Customer Reviews

All the Best From Germany

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

A good range of German folk music here. From the rousing (Mein Vater war ein Wandersmann) to the beautiful (Lile Marlene). I own several compilations of German folk music, and this one is the best.

I really enjoy this CD. I was born in the States but I really enjoy learning about my German roots from way back. This CD gives you a good taste of the music as far as I am concerned. My daughter bought it for me at Christmas time, as I am trying to learn the German language. I can't understand very much of what is being sung, but I love it anyway. If you are in the "dumps" and feel "down" this will help you perk up. I hope you buy this CD and enjoy it as much as I have. I have not written a review before, but I hope this is helpful for those looking for music of Germany. This is the ticket. Es ist wunderbar! I hope I said It is wonderful!!!

First of all, the songs on the discription don't match the songs on the CD. The songs are live music recordings from a crowd singing in a german beer tent and it has nothing to do with the actuall songs claimed on the CD. Maybe a non-german speaker, who does not have the sightest clue how the songs are supposed to sound, could be fooled by this CD. Second, not even the melodies fit to the names of the songs! This CD is just a plain disappoinmet!

It is 0 star, but there is no such rating.

The CD is completely different from what is still advertised.

The cover is different, the songs are totally different. It is NOT the CD I ordered.

Unless you want the sound of a rowdy crowd, don't buy it!

This compact disk {Madacy CLUC CD-65} is a pretty good collection of vintage German popular/folk music such as might be heard in a German beergarden oriented toward tourists and/or more old-fashioned natives, such as the Munich Hofbräuhaus, etc. I suspect that modern German youth, especially in the cities, gravitate more toward contemporary rock, hip-hop, and the like, but even they probably have some familiarity with much of this music, which is so endemic to their native land.

The disk contains 20 tracks and lasts about an hour. The performances generally are pretty good and the recording quality, while not digital, is also pretty good. As we might expect of such a collection, there is a good deal of variety among the performing groups, which include vocal soloists, small groups, and choruses with accompaniments, as well as instrumental groups of various sizes and types. All the singing is in German. This is not concert music, but music to be enjoyed in an informal setting, such as a beerhall or rustic tavern; it is not intended as high art, but rather warm-spirited entertainment conveying a feel of Germany. As such it succeeds pretty well, I think.

The liner notes are minimal: we are not told who the performers are, though the pieces are identified (with some confusing errors). [This CD seems identical to one called All Time German Classics featuring the Hans Glicka Singers & Orchestra.] To help clarify matters, I will list the actual contents of the disk:

1. Rosamunde - This is a happy, danceable polka familiar to most Americans as the Beer Barrel Polka, sung in a nice arrangement by a mixed vocal group with instrumental accompaniment. Quite nice!

2. Heidi - A happy tune with yodelling performed by a small female vocal group to a small band accompaniment. The subject seems to be the Swiss Alps-dwelling girl named Heidi whom we may have read about in Johanna Spyri's well-known 1880 children's book, either in the original German or in English translation.

3. Schneewalzer - This "Snow Waltz" is comfortable instrumental dance well played by a German wind band.

4. Volksmusik Medley [Folk Music Medley] - Sung by a male vocal group with band accompaniment. this includes three songs: "Wem Gott Will Rechte Gunst Erweisen" [Whom God Would Do a Real Favor], "Horch, Was Kommt Von Draussen 'Rein" [Hark, What's Coming In From Outside], "Das Leben Bringt Gross' Freud'" [Life Brings Great Joy]. Nicely and lustily sung, with tra-la-las, hohlaris, and hohlaros.

5. Hoch Auf Dem Gelben Wagen [High Upon the Yellow Wagon] - Male solo with female background singers accompanied by a simple instrumental accompaniment replete with posthorn calls.

6. Bayrischer Ländler - A Bavarian "country dance" which sounds more like a waltz, nicely played by an oom-pah wind band. Short, but joyous, tuneful and danceable.

7. Die Lustige Holzhackerbuam [The Happy Woodcutter Boys] - A male group sings well in Bavarian dialect about the many joys of outdoor life, bursting into yodeling between verses.

8. Hohe Tannen [Tall Pines] - A sweet, nostalgic song sung by a mixed group of voices about their homeland among the fir trees, with simple accompaniment including harmonica, accordion, guitar and bass.

9. Rhine Medley - Three songs are included here: "Wir Machen Durch Bis Morgen Früh" [We're Gonna Carouse Till Morning], "Ein Prosit" [A Toast], and "Nach Hause" [Homeward] sung by a mixed vocal group accompanied by a wind band. A nice beer-drinking and singing song about folks who're having such a good time they are not at all inclined to go home.

10. Muss I Denn [I Must Go Away To The Town] - This sweet, familiar folk song is appropriately sung by a single male singer who tells of having to go away for a while, leaving his sweetheart, but promising to come back faithfully to marry her. German university students have been singing this song for countless years.

