Tame & Maffay "Tame & Maffay" (Telefunken, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Hans Menzel, Peter Maffay & Johnny Tame)
English-language country-rock from the West German duo of Peter Maffay and Johnny Tame... Born in Romania, Peter Maffey was the old-timer of the two, with a solo career that dated back at least as far as 1970, while this seems to have been Johnny Tame's debut; he recorded a solo album a few years later in 1980, after the duo broke up.
Tame & Maffay "2" (Telefunken, 1979) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Wagner, Peter Maffay & Johnny Tame)
A pretty dreadful set of slickly-produced roots rock/country-rock from the West German duo of Peter Maffay and Johnny Tame. Mostly it's pretty thumpy, clumsy would-be anthemic, over-easy pop-rock stuff, in keeping with the contemporary 'Seventies Los Angeles-based country-rock scene, which was kind of running on fumes at the time. I mean, if you dig discs by folks like America, Richie Furay or Rick Cunha, or even John Mellencamp in his lesser moments, you might want to check this out... But if you're looking for some kind of German Joe Ely or Delbert McClinton, this ain't it. Presumably there was a volume one?
Teddy & Chano "Teddy And Chano Rodeo" (Sonet Records, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Gustav Winckler)
Country covers, mostly American hits, but sung in Danish by former rockabilly star Teddy Edelmann (who also recorded under the name Teddy Rodeo, among various other personas...) He's joined by Chano Tietze, who worked with Edelmann for several years, previously in the awkwardly-named quartet, "Teddy, Chano, Jan & John." They had a nice latter-day, revivalist rockabilly vibe, not unlike what folks like Dave Dudey, Billy Crash Craddock or Robert Gordon were doing around the same time. Producer Gustav Winckler provided many of the Danish translations of the English-language material, as well as one original, "Intet Er Fodt Til At Leve Evigt."
Texas Lone Star "Desperados Waiting For The Train" (Bear Family, 1977/1992)
(Produced by Detlef Wiedecke)
A trans-Atlantic collaboration between Texas hippiebillies Rich Helt and Bryan Seegers and several German country enthusiasts known as the Emsland Hillbillies, which included singer Ulli Mohring, drummer Heini Surken, and singer/steel guitarist Herman Lammers-Meyer, who went on to a long solo career as a honky tonk traditionalist. This album is largely an indiebilly jam session, with covers of country-rock and outlaw classics such as "Good Hearted Woman," "Me And My Uncle," "Wild Horses," "Friend Of The Devil," and "Luckenbach, Texas." There's also one original, "Here I Am Again," by Rich Helt, and an intriguing cover of "In My Own Way," by the Marshall Tucker Band's Toy Cardwell. I guess this came out on vinyl back in Germany, and was later reissued on CD. The Emsland Hillbillies, it should be noted, also recorded several albums and singles, with the first two LPs reissued as a twofer CD on Bear Family.
Texas Lone Star "In The Desert" (JA Records, 1981) (LP)
(Produced by Ali Alterbaum)
Apparently Rich Helt made an annual tradition of his trips from Houston to West Germany, and recorded a second album with Ulli Mohring and a new lineup of Texas Lone Star that brought in songwriter-guitarist Steve Reynolds, who at the time was deeply ensconced in the Austin indie scene. It's an odd album. There's an uneasy mix of '70s-style soft-rock and old-school alterna-twang... Four of the songs are by Reynolds, and they have a more overt rock feel, reflecting his blues/electric rock background, while Helt contributes the breezy, anthemic "Arizona" and "Never Find My Way Back Home," while the twangiest tunes come from the kraut contingent: Ulli Mohring adds two songs that embrace hillbilly iconography, including the shambling, unruly "Stumbling Out Of The Stumble Inn," a song paying homage to Tempe, Arizona's legendary cowboy bar, and even namechecks Chuck Wagon & The Wheels. (His second song, "In The Desert," is a gooey country-rock number reminiscent of America or Firefall, complete with soprano sax... ewwww.) Also, Herman Lammers-Meyer pitches in again with some nice steel guitar licks on three of the tracks. I wouldn't call this a twangcore classic, but soft-rock enthusiasts might get a kick out of it, and the Stumble Inn tribute is worth keeping on the radar.
Trio Hill Billy's "Harmonica Western" (Ducretet Thomson, 1955) (10" LP)
Darn it. I had high hopes, re-discovering across these guys tucked away in my long-dormant French chanson guide, that they would make an exciting new addition to this perky new European country music guide but, alas, the French were uniquely resistant to American-style twang, even in a kitchily-filtered, funhouse-mirror cabaret version, and these "hill billys" were simply a group of toot-tootling harmonica instrumentalists, with nary a mandolin or steel guitar in sight. Oh, sure, the trio -- Denise Lanet, Roger Lanet and Georges Naudin covered a few readily-recognizable country hits, tunes like "Home On The Range" or "Lay That Pistol Down, Babe," but they just as readily would veer into polka territory, apparently with little concern over the stylistic differences. Of modest interest, but I would have loved discovering a Gallic Gene Autry a whole lot more.
Trio Hill Billy's "Crazy Horse Saloon" (Ducretet Thomson, 1955) (10" LP)
Trio Hill-Billy's "Les Cow-Boys De L'Harmonica" (Marianne Melodie)
A mystery, release, alas. Over a decade ago, I caught sight of this CD-era release from the reliable and encyclopedic Marianne Melodie reissue label, which presumably gathers all the material from the old vinyl-era albums above... But now, well into the 21st Century, it has become invisible to me from my distant perch in the ever-benighted United States of America. It exists. I know it exists... But I can no longer prove that it does.
