In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal
In Bertolt Brecht's Baal is a David Bowie EP made up of recordings of songs written for Brecht's play Baal. The title follows the sleeve credit, though it is often shortened to simply Baal. It came out in February 1982 on RCA.
It also closed a chapter, as the last new material Bowie released for RCA before he signed with EMI for his next album. Critics received it warmly, and it reached number 29 on the UK Singles Chart, a notable showing for something so far from a pop record. It is a small, theatrical detour, worth hearing for the sight of Bowie taking on Brecht between the albums Scary Monsters… and Super Creeps and Let's Dance.
In Bertolt Brecht’s Baal: tracklist and credits
5 tracks · 11:12Tracklist
- 1Baal’s HymnDominic Muldowney and Bertolt Brecht4:01
- 2Remembering Marie A.Bertolt Brecht and Franz Servatius Bruinier2:06
- 3The Ballad of the AdventurersBertolt Brecht2:01
- 4The Drowned GirlKurt Weill and Bertolt Brecht2:27
- 5Dirty SongDominic Muldowney and Bertolt Brecht0:38
- Produced by
- David Bowie, Tony Visconti
- Recorded at
- Hansa Studios, Hansa by the Wall, Berlin
- Recorded
- September 1981
- Engineered by
- Eduard Meyer
- Artwork
- Andrew Christian, Partridge Rushton
- Photography
- John Timbers
- Label
- RCA
- Length
- 11:12
Line-up
- Ralf Armbruster · trombone
- Rolf Becker · cello
- Ulrich Berggold · double bass
- Michael Bucher · tuba
- Ingo Cramer · guitar, acoustic guitar
- Thomas Hoffman · drums (drum set)
- Bernd Machus · bandoneón
- Erwin Milzkott · flute
- Axel-Glenn Müller · clarinet
- Eckehard Scholl · piano
- René Waintz · trumpet
- Uwe Weniger · viola
- David Bowie · lead vocals
From MusicBrainz, Wikipedia and Wikidata. Only what the sources record is shown.
Also released on 26 February
Every year →More from David Bowie
Full discography →The best of 1982
All of 1982 →More on RCA
The label →Releases and pressings
How we know the release date wikipedia 1982-02-26 vs 1982-02-13 (wikidata)
| Source | Date | Note |
|---|---|---|
| MusicBrainz | 1982 | |
| Wikipedia infobox | 26 February 1982 | |
| Wikidata | 13 February 1982 | |
| US release | 1982 | earliest US date |
| UK / Europe release | 1982 | earliest UK or European date |
3 editions
| Date | Country | Label | Barcode | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | GB | RCA | original | |
| 1982 | US | RCA | 078635434613 | original |
| 29 December 2006 | XW | Parlophone | 0094637014059 | other |
Cover art sources
coverartarchive · cropped: cropped from 2175x2223 to 2175x2175
| Source | Size | Verdict |
|---|---|---|
| coverartarchive ✓ | 2175×2223 | cropped: cropped from 2175x2223 to 2175x2175 |
| deezer | 1200×1200 | upscaled |
| fanarttv | 1000×1000 | upscaled |