Review from Modculture
Stuart Pierce | Birmingham, UK | 11/11/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"An amazing selection of German grooves from the 60s through to the early 70s.
There's so many albums you wait an age for which inevitably let you down, then albums come from nowhere and knock you out. Such is the case with 'The In-Kraut', appropriately sub-titled 'Hip Shaking Grooves Made In Germany 1966-1974'.
When you think of German music past, it's hard to get past Kraftwerk and hair rock. But like all cultures, if you go past the obvious and scrape the surface, there's some great stuff hidden down below. I first heard album opener 'From Here On It Got Rough' by Hildegard Knef on the radio, prompting me to seek out this collection. Like Nico does northern - incredibly quirky and catchy and a sign of things to come. Some tracks are cool and funky variations of the big band sound, like Guenter Noris' 'Gemini' which operates in Ramsey Lewis territory and Fredy Brock's 'Beat It', featuring a class JB style rhythm section. Best topping those is Orchester Helmuth Brandenburg's 'Moving Out', not a far cry from the Starsky and Hutch theme! There's the annoyingly catchy 'Marihuana Mantra' with its driving guitar and chant-like chorus or the fuzz-pop of Bill Ramsey's 'An Unknown Quantity'. And check out the breezy 60s pop of Marianne Mendt's 'Wie A Glock'n' or the more sleazy 'Pussy Baby' by Bill Lawrence. Talking of 60s pop, I love Heidi Bruehl's 'Berlin' - almost like a soundtrack piece, complete with great psych guitar solo (rumoured to be from Jimmy Page!). And for a piece of driving hammond, The Boots' 'Alexander' hits the spot.
And there's tracks that have already become sought-after collectors' grooves. Check out 'Why Don't You Play The Organ, Man' by Memphis Black - a monster funk piece. And feel the groove on the opening of 'Sunday Love Affair' by Orchester Frank Pleyer. More mainstream funk comes courtesy of Erwin Halletz, with 'Das Stundenhotel Von St Pauli' - a blue movie soundtrack inevitably! A track that has already been lifted wholesale is 'Bodybuilding' by Orchester Werner Mueller - re-worked by Bentley Rhythm Ace into a hit single a few years back. And no album of this nature would be complete without a bonkers covers version - enter Peter Thomas with his early synth and brass take on 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'.
20 tracks - no filler and one of the best booklets I've had the pleasure to read in a long time. A fantastic trip through the German underground of the 60s and early 70s and an album I just can't recommend enough."
REVIEW FROM IGLOO MAGAZINE
Jeff Singleton | Boston, MA USA | 11/10/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Tight as hot pants on Pam Grier. Smokin. Slick. Mod. And as advertised, groovy as a corrugated roof, shaking hips like a cronked belly-dancer: The In-Kraut is all that and a bag of buds.
Encompassing some of the best of the late sixties and early seventies, it's a raunchy Deutsche gumbo: smooth Bacharach bounces that even Burt would envy, a psychedelic anthem extolling the joys of marihuana, chicks sounding like Nancy Sinatra doing Dietrich, and even a dirty back-beat soul jam that Bernard Purdie and Jimmy Smith couldn't do more funky.
This is a treasure trove of rarities. It makes Rhino releases seem like K-Tel. Tunes from the musty, dusty days of a still divided country that evince American influences, but also show off their own distinct flavors. And they're tasty.
The variety is fantastic. Lounge, high-camp, rock, soundscape, jazz - each tune brings something new and fab to the mix. It's hard to imagine a mélange like this coming to a gel. But these are jelly and jam, hot sauce and jalapeños: sweet as hominy grits and honey one moment, sultry as a silk garter the next. Lord Jesus, this disc is so good it's driven me to more colloquialisms than Dan Rather on election night.
So I'll end my review with just one more final, no jive comment: Get yourself to the record store now and buy this collection. Hell, buy 2. It'll make the perfect Christmas present."
Wunderbar!
Discerning Critic | 01/04/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"A remarkably high ratio of hits to misses on this compilation -- sehr komische from start to finish, plus some impressively funky rhythm sections. (Ersatz funk courtesy of middle-aged German guys who I'd guess were steeped in jazz, but that's part of the charm of this music.)
Just a few highlights: Hildegard Knef sounding like the definitive Teutonic drag queen on the opening track (I know she's an actual woman, but just see if she doesn't sound like the inspiration for "Hedwig and the Angry Inch"); the funniest Stones cover ever; and some great psychedelic guitar on "Undergroovin'," from an obscure early movie by Hans-Jurgen Syberberg, the ultimate high-brow, braniac director. (Who knew he had the funk in him?)
In contrast to most compilations of this genre, the booklet is not only stylin' but intelligently written and well translated. The booklet also includes the original 45 or LP covers for each track, adding to the overall mood of kitschy fun. Hier finden Sie viel Spass!
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Track Listings (20) - Disc #1