German Band Music --- "Beer Garden" Style
S. Wenzel | Northridge, CA United States | 07/10/2004
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you're looking for heavy full-range German march music, this is probably not the album for you. Also, the recording quality is a bit tinny here and there, especially in the recording of the "Deutschland Lied." As my heading implies, the perfomance style is much lighter and is more like what you'd hear at a local Oktoberfest beer garden. The music is, on the whole, still enjoyable and the vocals are also on the light side. Back in the late 1950s through the early 1990s, the radio station KTYM broadcast German music programs on Saturdays and Sundays hosted by Fred Schell and Peter Teichmann. On their programs, they played music that sounded much like what you'll hear on this CD. While I don't think of this music as something you'd march to, it is the kind you'd relax to while sipping from your bierkrug and enjoying a Thueringer bratwurst or Muenchner wiesswurst and a side of sauerkraut with friends. On Sundays when I was a kid, my dad would barbeque on the porch. We kids would play in the yard while his German friends would sit in the shade enjoying their beer and listening to this music played on the portable stereo set my dad brought outside on a LONG extension cord. I'm still in the habit of listening to this music on weekends. It still brings back some nice memories. While the recording quality is wanting here and there, I think you'll find this collection of traditional German music relaxing and pleasing. You would do well to puchase this album used on Amazon, as I did. And, for those of you who understand German: "In der Not schmeckt das Wurst gut ohne Brot!""
Title is a bit misleading
PonceGrey | Tundra | 09/24/2006
(2 out of 5 stars)
"I was very pleased with the original volume of German Military Marches. There were some differing opinions, in regards to the sound quality of that cd, but nothing that took away from the selections.
As the name of this title "More German Military Marches & Polkas Vol.II" suggests, this cd would be a addendum to the previous volume. This is not the case for this cd, as it is a completely different selection of tracks and genre.
I am not a military marches expert, but I do have a collection and an idea of what I expect from a cd entitled Military Marches & Polkas. This recent volume is primarily a collection of bland polkas. Maybe a Polka fan would like this volume, but if you are looking for good military marches, as found on the original cd, look elsewhere."
Track Listings (21) - Disc #1