Improbabili alchimisti in grado di trasformare il camp in arte, equilibristi capaci di fluttuare su un sottilissimo filo senza cadere nel vuoto del trash e del pecoreccio; divertenti, espliciti, pacchiani e furbetti; fulgida meteora che si è consumata nel giro di pochi anni (e molte hits) in uno sfavillante turbinio di lustrini e paillettes, in tre parole gli Army Of Lovers.
Nei primi anni '90 il trend dell'Impero Galattico Musicale Mainstream era quello di lasciarsi definitivamente alle spalle il decennio precedente con tutto il suo sfarzo pacchiano; l'esplosione del fenomeno Nirvana, abilmente pilotata da MTV ne è la dimostrazione più evidente, così come la caduta in disgrazia di molti gruppi ed artisti osannati all'inverosimile fino a qualche anno prima. Non che questo sia un male, anzi, almeno fino al revival odierno questo fenomeno ha contribuito a toglierci dalle balle numerosi esempi di mondezza sonora allo stato puro (per poi sostituirli con altri di identica caratura, ma questo è un altro discorso), ma anche in piena rivoluzione c'è chi è andato controcorrente, chi ha pensato di estremizzare l'estetica kitsch degli anni '80 per un pubblico più di nicchia, ottenendo di contro un successo travolgente: gli Army Of Lovers, versione highly-very-very camp degli ABBA, coi cui condividono il passaporto svedese. Invenzione di un baffuto e parruccatissimo genio del male di nome Alexander Bard, affiancato da degni compari come la drag queen mancata (di poco) Jean-Pierre Barda e la giunonica e prorompente top-model Camilla Henemark, La Camilla per gli amici, sostituita dalla bionda Michaela Dornonville e dalla mora Dominika Peczynski per poi rientrare trionfalmente; se è vero che un buon 50% del proprio successo gli AOL lo devono alla straordinaria capacità di costruirsi una fortissima immagine fatta di travestimenti sempre più improbabili e balletti esilaranti non bisogna però dimenticare la proposta musicale, che emerge dal calderone pop-dance grazie ad alcune caratteristiche praticamente uniche nel proprio genere, sonorità che a tratti riecheggiano atmosfere gotiche e testi spesso infarciti di riferimenti biblici e religiosi, creando così un mix tra frivolezza ed allusione, sacro e profano, che spicca per originalità ed anche per qualità intrinseca.
Nel 1995, l'anno di "Les Greatest Hits" la carriera degli Army Of Lovers è già bella che finita, esplosiva e fugace come un fuoco d'artificio; con la sola eccezione di Alexander tutti gli altri componenti del gruppo sono praticamente fuori dal mondo della musica, ad eccezione di occasionali e sporadiche rimpatriate, e questa raccolta suggella definitivamente l'essenza degli Army Of Lovers; innanzitutto Alex Bard sa il fatto suo, è in grado di creare melodie simpatiche, colorate, catchy e divertenti, e lo sa fare benissimo, basti pensare ad un formidabile inno alla frivolezza come "La Plage De Saint Tropez" che, soprattutto per le armonie vocali, sembra uscito direttamente da "Arrival" degli illustri connazionali ABBA, oppure l'inedito "Give My Live" che spicca per il suo divertente sound fresco ed estivo, nei cui i video i/le Nostri/e raggiungono forse l'apice più esilarante di pacchianeria allo stato brado. Lo stile che più profondamente ha caratterizzato gli Army Of Lovers comunque è, più che la frivolezza tout-court di questi episodi, quel grandioso alone di "sacralità" che circonda un po' tutte le loro hits più celebri, a partire dai primi grandi cavalli di battaglia, "Crucified" e "Supernatural" fino all'irresistibile e contestatissima "Israelism", per la serie "certa gente l'autoironia non sa manco dove sta di casa", passando per episodi più lenti come la simil-gotica "Judgment Day", ipnotica ed accompagnata dall'ennesimo videoclip capolavoro, "My Army Of Lovers", visionario collage di immagini sensuali ben evocati dalla voce calda (in tutti i sensi) di La Camilla, che si spinge ancora più in là sul confine tra sacro e profano in "Requiem", teatrale e tenebroso inno ad una discinta e libertina Dea Madre; Camillona imperversa anche in "Everytime You Lie", accompagnata da violini tzigani campionati e ritmi latineggianti.
