1982's
Odyssee is best known in the U.K. and U.S. as
Udo Lindenberg's follow-up to his collaboration with
Tom Robinson, the "Tango an Der Wand" single which picked up a little late-night airplay earlier in the year. Anybody lured into earshot by that partnership will find much here to savor, as the smoky nightclub atmospheres of that song are revisited across bizarre reinterpretations of
Benny Goodman's "Stomping at the Savoy" ("Dr Kimbel Auf Der Flucht" and "Chattanooga Choo Choo," remodeled as "Sonderzug Nach Pankow" and bolstered by a suitably locomotive-like drum machine beat and an almost comically honking sax. Elsewhere, the closing "Mein Onkel Joe" reiterates the same '30s style brass to even greater effect. But there's no avoiding the album's place in time. The title track combines a deliciously dirty guitar with an unmistakably '80s-style production that overhangs the entire record and is, perhaps, the only element that has not survived the passing of time. Classic
Lindenberg numbers abound -- the sinister rumble of "Killer Kino," the sleazy lope of "Heyooh Guru" and the uproarious "Body Building Braut." But you need to overlook a lot of unnecessary period flourishes to appreciate them for what they are. ~ Dave Thompson