The CD inserts are ogling good fun...particularly if you are a collector of mementos of 1960s nostalgia. Sound-wise, the Gunter Kallmann choir does not disappoint especially since this was a chance acquisition while browsing randomly at a music store on a weekday afternoon. This choir’s name immediately evokes comparisons with the famous Ray Conniff, the Mike Sammes Singers, the Anita Kerr Singers, the Alan Copeland Singers and the innumerable Reader’s Digest rosters of mini choirs and octets. What is different? First, the blending of the female and male voices – three in each set, as can be seen from the front cover. There is an indescribable harmonic synergy that carries out a poetic dialogue between the two halves of the choir on every track – and I would say, much more so than heard on Ray Conniff arrangements or Anita Kerr’s singers. Secondly, there is a playfulness and ‘bounce’ in the way Gunter Kallmann arranges the pop hits of 1968-70 for his inimitable choir of six persons. A whole new dimension is imparted to these 24 lovelies in this remastered set published in 2010 by the German Jazzclub label in coordination with Polydor Germany. Thirdly, Gunter seems to have utilized a full string and percussion backing for all of his productions. Play this CD on a first rate Hi Fi system, you will find yourself in neo-vinyl analogue paradise! I’ll even use this as a test disc for any future Hi Fi upgrades. My personal standout tracks are: the French chanson sung in English ‘Live for Life’ – done evocatively to imitate late 1960s Parisian chic; ‘Daydream’ – which I had never heard of before, even though the liner notes state that it was a top 10 hit; ‘Where’s the Playground Susie?’; the Paul Simon composition ‘Fifty Ninth Street Bridge Song’ which is sure to get you going right after coffee and toast on any morning; ‘My Cherie Amour’ spills romantic syrup in all the right doses; and ‘Early in the Morning’ will get you tapping your feet on a long boring afternoon; plus ‘Galveston’ which gets a new gospel like lease of life when the Kallman Choir sings the narrative of homesickness and the love lost on the shores of Galveston, Texas – an emotion which Glen Campbell’s original hit tuned exclusively towards a country music audience. Once you are in the mood, make sure you pay attention to the other gems such as the Christmas medley and of course the James Last hit ‘Happy Heart’. Salud to great music!
01. Daydream02. It's Getting Better
03. The Windmills Of Your Mind
04. Where's The Playground, Susie?
05. Live For Life
06. One Summer's Day
07. Fifty-Ninth Street Bridge Song (Feeling Groovy)
08. My Cherie Amour
09. By The Time I Get To Phoenix
10. Happy Heart
11. The Eyes Of Love
12. Wait Until Dark
13. Early In The Morning
14. The Colour Of My Love
15. If Paradise Is Half As Nice
16. When I Look In Your Eyes
17. The Shadow Of Your Smile
18. A Time For Us
19. A Minute Of Your Time
20. Christmas Medley
21. Just A Dream
22. Galveston
23. Days Of Laughter
24. Once In Each Life
