Star-Club 1965/Repertoire 1994 (Germany)

Often referred to as “Deutschland’s antwort auf die Beatles” (Germany’s answer to the Beatles), the Rattles were one of Germany’s biggest pop groups of the 60s. In 1965, the Rattles followed the example of their British counterparts like the Beatles and Dave Clark Five and made a feature film, entitled “Hurra Die Rattles Kommen”. Along with the film, this album of the same name was released gathering together songs featured in the movie. Really, it’s an excellent collection of their mid-60s material. The album opens with one of the group’s best-known numbers, the cheery “Come On and Sing”. The same melodic pop style can be heard in other songs on the album like “She’s the One” and “Dance”. Other tracks like “It’s My Fault” and “No No No” were somewhat tougher and more Kinks-influenced. The entire first half of the album consists of group originals which maintain a high standard. The second half of the album however consists of cover songs, which are split between quite good tunes (“Dr. Casey” and “If You Don’t Come Back”) and some slightly corny choices like “Que Sera” and “Swinging On A Star”. Still, the album overall is a nice selection of mid-60s German beat music. The Repertoire CD reissue from 1994 (which is rumored to be out of print) features five bonus tracks, including the garage-punk flavored “(Stoppin’ In) Las Vegas”. Another of the bonus tracks, the enduring “Love of My Life” showed a new sophistication in the group’s material, and pointed in the direction of their later work. This CD is enjoyable, and is recommended to Eurobeat fans…assuming you can find it.

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Kim Fowley
Born To Be Wild

Capitol 1968/Ascension 2000 (Australia)

Unknown to the reviewer at the time of ordering this CD via mail-order, this album consists entirely of organ instrumentals. Naturally, it came as a bit of a surprise when the newly purchased CD was played. Even considering this fact, it’s actually not all that bad of an album. The organ (a Vox, naturally) is just cheesy enough to be cool, in the same way that Enoch Light’s late-60s instrumentals are just corny enough to be cool. Born To Be Wild features some interesting covers such as “Hello, I Love You”, “Pictures of Matchstick Men”, and “Sunshine of Your Love”, as well as a unique interpretation of “Classical Gas”. Some of the songs feature some decent fuzz guitar. The organ playing certainly is competent, although one could argue that it’s not particularly inventive or creative. Overall, I couldn’t recommend this album. The small amount of interest generated by some interesting cover choices and occasional fuzz guitar just aren’t enough to keep the listener involved.

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