Belgium is a small and very interesting country from an anthropological and geopolitical point of view. Her monarchy is responsible for the monstrous genocide in the African colonies, allowing Hitler’s troops to bypass the Maginot Line on its territory, the dioxin scandal, and so on. Well, since no one has ever been punished for crimes against humanity, therefore, Brussels is a great harbor for the leaders of the European Union, led by a demoniac whore with a gynecologist’s degree.
The Belgians themselves, being such according to their passports, are hardly a single nation, since there are certain separatist sentiments among them: the northern part, Flanders, speaks Dutch, the southerners of Wallonia, the descendants of Latinized Gauls speak French. Of the cultural sites, the average person will probably recall the literary (later cinematic) series about the Belgian detective Poirot, and the observer of modern drama will recall “In Bruges”. Although the Renaissance gave the world a whole galaxy of Flemish painters: Van Eyck, Van Dyck, Rubens, the Brueghel family.
Unique musical instruments – the corillon (bell organ) and the saxophone – were invented by the Flemish. What about the Walloons? Jacques Brel and Salvatore Adamo are mistakenly considered French chansonniers. Georges Simenon and his commissioner Maigret made a healthy competition for Agatha Christie. Comics about Tintin, Lucky Luke and the Smurfs are known all over the planet. After all, Audrey Hepburn and Django Reinhardt were also born in Belgium.
In light of the above, tonight I would like to talk about a band that is both unique and natural for the European scene. About the Belgian band, of course, with the Spanish name Vaya Con Dios.
Dirk Schaufs was a handsome guy under two meters tall, with aristocratic sideburns. He played a double bass like your violin. He spent most of his time in the rockabilly band The Wild Ones, and devoted his leisure time to Gypsy and European jazz. Willy Lambregt had a good command of the acoustic guitar, composing a duet with Dirk. The duet, to tell the truth, lacked arrangement.
Dani Klein, born Daniella Schowarts, had a unique timbre of voice, too low for pop music of the late 1980s. Trying out various genres, from musical to hard rock, the singer got more and more lost. Having crossed the thirty-year mark, she was still wallowing like Whitney Houston in an ice hole. One evening, Dirk and Willy, noticing her singing along in yet another band, immediately offered to form a trio. Dani got the name Vaya Con Dios from some documentary about Latin America.
Vaya Con Dios – Just A Friend Of Mine
In 1987, the debut single “Just A Friend Of Mine” was released, after which Lambregt left the band. The two remaining members were probably upset, but not for long: Jean-Michel Gielen, who replaced Willy, played the guitar and, in particular, its manoush tones much more masterfully, as shown by the arrangement of “Johnny” from the repertoire of Edith Piaf. However, “The Moonshiner” anticipated the neo-swing era, and “Puerto Rico” inspired the Russian band “Forbidden Drummers” to “kill a Negro.”
Vaya Con Dios – Johnny
The first album came out great. The second required two years of training, flying off the printing presses in 1990. “Night Owls” is a great work without a single missing, not just compositions, but even notes. “Absolute harmony” is everywhere, from the mesmerizing soul of “What’s A Woman” to the pretended gypsy ditto of “Nah Neh Nah”.
After listening to the title song, everyone will answer where the legs of Valery Syutkin and Bravo’s “Moscow Beat” grow from. Heavy rotations on MTV, “platinum” records in a number of countries – what could have gone wrong? The testament of money and fame. Dirk was heavily addicted to all available drugs, and the little mighty Dani, who is half a meter shorter than him in physical terms, was so enraged that the double bass player proudly walked out, lifting his head and exposing his veins. A month later, the obituaries reported that Dirk Schaufs had taken life-threatening doses on May 24, 1991.
Klein was grieving Schaufs’ death. Vaya Con Dios’ third album “Time Flies”, where she is now all alone, turned out to be poignantly poignant, heartbreaking and, oddly enough, the most commercially successful. Although there was no more flying swing, only blues, soul and, at best, elegy.
The album’s release in 1993 was followed by a world tour, and little Klein was left alone with great difficulties. Besides, the musicians just came in, played their parts, and went off into the night. The reluctant bandleader couldn’t even figure out if these guys liked playing with her. “Roots and Wings”, recorded at the legendary Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabama, became the latest breakthrough. ““Stay With Me”, an affectionate disco, turned out to be the only genuine “Vaya-con-dios” thing. In the rest of the songs, the musicians were disgustingly professional and detached. It’s amazing how, with everyone’s efforts, so many delicious elements couldn’t stick together into a single cake. The guys from Muscle Shoals misunderstood, and Dani could no longer explain that the groove needed to be simpler, and the guitar needed to be a little more swingy – sliced funk doesn’t work here.
