e2music

Having received email forwards of the contents of the our sensei node and so many other kind and generous emails, I could not do less than respond. I am composing this node in a word processor so that it can just be pasted into an e2 node when I am able to obtain access. I hope that it is not too rambling; however I notice that my thoughts and speech are often less connected than I would wish.

I would like to thank my many friends on e2 for all of their kind words, thoughts, and intentions. There are so many of you that I could not mention you all without it simply being a list of hundreds of users. But I cannot refrain from mentioning in particular: My very dear friend wharfinger. Wharf is a very funny and lucid writer who has shown great care for the project of everything2 and with whom I have shared many interesting conversations (even when he was pretending to be someone else). And of course dannye who was so very helpful to me immediately after dem bones “consecrated" me with editorial cilia and I was reeling about in the nodegel, unsure of my direction. He has also very patiently answered many naïve questions about American politics and of the culture of the American South. Dear knifegirl who was helpful in my early days on e2 and then who I later as an editor and as one of the god usergroup entity found to be always trusted for help and advice. My friend ideath was one of the first people on e2 with whom I began to understand the new kind of friendship that was available to us in our interactions on the Web. She was very helpful at a time when I was heartbroken by what I saw of how callously some new users had been treated by their elders in Chatterbox. While I do not understand his modes of recreation nor rejuvenation, dem bones is very dear to me. And nate has been unfailingly kind and concerned, especially over the many weeks of my illness. Jinmyo is of course a friend of many years and has been very kind at relaying information back and forth between e2 and myself. She is the kind of writer that can bring forth the best in the nodegel. Then there are so many others, all of whom occur to me together with the thought of e2: Jay Pea, nocodeforparanoia, the fearsome Lord Brawl, thefez WHO LIKES TO BE HAPPY, discofever, Gorgonzola, ZamZ, simonc, alex.tan, team Jet-Poop, Dialogue, GroundControl, -OutpostMir-… Ah, I am rambling after all now.

What I had wanted to comment on was the kind of friendships that can occur on everything2. Sometimes we might speak of “virtual” friendship. I myself have done so. But I think that this might not so helpful a way of framing it. There is nothing “virtual” or “almost true” in the friendship that I feel for so many of you. In thinking about this relationship one obvious thing often occurs to us. We have not seen each other face to face. We do not know each other’s height and weight. All that we have are words (and perhaps the images posted on homenodes, but these are rarely snapshots of the person). We can represent ourselves howsoever we might choose. As a man or a woman, a cow named Bob, a hamster with or without a bong, a cat.

But even with those people that we meet face-to-face, there is much that we do not and cannot know. How often are our interactions with others deceptive or untrustworthy? How often are smiles or gestures merely contrived or virtual? “How are you today?” “Oh, I’m fine.”

I have discovered (as perhaps you have as well) that in the relationships we have with each other on everything2 that we learn a great deal about each other. Day after day, write-up after write-up, we come to know how we each express ourselves, conduct ourselves, what we might think or feel (no matter how momentarily). Some of us even write things that we would never say to another person. We eventually find a voice that expresses for us how we understand our world and each other.

Although over my years I have met thousands of people and have been close with hundreds, I do not believe that there is anything less real about any of you then there is about any of them.

Still, we cannot see each other’s eyes or feel how a room changes in quality when someone enters or leaves. We cannot look out the window and point out a bird flying past or the way that the clouds are moving. We cannot prepare a meal for each other or say “taste this” without it being more than an intention, ironically layered with our recognition of impossibility.

So there is much we do not know of each other. And as there seems to be much confusion or at least a lack of information on what is going on for me, I thought it would be useful then to supply a bit more information.

While I am not as old as some might suppose, I am 64 years of age. Some years ago I had a very bad bout of pneumonia. While travelling late this summer I suppose I allowed myself to get over-extended and fell ill with pneumonia and pleurisy again. This seemed to go on a very long while. I was being treated with a variety of antibiotics that were very difficult on my system. The pneumonia left an abscess in my lung which took a long time to drain and is still healing (in that the hole will slowly close in on itself). I have been very susceptible to colds and flus since then. I have had a stroke involving the left side of my body. I would rather it not be so, but I am in fact somewhat incontinent as well as slow of limb and thought. I would like to say that I am on a speedy path to recovery but this is not really so. I have moved back to my old home in Kyoto where I am trying to take care of business that has to do with the inheritance of properties and a great many intangibles. I have some responsibilities to people that I have been mentoring, so to speak, that I must fulfill for them. This takes most of my energy when I am upright and that is not often. So this is what I am doing and how things are for me.

