365 Days #218 - 28 partyknuller zum tanzen (mp3s)

First a few words about the name of the CD. When I first started to collect these records I got to talk to other Swedish collectors and found that a surprisingly big number of us started our collections with the record "28 Partyknüller zum tanzen" (that's german for roughly "28 entertaining party songs for dancing"). Now, if you don't speak Swedish you're missing half the joke. Knüller, in german, means "big hit/showstopper" but Knull in swedish means... ehhh... well... fuck.

So I thought that i'd make a vol 2.

I collected 28 of the grooviest, hippest and most danceable songs from my vinyl collection, with the only exception that they hadn't been released on CD before and, to the best of my knowledge, none of these are. So, sit back and enjoy.

- Contributed by: Duke DeMonde

MP3:
01. Czerwono Czarini - Moj Dom Gdzies Daleko (my home is far away) (3:48) (1966) Czerwono Czarini
02. Eva - Tam, Odkud Pise Mi Laska (the letter) (3:38) (1972) Eva
03. Pat and Lolly Vegas - Keep Me Up Tight (2:02) (1966) Pat & Lolly Vegas At The Haunted House
04. Bill Cosby - Mojo Workout (2:52) (1967) Silver Throat Bill Cosby Sings
05. Joe Reni Complex - Rank-Out (3:08) (1969) Music To Read The Pretenders By...
06. Pussycats - Gone, Gone, Gone (2:34) (1965) Single
07. Frank Valdor - Mademoiselle Ninette (1:31) (19??) Aktuell trumpet Party
08. Frank Valdor - Soulbrother Clifford (1:03) (19??) Aktuell trumpet Party
09. Frank Valdor - Barfuss Im regen (1:12) (19??) Aktuell trumpet Party
10. The Royal Guitar Ensamble - Diamond Head (2:06) (1967) Golden Guitar
11. Unknown Artist - Lady Madonna (1:03) (1972) 28 Non-Stop Hits For Dancing
12. Unknown Artist - Simon Says (0:49) (1972) 28 Non-Stop Hits For Dancing
13. Unknown Artist - Young Girl (1:02) (1972) 28 Non-Stop Hits For Dancing
14. The Tequila Brass - Joshua Fit the Battle (2:28) (1973) Tijuana Rock
15. Loffe - Mdssan (3:02) (1975) Loffe goes Latin America
16. James Last - Fireball (1:50) (1972) Non stop dancing 1972 2
17. Bourbon Family - Booze Booze (3:01) (197?) Happy Bourbon party
18. Maxwell Davis - Super Chase (2:16) (1966) Batman Theme And Other Bat Songs
19. The California Poppy Pickers - Special delivery (2:45) (1969) Presents Todays Chart Busters With Hit Vocals
20. Gustav Offermann - Sunny Day (4:00) (1974) Sunny Day
21. Gustav Offermann - Leave Me Alone (2:47) (1974) Sunny Day
22. James Last - Giant Man (4:09) (1972) Voodoo-Party
23. The Mariachi Brass! - Yesterdas Gone (2:31) (1966) Double Shot!
24. Stef Meeder Grand Hammond Medley - A taste Of Honey (0:59) (1970) What Now My Love
25. Stef Meeder Grand Hammond Medley - Cant Buy Me Love (0:47) (1970) What Now My Love
26. Stef Meeder Grand Hammond Medley - A Dedicated Follower Of Fashion (1:01) (1970) What Now My Love
27. Pop Classic Workshop - L.S.D. (3:23) (197?) The Masterworks Of The Beatles
28. Sounds Nice - Love You, Too (2:07) (1969) Single

Images: Front, Back

1. A polish group that I know nothing about. I tried searching the internet but came up with nothing. The thing I do know is that since this was made during the cold war, no one in poland was allowed to make a record if it was not given clearance to be released by the government. Not only did they control that the music did not contain any politically unacceptable statements but also that the music itself was good enough to be released. So now we can sit back and enjoy some communistic approved easy soul.

2. Also from Poland. Same thing with her, I found nothing on the net. The whole album is great but I picked this cut because of the killer production. Just wait until the end of the song.

3. Pat and Lolly later formed Redbone. Probably more known in the U.S. than in Europe. The record has hysterical liner notes...

