Oh God, what is this? Talk about confusion in the ranks. This album, “I Am Peaceman”, by Sir Ivan – banker turned singer, peace activist, and television celebrity apparently – is something of a concept album and it is in a good cause too. It just doesn’t make sense though.
Taking a bunch of sixties and seventies covers (“In The Year 2525”, “Eve of Destruction” and “Happy Together”, for example) and reinventing – if that is the word – them as an experiment – again if that is the word – in eighties Germany über alles assault on the dance floors of Marbella is either inspired or sheer madness. All subtlety is lost as the relentless country invading beat crushes your skull. Oh, did I mention that John Lennon’s “Imagine” gets converted into a steamroller somewhere along the line and Dylan’s “Blowin’ In The Wind” gets forcibly put on a course of Eastern European steroids.
I’m lost now. I can’t even think of how to meaningfully rate an album like this. In fact, I can barely think at all now. As my head gets pounded at 145bpm, “I Am The Peaceman” starts to develop a kind of car crash fascination for me and makes me want to do drugs.
Anyway, you have to read Sir Ivan’s bio on his website. Confounds belief it does. Sir Ivan makes Tonetta seem normal.
Available from CD Baby.