t.A.T.u. "200 km/h in the Wrong Lane" 2002**

I bought this CD on a sale recently for €1, together with a bunch of albums I missed out on in the 00's. All these albums were best-sellers at the time, most of them had at least a couple of songs on heavy rotation on the radio - people were listening to the radio not so long ago, I swear! No streaming services at the time, no Spotify, and no youtube! Back then, the only way to watch your favorite videoclips again was to stake them out on MTV, and press REC on your VCR the moment they begin playing. When I saw this CD on sale, I thought it was worth picking up if only for "All The Things She Said", rightfully one of the biggest pop hits of the 00's - plus I was curious to hear how they'd approach their Smiths cover "How Soon Is Now".

Ever since The Monkeys, there have been many made-up pop groups put together by shrewd music business executives, so in this respect there's nothing special about the formation of t.A.T.u.: this Russian producer conceived of a teen girl group and started by conducting auditions for singers. Lena Katina and Julia Volkova, the two girls that won the audition were 14 and 15 years old at the time. Shapovalov (the producer) had a specific marketing strategy on his mind, which centered on provocation: He named the band t.A.T.u., telling the press that it means "Ta Lyubit Tu", or "This [girl] Loves That [girl]" trying to promote them as a "teen lesbian couple" and sexualizing their image by presenting them in short skirts and fetish-like schoolgirl uniforms, having them kiss on video clips and public appearances, and pose as if they were doing a soft porn photoshoot. This would have been controversial in any case because of the homoeroticism and (especially) their age - by the time of their international debut 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane, they were still just 17. But it wasn't only the puritans who were enraged: the fact that it was all a ruse, that the girls were neither romantically involved with each other nor gay, made many critics cry sexploitation. When I read the story it reminded me of how Hollywood producer Kim Fowley formed The Runaways in the 70's. They were also just 16 when he marketed them in a way that was too sexual for their age. But Joan Jett, Lita Ford, Cherry Currie and the rest were no mere dummies. Fowley may have masterminded the group and their public image, but he also nurtured their talent, encouraging them to play their own instruments and write their own songs. One may argue that there's a degree of sexploitation with all teenage pop stars anyway, but it's targeted at their age peers while with  t.A.T.u. one gets the impression the marketing was targeted at teen pop fans and dirty old men equally. Anyway, all these antics served their purpose of putting the band on the spotlight, but also managed to divert attention from the music. Was it really necessary? Judging from lead single "All The Things She Said", not at all: the infectious chorus, urgent tempo, and mix of alternative rock and synth pop scream "hit potential" from afar. Kudos must go to British producer Trevor Horn, who made the most of the mediocre songs and thin Lolita vocals by stressing the hooks and dressing the tunes in a modern techno/dance sound with just a hint of 80's new wave. The second big hit here is opener "Not Gonna Get Us", an upbeat number with electronic beats and alternating sweet and shrilly vocals. The girls are going for a "teen rebels" sound but on this album they sound more like spoiled brats. Their singing deficiency becomes painfully obvious in the Smiths cover "How Soon Is Now": where the lyrics cry for teenage melodrama, they are betrayed by the unemotional squeaky vocals. Another track featuring awful singing (with heavily accented English, to boot) is "Malchik Gay". "Show Me Love" fares better: the chorus mimics "All the Things She Said" with the title repetition etc, but featuring a more rhythmic electronic beat. "Clowns (Can You See Me Now?)" is in similar style, both OK for their genre. "30 Minutes" is slow and atmospheric trip-hop style, while "Stars" is interesting because of bringing together mismatched elements: its melodic pop is augmented by a folkish instrumental solo, and interrupted by some Russian-language rapping. Somehow it works. To boost the duration to CD length, the producers added Russian versions of "Not Gonna Get Us" ("Нас Не Догонят"/Nas Ne Dagoniat) and "All the Things She Said" ("Я Сошла С Ума"/Ya Shosla S Uma) as well as a couple of useless remixes of "Show Me Love" and "30 Minutes". I'm not sure whether the  two Russian songs are new recordings or they are taken from the band's debut proper 200 Po Vstrechnoy, recorded in 2000. That album got them noticed in Eastern Europe, but with international release 200 km/h in the Wrong Lane t.A.T.u. stroke gold. Whether due to Trevor Horn's excellent production work, or Shapovalov's provocative marketing antics, it sold millions of CD's abroad, becoming Russia's biggest pop export ever while the girls graduated to sex symbols - especially in Eastern Europe, where they still have fans. The rest of the world forgot about them pretty quickly: after winning 3rd place on next year's Eurovision contest they all but disappeared from view. Maybe their producers should have invested more in singing and songwriting lessons, rather than promotional tricks. So yes, this CD rightly belongs in the bargain bin where I found it - but at least, timeless single "All The Things She Said" has earned  t.A.T.u. a place in pop history.