Ovviamente non mancano episodi più prettamente dance-oriented, soprattutto inediti come l'esaltante "Venus And Mars" e la bollente "King Midas", quest'ultima purtroppo inclusa solo nella versione UK di "Les Greatest Hits", anche qui la qualità ed il savoir faire non mancano di certo, basti pensare alle hits "Obsession" e "Sexual Revolution" senza dimenticare brani meno conosciuti come "Lit De Parade" o "Stand Up For Myself", quale insulsa starlette odierna sarebbe in grado di proporre con tale gusto sonorità di questo tipo? Kylie Minogue? Lady Gaga? Ma mi faccia piacere!
"Les Greatest Hits", la prima di una lunga serie di raccolte, sigilla idealmente tutta la breve ma folgorante carriera degli Army Of Lovers registrando per l'ennesima volta vendite record, più di quattro milioni di copie; si tratta tutto sommato di un buon prodotto, anche se alcuni gioielli come "Say Goodbye To Babylon", "Carry My Urn To Ukraine", "Mr Battyman" e "The Ballad Of Marie Curie" rimangono fatalmente tagliati fuori, ma "Les Greatest Hits" rimane comunque un gustosissimo baccanale di svago in musica in forma originale e "alternativa", lo spirito degli Army Of Lovers è sincero, genuino e purtroppo sembra impossibile da replicare, quindi meritano anche loro un posticino nel Pantheon del Pop di qualità; resta un solo interrogativo: questo progetto aveva ancora qualcosa da dire? Ci sarebbero state nuove possibili evoluzioni per gli Army Of Lovers oppure è meglio ricordarli così com'erano, astutamente scomparsi dopo aver raggiunto il massimo dello splendore?
Elenco tracce e testi
03 My Army of Lovers (03:28)
A time to live a place to go
Oh my army of lovers
Be be ay be be ay
Around the world around the world
Around the world be be ay be be ay
A time to go a time to live
A place to be a love to give
When travelling around the world
My army of lovers
Disneyworld to Yellowknife
America my way of life
Riding on a wave of love
My army of lovers
A cherry moon a night of fun
We dance into the rising sun
I lost my soul in Tokyo
My army of lovers
Around the world around the world
Around the world be be ay be be ay
St Tropez to La Defense
A perfume latin lovers' scent
A pleasure sweet my body heat
My army of lovers
My gentlemen polite and proud
From London Town I wave goodbye
The scorpio is rising high
My army of lovers
Around the world around the world
Around the world be be ay be be ay
Pour l'univers on quitte la terre
Heureux joyeux
L'amour de Dieu n'a pas de fronti�res
Pour l'arm�e qui voyage sous la lumi�re
In crystal snow my palace guard
My cosmonaut from Leningrad
Come shoot me with your laserbeam
My army of lovers
Taj Mahal I've come to rest
A royal bed a lovers' nest
Classic art we here explore
My army of lovers
Around the world around the world
Around the world be be ay be be ay
Around the world my army of lovers
Around the world be be ay be be ay
04 Ride the Bullet (03:28)
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
Get on the love train
Let's get on board tonight
Get on the love train
Let's get on board tonight
The moon is high and so am I
The moon is high and so am I
Tonite
The moon is high and so am I
The moon is high and so am I
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
Disco extravaganza
Disco extravaganza
Disco extravaganza
Disco extravaganza
Get on the love train
Let's get on board tonight
Get on the love train
Let's get on board tonight
The moon is high and so am I
The moon is high and so am I
Tonite get on board
The moon is high and so am I
The moon is high and so am I
Tonite
The moon is high and so am I
The moon is high and so am I
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet
Gonna ride the bullet oh yeah
05 Supernatural (03:57)
Light in the tunnel I find my way home
Spirits have flown
Waving goodbye to material things
From angel wings
Back to nature my return
Change of heart the skin is burned
Found a cure I'm all hooked up
Meditate on a mountain top
Born again to contemplate
Powerfield I can create
Flying high on a wave of love
Supernatural
What can I say what could I do
I'm still with you
Supernatural
Tell me you see tell when you dare
Go everywhere
Supernatural
Deep in the forest I fight to protect
Nature's respect
Over the ocean and under the sky
Learning to fly
Secrets hidden pollute your mind
Open spaces are there to find
Voices tell I stood the test
Walk transparent I'm obsessed
Make a move let your mind feel free
Stepping outside reality
Flying high on a wave of love
Supernatural
What can I say what could I do
I'm still with you
Supernatural
Tell me you see tell when you dare
Go everywhere
Supernatural
06 Crucified (03:34)
I'm crucified
Crucified like my savior
Saintlike behavior
A lifetime I prayed
I'm crucified
For the holy dimension
Godlike ascension
Heavens away
