Munchener Freiheit – Fantasie
With a single exception, the music on this album is identical to its English language descendant, Fantasy (attributed to Freiheit, a shortening of the group’s name in Germany). The lyrics, however, are in their native German, and the song known as “Keeping The Dream Alive” on the English pressing becomes a less effective pop number called “So Lang’ Man Traume Noch Leben Kann” with synth-pop instrumentation and a drum machine beat (though the vocals follow the same tune and exactly the same meter and rhythm of “Dream”). What very little knowledge I have of the German language tells me that some of the songs’ titles and lyrics do more or less match their English counterparts (“Land Der Fantasie” / “Land of Fantasy”), but others do not. Upon further listening, I’ve deduced that some of the English “translations” have lyrics that have nothing to do with the original German versions. I’d really like someone to help me figure out 
what the differences, discrepancies and similarities are…not to mention what the band’s name is English (though I believe freiheit is freedom, I could be wrong). Despite the fact that I understood maybe ten or twelve words on the entire album, it’s still a favorite of mine and stood me in good stead until I recovered my beloved English-translated copy of the same songs!
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- Bis Wir Uns Weiderseh’n (3:45)
- In Deinen Augen (4:42)
- Diana (4:17)
- Land der Fantasie (4:54)
- Mondlicht (3:06)
- So Heisb (4:04)
- Zum Allersten Mal (3:22)
- Du Bist Dabei (3:46)
- Lasb Es Einfach Gescheh’n (4:05)
- So Lang’ Man Traume Noch Leben Kann (3:25)
Released by: WEA
Release date: 1988
Total running time: 39:26
This album kicks off with an inauspicious jumble of spoken words which certainly lives up to the Art of Noise’s obligation to produce pure noise! Thankfully, you can skip to the second track, “Paranoimia” (known to most people as a song that 
Chameleon’s Dish”, another brassy beat number. If I were to point you in the direction of just one album by this group that would be representative of their work – though their style jackrabbits from one extreme to the other between albums – this one would have to be it.
If you haven’t heard of this guy, you’re in a sadly deprived majority. Illenberger’s probably the best white jazz guitarist working today, and his style is truly unique. Whatever it is he does, it achieves wonderfully listenable results. His agility with a good riff salvages most of this album from ever being background music. And it’s still probably his best overall album to date. The album’s title track is a wonder of multi-tracked guitars which wander in a sort of musical circle, a theme which pops up throughout the album 
I’ll admit it, I only tracked this down after becoming obsessed with the short snippet of the Andante Ma Moderato movement featured in the 
transcended the means through which I discovered it. If you’re into very heavy, funereal chamber music, I give this my highest recommendation; it’s one of my favorite classical pieces of all time. The slow, stately, mournful second movement alone is worth the price of purchase.