PAT AND LOLLY VEGAS AT THE HAUNTED HOUSE: The most exotic discotheque in LA (where it all began) is the eerie Haunted House. The hottest new singing team on the west coast is composed of Pat and Lolly Vegas. Put them together and what do you have? A great album, for one thing. Recorded live above the dance floor of the Haunted House, these songs by Pat and Lolly Vegas capture all the excitement of the brand new California "bag." Combining the soul of rhythm  and blues with a go-go beat, this new sound has been an overnight sensation and has helped make the Haunted House into one of the most wildly successful nightspots in the country. Rhe House, located at Hollywood and Vine, has a most unique appearance. Its entrance is a complete chamber of horror equipped with life-size wax figures of such infamous creatures as Frankenstein, Dracula, the ghoulish characterizations of Vincent Price, and many other terrors. The figures are so real-looking that Cassius Clay once remarked: "They even scare me. And, man, that means they'll scare anybody." The ingenious bandstand, designed especially for Pat and Lolly's act, features a monster's head fashioned into a shell which pushes the sound up and out-making a microphone unnecessary. The actual sound comes through the monster's nostrils, which blows steam which makes the sound even louder. Because of the great success the House has archived since its opening, the owner, Mickey Crouch, is planning similar Haunted Houses in London, las Vegas and New York. Although Pat and Lolly Vegas have been working together for more than six years, they are still young boys-Pat is 21 and Lolly is 22. Both are very talented musicians and songwriters. Half the numbers on this album are Pat and Lolly originals, and one of their previous creations, "Look at me," was made into a great hit by their close friend Doby Gray. Working hand-in-hand with Doby and other young artists in the Los Angeles area, Pat and Lolly have been responsible for the creation of the new blues-rock sound that has already conquered the West Coast and is starting to make the biggest nationwide smash since the invasion of the Beatles. So come now, past the hallway of horrors and into the inner chamber, and listen to the magical talents of these two young men. You will have to agree that although this is their first album, it is not likely to be their last. - Paul Zakaras, Billboard

4. What can be said that hasn't already been said about Mr. Cosby? This song is (to the best of my knowledge) not funny. But Bill is a really good singer and the song is actually very enjoyable and, not in the least, danceable.

5. Never heard of the book, but according to Amazon, it exists. Haven't read it, though I can't imagine that it can hold a candle to the record.

6. A Norwegian 60s group.

7-9. Frank "the king of the dynamic party sound" Valdor, the true king of German 70s easy listening. There isn't a single fleamarket in Sweden that does not sell a record of Valdor.

10. Great music and wonderful cover but I have no info at all on The Royal Guitar Ensemble themselves. I've seen other records by them in thrift stores but never got around to buying them. According to the sleeve it was recorded with "Channel 20 Sound [...] the delicacy, precision and engineering brilliance that characterize Japan's present-day technological achievement."

11-13. These non-stop-party records are literally a dollar a dozen in Swedish fleamarkets. No info on who arranged it, who the musician is or anything, but they are great party records.

14. A great party song.

15. Loffe is a well known comedian/actor in Sweden, few know he made any records. He started as the drummer for the Swedish psych act "Hansson & Karlsson" (Loffe being the Karlsson part) but switched his career to acting when the 60s ended. In the mid 70s his career was kind of slow so he recorded four easy listening party records were he tells jokes between the songs. This is from one of those. The lyrics are in Swedish, but don't mind that as they really don't make any sense. It's about a priest who asks the church bell ringer what he can see from the church tower. The ringer answers that he can see an old woman with a chicken. That's it!? More info on Loffe and his music can be found here.

16. James Last, from Germany (of course, that's where the bulk of European easy listening in the 70s was produced), is probably the artist whose records you will most likely find in a Swedish flea market. Here he does Deep Purple.

17. An German party band singing about booze. Now my english is bad, but this is on completely other level. But then again, with lyrics like "Booze, Booze, Booze in the morning time, Booze, Booze, Booze in the afternoon" you cant go wrong.

18. From the album "Batman theme and other batsongs", so i guess that this is a batsong.

19. Great American psych studio project from the man behind "The Monster Mash".

20-21. Gustaf Offerman from Czechoslovakia is an overaged drummer and bandleader of this party style band with his own name and you can't deny that this makes you want to dance. In contrary to the rest of the eastern Europe bands on this record Gustav and his orchestra have English lyrics. Well... almost.

22. Another Last tune. This one from his by far, best record, "VooDoo-Party".

23. Another brass band doing a great version of Yesterdas Gone.

24-26. A great hammond player from the Netherlands. Not much info on him on the net that is not in Dutch, but as far as I understand, he is still going strong.

27. The Beatles have been covered in all kinds of musical styles, so why not a string version of Lucy In The Sky With Diamonds with a great drum groove during the chorus?

28. According to some internet sites the A-side of this single (Je T'aime) was a hit but I still can't find any info on them. Great, melancholic hammond groove none the less.

