German glamour queen Hildegard Knef is one of those European household names that inspires reverence and adulation at home but seems hopelessly corny to American ears. Knef was always more of an actress than a chanteuse, and most of her early 60's recordings are rather tedious exercises in Europop. Yet here we have one of those late 60's oddball one-offs that flourished in Europe under the influence of Burt Bacharach and his lush pop orchestration. Naturally, Knef is pretty damn corny, and Hildegard's supremely Teutonic intonation might alienate most American listeners. But for those open to a little bit of continental kitsch, Knef might provide the perfect tonic for ears tired from "serious" German music. Hildegard could easily pass for one of Serge Gainsbourg's yé-yé protégés (think France Gall, Anna Karina, especially Brigitte Bardot), with baroque-psych-funk jams such as "Wieviel Menschen waren glücklich, dass du gelebt", melodramatic classical-inspired arias like "Friedenskampf und Schadenfreude", and tender acoustic ballads like the elegaic closer, "Eisblumen".