**** for All the Things She Said

*** for Not Gonna Get Us, Show Me Love, 30 Minutes, Stars, Я Сошла С Ума, Нас Не Догонят, Show Me Love (extended)

** for How Soon Is Now?, Clowns (Can You See Me Now?), Malchik Gay, 30 Minutes (Remix)

[Mister Twister] Мистер Твистер "Мистер Твистер" 1990***

I was visiting the beautiful old town of Amersfort for work, but (of course) still found time to visit the local record shop, where I saw this at the used LP section. Immediately my absurdity alarm bell began ringing: 3 teddy boy style guys posing in front of a wall with Cyrillic graffiti? Made in The USSR? I don't have anything like that in my collection! I wonder what it sounds like... I asked to listen to it, and was convinced after listening to a few seconds of the first song: "Come On!" is a great slice of neo-rockabilly, every bit as good as The Straycats albeit sung in Russian - which makes for a surreal experience. The band do not seem so much concerned with rocking hard or replicating the fifties rock sound (which they do) they're just full of enthousiasm and fun. Their playing is good all around, but on that first listen I especially liked the sax which reminded me of Louis Jordan. On returning home, I googled them, and came across their source of inspiration: If the title Mister Twister reminds us of Chubby Checker (Is it a biiird? Noooo...Is it an aeroplaaane? Noooo...Is it a Twister?) to those growing in the Soviet Union it had a different meaning: Mister Twister was a popular satirical children's poem whose protagonist, an obnoxious and racist American millionaire, was cleverly tricked and punished for his arrogance by a Soviet hotel clerk. 
So the band name is not just American and retro, but also mocking of the communist propaganda of the older Russian generation. Starting out in 1985, Mister Twister quickly became the country's leading representatives of a youth movement called "style" (meaning retro? mod? not sure myself), which explains why their 1990 debut for the state record label Melodiya sold an estimated 1,7 million(!) copies - meaning it's not exactly a rarity. Indeed while the album rarely appears at Western record shops, it can easily be obtained on second hand vinyl from The Russian Federation and other former Soviet Republics. Whether you should get it depends on whether the idea of Russian language rockabilly appeals to you. Purely musically it's good but not exceptional: You either like rockabilly or not, and there's only so much you can do within the genre. There's a bunch of fast tunes that remind me of Gene Vincent, like "Rockabilly-Rock", "Rock-n-Roll Without Validolum", "I Often Hear The Question", and the sole cover "Shake, Rattle & Roll". These give the guitarist the chance to shine, laying those fancy licks thick on the ground. Next to the rockers there are some mid-tempo jazzy numbers ("We`ve Parted", "Blues For J.", "Fat Hands Blues", "Arbat Shuffle"), 60's pop ("By The Blue Sea") and ballads ("Tenderland", the romantic "Moscow Nights") signifying the boys have been listening to a lot of Elvis. I personally prefer the faster songs, but I have to admit that Russian as a language is a more natural fit for ballads. In any case, besides being an interesting curio, this is as good a rock'n'roll record as any made in the West during the same time period. I was quite happy to add it to my collection.