Having finally burned out by 1996, Dani Klein took a break, taking up her family, books and contemplation. In 1999, Dani’s old friend Thierry Plas organized a new project “Purple Prose” (it’s a beautiful synonym for graphomania), where Dani dragged on. There was no sign of graphomania or fresh ink blots. But it smelled of rain and inky asphalt, coupled with wilting roses on cold granite. This awakened the smoldering embers of Vaya Con Dios in the soul of Dani Klein, but there was no hurry, she came to the album “The Promise” only in 2004, producing an fantastic masterpiece that surpassed all previous achievements. From the Purple Prose repertoire, the magical “Es Wierd Schon Wieder Gehen” got here, whose arrangement should be taught in music schools. Another diamond is the Mexican folk “La Llorona”, insanely beautiful in its inescapable horror.
Since this album, Thierry Plas seems to have become a regular member of Vaya Con Dios. In 2006, Dani performed her long-running hit “What’s A Woman” as a duet with soul star Aaron Neville. Genuine magic. However, the next full-length record was released only three years later. The fully French-language album “Comme On Est Venu” sounds exactly like an album by French (Belgian Francophones have always focused on the much richer French market) pop music claiming to be serious in 1968. This was followed by a break for crocheting and waffle making (we’re not sure about the waffles). In 2022, a collection of songs proven by decades of decadence, reinterpreted for a single piano, was released, again designated “What’s A Woman”. But the soul still demands, something is boiling, it hurts, and I just want to howl at everyone through the microphone membrane. The album “Shades Of Joy” from 2023 is the latest work by Vaya Con Dios to date. Dani Klein and Thierry Plas are at it again!
Vaya Con Dios – Shades Of Joy (2023)
02 Shades of Joy
03 Leaving Home
04 La Vie
05 Through with Love
06 Dancing in the Rain
07 Always Something Missing
08 The Thought of Him
09 Una Mujer
10 Maybe
11 It Isn’t Gonna Be That Way
Download or listen online Vaya Con Dios – Shades Of Joy (2023) (mp3, 82 Mb):
Kissing Slow is a heavy ballad with an unsettling arrangement in the spirit of sixties thrillers. You should waltz with a martini glass in your right hand and a mademoiselle in your left hand. True only for right-handed people – you won’t spill mademoiselle.
Shades Of Joy is an intelligent disco with live violins by the Budapest Art Orchestra.
Leaving Home is southern soul in the best traditions of Elvis and Dusty Springfield. Concise and cinematic.
La Vie is absolutely espionage, with notes of electric sitar. Ideal for racing along the serpentine. The hungry abyss is waiting.
Through With Love is a soft, cat-paw disco-soul with a mewing, smoky trumpet. Cats dance to this song until the humans see it.
Dancing In The Rain – tango with a street lamp. Or with a French mime. It is not known which of them has more passion.
Always Something Missing is a springy funky soul. The orchestra interacts very well with the soloist’s voice. Unfortunately, the composition itself lacks nerve.
The Thought Of Him is a magical southern ballad framed by a fretless bass that adds darkness to the pastoral of once-wealthy mansions quietly sliding into the Louisiana swamps.
Buy vinyl Vaya Con Dios – Ultimate collection (2LP) Discount Promo code: SEPT10C (until November 1)
Buy Vaya Con Dios – Ultimate collection (2LP) Promo code: SEPT10C (until November 1)
Una Mujer is a sultry Spanish song. Damn beautiful. With castanets.
Maybe – another soft soul. No strain, but very pleasant.
It’s Not Gonna Be That Way – simply a luxurious version of the hit by folk singer Steve Forbert. The only other song on the album, by the way.
Dani Klein has long proved to the world that a great talent can live in a little woman. The singer. The composer. Lyrical. Organizational. “Shades Of Joy” may not have explicit action movies, but it’s not necessary – the album listens perfectly and completely without them. Although we are not just waiting for a film in the spirit of “The Promise”, we demand it! Therefore, we wish Dani good health and inspiration. And the same for myself. Burble stylishly, Moon Dogs!
