Rasputin (song)
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
|
Related e |
|
Featured: |
"Rasputin" is a 1978 disco hit single by the Germany-based pop and disco group Boney M., the second single off their hugely successful album Nightflight to Venus. The song is a semi-biographical song whose subject and namesake is Grigori Rasputin, a friend and advisor of Tsar Nicholas II of Russia and his family during the early 20th century. The song variously sensationalizes Rasputin as a playboy, mystical healer, and political demiurge.
"Rasputin" is also distinctive for its incorporation of a portion of Katibim, a classic Turkish folk song. Also, the intro drum solo bears striking similarity to the Cozy Powell 1973 single "Dance With The Devil".
Contents |
Subject
The song references Grigori Rasputin's alleged healing of Tsarevich Alexei of Russia, and how this endeared him to the boy's mother, the Tsaritsa Alexandra Fyodorovna (former Princess Alix of Hesse). It also claims that Rasputin was Alexandra's paramour ("Ra Ra Rasputin: lover of the Russian queen") and that Rasputin's political power overshadowed that of the Tsar himself. While "Rasputin" accurately indicates that unfavorable rumors damaged Grigori's reputation, there is no verifiable evidence to suggest that he had an affair with Alexandra.
The end of the song recounts a modified version of a popular description of the events that culminated in Rasputin's assassination, as perpetrated by Felix Yusupov, Vladimir Purishkevich, and Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia on December 16 1916. Specifically, the song states that Rasputin's assassins fatally shot him after he survived the poisoning of his wine with a very large dose of cyanide.
The song is historically inaccurate in at least one respect. The line "but to Moscow chicks he was such a lovely dear" seems to imply that Moscow was the Russian capital at the time the events described in the song took place. It was in fact St. Petersburg (later Petrograd). The capital was not moved back to Moscow until 1918, after the Bolshevik Revolution, and after the death of Rasputin and the end of the Imperial era.
Reception and legacy
The song rose to the top of the charts in Germany and Austria, and went to #2 in the United Kingdom and Switzerland. It was another number 1 hit for Boney M. in Australia, providing them a second (and last) chart topper in that country (the other one being "Rivers Of Babylon").
Although the song was written and performed in English (with a smattering of German - But the kasatschok he danced really wunderbar!), it enjoyed great popularity in Russia and is credited with making Rasputin famous again there although it was omitted from the Russian pressing of the album and Boney M. were forbidden to perform the song during their 10 performances in Moscow in December 1978. <ref>Dave Carpenter, "Rasputin is fondly remembered; Russia's mad monk is Uncle Grigory in Pokrovskoye," The Montreal Gazette, July 15, 1995, pg. J.4.</ref>
Versions
The album pressings of Nightflight to Venus features the title track segued into "Rasputin". Initial LP pressings include the full-length 6:40 version of "Rasputin", most notable for an instrumental interlude in the 3rd verse between the lines "though he was a brute, they just fell into his arms" and "Then one night some men of higher standing ..." that was later cut out. The second LP pressing featured a 6:03 version, subsequent pressings a 5:51 version. Boney M.'s single edit is completely different from the edit used for Frank Farian's Gilla recording in German that followed in November 1978 (without success).
The Single
The German and Benelux pressings were backed with "Painter Man" - most other territories chose "Never Change Lovers in the Middle of the Night". Only the UK pressing had the full 5:32 version, most countries faded it by 5:02, Carrere (France) already at 4:45. In England, "Painter Man" was issued as an A-side single in February 1979, giving the group a #10 hit.
Turisas cover version
Template:Infobox Single Finnish symphonic folk metal band Turisas covered the song and released it as their second single on September 21, 2007 through Century Media. According to Warlord Nygard of Turisas, interviewed in Metal Hammer magazine: "There's a ferry route between Finland and Sweden where people go to buy cheap booze and get wasted. I was sitting there watching a band playing 70s disco covers. They blasted into "Rasputin", and I realised that it would fit perfectly for Turisas". The band has been playing the cover live for a few years and finally decided to record it because of the very positive feedback by the fans. A music video has been shot as well.
Track listing
- "Rasputin" – 3:56
- "Battle Metal" – 4:23
A limited edition 7" picture vinyl features "The Court of Jarisleif" as b-side.
iTunes edition
- "Rasputin" – 3:53
- "Rasputin (Heavy Demo Version)" – 3:53
- "Rasputin (Instrumental)" – 3:51
Personnel
- Mathias Nygård – vocals, orchestral programming and keyboards
- Jussi Wickström – guitar
- Tude Lehtonen – drums and percussion
- Olli Vänskä – violin
- Hannes Horma – bass
- Lisko – accordion
Other cover versions
- In 1978, Belgian singer Plastichke made a version in "brusseleir", a slang from Brussels french suburbs, called "Pope Moudjik".
- American folk rock group Boiled in Lead covered it on their albums Alloy (1985) and Antler Dance (1994).
- Spanish singer Javier Álvarez included an English cover of the song on his 2001 album Grandes éxitos.
- German composer/big band leader James Last has recorded a cover of the song.
- A Finnish language eurodance cover version was recorded by Nora featuring Sasu.
- Serbian pop group Luna released their own version of the song, an excerpt of which is featured on the internet as the "Rasputin Dance" with a animated gif of Rasputin dancing to the song.
- British bluegrass group High Class Family Butchers recorded a cover of the song. A sample can be heard on their official MySpace Page.
- Famous Turkish Band Ayna, recorded the song in Turkish as Dön Bak Aynaya.
Influences on other media, parodies
- In 1979, the single Eeny Meeny Miny Moe performed by the Dutch girl group Luv' has a Bouzouki and Balalejka-theme highly inspired by Rasputin.</br>
- In 1994 the Croatian group Vatrogasci (Firefighters) featuring Croatian comedian Željko Pervan made a parody of this song, translating it in Croatian language (naming "Raspiči, opiči") and making it in turbofolk arrangement.
- Bollywood composer duo Jatin-Lalit used the intro of Rasputin in their song "Sachi yeh kahani hai" from the movie Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa.
