''Punishing Kiss'' is a studio album by German singer

Ute Lemper Ute Gertrud Lemper (; born 4 July 1963) is a German singer and actress. Her roles in musicals include playing Sally Bowles in the original Paris production of ''Cabaret'', for which she won the 1987 Molière Award for Best Newcomer, and Velm ...

, released in 2000 by Decca Records. It is the product of a collaboration between Lemper and

the Divine Comedy The ''Divine Comedy'' ( it, Divina Commedia ) is an Italian narrative poem by Dante Alighieri, begun 1308 and completed in around 1321, shortly before the author's death. It is widely considered the pre-eminent work in Italian literature an ...

and includes songs by the latter artist, as well as Nick Cave, Elvis Costello, Philip Glass,

Tom Waits Thomas Alan Waits (born December 7, 1949) is an American musician, composer, songwriter, and actor. His lyrics often focus on the underbelly of society and are delivered in his trademark deep, gravelly voice. He worked primarily in jazz during ...

, Scott Walker and Ute Lemper's signature artist, Kurt Weill. Most of the songs feature the Divine Comedy as Lemper's backing band.

Neil Hannon Edward Neil Anthony Hannon (born 7 November 1970) is a Northern Irish singer and songwriter. He is the creator and front man of the chamber pop group The Divine Comedy, and is the band's sole constant member. Hannon wrote the theme tunes for ...

and

Joby Talbot Joby Talbot (born 25 August 1971) is a British composer. He has written for a wide variety of purposes and an accordingly broad range of styles, including instrumental and vocal concert music, film and television scores, pop arrangements and wor ...

also contributed two original songs and an arrangement of

Brecht Eugen Berthold Friedrich Brecht (10 February 1898 – 14 August 1956), known professionally as Bertolt Brecht, was a German theatre practitioner, playwright, and poet. Coming of age during the Weimar Republic, he had his first successes as a p ...

and Weill's "Tango Ballad", while Hannon sang two songs ("Tango Ballad", "Split") as duets with Lemper. The French version of the album includes a bonus CD with three songs in French.

Arthur H Arthur Higelin (born 27 March 1966), better known under his stage name Arthur H (), is a French pianist, songwriter and singer. He is best known in France for his live performances—four of his albums were recorded live. Life and career He is ...

sings with Lemper on "Maison Close", the translation of "Tango Ballad". The Japanese version of the album includes an additional track: "Lullaby", written by Scott Walker.

Legacy

The album was included in the book ''

1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die ''1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die'' is a musical reference book first published in 2005 by Universe Publishing. Part of the ''1001 Before You Die'' series, it compiles writings and information on albums chosen by a panel of music critics ...

''.

Track listing

Chart positions

References

External links

* https://web.archive.org/web/20110707173325/http://www.ashortsite.com/discs/?page=collab_ute * http://www.discogs.com/Ute-Lemper-Punishing-Kiss/release/1101544 2000 albums Ute Lemper albums Albums produced by Hal Willner Decca Records albums Avant-pop albums {{2000s-pop-album-stub