11. Carnival Medley - There are four pieces here: Narrhalla Marsch [Fools' Hall {?} March], Freut Euch Des Lebens [Enjoy Life], Wir Kommen Alle In Den Himmel [We're All Coming To Heaven], and Der Treue Husar [The Faithful Hussar]. While the march is an instrumental played by a good German wind band, the other pieces are all sung by a group of mixed voices with band accompaniment.

12. Die Kleine Kneipe [The Little Tavern] - A male vocalist sings fondly of the little tavern in his neighborhood and all the good times he's had there. He's joined by a group of female background singers for the refrains.

13. Wanderlieder Medley [Wandering Songs Medley] - There are 3 songs here: Im Frühtau Zu Berge [In The Early Mountain Dew], Du Mein Lieb' Heimatland [You, My Beloved Homeland], and Im Krug Zum Grünen Kranze [In the Mug at the Green Wreath] nicely sung by a male vocal group with instrumental accompaniment. These are nostalgic songs of men who have had to leave their home regions.

14. Amboss-Polka [Anvil Polka] This is a fine German windband playing a polka (or march} about
blacksmiths hammering at their anvils. This tune is sometimes played as a group of men join in a circle dance while one man hammers out the rhythm on a small anvil.

15. Ännchen Von Tharau [Annie of Tharau] - A male chorus sings a sweet lovesong to a young woman named Annie. This old and much-loved song is based on a poem written by Simon Dach in 1637 and subsequently set to music by Friedrich Silcher in 1827. Tharau is in East Prussia (Northern Germany), and the words were originally written in Plattdeutsch, later to be translated into standard German.

16. Sieben Fässer Wein [Seven Casks of Wine] - A happy tune about having a good time drinking with boon companions sung by a male voice with female background vocals and band accompaniment in an ambience of conviviality. "Seven casks of wine can't be dangerous to us," the song goes. Hmmm... Sounds to me like quite a hangover in the morning.

17. Schöne Maid [Pretty Maid] - A clapped rhythmic introduction introduces an uncharacteristically syncopated folkish melody sung by a group of mixed voices trying to create a jazzy sound. Not totally successful, but listenable enough.

18. Lili Marlene - A well-known, nostalgic wartime lovesong about a girl who once stood outside the barracks gate beneath the lamppost. Marlene Dietrich was famous for her rendition of this well-loved tune. Unfortunately there is no vocal here, just a wind band with snare drum. "In front of the barracks, in front of the tall gate, stood--and still stands--a lamppost..." where Lili Marlene waited.

19. Blau Blüht Die Enzian [Blue Blooms The Gentian] - A group of mixed voices with an unusual band accompaniment (jazzy bass, accordion, etc.) sings an old song about the flower and by inference the countryside where it blooms, with a yodel-like refrain. Very lively and joyous, with a march-like rhythm..

20. Mein Vater War Ein Wandersmann [My Father Was a Wandering Man] - This is a very familiar song worldwide, played here by a band without vocals--unfortunately because the words are pretty well known both in English and German, and the val-de-ree, val-de-rah refrain even more so. The song Auf Wiederseh'n [Till We Meet Again] is tacked on at the end to close out the disk.

Considering the low price for which this can likely be had, it's a pretty good bargain for those who desire a taste of "typical" German music. The performances are not bad, the songs are pretty well chosen, and arrangements are quite good and varied. It's been around a long time, but that longevity attests to its appeal over the years. I enjoy most all of this disk, and recommend it.

The CD shown in the description IS very good. I have the cassette version and it features Heino and others. I ordered this CD version to replace the worn out cassette version that I have but was shipped something different.

The ID number on the CD shown in the description is "CLUC 065", the one that Amazon shipped is "CLUC 2 65". I believe it is the second addition from the series "All the best from Germany".

If you order this CD make sure it has the Castle on the front and the correct songs or you'll be disappointed.

I hope Amazon can get me the correct CD.

FOLLOW UP, Nov 19,2007:

After many weeks of ordering CD's with the wrong description I have finally found the right one!

I don't think you can get this CD with the picture of the "Castle" any longer. When you order this CD it is replaced with the other version that Amazon ships.

To get this exact CD you can order All Time German Classics. It is the EXACT songs and artist listed except it has a different cover on it. I don't know who Hans Glicka is, but this CD is the same as my cassette.

Hope this helps someone.

This is not the CD that is advertised. The cover is different and songs are different and this is the second CD that I have orderd that was not what it was advertised to be. A complete waste of money. Not to mention that I ordered a book from here and they took the money out of my account but I still have not recieved it.

The website makes me rate it at lease 1 star but I won't even give it that. I rate it a big fat ZERO!

M.Campbell