**** for Давай! (Come On!), Mы Расстались (We`ve Parted), Pокабилли-Pок (Rockabilly-Rock), Pок-н-Pолл Без Валидола (Rock-n-Roll Without Validolum), Блюз Пуxлых Pук (Fat Hands Blues), Арбатский Шаффл (Arbat Shuffle), Московские Hочи (Moscow Nights), У Cамого Cинего Mоря (By The Blue Sea)

*** for Блюз Для Ю. (Blues For J.), Рок Bокруг Дискотеки (Rock Around The Discotheque), Shake Rattle & Roll, Bечер Pок-н-Pоллa (Rock-n-Roll Party), Pок-Tерапия (Rock Therapy), Я Часто Cлышу (Bопрос) (I Often Hear The Question)

** for Cтрана Hежности (Tenderland)

Leningrad Cowboys "Go Wild" 1988-1997 (2000 comp)***

What do The Rutles, Spinal Tap, Blues Brothers and Leningrad Cowboys have in common? They were all fictional bands created for the needs of a musical comedy film, but they subsequently took on a life of their own, making records, touring the world and massing up TV appearances. Of all those bands, the Leningrad Cowboys carried the joke the furthest: They've recorded 10 albums in the space of 30 years - still going strong, 25 years after the city of Leningrad changed its name back to Saint Petersburg. Of course they never did come from Russia - they came from its icy Western neighbor, Finland. At least both countries make great vodka and, as we all know, vodka -much like rock'n'roll- connects people, enables communication beyond linguistic and political barriers and provides inspiration. Maybe it even inspired Finnish director Aki Kaurismäki to make a movie about a ridiculous-looking bunch of inept Siberian rockers seeking in the U.S. the success that eluded them at home. As stars of his movie, he chose the members of the Finnish rock band Sleepy Sleepers, who inhabited their roles so completely they transmogrified to the band they were supposed to parody. "Go Wild" is a German compilation culled from their first 4 albums, starting with the soundtrack of Leningrad Cowboys Go America (1989). A tongue-in-cheek but definitely rocking version of "Born To Be Wild" opens the CD, while we also get some more songs from the film in diverse styles: rockabilly on "That's Alright", salsa on "Desconsolado", Tex-Mex country on "Chasing The Light" and funk on "Rocky VI (Short Film)".

From their second effort We Cum from Brooklyn (1992), we get "Sally Is Something Else", "Fat Bob Dollop" and "I'm Gonna Roll", all decent punk-rockers with ska and soul touches. There are also two songs from Mongolian Barbeque (1997), a parody of the Eurythmics' "There Must Be An Angel" and a remix of their version of Lynyrd Skynyrd's "Sweet Home Alabama". Too bad they didn't include the original from 1994's Happy Together album. Recorded together with The Alexandrov Red Army Choir in what proves to be a genius pairing, that album remains their finest hour. The Cowboys never slip into sheer parody, playing solid and enthusiastic garage soul versions of classic rock hits, using the world's most impressive all-male choir as mere back-up singers. This juxtaposition provides all the comedy you'll need, but above all some of the most buoyant feel-good music you're ever going to hear. In the case of the closing "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", even a genuinely emotive, almost transcendental, moment. More songs from this album include ZZTop's "Gimme All Your Lovin'", The Beach Boys' "California Girls", Motown classic "Dancing in the Street" and Wilbert Harrison's "Let's Work Together" as re-imagined by Brian Ferry. The two unlikely partners would reprise their collaboration for live CD's "Nokia Balalaika Show" and "Live In Helsinki". The latter was filmed by Aki Kaurismäki and released on DVD as "Total Balalaika Show". It really is something else, check out the clip below for a sample...

**** for Gimme All Your Lovin', California Girls, Dancing in the Street, Fat Bob Dollop, Happy Together, Let's Work Together, Knockin' On Heaven's Door

*** for Born To Be Wild, Sally Is Something Else, Desconsolado, Chasing The Light, That's Alright, I'm Gonna Roll 

** for There Must Be An Angel, Sweet Home Alabama (Stalker Mix), Rocky VI (Short Film)