I would like to say that I will be back on e2 soon but that is not very realistic. Even should that happen I cannot see it being more than doddering about occasionally. I can see myself absent-mindedly and accidentally deleting whole sections of the nodegel, msging users about spelling mistakes that are not there, and generally being a menace. Should this eventually be the case, I apologize to you in advance.

I know that many of us on e2 are very young people. I remember being very surprised and pleased to find that one user, Tauress, was actually 12 years old. Most of us are in high school or in university. We might not have encountered much illness or death in our lifetimes up to this point. It might be distressing for us to hear of it. But, I’m sorry to say, illness and death are inevitable not only for others but for ourselves. As a friend of mine says, “There is nothing else that can happen.” But of course this frailty, this vulnerability, is inextricably braided with the beauty of forms and fragrances and flavours. It is what makes our lives beautiful. And I am not sorry to have said that. While you might disagree, I think it an important thing to remember about this life of ours.

In closing, might I say a few things about e2 that might or might not be useful?

I believe as I always have that everything2 is a demonstration of some of the best possibilities of the Web for communication and creativity. I have spent most of my time on e2 helping in some small way to bring forth the great talents that so many of you have. I am pleased to hear that the mentorship program that was proposed to me by mistero and that I then proposed to dem bones has been put in place. I think it is very important for new users to have the opportunity to avail themselves of the experience of others. And I think it is very important for us to be able to offer of our own experience to others.

If I do not speak with you again or if not for some time, this is amongst my wishes for you: That you use everything2 to discover and express your own creativity. That you enjoy words and the writing and reading and speaking and listening of them. That you carry this out into enjoyment of all of the other areas of your lives.

Well, this was even longer and more rambling than I had feared it would be. While I have had someone look it over for me, it probably still is a bit of a muddle. If you’ve read this far, thank you for your patience.

On all acoustic guitars, basses, cellos, violas and violins, the bass bar is a strip of wood (spruce) glued to the back side of the top (front) of the instrument. It is, when facing the front of the instrument, underneath the left foot of the bridge. It provides some structural integrity to the top of the instrument, as the bridge places a fairly heavy strain on the surface when the strings are at full tension. The bass bar's other purpose is to correct for the tuning changes created in the instrument when the F-holes are cut. While moving or replacing the bass bar remains an incredibly expensive and labor intensive task, it is often the only method of altering the tonality of an instrument after the soundpost.

Do you miss New York?
The anger,
The action?
Does this laid back lifestyle lack
A certain satisfaction?

Music and Lyrics by Dave Frishberg.
ASCAP Title Code: 340246013

This tune is the tale of a New Yorker transplanted to the West Coast, told as only Frishberg, a lyrical genius, can tell. The lyrics embrace the contrast between the laid-back California lifestyle and the frenetic pace of the City. The song favors New York heavily, at first hinting at it, but the final line all but cries out "I've made a mistake and I don't wanna live in Hollywood anymore!" Singer Rosemary Clooney does the ending justice: "Do you miss New York?" ('York' sung in a high flat after diving more than an octave to reach 'miss'). Then the singer tonelessly speaks the words, as a friend imparting empathy, "Me too." The song, and particularly the treatment, tugged a tear outta this hard-boiled City boy the first time I heard Rosie's version.

And do you ever run into that guy
Who used to be you?
Tell me,
Do you miss New York?

Me too.

The only other treatments found were a live recording by Mel Torme and a credit for Susannah McCorkle in All Music Guide on the web. I know, however, that the Composer's performed it (playing the piano) with vocalists Blossom Dearie and cabaret singer Rebecca Kilgore. The Composer lists it (albeit on the bottom of the list) among his most-requested songs during club performances. Peculiarly, although the song's licensed by ASCAP, the only performer of the song registered there is Mr. Frishberg himself. Perhaps the other performers' versions were handled by his music publisher, for exposure's sake (after all, when they were alive and in their later years, it was rare for Clooney or Torme to sing anything by a living composer, except perhaps Bernstein or Alan and Marilyn Bergman).

