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DVD – “The Beatles With Tony Sheridan”
The Early Days in Hamburg – A Documentary
(# 980 883-6 - Polydor)
Released: September 29, 2003
On the DVD “The Beatles With Tony Sheridan”, released by Polydor, Tony Sheridan and many other contemporary witnesses recall those early appearances, impressively portraying the then music scene in Hamburg. Not only is the music set off with a fascinating sequence of Beatles photos, this DVD also includes some rare Super 8 footage with Bert Kaempfert.
Knef Sings – Kaempfert Swings
Hildegard Knef & Bert Kaempfert and
his Orchestra
At
the beginning of March 2002, the 1979 legendary album “Eins & Eins – Hildegard
Knef & Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra”, was re-released in
special remembrance of two great artists. It includes Hildegard Knef’s
great successes from the 60s in a joint session with Bert Kaempfert,
whose arrangements lent them a fresh touch.
In
addition to Bert Kaempfert’s characteristic sound, the album includes
another four of his hits, L.O.V.E., Danke Schoen,
Remember When and Petula.
This song track which Kaempfert originally wrote as a purely instrumental
track premiered on the LP as a song title: Du
hast mir so gefehlt. The
song Der Mensch muss unter die Leute was written specially for Knef by
Kaempfert.
There are also four instrumental tracks from the Bert Kaempfert Orchestra
as bonus tracks, making this CD a particularly appealing musical experience.
In addition to the Intermission Riff from the 1978 SWING album, there
are three tracks from the 1979 album SMILE: the title song of this LP, I
Cried For You und Just You, Just Me (# 586 760-2 – Mercury).
Click here for more information.
Ivo Robic – Träume
vom Glück
Ivo Robic and Bert Kaempfert began working together when they made the legendary song Morgen. Following a succès d’estime in Germany, this single was a sensation in the US and earned both artists a Golden Disk.
Many
co-productions followed. In 1968, there was “Ivo Robic singt Bert-Kaempfert-Erfolge”.
The succinct voice of the amiable Croat in conjunction with the distinctive
arrangements and the sound of Bert Kaempfert and his Orchestra is a hallmark
for all fans. Almost all the songs by this successful team are available
on the CD “Träume vom Glück” (# 543 850-2 – Universal).
Click here for more information.
Herbert Rehbein and his Orchestra – The Complete LP Collection
The
three LPs Herbert Rehbein produced for DECCA under the management of Milt
Gabler in the years of his friendship and cooperation with Bert Kaempfert
are available on CD: “Music To Soothe That Tiger” (released
in the original in Germany # 237 644
on Polydor under the title of “Bert Kaempfert Presents Love”),
“Love After Midnight” (in the original # 184 078 – Polydor)
as well as “...
And So To Bed” (in the original # DL 75 107 – Decca).
TARAGON
Records released all three albums in an attractive 2-CD edition with 35 tracks
and the original cover illustrations of the US albums at the time under
the title of “Herbert Rehbein and his Orchestra – The
Complete LP Collection”. It includes many compositions by the Bert
Kaempfert / Herbert Rehbein team, arranged by Herbert Rehbein in his own
style and recorded by Bert Kaempfert productions in the Rahlstedt studio,
Hamburg / Germany (TARCD-1077).
Click here for more information: www.taragon.com.
All CDs are available
over the Internet (for example, from AMAZON or JPC.
Click here
for the links.
Released
by Bear Family Records:
Bert Kaempfert – Soundtracks
This “2
on 1” CD includes the soundtracks of the two movies “Terror
After Midnight” and “A Man Could Get Killed”. The latter’s
theme tune Beddy-Bye became the hit of the century Strangers
In The Night.
There are also two bonus tracks: Love Theme and Flight
To Mecca, the two
theme tunes from the movie “You Can’t Win ’Em All”.
The colourfully illustrated booklet with the CD includes details about
the soundtracks composed and recorded by Bert Kaempfert
(# BCD 16571 AH).
THE BEATLES – with Tony Sheridan. Beatles Bop – Hamburg Days
“Then
one evening, somebody said to us: Bert Kaempfert’s here in the
‘Top Ten’. Who on earth is that? – You don’t
know Bert Kaempfert? Wonderland By Night. He’s a record producer
and on the lookout for new talent. – Oh, damn, we’d better
give it all we’ve
got.”
(Paul Mc Cartney)
This high-quality box in LP format not only includes a CD with 38 versions from the “Polydor Years”. On the inspiration of the Hamburg journalist and novelist Bernd Matheja and in cooperation with the Swedish Beatles specialist Hans Olof Gottfridsson, a very comprehensive and well-compiled book with numerous photos and illustrations was also produced. It documents how Bert Kaempfert discovered the Beatles in Hamburg at that time and recorded the first records with them. So it is not only a “must” for Beatles fans (# BCD 16447 BK).
Cindy Ellis “Fever”
(# BCD 16649 AH)
Released: June 2003
CD premiere under the Bear Family Records label for an artist who was actually thought to have disappeared. Over 40 years after their initial release, 20 songs by the singer Cindy Ellis are available as a compilation on compact disc.
The alto with the voice as excellent as it is attractive was promoted and produced by the orchestra director Bert Kaempfert, whose attention had been drawn towards the young interpreter in 1959 when he heard a tape with test recordings and, recognizing her great talent, invited her to come to Hamburg. The Hamburg music journalist and writer Bernd Matheja managed to trace the singer after searching for many years. In the accompanying booklet (with photos, documents and a discography by Richard Weize), he tells the story of Cindy Ellis – an artist between pop and chanson who has been difficult to find in the relevant literature so far.
With its excellent music, the CD “Fever” fills another gap in reprocessing the history of German light music from the 50s and very early 60s.
Click here for more information: www.bear-family.de.
