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Eloy de Jong – Lass das Leben Musik sein

Florian Buechting Media Review No Comments

Eloy de Jong - Lass das Leben Musik sein

Eloy de Jong - Lass das Leben Musik sein
4.1

Rating

 4.1/5

Flyctory.com Pros

  • Very nice range of songs
  • Some very good and thoughtful tracks
  • Very good vocal performance

Flyctory.com Cons

  • A bit too much mainstream schlager in my point of view

From a boy group teenage idol to an established schlager artist – Eloy de Jong truly took a remarkable transformation in recent years. Lass das Leben Musik sein is already the third album, which the Dutch artist releases in German language. Release date is 16th September 2022.

 

Eloy de Jong – About The Artist

Especially in the German speaking countries, you initially link Eloy de Jong to Caught in the Act. The British-Dutch boy group has been founded in 1992. De Jong, who was born on 13th March 1973 in The Hague, was part of the band from 1992 to their break-up in 1998 and also in the reunion line up from 2015 for a few years. The band was very successful in German-speaking countries, especially as they have been boosted by presence in a popular German TV show. Eloy de Jong became a solo artist in 2004. In 2018, he released his first album in German. Kopf aus – Herz an stayed in the German charts for about a year and went platinum. In Austria, the success was similar with a golden record. The 2020 sophomore album Auf das Leben – fertig – los! was slightly less successful, but still went Top 10 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland.

 

Eloy de Jong – Lass das Leben Musik sein – Track by Track

The fifteen track album lasts 53 minutes.

1. Ich sage ja

Lass das Leben Musik sein is the first Eloy de Jong schlager album I am reviewing. Thus, listening to the album’s opener also sets some directions.His voice is definitely working well with the genre – especially as Ich sage ja (“I say yes”) is a lovely ballad and not the typical disco fox-schlager-pop mainstream. You hear that German is not his mother tongue (just to mention it once in the review – I am sure somebody will comment on it) – but I feel he is doing a very good job on the vocal side. The German version of the secret Garden song You Raise Me Up is definitely an impressive listen.

2. Lass das Leben Musik sein

Slow and emotional music – the second song of the album connects to the opener, but does not go the “posh” way of the predecessor, but rather aims to keep an intimate touch. Really nice balance between the melodic side and the beautiful lyrics.

Ich tanze die Tränen weg
Und ich geh’ meinen Weg
Ich lade das Glück ein
Lass das Leben Musik sein

(“I dance the tears away
And I go my way
I invite good luck
Let life be music”)

3. Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein (feat. Joy Fleming)

To me, the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest track Ein Lied kann eine Brücke sein sung by Joy Fleming is one of the most beautiful tracks Germany ever sent to the competition. Europe had a different view on that – the song was on one of the last spots. The original performer Joy Fleming is joining Eloy de Jong for this very pop-ish re-release song. I would have loved them to be closer to the original, the rhythm is distracting me too much. Nonetheless, there is some ESC magic on this album.

4. Nie zu spät

I struggle with the beginning of Nie zu spät for similar reasons. The song feels like an intimate track, it is telling a beautiful story. The strong rhythm is in contrast to these feelings. The chorus, which is coming with a “Never give up” message, fits much better into this rhythmic concept, though.

5. Offene Arme

Offene Arme tranlates to “Open Arms”. The song is not at all a Journey cover, but a song in which Eloy de Jong is thanking for his strong fan base in Germany – what a nice message of Dutch-German friendship (the relationship is typically defined by some sports rivalries..). The lyrics could try to become a new proposal for a German national anthem. Hartelijk dank, Eloy – welkom in Duitsland!

Ich sage danke,
Dass ich hier offene Arme fand,
Einfach danke,
Denn ich liebe Dich,
Du verdammt schönes Land.
Offene Arme, offene Herzen,
Ich bin stolz hier willkommen zu sein
Ich sag Danke
An mein zweites daheim

(“I say thank you
That I found open arms here
Simply thank you
Because I love you
You damn beautiful country
Open arms, open heart,
I am thankful to be welcome here
I say thank you
To my second home”)

6. Besser

Besser is a typical schlager track from the melodic side, but again, the lyrics tell a much more intense and beautiful story than I am typically used from this genre. A song about a farewell. Ich glaub es geht Dir besser, besser wo Du bist, da wo Du jetzt bist – “I think you feel better, better where you are, where you are now”. Nice write.

7. Wir tanzen durchs Leben

Wir tanzen durchs Leben translates to “We are dancing through life”. That’s what the song is about – love, fun, dancing. And that’s how this single release sounds like. A typical good-mood schlager track.

8. Das Lied

Eloy de Jong interprets Elton John. Das Lied is a German version of Your Song. It is always a difficult challenge if you go for amazing tracks like this one. Eloy de Jong is a great singer with very high skills. But this one is a bit too much for him – or at least for the concept of this album.

9. Wenn du nicht schlafen kannst

This section of the album is definitely made for traditional schlager listeners. The songs are soft and plushy, the rhythm is sometimes a bit too present. A touch of kitsch – I personally preferred the first part of the album, but I am sure that you could have endless discussions about this. Finally a matter of taste.

10. Liebe hat viele Gesichter

This is the last song of the album, which has already been featured as a single. I feel that the base song is not too bad – I just don’t get, why the mastering is pushing that hard to have a such a present rhythm. This kills the key strength of Eloy de Jong a bit – his amazing and fascinating voice.

11. Spiel des Lebens

“Play with me the game of life” is the key phrase of this love-schlager track. The press kit is focusing significantly less on this section of the album. This already sents a certain match. It’s a good schlager track – but it also feels very mainstream-alike and thus a bit too “ordinary”.

12. Nimm meine Hand

In Nimm meine Hand (“Take my hand”), de Jong’s vocals are back in the focus of the mastering. The song reminds me of some Caught in the Act ballads. Especially due to the way de Jong is singing in here, the kitsch-o-meter is in the dark red zone… But I am sure that this is what quite some listeners will love about it.

13. Was es heißt, zu lieben

After the song Nimm meine Hand about friendship, the thirteenth song is a ballad for Eloy’s mother and even features a potential farewell. Really nice write.

Du hast mir gezeigt was es heisst zu leben
Du hast mir gezeigt ein Mensch zu sein
Denn da an meiner Seite bist Du geblieben
Du wirst für immer, für immer
Die beste Mama sein

(“You have showed me what it means to life
You have showed me to be human
Cause you have stayed there by my side
You will be forever, forever
Be the best mother”)

14. Bis zum Himmel und weiter

Already the first moments of this song tell you: this one is back in the rhythmic schlager-pop land. Just listen and enjoy some positive feelings. Ideally move your feet to the rhythm. The song does not have the deepest lyrics of Lass das Leben Musik sein – but that’s also not its role on this album.

15. Unter die Haut

The closing track is a bit of a looking back to Eloy’s life so far, which leads to a nice finale of the album. The song itself is rather a dance track again.

 

Eloy de Jong – Lass das Leben Musik sein – Spotify

Here is the album on Spotify:

 

Eloy de Jong – Lass das Leben Musik sein – My View

I struggle a bit with Lass das Leben Musik sein. The first part of the album shows that Eloy de Jong is able to record very deep and thoughtful schlager tracks, which are modern, but not too kitschy. The longer the album lasts, the more you also receive rather stereotype and mainstream schlager tracks. I feel he still does better than many artists and I really enjoy the listen. Love is everywhere – and there is still a lot of that on this album. Good listen!

 

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