An Evening With Klaus Wunderlich (2CD)

CD Duration (Combined): 2 hours 2 minutes / Year: 2017

Mid-January 2017 double CD release containing the unreleased studio quality rehearsal tapes for his 1989 UK tour (digitally remastered). Playing Wersi Spectra.

Disc One (Running Time: 58:20):
FILM FAVOURITES MEDLEY: Star Wars Theme / Flashdance… What a Feeling / Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head / Somewhere My Love (Theme from Doctor Zhivago) / Strangers in the Night / Spanish Eyes / Moonlight Serenade / In The Mood
Tales from The Vienna Woods
MULTI-ORCHESTRAL-ORGAN-SOUND (MOOS) MEDLEY: Opus One / Take the ‘A’ Train / I’m Always Chasing Rainbows / Lil’ Darlin’ / Charmaine / Baby Elephant Walk / Patricia / Mr. Anthony’s Boogie
A-BANDA: Original / Joseph Haydn [Amanda] / Johann Sebastian Bach / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Ludwig Von Beethoven [Symphony Erotica-Banda] / Franz Lizst [Rhapsodie Nr. 1221] / Moderner Komponist [A Band of Disgrace!] / Hot Club De France (Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli)
Teufelstanz (Devils Dance)
St Louis Blues March

Disc Two (Running Time: 63:09.):
Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor
YOKOHAMA TO NEW YORK MEDLEY: Yokohama Medley / I Left My Heart in San Francisco / Londonderry Air / A Foggy Day in London Town / White Rose of Athens / Tulips from Amsterdam / New York, New York
BRAZILIANA MEDLEY: Copacabana / Black Orpheus / Goodbye Sadness
MY WUNDERLICH WAY MEDLEY: Once Upon a Time in the West / Love Me Tender / Clair / Tango Italiano / I Left My Heart in San Francisco / Sommerwind / Something Stupid / Yesterday / Solveigs Lied / My Way
TYPICALLY BRITISH: Land of Hope & Glory / Auld Lang Syne / Amazing Grace / Mull of Kintyre / The Lambeth Walk / Down at the Old Bull & Bush / A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square / The Ash Grove / The White Cliffs of Dover / Scotland the Brave / There’ll Always Be an England
Tico Tico

Issue 349 – January 2017

(Double CD) An Evening With Klaus Wunderlich
Running Time 2 hours 2 minutes – Price £6.95

Before I leave you to enjoy the Christmas build-up, I have to let you know about the first 2017 release that I am aware of. This is a very special one as it’s the third release from the Not Now Music label in their Klaus Wunderlich ‘series’. This new double CD is a prequel to the ‘Absolutely Wunderlich’ set that was released earlier in the year to great acclaim (and still available from us at £6.95). That one contained the brilliant unreleased rehearsal tapes from his 1995 tour, while this new one features the same principle, but from his 1989 tour (playing a Wersi Spectra).

The tracks have again been remastered by friend and top studio engineer Werner Kohlhammer to make them all ‘sparkly’ and he and Alan Ashton also went through the painstaking process of trying to work out what tunes he was playing, which was a little tricky on some of the medleys. The sleeve notes have again been written by Alan along with a few lines by yours truly. The tracks should appear in my next reviews, or check out our website.

The basic premise of these two releases is that Klaus planned his concerts by recording the who set direct to a two-track recorder in his home studio. Unlike his LPs and CDs there was no overdubbing, they were produced to make sure each track sounded good ‘straight’ and to perfect the sound, arrangements and to get a running time etc. These ‘demo’ recordings were never intended for release, but the result is basically a perfectly captured live concert without an audience. I mention in the sleeve notes how impressive his playing is when you listen to the virtually note-perfect twelve to eighteen minute medleys and it all goes to show what a true perfectionist the man was, especially when he only intended them for ‘his ears only’.

Follow-Up (Main Review) – Issue 350 – February 2017

I gave you a heads-up about this double CD set last issue and mentioned it was the first title that I knew of with a 2017 release, however the CDs turned up around five weeks early on 7th December which ended that prediction. It was nice as everyone who placed a pre-order got a surprise before Christmas! (I love to spread the happiness.)

