Though Rozz Williams is not amongst the living anymore (he died in 1998), his fans don’t need to despair. New recordings keep on surfacing and being (re-)released. This cd is a live recording of 1996, that now is made available for the first time. I must confess I’m not a big Rozz fan. Apart from some Christian Death classics I have not really followed his career. I must say thought that “Accept the Gift of Sin” is quite enjoyable, as long as you don’t take it too seriously. Though this cd is released as a Rozz Williams album, it is actually a collaboration with David E. Williams, who arranged and produced the music and who is called a ‘friend, namesake and aesthetic bedfellow’ of Rozz. For this evening the band was completed by Jerome Deppe (guitar), Lou Pepe (accordion) and Kenneth Brune (saxophone).
Don’t expect to find deathrock on this album. Rozz Williams is being an androgynous crooner here, think a bit of early 70’s David Bowie, Marc Almond or Antony. There a few Christian Death songs present here, in thoroughly deconstructed versions (Cavity, When I was in bed, Mindfuck). Also a David E. Williams compostion has been included, ‘Beautiful Brownshirted Man’, of which not only the title is hilarious. Most noticable though are the surprising cover versions. The cheesy 10CC pop ballad ‘I’m not in love’, the Broadway glamour of ‘Tomorrow Belongs to me’ (known from “Cabaret”) and the sweet nostalgia of ‘Dream a little Dream of Me’.
An entertaining performance to listen to. The glamorous renditions of Rozz are well complemented by his musicial companions here. At times over the top kitsch, but always original.
