Number 22 - Peter Baumann - Strangers In The Night

Peter Baumann's fourth solo album after leaving Tangerine Dream was 1983's Strangers In The Night. The title track marks Baumann's second and final appearance on my Top 200. It's a remake of a Bert Kaempfert hit from 1966, and like Japan's remake of Smokey Robinson's 1967 song "I Second That Emotion" (#81 on this list), Baumann's version of "Strangers In The Night" is superior to the original in every way. From the driving drum machine beat, to the robotic, emotionless vocals, to the gutteral synth sounds, this song is awesome. Making it even better is a surreal video, complete with alien polyhedrons firing lasers at a city, people running in terror, and disturbing closeups of Baumann singing. Actually, the entire album is fantastic, but "Strangers In The Night" is the LP's crowning glory. I have the song at #22 on my Top 200, and every time I listen to it I debate with myself whether it should have been placed even closer to #1. Baumann also made the list at spot #185 ("Be Mine").