Malurt "Tour de Force" (1983)

Tour de Force

release date: Oct. 1983

format: cd (1998 reissue)

[album rate: 2,5 / 5] [2,68]

producer: Per Chr. Frost, Malurt

label: CMC Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "På boulevarden" - 2. "Under uret" - 4. "Luxusliner" - 8. "Flugten til Amerika"

4th and initially final album by Malurt before the band's disbandment in '84, originally released on Medley Records, following 1½ years after Black-out (Apr. 1982).

The line-up remains the same and Michael Falch and Malurt are as usual credited all songs and music respectively. Producer Per Chr. Frost (guitarist in Gnags) is credited additional guitar, just as Nils Henriksen contributed in that role on the predecessor.

Stylistically, the album presents the band with a mainstream-seeking sound that resembles that found on the '82 album only with a new slight softer tone, which in a way puts the band closer to the sound of national acts like Gnags and C.V. Jørgensen with loans and inspiration from Springsteen but also from Dire Straits.

I purchased the vinyl album when it was released, but only found it a clear further step down compared to their previous release and I ended up reselling my copy less than a decade later together with three solo albums by Michael Falch. On this, the band seems to have lost more than just vitality, as they come out as a band, who doesn't know how to add new inputs to their music and without much will to stand out. Falch appears stuck as a songwriter repeating the same stories over and over again, and Malurt clings on to its status as a Danish version of Springsteen & The E-Street Band only without the inspiration to take it any further than just that, and some songs on this most evidently reveal a natural recycling of some of their older songs.

Tour de Force had been delayed as members of the band were preoccupied playing in other projects and lead vocalist Falch had been engaged as actor in his first feature film "Isfugle" (1983) by Søren Kragh-Jakobsen. Initially, the album came out as Malurt's final studio album after which they released the 1984 live album Kys mig før jeg bliver Cool. Falch then released his self-titled solo debut in Mar. '85 while the other band members turned to other acts. However, the band had a reputation as a great live band and this led to a reformation for Roskilde Festival in 1990 with Peter Viskinde replacing Christian Arendt as lead guitarist, and with that near original line-up they followed up with a fifth studio album Spøgelser in Mar. 1992. They continued as a much asked for live act and released their second live album Uden filter (1992) and then released their so far final and sixth studio album Ghetto in 1993. From '94 and onwards the band has been 'parked' on an indefinite hiatus while Falch has continued as a solo artist.

Of the band's original four studio albums, Tour de Force stands as their least favourable release.

Not recommended.

Malurt "Black-out" (1982)

Black-out
release date: Apr. 1982
format: vinyl (MdLP 6105) / cd (1994 reissue)
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,48]
producer: Nils Henriksen
label: Medley Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Mød mig i mørket" - 2. "Lev stærkt" - 3. "Missing Link" - 4. "Tæt på" - 9. "Midnatsmanden" - 10. "Vi ses igen"

3rd studio album by Malurt following Vindueskigger (Mar. 1981) is like the predecessor with Henriksen as producer, however, the line-up has markedly changed. The band was initially a quintet and that set-up seems just right for Falch and Co. As the band was preparing the upcoming recording sessions tensions between lead-guitarist Peter Viskinde and keyboardist Henrik Littauer on one side and undisputed songwriter Michael Falch on the other side culminated in Viskinde and Littauer's abrupt farewell. A dispute that alledgedly had its origin in one about royalties. Anyway, Viskinde and Littauer left the band to form the band Doraz, and new members meant a return of guitarist Christian Arendt - he had been a founding member until of the band but left before they got around to record the debut - and keyboardist Pete Repete (aka Peter Sørensen) (of Repeat Repeat).
A first listen may seem like an unchanged style from the predecessor but there's a prevalent tone towards more mainstream-appealing tunes, i.e. full arrangements with piano / keyboards and less guitar-fused melodies. I recall purchasing this when it was released, as my first vinyl copy with the band, although, I perfectly knew and was pretty fond of both Kold krig and Vindueskigger - the latter being an immediate favourite - and I also remember how I quickly settled with a feeling that it wasn't quite up there with their first two albums. In retrospect, I find it betting the debut, though, but it's also clear that the band's second album is in a league of its own. Still, the band's popularity only grew on a national scale. Beforehand, they fought with Warm Guns in being the second-best new Danish rock act as competitors to more settled names like C.V. Jørgensen and Gnags - with Sort Sol still being an upcoming cult punk rock band - but at this point Malurt surely had a growing public on their side, and with Falch's gift as a Danish Springsteen clone, he understood to enter the stage with a rock & roll revivalist attitude.
Imo, the album may stand as their overall second-best but with songs that are more or less arranged and written with an American idol as an ever-present part of their music, it doesn't really settle as something with a strong original character. The best part is without doubt that they stick to songs with Danish lyrics, which in the end still distances their songs from their biggest inspiration.

