Various - Pop in Germany Pop in Germany Vol.8

Pop in Germany - Various artists

When delusional things mutate into a dog of Baskerville, a yellow river turns into strange eyes and a beautiful daydream turns into a harsh order Put your bed on the street - when all such confusion happens to you, it is worth a German hit. Whether rock'n' roll, surf or twist - the German record companies always had an ear for music fans during the 60s and 70s who did not know English. And understandably a second, in order to be able to better supervise the hoped for additional strumming in the cash. Plain language: Whenever popular hits from the USA or the United Kingdom reached local coasts, potential buyers should also understand what was sung there. The procedure worked: As soon as promising titles climbed up the American or British hit lists, word-proven lyricists between Flensburg and Garmisch were already sharpening their styles, German-speaking interpreters were oiling their vocal chords.

Their common mission: Get to the originals, make cover versions! What came out of it can already be heard - sorted by genre - on CDs:'Surf In Germany' (Bear Family Records BCD 16211) has in the past dedicated itself to musical surfers,'Twist In Germany' (BCD 16186) to hip-waggers at risk of tearing - with a total of 45 sounding diaphragm attacks. That's when an Abigail Beecher became loose The hit Mausi Müller, from She Rides With Me Just No alibi or from Twist Everybody the diet decree Twist is good for the line. But all this was only a light - albeit already wonderfully curious - preliminary skirmish at the beginning of the Golden Sixties, in the so-called Pre-Beat(les) era. The full broadside, however, was yet to come. Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones, the Fab Four and Manfred Mann, the Moody Blues, Creedence Clearwater Revival, Simon & Garfunkel and countless others - they were all yet to come to get their Germanic blueprints. Protest songs and 4/4 beat were doctored, entertainment pop and flower power.

And at the turn of the decade in the 70s, paranoid even caught one of the ultimate UK hard rock hammers, who would have been more suitable for it? Cindy & Bert pre-buttoned. Pop in Germany' makes it possible and at the same time fulfils fan wishes that have been expressed for a long time. The "converted originals" brought to light from the archives are - alongside special individual interpreters and entire labels - among the most sought-after (vinyl) objects of desire on the local collector scene. For the rare dog from Baskerville, for example, three-digit DM amounts are now regularly demanded - and also printed.

And, ask Nina & Mike, What will be in seven years? Bernd Matheja