I've seen the deepest darkness
And wrestled with gods
Ride the noble harness
Raining cats and dogs
I stand before my maker
Like Moses on the hill
My Guiness record baker
I abide your will
The first of reciters
I saw eternal light
Best of vocal fighters
Beyond human sight
Where thorns are a teaser
I've played a double jeux
Yherushalaim at easter
I cry I pray mon dieu
I cry I pray mon dieu
I'm crucified
Crucified like my savior
Saintlike behavior
A lifetime I prayed
I'm crucified
For the holy dimension
Godlike ascension
Heavens away
Prophets I've been reading
Stories I've been told
Before I end my breathing
I travel in the soul
Where thorns are a teaser
I've played a double jeux
Yherushalaim at easter
I cry I pray mon dieu
I cry I pray mon dieu
I cry I pray mon dieu
Adieu mon dieu
I'm crucified
Crucified like my savior
Saintlike behavior
A lifetime I prayed
I'm crucified
For the holy dimension
Godlike ascension
Heavens away
I'm crucified
for the holy dimension
Godlike ascension
Heavens away
I'm crucified
Crucified like my savior
Saintlike behavior
A lifetime I prayed
I'm crucified
For the holy dimension
Godlike ascension
Heavens away
07 Obsession (03:42)
Obsession
Chorus:
I could wait night and day
Sigh your name when I pray
In my heart night and day
Til you come my way
I could wait night and day
Be the sky blue or gray
In my heart night and day
For your love to stay
Obsession
You got that magic in your eyes
Shining wherever you go
Through a lover's paradise
Trust every sign when I'm so
Close to where my heart belongs
Like in heaven
Chorus
Obsession
I can't help falling into a trance
Losing my senses I know
You're my hero in advance
Trust every sign when I'm so
Close to where my heart belongs
Like in heaven
Chorus
Obsession (3x)
There ain't no promises
Ain't no commitments
But how cruel can love be
How cruel to a broken heart like mine
There ain't no right
There ain't no wrong
but as long as hope survives
I'll stay alive
Chorus
08 Candyman Messiah (03:10)
Standing at the end of the rainbow
Expected a pot of gold
What's the use in money that's borrowed
Facing a blues I was never told
Cashing out I'll hit rock bottom
I've stretched the rubber beyond control
Chorus:
Candyman messiah (4*)
A lullaby on clouds of cotton
Like an aircraft a power station
I've got a payback on my investment
Gonna rule the United Nations
Cashing in on the last component
Got my string in good vibration
Chorus (4*)
Passion devotion
People in motion
Chorus (8*)
09 Judgement Day (03:58)
On judgment day
I will get back on you
Naked to the bone
You will stand alone
On judgment day
I will get my revenge
Driving you to tears
After wasted years
Without me
I can't recall the day we met
I forced it out my brain
You're locked up in your obliette
You're doomed to live in pain
We had a chance to get things right
Mistake after mistake
Where once I saw a halo bright
I sense a fur of fake
A mirror waits before the throne
The price you pay for fame
The day you face a frightening freak
The night you go insane
On judgment day
I will get back on you
Naked to the bone
You will stand alone
On judgment day
I will get my revenge
Driving you to tears
After wasted years
Without me
Your head goes well with plastic bags
Becomes you when you scream
Predictable a loser's tag
Goes perfect with your theme
We had a chance to get things right
Mistake after mistake
Where once I saw a halo bright
I sense a fur of fake
A mirror waits before the throne
The price you pay for fame
The day you face a frightening freak
The night you go insane
On judgment day
I will get back on you
Naked to the bone
You will stand alone
On judgment day
I will get my revenge
Driving you to tears
After wasted years
Without me
Shema Israel
Adonai eroheino
Adonai echad
Shema Israel
On judgment day
I will get back on you
Naked to the bone
You will stand alone
On judgment day
I will get my revenge
Driving you to tears
After wasted years
Without me
10 Everytime You Lie (03:12)
The ending of a dynasty
You turn into eternity
In love and loaded agony we dwell
As the fallen angel down below
By reasons that I'll never know
I can't believe that you were such a liar
As the world will turn
And bridges have been burned
I will arise
As you will fade away
And of the gloom
This is the doom
How could you ever dare to mess
with the temper of the Gods
Everytime you lie to me
In everything you said
Everytime you cry for me
I wish that you were dead
Steal these pearls I shed in pain
As you really let me down
You killed the dream, a dream in vain
When you tried to steal my crown
Only the Lord in heaven knows
Why you became the thief
The nights are black and cold as those
As the world will turn
And bridges have been burned
I will arise
As you will fade away
And of the gloom
This is the doom
How could you ever dare to mess
