Maestro (Kaizers Orchestra album)

History

The first song that was written for the then-untitled third album, "Dieter Meyers Inst.", frontman Janove Ottesen wrote on the pump organ in Café Mono, Oslo. Being a song about a man who willingly commits himself to a mental asylum, Ottesen decided to set the tone for the overall theme of the album. In January 2004, a 30-track demo was recorded, which the band pitched to various record labels. They eventually landed a contract with Universal Germany.

On 27 February 2004, during a concert at the Rockefeller concert hall in Oslo, a new song called "Medisin og psykiatri" was played. Also, the song "Tokyo Ice til Clementine" was played once at an acoustic session for the Dutch Pinkpop Festival. Later in 2004, two more new songs, "Delikatessen" and "Maestro" were played at a German musical event called "Eine Nacht in Bochum". The event was broadcast on the German radio station Radio Eins. "Medisin og psykiatri" was eventually scrapped both from setlists and the album.

The first single, "Maestro", was changed from its original version to a more hit-friendly style. Some fans claims the track was "popped" after pressure from Universal, but Ottesen has never agreed to that statement. A video for "Maestro" was also recorded in Germany. Before releasing the album, now officially named Maestro, Kaizers released an EP with the same name, featuring the single, the album track "På ditt skift" and two b-sides; "D-dagen" and "Sorti", as well as the "Maestro" video. The release garnered much critical praise and helped to build expectations for the new release.

Maestro was finally released on August 15, 2005, and the record received outstanding reviews from most of the larger newspapers in Norway as well as Scandinavia and other European countries. Shortly thereafter, the Maestro Tour, spanning most of central Europe and later Scandinavia, commenced. At the end of the tour, on October 5 and October 6, the band performed two sold out shows two nights in a row at the famous Vega concert hall in Copenhagen, Denmark. The last performance was recorded for a future live DVD and album, Viva La Vega and Live at Vega, respectively.

After some time, a 2CD Limited Edition of Maestro was released, featuring a bonus CD featuring three previously unreleased tracks. This Limited Edition reissue was originally intended to be recalled after the end of their tour, but can still be found in music retailers to this day.

Maestro is by many fans considered to be their best album, although this is highly subjective, and Kaizers Orchestra have received good reviews for all of their albums. Still, Maestro, is recognized for leading to their big breakthrough outside of Norway.

Track listing

Lyrics for all songs are in the Norwegian language. Lyrics and music by Janove Ottesen, unless otherwise noted.

1. "KGB"
2. "Maestro"
3. "Knekker deg til sist" (Break You in the End)
4. "Señor Flamingos Adieu" (Instrumental)
5. "Blitzregn baby" (Blitz Rain baby)
6. "Dieter Meyers Inst." (Dieter Meyer's Institution)
7. "Christiania"
8. "Delikatessen" (The Delicatesse)
9. "Jævel av en tango" (Hell of a tango)
10. "Papa har lov" (Papa Has Permission) (Geir Zahl)
11. "Auksjon (i Dieter Meyers hall)" (Auction [In Dieter Meyer's Hall]) (Zahl)
12. "På ditt skift" (On Your Shift)

Bonus tracks (Limited edition bonus CD)

1. "Action" (Joachim Nielsen)
2. "Kalifornia" (Zahl)
3. "Tokyo Ice til Clementine" (Tokyo Ice for Clementine)

Also featured on the second disc of the Limited Edition are the music videos for "Maestro" and "Knekker Deg til Sist", along with the "Kaizers Orchestra Player", a custom-built music player with downloadable content available.

Personnel

Guest musicians