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)