The song, of course, is a frequent addition to the set-list of any cabaret or jazz singer when performing in the City, but also a favorite of singers of the Cabaret genre all over. But for purists, who insist one must be dead to have one's work added to the list of The Great American Songbook, the song's considered by many a rightful entry into that tome.
 

A Difficult Chart to Perform

The music's sharps and flats soar at one point, and then resolve to four notes which must be sung exactly on pitch or the brilliance of the song, the musical wittiness, if you will, is gone. Perhaps the reason it hasn't been embraced by more standards singers is the pure difficulty of the song to execute well and convincingly. In difficulty alone, it parallel's composer Billy Strayhorn's "Lush Life."

The overall musical mood one is left with is not a song which was written in the 1980s, (couldn't find the exact date anywhere) but one which was written in the '40s. And then utilized in the soundtrack of a Woody Allen movie. In fact, one critic calls composer Frishberg "a musical Woody Allen." "Do You Miss New York," however, strays from Frishberg's typically humorous lyrics.

Recorded by:

• Clooney, Rosemary
• McCorkle, Susannah
• Torme, Mel
• and the Composer

SOURCES:

ASCAP ACE Search: www.ascap.com/ace (Accessed 5/6/07)

Rosemary Clooney's Website: http://www.rosemaryclooney.com/LyricPages/doyoumissnewyork.html (Accessed 5/6/07)

AllAboutJazz website: "Blossom Dearie and Dave Frishberg at the Tribeca Performing Arts Center": http://www.allaboutjazz.com/php/article.php?id=17346 (Accessed 5/6/07)

Allmusic Guide: http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=11:aifexqt5ldae~T32 (Accessed 5/6/07)

Concord Music Group: http://concordmusicgroup.com/artists/bio/?id=806 (Accessed 5/6/07)

When other record producers and A&R executives at the labels of the day had turned them down, it was Bert Kaempfert who gave a group known as "The Beat Brothers" their first chance to record a single. John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Pete Best recorded "Ain't She Sweet" and "Cry for a Shadow" for Polydor, under Kaempfert's management, in early 1961. The record was not a great seller, but Kaempfert gets the credit for embracing "the Liverpool sound" when it was still ahead of its time. And he'll be remembered as the recording executive who gave the band that would soon be called "The Beatles" their first shot at recording, although Kaempfert's own sound of music was far across the spectrum of musical genres from the rock and roll style of the "British Invasion."

This claim to fame in the rock genre was a far cry from the swinging but dated instrumental recordings that made Kaempfert immensely famous in the early '60s. When "Wonderland by Night," an instrumental only slightly more musically interesting than any of Lawrence Welk's saccharine tunes, hit the charts big in 1961, Kaempfert became an overnight success worldwide. By the time "A Swingin' Safari," "Afrikan Beat," "Blue Midnight," and "Happy Trumpeter" were released as singles, Kaempfert became a household name. To his advantage, his work with his orchestra, populated with the most in-demand European musicians of the time, never included a vocalist, therefore sales of records in myriad non-English speaking countries were not an issue.

His career was not without controversy, though. The sources used for this writing offer different stories about whether or not it was Kaempfert or composer Ivo Robic who penned the song "Strangers In The Night," Frank Sinatra's biggest hit before "New York, New York." The song "Strangers In The Night" first appeared in the score to the movie A Man Could Get Killed in 1965, under Kaempfert's name. Kaempfert shared a Golden Globe award in 1969 with the lyricists, Charles Singleton and Eddie Snyder.
 

The Child Prodigy

Berthold "Fip" Kaempfert was born in Hamburg, Germany in October of 1923. The Kaempfert household was comfortable but not well-off. At age six, what could have been a catastrophe ended up launching his musical career. A taxicab injured the boy - and after finding of fault the cab company's insurance carrier paid out a whopping 500 deutschmarks as settlement. With this, Berthold's mother purchased a piano, and the boy eagerly practiced and studied with a local music school. (The Songwriters Hall of Fame website embellishes the story of his musical start by saying that he was picking out tunes on the family's parlor piano as soon as he could walk; an untruth.)

