Montag, Juni 26, 2006

James Last - Käpt'n James bittet zum Tanz (1968)



Two years later, after his big success with "Ännchen von Tharau", he put some sea-shanties from Hamburg and from the rest of the world into a new costume. That record was this one, another classic of our beloved Hansi. Here you can see that the James-Last-Band was and still is the most versatile Lounge-band in the world. Just listen to his albums "Hair" and "Voodoo-Party", recently shared at xyz-cosmonaut´s and xtabay´s.
Allright, sailors, get yourself an eye-patch and a wooden leg, cut off your left hand and put on a hook, teach your parrot how to curse, poor yourself a big cup of Rum and then let´s go sailing!

But not without the tracklist:

01) Nimm uns mit Kapitän
Einmal noch nach Bombay
Der Junge an der Reling

02) La Paloma
My Bonnie
Kari Waits for Me

03) The Banks of Sacramento
What Shall We Do With the Drunken Sailor
Madagaskar

04) The Wreck of "John B."
The Yellow Rose of Texas

05) Wenn das Schifferklavier an Bord ertönt
Fahr' mich in die Ferne
Hein spielt abends so schön auf dem Schifferklavier

06) Eine Seefahrt, die ist lustig
Heut' geht's an Bord
Das ist die Liebe der Matrosen

07) Aloha Oe
John Kanaka
Up She Goes

08) Rolling Home
Winde weh'n

09) Wir lieben die Stürme
The Color Flaggs
Hey, Hey, Hey!

10) Good Night, Ladies
In der Heimat
Muß i denn

Freitag, Juni 23, 2006

Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman & Les Baxter - Music Out of the Moon (1947)



I promised to get this back to you, didn´t I? A nice piece of music and, by the way, so completely different from the James Last works. Nonetheless I´m still searching for 80 albums from James Last, please see section above...

Now, here are the liner notes from this album, where our favorite podiatrist worked with Les Baxter:

The music in this album is in reality an exploration ... using exotic harmonies, timbre
and composition to play upon the more remote realm of human emotions.

It is music of a type that has been outstandingly successful as a mood-creating
background for motion pictures dealing with the macabre, the fantastic.

It is music that can affect the sensitive mind in a way that is sometimes frightening ...
always fascinating.

Harry Revel created the basic "idea" and themes, while Leslie Baxter, arranger and
conductor, has given them appropriately unique tone color, using the mass harmonies
or human voices as unusual instrumental effects with woodwinds, strings and brass;
some without rhythm, others with a dominant, demanding beat.

In many of the numbers you will hear the Theremin — a little known member of the
musical family that is played by the motions of the hands in the air over an electronic
field. The right hand gives pitch, the left volume, yet neither comes in direct contact
with the instrument. A throbbing, almost human tone is created that has an eerie,
vibrant beauty.

The artist who plays the Theremin is Dr. Samuel J. Hoffman, whose brilliant technique
was heard in the music of "Spellbound," "Lost Weekend," "Spiral Staircase" and "The
Red House."

A word about your first hearing of "Music Out of the Moon": You cannot get its full
significance from a casual playing in a record booth, where the appeal may well be
lost. But take it home — set the stage, in the evening when you are perhaps a little
weary of the work-a-day world; its hypnotic beauty assures a unique musical
adventure.

Dienstag, Juni 20, 2006

James Last - Ännchen von Tharau bittet zum Tanz (1966)



Here we start with the "Hansi-Craze" I promised. This is hardcore, I´ll tell you. Ancient German folksongs in swingin´ rhythm. Some people (such as me) say that this is a masterpiece. And so it is. Even if you´re not old enough to enjoy this kind of music, you can still swing a little the easy way with James and his singers. So grab your grandparents and dance a little. But slooooowly... ;o)
You can get this fabulous record in three pieces, because I can only upload up to 25 Mb. Sorry for the inconvenience...

And here´s the tracklist:

01) Wem Gott will rechte Gunst erweisen
Üb' immer Treu und Redlichkeit
Ein Männlein steht im Walde

02) Sah ein Knab' ein Röslein steh'n
In einem kühlen Grunde
Wenn alle Brünnlein fließen

03) Du, du liegst mir im Herzen
Der Mai ist gekommen
Das Wandern ist des Müllers Lust

04) Ännchen von Tharau ist's
Es zogen drei Burschen

05) Lang, lang ist's her
Muß i denn
Mädele ruck, ruck, ruck

06) Horch, was kommt von draußen rein
Ein Jäger aus Kurpfalz
Freut euch des Lebens

07) Gold und Silber lieb' ich sehr
Wenn ich ein Vöglein wär'
Am Brunnen vor dem Tore

08) Steh' ich in finst'rer Mitternacht
Weißt du wieviel Sternlein stehen
Nun ade du mein lieb' Heimatland

09) Guter Mond, du gehst so stille
Ich weiß nicht, was soll es bedeuten

10) Das Lieben bringt groß' Freud
Im Krug zum grünen Kranze
Es klappert die Mühle am rauschenden Bach

Sonntag, Juni 18, 2006

Bert´s Watch (and mine...)



Here it is, Bert´s legendary watch, from the back sleeve of his album "Kaempfert '76". And mine, of course... A Rolex "Air King". The one with the most beautiful dial. I wear this one with pride to special occasions, because it honors me that Bert and me not only have the same taste in music, but in wristwatches as well. I´m sure that if I had known him personnally, we would have gone fishing while listening to great music and looking at our beautiful wristwatches. But not for the time, just for the beauty of our little gems...

Sonntag, Juni 11, 2006

James Last - Voodoo Party (1971)



Finally! I got it, YES! Thanks to Gary from Soundsational! This is really a fantastic record. Strange, when you listen to "Mr. Giant Man" or "Voodoo Ladys Love". I think they took some drugs when recording this, but what kind of? If you know what they took, please let me know...

But even if you´re still drug-free, I highly recommend this record!

Donnerstag, Juni 08, 2006

Bert Kaempfert - Gallery (1974)



You all know perfectly that Bert was the best composer, arranger, conductor etc. of Germany ever and you know too, that I´m a big fan of him. I also own the same wristwatch from the 70´s that he always wore. Here´s one of his later albums: "Gallery" from the year 1974.
This one never gets old! It includes "The Entertainer" as well as the famous "For Bert", which was written by Anita Kerr to honor him and his work.