Truck Stop "Truck Stop" (Nature Records/Horzu Records, 1980) (LP)
(Produced by Joe Menke, Volker Heintzen & Truck Stop)
A pleasantly twangy set of German-language honky-tonk country from this Hamburg-based band... The most obvious influence is Waylon Jennings, but they dip into a variety of styles. Nice, robust arrangements with pretty decent pickin'... I can't understand what most of the songs are about, but sure I dig that this isn't sung in English! They have a ton of albums, though I think this might have been their first.
Truck Stop "Die Cowboys" (Nature Records, 1981) (LP)
Tumbleweeds - see artist profile
Jeff Turner "Cowboys, Truckers And Lovers" (1983) (LP)
Gosh, his name sounds so darned American, and yet, this Alpine twangster was actually Swiss. Well, actually, he was born in Austria, but moved to Switzerland in the 1980s. Jeff Turner (1940-2020) was a chiropractor by profession, but got the country music bug in the early '80s, formed his own band and put out his first album (this one) in 1983.
Jeff Turner "Mostly Alone" (CH Records, 1985) (LP)
(Produced by Jeff Turner & Heinz Alfolter & Lorenzo Medici)
Jeff Turner "Rolling Wheels" (K-Tel Records, 1987) (LP)
Jeff Turner & John Brack "A Time For Feelings" (K-Tel Records, 1988) (LP)
(Produced by John Brack)
Jeff Turner "Tonight..." (K-Tel Records, 1989) (LP)
(Produced by Jeff Turner & Werner McGill)
Hmm... I'm starting to get the vibe that the Swiss branch of K-Tel Records might be way cooler than the one in the States... At least if you're a country artist!
Jeff Turner, John Brack & Maja Brunner "A Time Together" (Ariola Records, 1990) (LP)
(Produced by John Brack)
Jeff Turner "Tourist In Paradise" (Blue Martin Records, 1992) (LP)
Jeff Turner "Songs Of Australia" (Blue Martin Records, 1993) (LP)
(Produced by David Mackay & John Parr)
Presumably Turner toured Australia at some point and had a fan base there? At any rate, he reprises a couple of songs he'd recorded earlier, including unfortunately "Tie Me Kangaroo Down" though (more fortunately) "Waltzing Matilda." Now, I woulda thunk that all these non-Continental musicians I didn't recognize would have all been Australians, but in fact they were almost all Brits(!) although didgeridoo player Gary Thomas is most definitely from Australia. At any rate, an interesting diversion from Turner's usual diet of ski slope honkytonk. Notable among the musicians in English steel guitarist Sarah Jory, who has made quite a few albums of her own...
Tuxen "Smilin' Steel" (Sonet Records, 1975) (LP)
(Produced by Peter Thorup)
Best known as a steel guitar player, Danish twangster Nils Tuxen kicked off his solo career with this super-goofy instrumental album, which grafts smooth, pleasantly country-sounding steel riffs to somewhat grating twee-pop/easy listening arrangements. A lot of it is genuinely annoying, though some tracks, like "Barrister's Bar" and some of the covers of American country hits are more down-to-earth and hold up okay. A little too manic and novelty-oriented for my tastes. Nils Tuxen wasn't the only one suffering through these sessions, though: along with various jazz and pop performers, the backing vocals included Susanne Salomonsen, a soft-pop singer who became one of Denmark's best-known late 'Seventies pop singers, in kind of a Wendy Waldman-esque mode.
Nils Tuxen & Richard Sterling "Special Edition No. 8: Country Style" (Capitol Records/Media Music, 1977) (LP)
(Produced by Ole Georg)
This "library music" set features compositions by Danish twangster Nils Tuxen, as well as "Richard Sterling," which was apparently one of several professional pseudonyms for a gal named Jutta Birgit Hansen. She took part in several of these Media Music LPs, generally adopting male personas, and was married to the series producer, Ole Georg Hansen.
Nils Tuxen/Bret Sten "Number 29: Guitars Unlimited" (Media Music, 1978) (LP)
A so-called "library music" set of generic instrumental tracks, intended to be used for background music or sound beds in ads, TV shows and whatnot. Side One of the album spotlights Nils Tuxen, while Side Two is by another Danish guitarist, Bent Sten Myggen, though it's not clear if they are actually collaborating on any of these tracks. Myggen was previously in the early 'Seventies country-rock band My Ship, and recorded prolifically with several different bands. He recorded quite a few of these Media Music albums as Bent Sten.
Nils Tuxen "American Dreams On Steel Guitar" (Polydor Records, 1992) (LP)
(Produced by Jimmy Bowen & Mal Luke)
Country music is everywhere, even in the erudite intellectual aeries of Europe... In fact, there's so much of the stuff, I barely know a fraction of it. This section includes a bunch of random bluegrass and country bands from across the European continent, although I'm aware there are many, many other artists and albums not currently on my radar. Also, separate sections exist for Germany and The United Kingdom and Ireland which have their own large, impressive country scenes, though many of those albums may also be included here. And trust me, once I crack the code and find all the records, France, Croatia and Lichtenstein will all get their own twang guides, too! (PS: I apologize for not being able to support umlauts and schwas and other special characters and for making all your languages look so very not right. I'm just not smart enough for all that technical-type stuff!)