A prodigy, he graduated the Hamburg School of Music at age 16. He'd mastered the piano prior to his graduation, but went on to study the saxophone, clarinet and accordion. He appeared with pre-war Germany's Hans Busch Orchestra as an instrumentalist, as well as delving into arranging and composing music. The Busch organization toured not only Germany but other European countries as well. The young Kaempfert was handsome in a boyish sort of way — a Leonardo diCaprio look-alike.
 

A Musician, Even in Wartime

In the early 1940's Kaempfert was drafted into the German Navy. During his service, however, his role in the navy was nearly exclusively working in military bands. The two websites that exist which are supported by his estate are silent about his naval service; but also about the fact that by 1945, Kaempfert was for several months a P.O.W. in a Danish camp, preferring to use the derogatory term "internment." Ever the musician, he organized a band at the camp comprised entirely of his fellow POWs.

The King of Easy Listening

One of the skills Kaempfert had that set him apart from his peers was a special sound, "happy music," he called it. The compositions nearly always featuring a skilled trumpeter in the foreground (ironically, Kaempfert couldn't play the trumpet). More importantly, the time-keeping was innovative and infectious. Judicious use of percussion made the music "sing" without being overwhelming. Often, a snare drum and a pair of brushes were all that were used by the combo drummer (in front of the orchestra). Finally, Kaempfert revolutionized the use of the upright bass, instructing his bassists to pluck the strings and then mute the note immediately, so instead of the long, booming bass tones usually heard in the genre, one heard an infectious, simple "dry-cracking" bass tone that was far more modern. This technique is used today by electric bass guitarists in the funk and soul genre, occasionally with a slightly different twist than simply muting the note, but nonetheless, here again is evidence of Kaempfert's pioneering of musical technique.

His competition, Henry Mancini, Percy Faith, Ray Conniff, Paul Mauriat, James Last, The 101 Strings and even Lawrence Welk, among others, never achieved the consistency of sound nor the upbeat, bouncy style that Kaempfert did.

Over the years, Kaempfert's genre has taken on different monikers. In the '50s and '60s it was big-band pop; by the '70s, the genre was dying out and was called in the radio business "Beautiful Music." In the '80s and beyond, the genre, depending upon whom is discussing it, is called "Easy Listening," "Lounge," or just plain cheese. The 'cheese' part may be correct, but Kaempfert's melodies have stood the test of time and have been given some peculiar but adoring covers over the years.

INSTRUMENTALISTS OF NOTE UTILIZED BY THE KAEMPFERT ORGANIZATION: TRUMPETS: Charly Tabor, Werner Gutterer, Manfred Moch, Heinz Habermann, Dieter Kock, Leif Uvemark, Bob Lanese, Rick Kiefer, Lennart Axelsson, Ack van Rooyen, Greg Bowen, Laurence Flam, Derek Watkins, Hakan Nyquist; TROMBONES: Konrad Bogdan (bass), Gnter Fuhlisch, Detlef Surmann, Georges Delagaye, Nick Hauck, Wolfgang Ahlers, Ole Holmquist; REEDS: Emil Wurster, Willi Surmann (father of trombonist Detlef), Karl-Hermann Ler, Jochen Ment (also known as bandleader Jo Ment), Harald Ende, Herb Geller, Ferdinand Povel; GUITAR: Ladi Geisler, Karlheinz Kaestel, Bernd Steffanowski, Helmuth Franke, Peter Hesslein, Big Jim Sullivan; ELECTRIC BASS: Ladi Geisler, Benny Bendorff; DRUMS & PERCUSSION: Robert Last (brother of James), Rolf Ahrens, Barry Roy Reeves, Terry Jenkins, Wolfgang Schlter, Herbert Bornhold; KEYBOARDS: Gunter Platzek, Peter Hecht.
 

A Man As Charming as His Music

By all accounts, Kaempfert was a likeable, easy-going, genuinely happy person all of his life. He married his wife Hannelore in 1946 after a year's courtship. The couple had two children, Doris in 1951 and Marion in 1956. All of his promotional photos show an impeccably dressed, conservatively-coiffed, downright dashing looking gentleman.

