Eric Bentley - Bentley On Biermann (1969)

Eric Bentley (born September 14, 1916) is a British-born American critic, playwright, singer, editor and translator. In 1998, he was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame and is a member of the New York Theater Hall of Fame in recognition of his many years of cabaret performances.

Bentley is considered one of the preeminent experts on Bertolt Brecht, whom he met at UCLA as a young man and whose works he has translated extensively. He edited the Grove Press issue of Brecht's work, and recorded two albums of Brecht's songs for Folkways Records, most of which had never before been recorded in English.
In 1968, he signed the “Writers and Editors War Tax Protest” pledge, vowing to refuse tax payments in protest against the Vietnam War.
On this album, poems by 20th-century German poet Wolf Biermann are preformed in English by the Eric Bentley. Biermann, born in Hamburg and a member of the Communist party, sympathized with East Germany, and moved there in 1953. Outspoken and occasionally critical of the Communist government, Biermann was in turn heavily criticized in the official Communist newspaper Neues Deutschland, which described his poetry as “anarchistic” and “politically perverse,” despite Biermann considering himself a “good” Communist being ruled by “bad Communists.” The liner notes of this 1968 album include a description of Biermann’s life, selected English texts, original German song and poem text, and news clippings.

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Tracklist:              

A1		The Song Of The Worst Thing
A2		Ballad On The Poet Francois Villon
A3		Ballad Of The Letter-Carrier William L. Moore
A4		The Barlach Song
A5		Nothing To It!
A6		Comrade Julian Grimau
A7		Ballad Of The Man
A8		Legend Of The Soldier In World War III
B1		Ballad Of Fredi Rohsmeisl
B2		Do Not Wait For Better Times!
B3		Early Morning
B4		The Singer's Inaugural Address
B5		Toys
B6		To The Old Comrades
B7		Reckless Abuse
B8		German: A Winter's Tale
B9		December 1965
B10		Soldatenmelodie

Eric Bentley - Bentley On Biermann (1969)

(320 kbps, cover art included)