Heute Nacht Oder Nie: Live in Berlin

I had never heard of Max Raabe and the Palast Orchester until the PBS special. I am 45 years old, have never been a fan of music of old, but was mesmerized by the production and this band. It has a very unique, vintage sound and each of the musicians is absolutely impeccable. The singing of Max Raabe is so pure, so clean, it can range from high as a bird to midrange baritones that remain without a trace of wavering. And his subtle facial gestures really make the frontman's persona.Each member of the orchestra has his own beguiling personality, and the one female violinist is beautiful, like a sparrow amongst a nest of eagles.Please do check out youtube...there is a eight minute forty second video that has highlights of this DVD...I'll place a link here (if allowed to do so). It is so startling, so classic, so pure, that even this heavy metal maven has been converted to Max and Palast. They played at Marilyn Manson's wedding, by the way... I know, Manson's a weenie. But you get the idea.[...]Patiently awaiting the Palast Orchester and Cannibal Corpse double bill live.Cheers!

This Live in Berlin Performance is extraordinary and the dvd captures a great picture of the Palast Orchester comedic precision and fantastic playing. Max Raabe is excellent in his abilities as the singer and MC. DVD one is the concert, DVD two is a making of program, and it has a cd of more music not shown.PBS in the US has taken parts of this program to create a fund drive concert special which has been shown on ch50 in the Los Angeles area.The live performance is more than music and singing it is performance art at a high level of enjoyment. If you like this type of music and performance you'll be quite pleased with the concert dvd.

Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester occupy a special place in the musical hearts of Germany, Germans and many others who have had the good fortune to see a performance or hear one. However, this group needs to be seen! Both Raabe and many individual members of his group possess some unique performing talents that make one of their programs all the more enjoyable. They need to be seen to be fully appreciated.

Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester have so much going for them. I particularly love the German tracks on this DVD and if you like it, be sure and purchase the other DVD he did in an outdoor setting in Berlin a couple of years ago. Here he speaks entirely in German to the audience and you get English subtitles for the introductions to the songs and the songs themselves. Don't miss this group in concert when they're in America again!

A wonderful review of the band music of the 20's & 30's. Max Raabe is brilliant! If you have never seen him and the Palast Orchestra, watch the DVD of the Making of the concert DVD first. It will give you a better understanding of the music, Max and the orchestra, and you will enjoy the concert much more.Note the violin player, the lone woman.What a beauty!Whenever our spirits need a lift, we play this DVD - delightful!

We first were shown this at a friends house and we had to have it. We showed this at a 60th wedding anniversary party and everyone loved it and wanted to purchase it including the youngest children and they were mesmerized by it. A for year student of German used it to check her ability to understand the German language.Everyone that has vied this video loves it.Ray Seegers

I enjoyed this review of music from the Weimar Republic era. And it was done in a style reminescent of that era . Very good.Only disappointment was I had to return for a replacement copy because the one I first received was defective; it skipped.

Finding a charm and wit and sense of fun and sophistication we thought was long past-- that's what Max Raabe & Co do, while at the same time making it feel ever so modern and hip-- like the rediscovery of a missing ingredient

Purely by chance I came across Max Raabe, and Das Palastorchester, performing 'Singing In The Rain', and was immediately 'hooked'.So, to 'Heute Nacht Oder Nie'.One might ask how can one enjoy a programme composed primarily of songs in a language one neither speaks, nor understands.The answer is that one is captured, and delighted, by a singer with an excellent high baritone/falsetto voice accompanied by an orchestra that is comprised of extremely talented, multi instrumental, musicians.Added to which are arrangements that are sensitive to the original compositions, and performances that evoke the era of the 1920s, and early 1930s.Max Raabe strikes an elegant figure in his white tie and tails, and in introducing songs displays on occasions a cheeky sense of humour either verbally, or with a facial expression.The musicians display an open delight in playing the music which again adds to the enjoyment of the audience, and the viewer.The quality of the video, and audio, is excellent.In fact the Cinematographer was Michael Ballhaus who has been nominated for an Oscar three times.This DVD set, notwithstanding the absence of subtitles, is highly recommended.

One of the best !,if not the best !,I had to have it after a trip to see Max and his Palast orchester at the Shepards Bush empire ,which was a real privilage .I would stongly recomend it to anyone interested in this genre ,i would say the only slight negative is that it is all in German which matters not to me as I have a reasonable working knowlege of the language , but do not be put off ,the collection is excellent value for money !! . This is quite simply Max and his orchester at their very best ,audio and video quality is also absolutly first rate ,especially if played via an hi fi system ,if you have a large enough tv you can almost imagine being in the audiance . Message to Max and his orchester please a thousand times please visit the UK again next time do a tour and visit Birmingham Danke Schoen !"

You will never hear a reproduction 1930s band as good as this one. Arrangements are transposed from 78rpm records of the day and endless care has been taken to then get the sound right. And it is perfect in every detail.And here's the bonus - whilst many bands of the 1930s were careless about their vocalists, often letting down otherwise brilliant recordings, Max Raabe actually manages to capture the sound and improve on it. He is fortunate to be able to go from resonant baritone to delicate falsetto as the occasion demands, and can do everything from brash cabaret to saccharine-sweet.In short, if you have any interest in 1930s bands and artists, you should buy this to listen to something that's been done after many years of careful reflection, yet without corrupting the style in any way.Only criticism: Apart from a few songs, it's German language only, with no subtitles whatsoever. But who cares what the words are when it's all performed so perfectly? Bonus: It's a DVD; making of DVD; and and audio CD. And the technical sound quality of the audio CD is one of the best I've ever heard.

Max Raabe and his Palast Orchester bring the roaring 20's back to life. This includes the live concert dvd and cd (for popping onto your iPod) and a second dvd which has a small documentary about the bands travels around the world.The performance is to die for and everything these people do exudes class.An absolute must-have for anyone who loves this era.

I have been a fan of Max Raabe for some years.The attention to detail and the musicianshipkeep the music from becoming banal.The walk down memory lane to the original versions by what I would guess were most often bands inferior to Palast Orchestra is one that I am not old enough to take,but I am sure that this outfit would have been a smash in the 20's and 30,s