Who Did It Better? Der Kommissar/Der Da Da Da/Deep In The Dark

Who Did It Better? 

Der Kommissar/Der Da Da Da/Deep In The Dark

This is a bit of stretch, but a fun one. They are all within a certain musical time frame and somewhat inter-related, so let's allow it.

This is a song with an interesting history... one that almost didn't happen, or would have certainly ended up very differently had certain mitigating factors not been in play. 

Written in 1981 by Falco and producer Robert Ponger, the song was initially offered to another artist, but was rejected. Falco then reworked the song and recorded it himself.

Recorded in German, the song hit #1 in Germany and had also charted in several European countries by June of 1982. However, it gained zero traction in the states or Britain. In an attempt to remedy this, Falco would eventually record an English language version. 

An English language version was recorded by the British band After The Fire for their debut album. They'd just finished a tour supporting Van Halen and had released the song as a single, but it didn't seem to be going anywhere, so, in December of 1982, the band announced they were breaking up. 

As that was going on, Laura Brannigan was in the midst of recording a follow-up album to her debut. The song had been tapped for her with different lyrics and rechristened Deep In The Dark. It was set to be the lead single.

Adding to the fun...  Pink Project (taking their name from their first mashup: Pink Floyd vs. Alan Parson's Project) - an early '80s Italian dance group creating floor stompers for clubs, lifted pieces of Der Kommissar and mashed it to Trio's Da Da Da to come up with a 1982 single Der Da Da Da. They'd had success with other mashups, but this one never amounted to more than a club favorite.

So, at this point, the song has been around for awhile and still not broken big in the states. End of story?

Enter the power of MTV. 

After The Fire's video ended up in high rotation and this spurred sales and radio play. The song finally entered the U.S. charts on February 22nd of 1983. Their version would stay in Billboard's Top 40 for 14 weeks, peaking at #5. CBS/Epic, the band's label, begged them to reunite, but no dice. 

After The Fire's success, in turn, sparked renewed interest in Falco's version and Falco in general. Still in German (although he would eventually record an English language version), it was considered something of a novelty record - except in Canada, where it peaked at #11 the same week After The Fire's version peaked at #12. But don't feel bad for Falco. All this attention paved the way for his future success which came shortly after in the form of Rock Me Amadeus and Vienna Calling.  

Meanwhile, Brannigan's label had released promotional copies of  Deep in the Dark in the U.K. where neither version of Der Kommissar had charted. But, given After The Fire's success in the states, they decided to push Solitaire, instead. It was a wise move, as Solitaire would eventually peak at #7.

So, there's the whole story... now, on to the competition:

The Song: Der Kommissar/Der Da Da Da/Deep In The Dark

The Competitors: Falco vs. Pink Project vs. After The Fire vs. Laura Brannigan

Here we go...

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Der Kommissar - Falco

Der Da Da Da - Pink Project

Der Kommissar - After The Fire

Deep In The Dark - Laura Brannigan

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Intro: 32 seconds. Falco - that handclap on the accent beat wears out its welcome really fast. Love the synths just before the title of the song. I am also amazed that the guitar riff that holds together the verse isn't sampled more often. Know what? Given the time period, this is pretty awesome stuff. I enjoy the energy. The la, la, la's are super funny. I like!

Intro: 44 seconds. The overall sound feels very slight, not as deeply trenched as either Falco's or ATF's version. The tempo also feels a tad too fast. The talk box/neoprene tube vocals are annoying, messy and dated. At times it almost sounds like the synth used for the early synth classic Popcorn is going to kick in and take over at any moment (something I would actually applaud). The synths used during the chorus are a bit disappointing/underwhelming. Too wimpy. I want more bottom, more drama, more crunch.

Intro: 47 seconds. The sound is brighter than Falco's version. That handclap accent almost sounds more like the shutter of a camera going off - which given the international intrigue angle, works well. Interesting ambient sounds float in and out throughout the intro. The rapping/spoken word portion made me think of Tonneloke (not a good thing). The lead singer/rapper's speaking voice is very guttural, very thick sounding, so not what I expected. That repeated guitar riff after "the faster you will die" (just before the title of the song) makes me think of Boomtown by David & David (so they cribbed it from this song!). During the break when it sounds like the band is saying "Chuck, Chuck, Chuck" there's that weird little Hammond organ seven count - that is funny! Then the comb harp cracks me up. The production is so quirky. They don't have any fun with the la, la, la's - which makes me sad. They should start the fade out at the 3:35 mark... this overstays it's welcome while adding nothing. It's all very messy at times. After listening to this very closely... I can see why the group disbanded and refused to reunite. This is a trifle and I can't imagine building a career off it. 

Intro: 32 seconds. "Check it out, Joe..." Once we get beyond the first eight bars (which I like) this  feels plenty draggy. The pop is not there and that chunky synth bass sounds hollow and messy. Unfortunately, Brannigan is pushed into her upper register and, as is typical, it does not flatter - it sounds like it hurts. I do like the way her voice breaks during the verse when she sings. That said, the rest of the time she doesn't sing so much as bleat... like a goat (Stevie Nicks does the same thing) and her spoken word stuff is ho-hum. Hmm. So, I liked Brannigan's version better when I was listening to it the other week on a compilation CD of her stuff. It does not hold up well against the other three versions. I'm glad Atlantic Records went with Solitaire instead, because this is not one of her better moments.

The Verdict: 

I don't much care for spoken word/lame rap. So that may be coloring my opinion a lot. The song is really nothing more than a couple of very clever riffs stitched together. This is definitely a quintessential early '80s moment.

I am surprised, but I have to hand this one to Falco. 

The German language adds a lot of crunch to his version. Also, his production is more streamlined and cleaner. So the contrast between the two works to his advantage.

While I appreciate the kitchen sink approach ATF brings to the table, their main vocalist/rapper bothers me. His delivery feels leaden. They also lost points for the extended intro and outro. Project Pink's version is a tad too novel for my taste. And, as I said, this isn't Brannigan's best moment.

So, Falco wins by default. 

Rock me, Amadeus. 

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Okay, your turn. Let me know what you think. Leave your thoughts in the comments section. Hate the song? Love it? Remember it? Let me know. I love hearing what you have to say. 

That's it for this week. 

Until next time...

...thanks for reading.