PRICE:
$15.50
LOW STOCK LEVEL
1-2 Weeks
ARTIST
TITLE
The In-Kraut: Hip Shaking Grooves Made in Germany 1966-1974
FORMAT
CD

LABEL
CATALOG #
MA 066CD MA 066CD
GENRE
RELEASE DATE
11/8/2005

Marina Records proudly presents The In-Kraut -- twenty handpicked soul, beat, now sound, mod and soundtrack gems from Germany -- all recorded between 1966 and 1974. Among them many Kraut-pleasin' obscurities and long-forgotten nuggets that appear now for the very first time on CD. While the musical climate in Germany of the late '60s and early '70s was clearly dominated by horrible Schlagers, nevertheless, records of outstanding class were cut with Teutonic precision. Just check out "Gemini" by Günter Noris, a stomping piano-led instrumental worthy of Ramsey Lewis. Or the proto-funk of Erwin Halletz "Das Stundenhotel Von St. Pauli" -- a tight soundtrack groover clearly inspired by James Brown. Or the elegantly sweeping "Naturally Stoned" by Helmut Zacharias with more than a trace of a brilliant John Barry arrangement, and the Blood Sweat & Tears-inspired "Molotow Cocktail Party" by Vivi Bach & Dietmar Schönherr. The guys behind these productions were usually slick jazz players and studio musicians from the tightest orchestras of the country. Somehow these middle-aged men knew how to move the Kraut and adapt their skills to the swinging sixties. Even Peter Thomas, one of Germany's best known film composers, chose to tackle The Stones' "Jumpin' Jack Flash," in very unique and mad fashion. And the man behind Memphis Black's ultra-rare breakbeat monster "Why Don't You Play The Organ, Man" is none other than Ingfried Hoffmann of the acclaimed Klaus Doldinger Quartet. Check out the truly smoking drugsploitation nugget "Marihuana Mantra" by Kuno & The Marihuana Brass, right alongside Werner Müller's hilarious "Bodybuilding," an intoxicating sexy groover. And then there's Bill Lawrence's "Pussy Baby" -- a track that has to be heard to be believed. Even international stars like France Gall went Kraut-a-delic in the '60s. "Hippie Hippie," a bubbly "love and peace" ditty, was especially written and produced for the German market. Heidi Brühl decided to update her sound, replete with a psychedelic guitar solo and a fantastic bassline. The In-Kraut was compiled and annotated by Stefan Kassel and Frank Jastfelder who also compiled two acclaimed Lalo Schifrin anthologies, several volumes of Universal's Get Easy! series, the Mad Mad World Of Soundtracks compilations, and retrospectives of the work of Gary McFarland, Horst Jankowski, Lee Hazlewood and other cool cats.