Feb

26

The party scene on the front cover of Horst Wende’s ‘Bei Pfeiffers ist Ball’ album anticipates the many later releases Wende would be involved in as producer, performer, and arranger - Non Stop Dancing is right around the corner! All of these arrangements are polished by countless performances in the clubs and military base dance halls throughout Germany, and Wende’s production is bright and sprightly throughout. From the opening note, this is a party record, with bouncing accordion, gang vocals, trumpet, banjo, trombone, xylophone, guitar, and a perfect rhythm section forcing the action. You can almost hear drunken soldiers bellowing ‘Roll Out The Barrel’ over the exuberant organ in ‘Rosamunde’, and this record’s arrangement of ‘Sportpalast-Walzer’ can still be counted on to lift fans out of their seats in hockey arenas around the world. Wende even manages to avoid the inherent uber-kaas in a handful of Will Glahe covers, keeping the tempo rollicking with slick, interesting arrangements and true stereo production. It is easy to see why Wende changed his name to release his world music, for his mastery of Germany’s beloved polkas, marches, and waltzes is so complete that his name doubtless was synonomous with those sounds. This record deserves to stay alive, and has been reissued on CD, deservedly still a steady seller, 45 years after its release.


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