HELP >I THINK IT'S A GOOD REVIEW?

[Michael Messer]

I have just been sent a review which I think is a very good one. The problem is not only that I can't read the language.....but I don't know what language it is! It is either Dutch or Flemish...can anybody help?

Thanks in advance,
Shine On,
Michael.

ROOTSTIME >REVIEW
De Britse slide-gitarist Michael Messer maakte tot dusver een aantal nauwelijks opgemerkte cd's met laid-back en bluesy muziek die vooral aan Fleetwood Mac in de jaren met Peter Green deed denken, maar die hiernaast ook vol zat met moderne invloeden. Muziek waar Moby schatrijk mee werd, maar die Messer helaas nauwelijks aandacht opleverde. Dat gaat veranderen met "Lucky Charms", want dit is met afstand Messer's beste cd tot dusver. Een cd waarop wederom authentiek aandoende rhythm & blues in een eigentijds jasje stopt. Een beproefd concept dat zelden zo goed en zo smaakvol werd uitgevoerd als op "Lucky Charms". Michael Messer speelde al met Ted Hawkins en S.E. Rogie. En Johnny Cash heeft ooit de hoestekst van "Rhythm Oil", (een plaat met Terry Clarke en Jesse Taylor) geschreven. Zelf schrijft Messer er niet voor terug om nummers over zijn helden te schrijven. Zo staan op "Lucky charms" songs over Steve Cropper, Son House en W.C. Handy. En toch is die plaat geen staaltje van klassieke blues geworden. Want met draaitafels en sterke ritmische patronen werpt Michael Messer zich op als een geestesgenoot van Little Axe. Elk nummer begint met een beat, samples en zelfs wat scratchen, maar uiteindelijk voegt Messer zijn karakteristieke gitaar en stem toe. In deze beats met zijn slidegitaar zijn de uitschieters de openende titeltrack, "Take Me Back" en de "Knife Song", een song die ons dadelijk doet denken aan Ry Cooder. Op "Lucky Charms" bewijst Michael Messer nog maar eens dat hij tot de beste slide-gitaristen van het moment behoort en bewijst hij bovendien dat stokoude blues op artistiek verantwoorde wijze in een eigentijds jasje is te stoppen. Bijgestaan door een aantal fantastische muzikanten levert Michael Messer het ene na het andere prachtliedje op. Prachtliedjes vol nostalgie, maar tegelijkertijd hypermodern. Klasse!

[Gerry C]

It's Dutch. I don't speak Dutch (everyone there speaks English anyway!) but I know German [which is linguistically related, the name 'Dutch' being a version of 'Deutsch'], and the general theme is very complimentary! It declares that Lucky Charms is your best CD so far, and near the end it says that MM is one of the best slide guitarists around at the moment, with which none could argue. Suggest you contact Hans or Milica Theessink for a full translation?

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[Michael Messer]

Thanks Gerry. I thought it was Dutch & not Flemish. My partner, Sue, is pretty good with German, but she couldn't read it. It's a good suggestion but I won't contact Hans & Milica as I don't really know them. We spent a week together in Slovakia at the Dobrofest in 1998, but since then I have lost touch. They are good people, I enjoyed their company

Thanks Gerry, we're getting there!

Shine On
Michael.

[nickysplendid]

here ya go mate ;
British slide-gitarist the Michael Messer made so far a number of hardly noticed cd's with laid-back and bluesy music which did green think especially of Fleetwood Mac in the years with peter, but those also full zat with modern influences. Music where Moby became opulent, but those Messer produced unfortunately hardly attention. That will change with "Lucky Charms", because this is with distance Messer's best cd so far. A cd on which again valid striking as rhythm & blues in their own jacket stop. An approved concept which seldom this way well and as was tastefully carried out as on "Lucky Charms". Michael Messer played already with Ted Hawkins and S.E. Rogie. And Johnny cash have ever the cover text of "Rhythm Oil", (a plate with Terry Clarke and Jesse Taylor) written. Itself does not write back Messer to write numbers concerning its heroes. Thus stand on "Lucky charms" songs concerning Steve Cropper, Son house and W.C. Handy. And that plate no staaltje of traditional blues have nevertheless become. Because with turn tables and strong rythmic patterns Michael Messer raise themselves as geestesgenoot of Little Axe. Each number starts with a beat, samples and even what, but eventually adds scratchen Messer its characteristic jet ear and voice. In this beats with its slidegitaar the spectacular figures are the opening titeltrack, "Take me back" and the "Knife song", a song who without delay does think us of Ry Cooder. On "Lucky Charms" Michael Messer prove still that he to best slide-gitaristen of the moment belong and prove he moreover that decrepit blues in an artistically justified manner in its own jacket is stop. Assisted by a number of fantastic muzikanten Michael Messer produce it one after the other splendour song. Prachtliedjes full nostalgie, but at the same time ultramodern. Class!


FYI - i used babelfish.altavista.com/ to translate. It's never spot on but near enough.
Hope this helps.

[Michael Messer]

Thanks Nick, that's great! My favourite bit of weird translation is....scratchen Messer its characteristic jet ear and voice.

Shine On
Michael

[Alan]

decrepit blues in an artistically justified manner in its own jacket.

