Karel Gott | LP MC Dieses Land ist mein Land
[This Land Is My Land]
- Liebesmelodie (3:31)
- Wand'rer (3:27)
- Komm, wenn die Wiesen blühen (3:29)
- Einmal Hammer, einmal Amboss (3:07)
- Die Gedanken sind frei (3:20)
- Es wird schon weitergehen (3:07)
- Ding-dong (4:17)
- So war das frühermal (2:57)
- Dort, wo die weissen Birken stehen (4:00)
- Nimm das Leben nicht so tragisch (2:37)
- Morava (3:00)
- Dieses Land ist mein Land (2:58)
LP MC Polydor 2371363
On this not really distinctive album, which was released in 1973, Karel Gott presents modern songs in a classical way of performance (similar to modern classics or classics, if you prefer), where we also can find some of the new Czech pop hits. There are versions of songs Poutník, Kávu si osladím and Zpívejte písně mé – this only in especially nice arrangement. Also Kávu si osladím has different arrangement and sounds rather as a march, but not in a bad meaning. All of those songs have been also recorded by Karel Gott for Supraphon and Amiga. And otherwise, songs and recordings are considered which never appeared in the Czech production. It's quite a special album and it may not catch your interest at the first listening. But if you don't lose patience and find the taste of it, you will certainly appreciate its rather high quality of art. Despite of the fact that this album is not very known (and hardly accessible) and it has not gained any huge popularity, we can daringly include it into the golden fund of the discography of Karel Gott, in the same way as other thematic albums from this period - Meine Wolgamelodie or Heut' ist der schönste Tag in meinem Leben.
PROMO '73: What until now has only happened in the classical songs of Franz Schubert or Hugo Wolf, has now it seems, with Karel Gott's LP, taken place in the field of pop music - namely, a cyclic collection of various songs under one basic theme. With his LP "Von Bohmen in die Welt", Karel Gott presented a selection of Czech and Slovakian compositions which have become well known throughout the world. Many countries felt these melodies as their own, and consequently many people actually tended to forget the original source. The next LP "Zwischen Moldau, Don und Donau", contained folk songs from the Slavonic and Balkan countries, which even today are sung in their original form. The third variation, on similar self-contained thematic material, is presented on this LP.
Because of the worldwide export of Anglo-American popular songs, it occured to Karel Gott that it would be worth arranging modern Czech and Slovakian songs, providing they were based on the authentic Bohemian-Moravian sound, regardless of the up-to-date importance. So, together with two writers / arrangers from Czechoslovakia, Boris Jojic and Rob Pronk, and his producer Otto Dernier, Karel got to work. Even in the initial preparations, the team discovered some most unusual similarities. For example, the unconscious familiarity of today's pop audience with what is basically traditional Slavonic music. World hits such as "El Condor Pasa", "Those Were The Days" and "Paint It Black" showed experts that there are many similar rhythmical and harmonic structures to be found in the age old Czech and Slovakian folk songs. What had to be done for this new production, was to achieve the unusual and difficult task of writing modern titles, based on the previously mentioned type of folk song. Apart from the composing aspect, there was also the problem of arrangement — for example, one had to encorporate the feeling and atmosphere of a typical folk song's rural environment, and yet at the same time, make the songs up-to-date. One can describe them as modern folk songs or simply dance music - hatever the name, nothing can lessen the attraction and uniqueness of these songs. However one classifies this LP - mere words cannot make up for the experience of listening to it. As a means of reference, here are a few titles: "Einmal Hammer, einmal AmboB" (Once a hammer, once an anvil), this is a kind of gospel song and it compares the village black smith to situations of everyday life: sometimes one is a hammer, at other times one is an anvil. "Ding-Dong" describes the ever present sound of church bells when walking through the country. "Nimm das Leben nicht so tragisch" (Don't treat life too seriously) has that Hungarian feeling about it, and brings one into that "throw-the-glass-against-the-wall" mood. "Morava", Bohemian for Moravia, is based on a practically extinct folk song from that county; needless to say, it takes on a new lease of life when Karel Gott sings it.