As explained in the last issue, this is a ‘prequel’ of sorts to the recent release “Absolutely Wunderlich” but covers his 1989 UK tour (AW covered his 1995 one). As on that release, the tracks were recorded live onto a Revox two-track, so what you are getting is a live concert recorded in a studio environment (and all digitally remastered and generally tinkered with), so the sound is excellent.

Disc one is full of highlights including the Film Favourites Medley with his crowd-pleasing “Star Wars” and “Flashdance.” Another great track is his ten minute MOOS Medley which covers some great swing numbers including “Opus No.1,” “Take the ‘A’ Train,” “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows“ and “Lil’ Darlin’” which are interspersed with some delicate ballads including “I’m Always Chasing Rainbows“ and a Wersi-stringed “Charmaine” which leads into the obvious choice, “Baby Elephant Walk?!”

One of the stars of disc one is the song “A Banda” which is played in a thirteen-minute ‘medley’ but in different ways (I’m not sure if it’s technically a medley being the same tune). First we have Klaus’ version, then we have classical versions à la Haydn, Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Lizst before going all jazzy in a tribute to Stéphane Grappelli & Django Reinhardt.

Disc two has its fair share of great tracks too with a “Typically British” medley designed to hit his UK audience straight between their patriotic eyes with some flag-waving classics including “Land of Hope & Glory,“ “The White Cliffs of Dover and “There’ll Always Be an England.” There are also a few for the patriotic cockneys in the shape of “The Lambeth Walk,” “Down at the Old Bull & Bush” and “A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square.”

We get a spin around the world with a “Yokohama to New York medley” and no Klaus Wunderlich concert would be complete without “Tico Tico” and we get an excellent version to finish.

This may well be the last Wunderlich release from Not Now Music unless some other little treasures are found. Their two previous CDs both had something new to offer Klaus fans and this one is no exception with a great sound and tune selection which does a great job of recapturing his 1989 tour that many of you may well have attended.

FULL TRACKS – DISC ONE: FILM FAVOURITES MEDLEY: Star Wars Theme / Flashdance… What a Feeling / Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head / Somewhere My Love (Theme from Doctor Zhivago) / Strangers in the Night / Spanish Eyes / Moonlight Serenade / In The Mood • Tales from The Vienna Woods • MULTI-ORCHESTRAL-ORGAN-SOUND (MOOS) MEDLEY: Opus One / Take the ‘A’ Train / I’m Always Chasing Rainbows / Lil’ Darlin’ / Charmaine / Baby Elephant Walk / Patricia / Mr. Anthony’s Boogie • A BANDA: Original / Joseph Haydn [Amanda] / Johann Sebastian Bach / Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart / Ludwig Von Beethoven [Symphony Erotica-Banda] / Franz Lizst [Rhapsodie Nr. 1221] / Moderner Komponist [A Band of Disgrace!] / Hot Club De France (Django Reinhardt & Stéphane Grappelli) • Teufelstanz (Devils Dance) • St Louis Blues March.

DISC TWO: Overture to The Merry Wives of Windsor • YOKOHAMA TO NEW YORK MEDLEY: Yokohama Medley / I Left My Heart in San Francisco / Londonderry Air / A Foggy Day in London Town / White Rose of Athens / Tulips from Amsterdam / New York, New York • BRAZILIANA MEDLEY: Copacabana / Black Orpheus / Goodbye Sadness • MY WUNDERLICH WAY MEDLEY: Once Upon a Time in the West / Love Me Tender / Clair / Tango Italiano / I Left My Heart in San Francisco / Sommerwind / Something Stupid / Yesterday / Solveigs Lied / My Way • TYPICALLY BRITISH: Land of Hope & Glory / Auld Lang Syne / Amazing Grace / Mull of Kintyre / The Lambeth Walk / Down at the Old Bull & Bush / A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square / The Ash Grove / The White Cliffs of Dover / Scotland the Brave / There’ll Always Be an England • Tico Tico.

Review by Ian King from Organ and Keyboard Cavalcade Magazine.