The music itself is sort of like a darker Live, the group Live. Fury.. really didn't catch on to the alternative scene but that doesn't take away from its amazing music. Radio Orchid is by far their best song, melodic and serene. This song will make you want to buy their album. The voclas are a soothing mix to its already unique sound. It both relaxes and invigorates the soul. Hey if the song can't get to your soul then its just not that good. Also the lyrics play a big part in the song, not only are they good but they make you think. This was their second and last album, and eventhough they are relativley unknown, they are still alternative kings in my eyes.
It's strange hearing a sweet, soothing kiddie tune sung in German, with all its hard syllables. "Pinocchio"'s sugary, synth-based production can best be described as "ABBA lite". Mary Roos is a singer I know little about, except she once entered the Eurovision song contest with "Arizona Man", an early Giorgio Moroder composition. She's so appealing here, though, that I would like to look into her other stuff.
A nicely groovy easy listening instrumental from an album which is a very common item in British charity shops. It's nicely percussive from the start, with some nicely strummed guitar and Helmut's bizarre sounding low solo violin. It builds up to a full and funky orchestral sound - a real stomper...
From the same album which spawned the mindblowing 'Im 80 Stockwerk' comes this superb track. It opens slowly, with a moody guitar/vocal introduction. Soon the heavy Burt Bacharach influence of 'Stockwerk' returns, as the strings come in and the song develops. The beat is funky in a gentle late-sixties pop kind of way. I have no idea what Hildegard is singing, but it sounds rather positive and uplifting, and I’m a big fan of her smoky voice.
from Knef (Decca) available on CD - Fur Mich... (box set) (BMG Germany)
19 Feb 02 ·AndreasNystrom: Really great song!, nice rhythm and harmonys. 26 Apr 02 ·bellboy: this song is about "masters of this world" - the text would stir you up rather than just lift you up. It breathes the same air as a song by Alexandra "Mein Freund der Baum". Heavy bittersweet german Weltschmerz. One of the Knef's best songs is "Von nun an ging's bergab" which means "From now it went downhill". She tells us her story: Her birth in cold winter, her film career in the USA, her return to Germany, starting a second career as a singer - and everytime she comments ironically: "From now it went downhill" which is VERY funny! The last words of this song comment herself as a singer: "Es war nicht meine Schuld - ich bitte um Geduld" - "It wasnn't my idea to start singing, please be patient with me" 08 Apr 03 ·heimwehblues: To "bellboy": "Von nun an ging's bergab" is performed by Hildegard Knef as "From Here On It Got Rough" (LP "The World of Hildegard Knef"), last lines: "A change was overdue, from here it's rough on you.". 23 Dec 05 ·eftimihn: Warner Music Germany finally released "Knef" on CD ahead of the celebration of Hildegard Knef's 80th birthday. While it's completely beyond me why people had to wait until 2005 to get this masterpiece in it's entirety, i'm thrilled that it's finally arrived. Also, Hildegard Knef repeatedly expressed "Knef" was her best album. 03 Jan 06 ·n-jeff: "From Here On It Got Rough" is the opening track on teh recent (2005) compilation "the in-kraut".
And very witty it is too. But also a very groovy song.
This is a rather ridiculous but super–catchy take on this theme to the 1967 spoof Bond movie. Performed by German session musicians, it ends up being a rather groovy mix, with viola d’amore, flute, female wordless vocals, harpsichord, and that other staple of the Baroque era, funky drums. It’s short and sweet and really very cool. The late sixties were cool for many reasons, but one of them is that they could accomodate TWO albums called 'Bacharach Baroque' - this one, and the other great Snuff Garrett-produced one by 'The Renaissance'. Both are superb.
21 Feb 08 ·leonthedog: I found the entire "Bacharach Baroque" album superb!
The "baroque" is not overdone. The arrangements are very pleasing - better than most of the hundreds of instrumental takes on Bacharach that surfaced in the 60's and early 70's. So where can I find more by the ephemeral "18th Century Corporation"?
