Wacholder - Herr Wirt, so lösche uns're Brände (Amiga, 1983)

The Iron Curtain seclusion forced East German folk acts such as Bierfiedler, Folkländer and Wacholder to rely on alternative sources of repertoire. West German archives and libraries were largely denied them because of travel and currency restrictions. As a result, the East German folkies looked to "Gesellenlieder" - songs of the 1848 Revolution - and alternative sources including Steinitz´s research.

Wacholder, a word-orientated band, fashioned a particularly interesting repertoire using texts from Heinrich Heine. The Nazis had denounced the (Jewish) Heine´s work as unpatriotic. It was not lost on Wacholder that, even though Heine was reinstated poltically, his work still glinted with wicked barbs with descriptions of Germany as a "land of oaks and stunted minds."

Performing live was the key to the success of East German folk acts. Unlike their West German counterparts, they had few opportunities to record and any repertoire had to be approved before going into the studio. Wacholder, for example, started auspiciously, receiving their radio debut in May 1978, a month after forming. It took until 1983 to release their debut album, "Herr Wirt, so lösche unsre Brände" ("Landlord, that´s how we put out our fires") and until 1989 to release the follow-up. Consequently, few Wessid had vinyl experience of the East German folk scene until the firs bands began to cross the border...


Tracklist:

A1 Es waren drei Gesellen 3:40
A2 Der Mai 2:02
A3 Ole's Tanz 1:35
A4 Gottlob, daß ich ein Bauer bin 1:50
A5 Wiegenlied 2:17
A6 Jetzt kommt die längst gewünschte Stunde 2:39
A7 Die Marketenderin 3:06
B1 Herr Wirt, so lösche uns're Brände 2:12
B2 Kum, fauler Lenz 1:58
B3 Badisches Wiegenlied 2:28
B4 Es ist Schnee gefallen 2:14
B5 Ein Bauersmann aus Dithmarschen 3:32
B6 Starkdeutschwalzer 2:17
B7 Der Winter ist gekommen 2:14


Wacholder - Herr Wirt, so lösche uns're Brände
(320 kbps, cover art included)