Die Walküre to Take On Me

Start here, end up somewhere else

Richard Wagner▸Hidden Citizens Six tracks · 1870 to 2016 · one link we didn't take

In Richard Wagner Die Walküre Orchestervorspiel, Act I · first performed Munich, 26 June 1870

SourceDie Walküre is Wagner at his zenith and the scene is set from the jump. Close your eyes. You can almost feel the rain pounding down and the lightning bursting through the trees…

01 Rammstein "Mein Herz brennt" Mutter · 2001 · strings: Deutsches Filmorchester Babelsberg

Via…and that same Wagnerian energy pulses through the opening track of Rammstein's third album.

02 Meat Loaf "I'd Do Anything for Love (But I Won't Do That)" Bat Out of Hell II · 1993 · written and produced by Jim Steinman

ViaThe song that epitomises "Wagnerian Rock", I'd Do Anything For Love (But I Won't Do That) is bombastic and over the top. It is epic in scope and length, clocking in at twelve minutes and one second. The mid point of our journey and we're standing on the top of the mountain.

03 Eddie Money "Take Me Home Tonight" Columbia · 1986 · Ronnie Spector, uncredited

ViaWagner may have been Steinman's inspiration but it was the "Wall of Sound" that he sought to achieve. And what better bridge from rock opera to pop than Ronnie Spector's vocals…

04 The Ronettes "Be My Baby" Philles · recorded 29 July 1963 at Gold Star, Hollywood

Via…which are pure pop perfection.

Out Hidden Citizens "Take On Me" Epic Trailer Version · Reawakenings · 2016

ViaAnd we conclude with proof that Wagner's influence lives on today with this sweeping epic-core version of the a-ha classic, "Take On Me."

On this trip we learnedBrian Wilson called "Be My Baby" the greatest record ever made and answered it with "Don't Worry Baby" in 1964.

And not a valkyrie in sight.