Kevin Coyne And Dagmar Krause - Babble download free

Babble, Kevin Coyne’s collaboration with the German singer Dagmar Krause, is a concept album that – so I’ve read - investigates the psychoses and the relationship between the moors murderers. Although never mentioned by name, there are clues in the sleeve notes and the lyrics. Had it not been for this theme, Babble would surely have brought him commercial success as the melodies, arrangements and above all the vocals are of the most sublime quality throughout. Coyne and Krause mostly take turns to sing solo except on the duets Shaking Hands With The Sun and the closing segue of It Really Doesn’t Matter/We Know Who We Are. The art song Are You Deceiving Me? opens the work on an introspective note that turns harsh and intense halfway through as Coyne’s vocals become ever more anguished. Next, Dagmar takes up the tale on Come Down Here in an eerie blend of soprano framed by repressed shrieks, yelps and sobs. It emerges that her lover suffers from depression that drives him to demon drink. The first rock song, Dead Dying Gone, has an edgy rhythmic arrangement that accentuates the narrator’s wild mood swings from megalomania to the thanatos. One of the catchiest tracks, Stand Up, is a powerful rocker characterized by striking tempo variations, rolling piano and a pulsating beat. The vocal prowess of Ms Krause comes to the fore on the melancholically melodious Lonely Man which is dominated by her alto that occasionally soars up into the higher registers. The female narrator’s obsession with her lover’s mind gives the song an obliquely sinister undertone. And if it weren’t for the unease, I Really Love you might be considered Coyne’s most appealing mid-tempo ballad. Kevin stays on vocals for the haunting and deceptively optimistic Sun Shines Down On Me. Side Two opens with Coyne relating a chilling account of domestic violence and implied hallucinatory episodes over what sounds a little like a swinging, swaying country song. Drastic contrast follows on Dagmar Krause’s defiant rock track Sweetheart with its edgy vocals and undertone of hysteria, whilst they sing together on the lilting rocker Shaking Hands With The Sun, a demented narrative of disturbing observations on the crucifixion, Mussolini and Hitler. By now it becomes patently obvious that the two lovers have serious mental problems. Then comes the strangely tender and yearning My Mind’s Joined Forces which is beautifully sung by Krause, a compellingly tuneful ballad where the declarations of love gradually become interspersed with ominous statements like ‘They can hear the whisper now/Soon they’ll hear a scream and a shout.’ Kevin’s reply is the equally disturbing It’s My Mind where the pathology of the male lover emerges in clearer form. The obsessive focus on his mind echoes Krause’s aforementioned Lonely Man. On the pleading ballad Love Together, Dagmar’s vocals have a whispered echoing delay and towards the end her singing turns into a repetitive spoken refrain. It’s Kevin’s turn again on Happy Homes, a staccato arrangement of stabbing piano rolls that exposes the unhappy underbelly of the festive season. An expression of utter desperation, the duet It Really Doesn’t Matter: We Know Who We Are has a lovely acoustic guitar line and spooky electric piano notes like silver raindrops in the distance. Coyne’s lost masterpiece, Babble is on a par with Marjory Razorblade but musically more accessible, revealing some of his most memorable moments.