waldman – synthesizer (1, 5, 7, 8, 11, 12), percussion (1), sound effects (6, 9), arrangements (1, 7, 11, 12)
• Tommy Mandel – keyboards (3, 5), synthesizer (6, 9)
• Jon Cobert – keyboards (4)
• Man Parrish – synthesizer programming (2, 5, 6, 8, 10)
• Scott Woody – guitar (4), pedal steel guitar (6)
• George Elliott – guitar (5, 9), percussion (9), arrangements (5, 9)
• Robert Mache – guitar (2, 8, 10), bass (2)
• Jimmy Zhivago – guitar (3, 9)
• John Kay – bass (3, 5, 6, 9)
• Rick Pascual – bass (4)
• Kevin Tooley – drums (2, 6, 8, 10)
• Robert Medici – drums (3, 5, 9), backing vocals (9)
• Daniel Elfassy – drums (4), percussion (2, 8-10)
• Paul Rutner – additional drums (8)
• Steve Elson – saxophone (3)
• Michael Levine – violin (6, 9)
• Julie Burger – backing vocals (4)

Technical

• Ron Johnsen – producer, mixing
• Klaus Nomi – producer
• Carl Casella – engineer, mixing
• Paul Silvestro – assistant engineer
• Page Wood – art direction
• Randy L. Dunbar – art direction
• Maxine St. Clair – cover photograph

References

1. Vera Mella, Alfie (23 November 2017). "Klaus Nomi – Simple Man 35 Years Later". Cryptic Rock. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
2. Gilholy, Chloe. "'Simple Man' - Klaus Nomi review". Vocal Media. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
3. Pompeo, Joe (18 January 2008). "New Disc Commemorates Late New Wave Opera Star and L.E.S. Icon Klaus Nomi". Observer . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
4. "Klaus Nomi Forever - Photos from the release of the album of Klaus Nomi "Simple Man" at The Mudd Club, Nov 23, 1982!". Facebook . 25 November 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
5. McLeod, Ken (2001). "Bohemian Rhapsodies: Operatic Influences on Rock Music" (PDF). Popular Music. 20 (2). Cambridge University Press: 189–203. doi:10.1017/S0261143001001404. S2CID   162432547.
6. "After the Fall: Remembering Klaus Nomi 30 Years Later". Brightest Young Things . 6 August 2013. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
7. Spear, Chelsea (September 2020). "Klaus Nomi, Countertenor of Glam Rock". The Gay & Lesbian Review Worldwide . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
8. Chiu, David (17 June 2019). "Musical Spaceman Klaus Nomi Returns To Earth". Forbes . Retrieved 3 June 2022.
9. "Container". morphoglyph.com. Retrieved 3 June 2022.
10. Carruthers, Sean. Simple Man at AllMusic
11. Beghtol, LD (8 January 2008). "Resident Alien Klaus Nomi is Back From Outer Space—25 Years After His Death—With a Wondrous New Disc". The Village Voice . Retrieved 3 June 2022.