During the 1950s, he and his collaborators were charting very well on the German popular music lists. "Mitternachts-Blues" (Midnight Blues) lingered for weeks on the German charts, topping out at number 6.

Around this time Elvis Presley was stationed in Germany to serve his country in the Army. The Presley organization took great pains to prevent interruption of his career, so while serving, Presley also was filming a movie (G.I. Blues) in Germany. Kaempfert was tapped to score some of the music. The brilliant use of what was originally a folk tune provided Presley with "Wooden Heart," a hit for Presley and also for singer Joe Dowell. His success working with Americans set his sights on the U.S. market.

Kaempfert and his wife traveled to New York, where he sought out the help of entertainment genius Milt Gabler. Gabler's collaboration with Kaempfert as a lyricist and manager enriched them both. Music that had been popular in Germany was re-released on albums of "mood music" under English titles and shook the popular music community to its roots. The smooth, "happy" background music had people all over the country tapping their toes and snapping their fingers. Record after record came off the presses of the Decca label, with whom Kaempfert was to enjoy a long-term relationship.

Back in Germany, Kaempfert heard a group of young men from Liverpool, England called "The Beat Brothers" in a small nightclub, and signed them with Polydor. The Beatles had been born! The Liverpool sound was way ahead of its time, so years would go by until the group received notice from both U.K. and American producers.

At arguably the height of his popularity in America, Kaempfert was invited by fellow mood-music mogul Jackie Gleason to appear on The Jackie Gleason Show Christmas week of 1967. The program earned the highest ratings in the history of the program.
 

The "Happy Music" is Silenced Too Early

Although listeners may not know the titles of the tunes, nearly everyone has heard Kaempfert-composed background music in elevators, supermarkets, dentists' offices and other such venues. Tunes like "Strangers in the Night," "Spanish Eyes," "Happy Trumpet," "L.O.V.E.," (Nat "King" Cole made it famous) "I Can't Help Remembering You" (Dean Martin made this one his own) and "The World We Knew (Over and Over)" (another Sinatra hit) were popular hits that came back as instrumentals on countless Kaempfert albums, including two Greatest Hits collections and another entitled Singles, released posthumously. Kaempfert's own composition, "A Swingin' Safari" became notorious for its use as background music for countless travelogue-type presentations on film and in the form of slide projections by professionals but more often amateurs.

By the late '70s, Kaempfert was as busy as ever. His pastime was spending time on his fishing boat off of Mallorca, Spain. He'd performed four encore performances for a London audience in 1980, and announced to his fans that he "had no more scores, and my musicians are thirsty." He went back to Mallorca to write more music, but was felled by a fatal stroke on June 21st, 1980. His ashes were scattered over the Florida Everglades (at his request; he'd found quiet and peace there late in life) a year later.

He was inducted posthumously into the Songwriter's Hall of Fame in 1993. Other awards included two gold singles in Germany, one U.S. gold single, and seven gold albums. He earned 22 BMI song awards, including one for the most performed song of the BMI repertoire in 1966 ("Strangers in the Night"). By the time of his passing, 150 million of his records had been sold.

Kaempfert's music has popped up in television commercials from time to time, most recently for ING Insurance ("A Swingin' Safari" - performed by Bert Kaempfert and His Orchestra) and for the Chrysler PT Cruiser car ("L.O.V.E." by the group Fisher - also used on the soundtrack of How to Lose a Man in Ten Days). Many years ago, Channel 5 (WFOX) in New York City used Kaempfert's "Happy Trumpet" for a segue from the evening news into commercials.

This writeup received not one but two rather assertive responses asking that I remove certain portions for which I had no source at hand to cite. Additionally, I was less than objective regarding Kaempfert's military service during World War II. He served in the German navy. The entirety of his service was spent making music; not in combat. I was accusative and made an assertion that was based on faulty logic, and for this I apologize. It was, however, enlightening to know that Kaempfert has fans who're this enthusiastic. I'm gonna leave this writeup as it stands now, absent controversial issues. Now perhaps we can go out and buy the superb CD "The Best of Bert Kaempfert" which was reissued not too long ago. If "beautiful music" is your bag (it is mine, sometimes), the album's the best of the genre. If you're into something else, it's like going on a musical picnic; there's a little something there for just about everyone.