Sort of sounds like something Son House might have said

[Ian McWee]

Hey Michael, i bet'cha never thought that one day you'd "raise yourselves as geestesgenoot of Little Axe"!

Slide On!

Ian.

[Michael Messer]

I also never thought I would read a sentence that says...."but those also full zat with modern influences"

That is quite a translation - excellent!!!!!

I think some of it is better that the real translation would be.

Shine On
Michael.

[Mairena Red]

Hi Michael,

Loved the babelfish translation (Douglas Adams has a lot to answer for ). It reminded me of a true story. When John F Kennedy was elected president of the United States of America, one of the first official visits he made was to the CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia. The Director, Allen W Dulles, was showing him round when they came to an enormous computer. Kennedy asked what it was for and Dulles replied that it was for translating to and from Russian. The CIA intercepted a huge number of radio transmissions and telephone conversations in Russian but did not have enough Russian speakers to translate them, so they had developed a special computer programme to deal with the problem.

Kennedy showed great interest in the project and asked if he could be given a demonstration. Dulles asked him to choose a suitable phrase which could be translated into Russian and Kennedy replied that as the CIA was a secret organisation, he thought the phrase "out of sight, out of mind" would be highly appropriate. The phrase was duly fed into the computer and after several seconds the translation came out of the other end. Everybody applauded and congratulated the Director on such a fantastic invention.

However, Kennedy explained that he did not understand Russian and was therefore unable to judge whether the demonstration had been a success. Would it be possible to reverse the process and translate it back into English? "Of course, Mr President", replied Dulles and instructed the operator to translate the Russian phrase back into English. The piece of paper which came out of the other end of the machine wiped the smile off his face. It said, quite simply, "blind idiot".

Which just goes to show that there are still things that the human brain can do better than a computer, and long may that continue

All the best,

Joe (aka Mairena Red)

[Michael Messer]

Here's another good one from the Netherlands magazine...Massmuzikas.

kon Michael Messer (foto) ook zorgen voor het eerste ‘echte’ hoogtepunt van het festival. Zijn hedendaagse blues, inclusief draaitafeltovenaar, moest een song of drie doordringen vooraleer de schoonheid geheel bloot kwam. Schitterende songs en ongelooflijk merkwaardig hoezeer die ‘tovenaar’ zich ontpopte als een uniek deel van de groep, met zelfs een solo als toetje. Chapeau, en dat Michael backstage ook nog even een akoestische sessie ten beste gaf voor de onvolprezen Hubert van Hoof was uiteraard meegenomen.

ruff translation: And so could MM gave us the highlight of the festival; his todayblues , with tablemagician, needed 3 songs to pull trough but it is the beauty that came , amazing songs and incredebly amazing how the magician showed off as a unique part of the band, with even a solo as desert. Head off! The backstage session was acoustic and was a highlight.
(Translated by a friend in Belgium)

BABEL FISH online translation
Michael Messer (photograph) could ensure also the first ` real peak of the festival. Its contemporary blues, including turn dining furnace ears, had a song or three penetrate before beauty came entirely naked. Superb songs and incredibly remarkable hoezeer those ` wizard itself turned out to be as an unique part of the group, with even a solo as a toetje. Chapeau, and that Michael also still just as an acoustic session at bests gave van Hoof to backstage for the widely-acclaimed Hubert had been of course taken along.

Shine On
Michael 'dining furnace ears' Messer

[Deleted]

Seriously folks, if you want Dutch translating into English (and that is Dutch...Vlaams/Flemmish is pretty near identical, almost a dialect variation of Dutch, tho' the Flemish won't thank me for saying that), then my wife may be able to help, as she does actually speak the language.

[Gerry C]

It's a very kind offer from Chickenbone John, but am I alone in thinking that these translations (using the term rather loosely) are far more fun than any actually accurate one? At the moment I'm trying not to visualise how "beauty came entirely naked"... And as for "dining furnace ears": think I've just found my new band-name!!

Cheerily,

Gerry C

[Michael Messer]

It is a very kind offer from Chickenbone John, and one that I may one day take him up on. Thank you John, it is a kind thought. However....The online Babelfish translation is FANTASTIC!!!!!

The sentence above has been translated by Babelfish from English to Dutch...and then back into English....see what I mean!!!!!

It is a very pleasant offer of Chickenbone John, and one that I one day him can take over omhoog. Nochtans... The online are the translation Babelfish FANTASTIC!!!!!

Shine On
Michael

[Sonya]

Thanks for making my morning.

Just read this thread and my sides are aching from laughing so much! The online translations are wonderful! ;D

Michael, you must make sure your agent gets you regular gigs in Holland and Belgium so we can continue to enjoy these reviews.....

Ah the pitfalls of translation - reminds me of a restaurant in Piraeus, Greece, which was offering, amongst other delights, "tender bowels stewed". I stole a copy of the menu and still have it somewhere - a gem.

Sonya

[Gerry C]

My all time favourite menu mishap was in a small restaurant in Braunschweig (aka Brunswick) in N. Germany which offered a dish which in German read (if my memory serves me correctly): Schweinefleischstucke mit Champignons which are small pieces of pork stir-fried with mushrooms (and very nice they are too). The menu translation, however, was rather off-putting: Pigs crap with fungus. Perhaps it was just a misplaced space... Gimme a pigs crap and a bottle o' beer!!

Cheerily,

Gerry C