with the temper of the Gods
Everytime you lie to me
In everything you said
In everything you said
Everytime you cry for me
I wish that you were dead
Armageddon will soon be here
The sinners will meet their fate
But I am calm and without fear
As I feed upon my hate
Everytime you lie to me
In everything you said
Everytime you cry for me
I wish that you were dead
Everytime you lie to me
In everything you said
In everything you said
Everytime you cry for me
I wish that you were dead
I wish that you were dead
Everytime you lie to me
In everything you said
In everything you said
Everytime you cry for me
I wish that you were dead
11 Israelism (03:23)
Chorus (2x):
Evenu shalom alechem
Evenu shalom alechem
Evenu shalom alechem
Evenu shalom shalom
Shalom alechem
Diamond market in the ghetto
Star of David on my chest
Sex is kosher on the Sabbath
Jewish princess in my nest
Like aunt Golda high on Zion
Milk and honey are my drugs
Relic box of Einstein's hairdo
Spring prediction cloud of bugs
The heavens cry loud in the open
I hear the angels sing
Shalom b'Israel shalom b'Israel
Shalom la'olam shalom b'Israel
Chorus
Glory in the circumsicion
Oops there goes a Freudian slip
Army of Lovers on a mission
Forty years of desert trips
Drinking from a stinking fountain
The kabbala and Jezebel
Dancing hora on a mountain
Party like a bitch from hell
The heavens cry loud in the open
I hear the angels sing
Shalom b'Israel shalom b'Israel
Shalom la'olam shalom b'Israel
Chorus
The heavens cry loud in the open
I hear the angels sing
Shalom b'Israel shalom b'Israel
shalom la'olam shalom b'Israel
Chorus
Evenu shalom shalom
Shalom alechem
12 La Plage De Saint Tropez (03:31)
We drink tea for two
The sky is blue and I love you
It's in your eyes you love me too
Where it never rains
We take a shower of champagne
Let's dance away let's go insane
Crying when I empty
My last bottle of chablis
I'll survive the winter of Paris
Cars a la plage de Saint Tropez
A summer day I meet you there
I take your hand I say mon chere
And we're in love
Cars a la plage de Saint Tropez
We have a dirty love affair
And there is musique in the air
When we're in love
We drink lemonade
At the casino we get paid
Attend a midnight masquerade
Playboys on the run
We meet Khashoggi with a gun
They say the two of us are one
[chorus]
[chorus]
[chorus]
13 I Am (03:55)
I am a Liberace fan
A megastar in glam I am
I am what Bobby is to Pam
Khashoggi to Iram Iam
Looking in the mirror
The beauty that I see
It's hard to be this grand for free
Beg or steal or borrow
You'll never live to be
A charismatic star like me
God created man from dust
And man replied with sin and lust
God created man from dust
Eternal youth on solid ground
Beauty makes the world go round
Beauty makes the world go round
Amen
I am the pinnacle of man
A superselling brand I am
I am a record label scam
The biggest in Japan I am
Entering the ballrooms
The clocks come to a still
The multimillionaires I thrill
Headline of the columns
My duellantes I kill
The pantheon obeys my will
Law of nature since big bang
Cry like young Wurther sturm und drang
Law of nature since big bang
And louder than the wall of sound
Beauty makes the world go round
Beauty makes the world go round
Amen
[repeat I am a Liberace fan...]
You're so selfish
You son of a
Egomaniac
Egomaniac
Egomaniac
[repeat God created man from dust...]
[repeat I am a Liberace fan...]
[repeat I am the pinnacle of man...]
It's real it's grand I am
15 Sexual Revolution (04:00)
sexual revolution
Love is love let's come together
Love is free it lasts forever
Free is love my contribution
Hail the sexual revolution
Love is love the world united
Love is free I'm so excited
Free is love our constitution
Hail the sexual revolution
There's been a way from the start
To ease the pain in your heart
I've come to show you the way
I see the light in your eye
A sparkle from paradise
I have this message to say
I love you
The greatest love is yet to come
I love you
You gotta fight keep hanging on
I love you
Stand together black and white
Sleep united Hold on tight
Tonight
[chorus]
Reach out and touch let me heal
The way that you make me feel
We'll be together some day
Why limit love two and two
When there's the world me and you
I have this message to say
I love you
So come on baby take the chance
I love you
The time is right for dance romance
I love you
Stand together straight and gay
Sleep united night and day
Tonight
[chorus]
I love you
The greatest love is yet to come
I love you
You gotta fight keep hanging on
I love you
Stand together black and white
Sleep united Hold on tight
Tonight
[chorus]
Love is love let's come together
Love is free it lasts forever
Free is love my contribution
Hail the sexual revolution
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