A Personal, Cultural Observation

Anecdotal and experiential observations on the part of the writer led me to a rather unscientific conclusion. Kaempfert was perhaps a hero to the many Americans of German heritage who felt strong ties to that heritage. During Kaempfert's heyday, "German Clubs" had popped up all over the country, more so in the east than anywhere else. (Of course, many towns had their Italian Clubs, Polish Clubs, etc., I don't want to single out the Germans for running clubs with ethnic exclusivity of some sort.)

The German Clubs were a haven for those who'd survived the economic catastrophe that was post-World War II Germany, and escaped it, seeking to find a better life in the U.S. Of course, there were older members who'd come over long before the war, but the German Club I remember being taken to as a young man transcended age, and focused on the Germans' love of good food, good drink, and stories of the "old country," more often than not seen through rose colored glasses. It was at the German Club, and at house parties held by its members, that I recall hearing the original German versions of Kaempfert's albums, (dismissed by the oldsters as being "too modern") but played, and danced to, nonetheless. Men and women alike would sing along with the words to songs which had lyrics. I long for that time; when being of German heritage was a strong source of pride and of joy. Now, we were, of course, sweeping under the carpet any mention of the Germany of Hitler; and the denial, in retrospect, was in no way psychologically useful nor healthy.

My first culinary teacher was a man named Klaus Hattasch, who'd escaped the famine of post-war Germany and made a great life for himself in the U.S., owning restaurants (The Horse and Hound Inn in South Salem, New York; and La Bagatelle in Greenwich, Connecticut). I was only 15 years old when I met him, but after only 3 years considered him a mentor. He told me of the shame and struggle of living under the Allied occupation, and of literally starving at one point in his life, before he could scrape up enough funds to seek his fortune. Kaempfert was mentioned as a hero of his, and Kaempfert's music was often played on the huge reel-to-reel tape recorder at the Horse and Hound which provided background music for dining. Kaempfert's music (even the song and album titles) epitomized for all listeners "the good life," and perhaps the soft spot in my heart for Kaempfert's music is because it was playing when I tasted my first great Grand Cru Bordeaux; when I first tried Escargot — it had subliminally become the soundtrack to my transformation from a hamburger-hungry kid to a gourmet.

As the "Beautiful Music" radio stations died out, I felt Kaempfert's music dying with them. Today, the Lounge movement has revived interest in this composer, perhaps more interested in the kitsch value of the music than its musical integrity. Whenever I hear some of Kaempfert's instrumental works, I think about Germany, my twice-removed cousins there, and recall the lovely way of life even my humble grandmother enjoyed; a way of life which is hard to describe, but distinctly German. For lack of a better phrase, I'll paraphrase: "Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow may be different."

UPDATE: SharQ suggested that I link all of the recordings. I am doing so (but not adding them to the "New Writeups" list). This will enable me to give a track list, chart information, alternative performer information and liner notes descriptions (where applicable) for each one. Spiregrain made the brilliant suggestion that I add a piece about how Kaempfert's music endures via its use in TV and radio, mostly advertisements. That's taking no small bit of research on my part but will be published here soon.

Selected Discography

(U.S. Issues only)

