 Klaus Nomi Seven minutes of recently unearthed Klaus Nomi from the rehearsal/recording sessions that would have been for his third album, Za Bak Daz is a treat for any fans of Nomi that was made available by Nomi band-member George Elliot on his Heliocentric label. The CD contains two tracks, "Za Bak Daz" and "Silent Night," the latter of which received a bit of circulation among Nomi's circle around Christmas 1980 (neither track has heretofore been released). And while seven minutes of "new" music from Klaus Nomi is not bound to drive the masses insane with excitement, for devotees of Nomi it is very worthwhile. "Za Bak Daz" is a spooky number that sounds sort of like a cross between the "Star Trek" theme and "Black Hole Sun" by Soundgarden, featuring several overdubbed Nomi's on a wordless vocal a la Elisabeth Fraser of the Cocteau Twins. In fact, it doesn't sound too far from mid-80s Cocteau stuff now that I think of it, but with more yelping. Probably wouldn't have been the lead-off single for the album, but would have made a nice album track. "Silent Night" is a great calypso-by-way-or-rockabilly take on the Christmas chestnut, with Nomi singing in German and English, backed by guitar, mandolin, bass, and drums (most of these played by Elliot). It clocks in at 1:43 and will be a must-have for any truly cool Christmas celebration. The sound on these tracks is good considering they were mastered from a nearly 20-year-old cassette, and while this isn't for everybody, it is still nice to have Nomi's legacy being actively preserved and promoted. I'd rate this higher if it were longer (even a They Might Be Giants EP takes more time to listen to), but sadly Nomi's early death prevented further undiscovered gems from even being created. Very cool to see these dug up, though! It's like Nomi is singing from beyond the grave, which, incidentally, is how he always sounded.
Review by Todd Plasma |