Malurt "Vindueskigger" (1981)

L-R: Viskinde (555), Dia (777),
Mors (666), Falch (000), Littauer (333)

Vindueskigger

release date: Mar. 24, 1981

format: cd (1989 reissue) / *cd (2011 remaster)

[album rate: 4 / 5] [3,76]

producer: Nils Henriksen

label: Medley / *EMI Music - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "CPR" (org. video) - 2. "Alting ka' ske" - 3. "Superlove" (org. video) - 4. "Neonsolen" - 5. "Panik" - 6. "Tilbage til byen" - 7. "Den tid det tar" - 8. "Ligeglad" - 10. "Sidste station"

2nd studio album by Malurt following only six months after Kold krig (Sep. 1980), originally released on Medley Records is produced by Nils Henriksen from C.V. Jørgensen's band, and it's quite evident that the band has evolved considerably since the simpler debut. Michael Falch is remains the band's undisputed leader as vocalist and songwriter of all songs - with the music credited the band.

The music is still an uptempo blend of styles and it has become more evident that the Springsteen influence has a bigger part in more varied arrangements but also in the songs, where (broken) love and relationships are at the centre of attention.

Vindueskigger was perhaps my first acquaintance with the band - I listened to the debut and this around the same time - and I quickly got myself a copy of their first two albums on cassette, and Vindueskigger was and still is my all-time favourite Malurt album - and by a large margin. When comparing to Springsteen's Darkness on the Edge of Town (1978), it's clear where the inspiration lies, but it's done with respect, love and a good deal of energetic drive.

Speaking of the 2011 remaster, I must say it's far from an improvement of the original - and frankly, quite the opposite. The album contains the bonus track "Vindueskigger", which didn't figure on the original nor is part of the '89 reissue, but other than that it's not a recommended puchase. Unfortunately, it follows a trend of making 'remasters' of practically any album regardless the quality of the original sound pressing, and this one hasn't been made with an ear for compression. Jørgen Bo Behrensdorff is responsible of the remastering and that's simply a poor job done. The dynamic range is off the spectre, and it's just hard compression and loudness up with full focus on bass, which makes it sound more like a poor 1980s production in the way music was made in the mid-1980s when all releases were made with high dynamic range. In this case the original, or the 1994 reissue, with it's thinner sound, is just much better anyday.

Recommended.

Malurt "Kold krig" (1980)

Kold krig [debut]

release date: Sep. 15, 1980

format: cd (1994 reissue, MdCD 6102)

[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,38]

producer: Flemming Ostermann

label: Medley Records - nationality: Denmark

Track highlights: 1. "Kanonføde" - 3. "Stormsoldater" - 4. "Friheden Station" - 5. "Lort nok" - 8. "Sidespring" - 9. "Ocean Island"

Studio album debut by Danish quintet Malurt consisting of lead vocalist, guitarist, and songwriter Michael Ehlert Falch, lead guitarist Peter Viskinde, bassist Dia Nielsen (aka Hans Andrias Hans Mariuarson Nielsen), keyboardist Henrik Littauer, and drummer Peter Mors. The album is co-produced by Flemming Rasmussen.

Stylewise, the band plays a simple uptempo rock with many stylistic influences going from other contemporary Danish acts like Gnags, Gasolin, C.V. Jørgensen, and American artists like John Mellencamp, The Knack, and especially Bruce Springsteen, but also melodic parts from the British punk rock and new wave scene and most obviously from The Clash.

Thematically, the songs are about anti-war, generation cleft issues, and free love, which all appear as somewhat dated issues pointing back to early 70s subjects, and that is partly resonated in the music, where you also find an influence from boogie and AOR-styles with traits from J.J. Cale, Doobie Brothers and Little Feat. So, yes, it's a huge mix of styles, which both comes out as a refreshing energetic boost and at the same time a simplistic and narrow form.

I recall being very fond of this very album and had it among my favourite Danish releases from that year, but in retrospect I find that it has dated more than other fine releases from this period.

org. vinyl cover