• April In Portugal, DL-78881 (1959)
• Wonderland By Night, Decca DL-74101 (1960)
• The Wonderland Of Bert Kaempfert, Decca DL-74117 (1960)
• Dancing In Wonderland, Decca DL-74161 (1960)
• With A Sound In My Heart DL-74228 (1961)
• Lights Out, Sweet Dreams, Decca DL-74265 (1961)
• Afrikaan Beat, Decca DL-74273 (1962)
• That Happy Feeling, Decca DL-74305 (1962)
• Living It Up, Decca DL-74374 (1962)
• Christmas Wonderland, Decca DL-74441 (1963)
• That Latin Feeling, Decca DL-74490 (1963)
• Blue Midnight, Decca DL-74569 (1964)
• The Magic Music Of Far Away Places, Decca DL-74616 (1964)
• Three O'Clock In The Morning, Decca DL-74670 (1965)
• Bye Bye Blues, Decca DL-74693 (1965)
• A Man Could Get Killed, Decca DL-74750 (1966)
• Strangers In The Night, Decca DL-74795 (1966)
• Bert Kaempfert's Greatest Hits, Decca DL-74810 (1966)
• Hold Me, Decca DL-74810 (1967)
• Bert Kaempfert's Best, Decca DL-734485 (1967)
• The World We Knew, Decca DL-74925 (1967)
• Love That Bert Kaempfert, Decca DL-74986 (1967)
• The Best Of Bert Kaempfert DXSB-7200 (1968)
• My Way Of Life, Decca DL-75059 (1968)
• Warm And Wonderful, Decca DL-75189 (1969)
• Traces Of Love, Decca DL-75140 (1969)
• The Kaempfert Touch, Decca DL-75175 (2/70)
• Free And Easy, Decca DL-75234 (7/70)
• Orange Colored Sky, Decca DL-75256 (2/71)
• Bert Kaempfert Now!, Decca DL-75305 (9/71)
• 6 Plus 6, Decca DL-75322 (5/72)
• Bert Kaempfert's Best, Decca DL-75367 (10/72)
• Fabulous Fifties, MCA-314 (4/73)
• To The Good Life, MCA-368 (10/73)
• The Most Beautiful Girl, MCA-402 (3/74)
• Gallery, MCA-447 (11/74)
• Live In London, Polydor 825144-2 (1974)
• Golden Memories, MCA-466 (4/75)
• Moon Over Miami, MCA-489 (9/75)
• Kaempfert '76, Polydor 2310456 (5/76)
• The Best Of Bert Kaempfert, MCA2-4100 (10/76)
• Safari Swings Again, Polydor 2310494 (1977)
• Tropical Sunrise, Polydor 2310562 (1977)
• Bert Kaempfert Swing, Polydor 2310592 (1978)
• Keep On Dancing, Polydor 2310625 (1979)
• Bert Kaempfert In Concert, Polydor 2310657 (1980)
• The Best Of Bert Kaempfert, MFCD-795 (1988)

SOURCES:

• The Bert Kaempfert Orchestra (Tony Fisher and Marion Kaempfert): http://www.bertkaempfert.co.uk/indexmain.htm (Accessed 4/23/07)
• Discogs.com: http://www.discogs.com/artist/Bert+Kaempfert+&+His+Orchestra?anv=Bert+Kaempfert+And+His+Orchestra (Accessed 4/23/07)
• IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0434475/ (Accessed 4/23/07)
• Songwriters' Hall of Fame: http://www.songwritershalloffame.org/exhibit_home_page.asp?exhibitId=222 (Accessed 4/23/07)
• European Big Bands Database: http://nfo.net/euro/ek.html (Accessed 4/25/07)
• Bert Kaempfert Good Life Music: http://www.kaempfert.de/index_int.html (Accessed 4/23/07)
• Space Age Pop: http://www.spaceagepop.com/kaempfer.htm (Accessed 4/23/07)

EP: Broken
Artist: Nine Inch Nails
Label: Nothing Records (TVT/Interscope)
Year: 1992
Rating: 4/5
Summary: Harsh and abrasive antidote to Pretty Hate Machine.

To me, Broken feels like the true birth of Nine Inch Nails, after the false start of Pretty Hate Machine. This is where Trent Reznor introduces the remaining pieces of his style, such as beautifully grotesque sound collages, well sequenced samples of rock instruments, sudden endings, and atmospheric crescendos. (It also includes a trick that would later become one of Marilyn Manson's hallmarks: playing a loud snare drum on all the downbeats of a chorus.) Combined with his already established technique of juxtaposing quiet verses with loud choruses, his unique style is now finally complete.

Trent Reznor understandably overcompensates for the restrained nature of Pretty Hate Machine - in places, Broken is only slightly more rhythmic and melodic than bursts of noise. It also sounds a little rough around the edges, as he enthusiastically embraces his new style before he's had a chance to get comfortable writing in it.

If you want to hear only the very best of Nine Inch Nails's releases, you should probably skip this EP and go straight to the masterpiece that is Trent Reznor's magnum opus, The Downward Spiral. If, however, you want to hear the raw template of the aesthetic that would later be put to outstanding use in his more developed later work, then this is it: Broken is the intense sound of the angry; the rejected; the reluctant ex-Christian; someone trapped in Hell itself.