The Story

What to do when the world stops?

March 2020 is the moment when German actress Melanie Wiegmann lands on the small
Maltese island of Gozo to visit her partner, musician Carl Carlton in his home of choice.
Pandemic, quarantine, travel restrictions – nothing works. Carl, an internationally networked
and renowned guitarist/producer, is forced to put all musical projects on hold. For Melanie,
too, the trip becomes a caesura. She burns bridges and leaves the ongoing production of the
ARD telenovela “Storm of love,” with which she became a star.
Their originally planned four-day trip eventually turns into three years.
The couple uses the forced break on the Mediterranean island to devote themselves to
music. In the foreground are the sheer joy playing music and the shared love for the songs.
No one is thinking about commercial exploitation. The common thread that connects all the
songs: the eternal theme of love – with all its shades. Carl and Melanie develop
arrangements and realize that not only their voices, but also their tastes harmonize. The
Great Americana Songbook forms the basis; in addition to genre classics like “Love Hurts”
and “If I Needed You”, the Beatles (“Here, There And Every- where”) and gems from the
catalogs of great songwriters like Leonard Cohen (“Dance Me To The End Of Love”), Tom
Petty (“Wildflowers”) and John Prine (“Long Monday”) come into play. When travel is
possible again, the two pack their bags to visit Carl’s worldwide family of musicians. The
songs are recorded in Ireland, Berlin and finally on Malta. The finishing touches for the
album were done in New York by mastering legend Fred Kevorkian. GLORY OF LOVE is a
warm-hearted musical diary that convinces with its idiosyncratic song selection,
unpretentious arrangements and natural charm.
Perhaps the nicest surprise is that not only two souls have found each other here, but also
two wonderfully harmonizing voices.

The Songs

1. “Long Monday” (John Prine, Keith Sykes, 2005).
A song by the great John Prine – A perfect intro for the journey through the album…like a
rocking chair evening on the porch of an old southern mansion…. The pain of parting and
the exciting anticipation of seeing each other again.

2. “Black Muddy River” (Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, 1987).
From the catalog of the legendary Grateful Dead – takes the listener on a contemplative,
emotional walk along the river in thoughts about the finite nature of existence.

3. “Glory Of True Love” (John Prine, Roger Cook, 2005).
Once again John Prine, this time with co-writer Roger Cook, who wrote world hits for the
Hollies and the New Seekers half a century ago. Carl shines on Fender baritone guitar like
Glen Campbell once did.

4. “If I Needed You” (Townes Van Zandt, 1972).
Townes Van Zandt’s pleading oath of lovers, “If you needed me, I would come to you, I
would swim the sea to ease your pain.” Indian and Irish sounds interweave with sounds of
the Mississippi Delta.

5. “Sunday Morning” (Lou Reed, John Cale, 1966).
Velvet Underground with a difference: Carl and Melanie give the haunted ballad of the
legendary New York avant-garde rockers a home in the valleys of 1960s Los Angeles.

6. “Dance Me To The End Of Love” (Leonard Cohen, David Campbell, 2005).
Music and love triumph over death. Leonard Cohen was inspired to write this work by a
story of the Holocaust. In some concentration camps, prisoners’ orchestras were forced to
musically escort the diabolical terror and the walk to death. Meret Becker’s singing saw and
Frank Mead’s alto saxophone give this hidden inspiration a particularly spherical mood.

7. “Dreamer” (Carl Carlton, 2008).
The original was written by Jill Stevenson with Carl in Woodstock NY under the tutelage of
Levon Helm. It appeared on the Carl Carlton & The Songdogs album “Songs For The Lost And
Brave” 2008. It was Melanie’s heart’s desire to re-record this track for “Glory Of Love”.

8. “Here, There And Everywhere” (John Lennon, Paul McCartney, 1966)
Melanie approaches the pastoral genius of the Beatles original with feminine intuition and
tender emotion. Carl caps this version with a poignantly lyrical solo in the song’s rearranged
middle section.

9. “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” (Bob Dylan, 1963).
Rarely, or better never, has despair over a world gone off the rails been more aptly
articulated – Dylan’s iconic classic here as a dynamic suspense track, successfully arranged
over a monumental 5 verses.

10 “Wildflowers” (Tom Petty, 1994).
Tom Petty means a lot to Carl – equally as musician,
bandleader, singer and as a rebel. Melanie loves his music. Therefore, they both felt the
need to honour the late artist with an interpretation of one of his most momentous songs.

11. “Lovin’ In My Baby’s Eyes” (Taj Mahal, 1996).
From the pen of blues great Taj Mahal. Carl incorporates his love for the sounds of the
Dobro.

12. “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” (Bob Dylan, 1967).
Another Dylan goodie, – with zydeco accordion and Caribbean flair. Wayne P. Sheehy shines
on drums and percussion. Carl’s longtime collaboration with Robert Palmer is unmistakable
here.

13 “Love Hurts” (Boudleaux Bryant, 1960).
Unforgotten the heartbreaking interpretation of country rock pioneer Gram Parsons and
Emmylou Harris! Carl and Melanie turn it into their own touching love manifesto.

14. “Route 66” (Bobby Troup, 1946).
The mother of all road songs – here as gnarly country blues with a rough dobro swing, Frank
Mead’s harmonica and road dust on the worn leather boots.

15. “The Rose” (Amanda McBroom, 1980).
Bette Midler’s orchestral ballad from the film of the same name becomes an intimate
meditation on love: “And the soul afraid of dying never learns to live.”

Carl Carlton
Musician, Writer, Producer

Stages:
Vitesse, Mink DeVille, Manfred Mann’s Earth Band, Udo Lindenberg, Peter Maffay, Robert
Palmer, Westernhagen, Jimmy Barnes, Eric Burdon & The Animals, Levon Helm, Joe Cocker,
Carl Carlton & The Songdogs, a. o.

Quote:
“The beauty and wonder of music have shown us a way through a complicated time.”

Melanie Wiegmann
Actress, Singer

Stages:
TV series, Sturm der Liebe, Rosenheim Cops, Soko 5113.
Nuremberg State Theater, Nuremberg Opera, Dortmund Opera, Düsseldorf Schauspielhaus,
Palladium Theater Stuttgart, Colosseum Theater Essen and many more.
As a singer: The Black Rider, Cabaret, Mamma Mia!, I want fun, Anything Goes, The Tiger Lillies Struwwelpeter
and many more.

Quote:
“When Carl and I sing together, we are two bohemians on a weightless journey through the
universe.“

Single Releases: May 28th and July 25th
Doppel LP and CD-Release: 1st of September 2023