Comments

[emura]

hi ho, nice labour of love, nice cover,
nevertheless I have to sharpen out 2 points:
1st - there is enough good & strange sixties stuff made in poland, just check out the 2 vols. of 'wrenching the wires' compis.
2nd - you are right, james last, frankie valdor and steff meeder are not to find on any compilation, if you listen you'll know why...
besides nothing they ever made should be regarded as 'easy listening' it's 'rentnerpop'.

[MrFab]

Bill Cosby's "Silver Throat" has been reissued on CD. I don't know why.

[strictly kev]

(Mostly) fantastic collection, especially like the 'Fireball' cover

[andy]

Speaking of James Last, here's a youtube vid of his bizarre version of Amazing Grace set to a strangely appropriate electric toothbrush infomercial (I did post this in the blather box a year ago, if it sounds familiar): http://youtube.com/watch?v=r4yzDXZAA2Q

[michael farris]

The first is by the group Czerwono-Czarni (not the spelling, which means (roughly The Red and Black). They were a well-known (in Poland) group who played on the same bill as the rolling stones when they first played Poland (they were active 1960-76). This is according to the Polish and German wikipedia pages. I live in Poland so I'm sure I've heard them (and I've seen compilations for sale) but I can't associate any particular song with them off the top of my head and I don't recall hearing this one.

The second is not Polish but rather Czech (or maybe Slovak, it can be hard for outsiders to distinguish the two).

A pretty literal translation of the title would be "There, from where my love(r) wrote to me" (It's not so awkard in Czecho-slovak).

I don't recognize the singer and I checked the Czech and slovak wikipedias and found one czech and one slovak that it might be.

Czech? Eva Olmerová
Slovak? Eva Kostolányiová

Of the two (from my limited Czech/Slovak reading ability) the latter would seem to be the better bet in terms of time and style. The wikipedia entry specifically mentions her singing in Sweden if that means anything.

[Duke DeMonde]

Great info on Czerwono-Czarni. Thanks.

On the Eva record is tells that her full name is Eva Pilarova. I'd love any info on her you might have.

But mostly I'm interested in any info you've got on Gustaf Offerman. Love his whole album and would like to know a little more about him than the linernotes on the album.

Thanks.

[michael farris]

I think I've heard of Pilarova but I can't remember where. She won an award in Poland in 1967 at the Sopot music festival (for a song called requiem)

She does have her own web page www.evapilarova.com (entirely in Czech it appears). She's closing in on 70 but pretty well preserved it seems.

I'll see what I can dig up (and understand) on Offerman in a day or two when I have the time.

[michael farris]

Oh, while I'm here. In Czechoslovakia (I don't know about now) it was _very_ common to translate and sing international hits and a lot of Czech and Slovak singers' repetoire was made up of local covers of international hits.
It was less common (AFAIK) for the singer to change the tempo and feeling of the song as radically as Pilarova does here.

This was (and is) almost never done in Poland (where it would be interpreted as ignorance of foreign languages and lack of education on the part of the performer). Foreign songs (when performed) were/are sung in the original language (whether the singer could or should try to sing in said language or not).

[michael farris]

The only info on Gustav Offerman I could find was that the famous (in Slovakia) jazz singer Peter Lipa sang and played guitar with him for a couple of years (1969-71).
there's a picture at Lipa's site:
http://www.peterlipa.com/index.php?id=252

[Andreas Goatcabin]

Hi, I´m from sweden and this album cover really caught my eye the instand i saw it. I think that the guy holding the cigar is the swedish actor and musician Janne "Loffe" Karlsson. He starred in the famous swedish movie "Göta Kanal" in the 80s. Thanx for a great site! Hopefully I will be able to contribute with some weird stuff i got stuffed away in the vinyl collection. I got tons of it!

[kill]

Eva - Tam, odkud píse mi laska
this is czech woman singer Eva Pilarova

[irving gribbish]

Sounds Nice - Instrumentals produced by Gus Dudgeon, with Tim Mycroft on Hammond Organ. Beautiful! Thanks!

[Lou Kash]

For more info on Eva Pilarová, "czech" out the articles on my blog Funky Czech-In:
blog.loukash.com/2007/03/cant-buy-me-love.html
blog.loukash.com/2007/08/piece-of-my-heart.html
(more to come later this and next year, of course)

As for the Gustav Offermann tracks, the most interesting fact about those is, that at that time the lead singer, guitarist and composer of Offermann's orchestra was a certain Miroslav Žbirka, later in the 1980s one of the top (Czecho)-Slovak pop-rock superstars. But other than that, I'd say that the album "Sunny Day" is not more than mediocre muzak. I for one like the first Offerman album from 1973 much better, there's at least a nice cover version of Proud Mary à la Ike & Tina Turner...