Hein & Oss Kröher

Artist: Hein & Oss Kröher

LP: Songs of the World

Song: "On the Grand Canyon Line"
[ listen ]

What better to listen to first thing in the morning than a pair of German identical twin brothers singing old western-American cowboy ballads? This 1968 LP by Heinrich and Oskar Kröher that I found at 2nd Avenue Records down in Portland, Oregon back in February also features a nice rendition of "Streets of Lardeo." You can read about Hein & Oss here, where the oddly-translated text will inform you that, in addition to singing, "the brothers also operate a writer" and that the twins have performed all over Europe, as well as throughout the USA—"from California to the New York Iceland." The album's liner notes in English and German are included below.

 [ Heinrich & Oskar—or maybe Oskar & Heinrich—in 2007 ]

The Deputies

Artist: The Deputies

LP: Ringo

Song: "Ringo"
[ listen ]

[ listen at 45 rpm ]

Here's yet another .50¢ record from last week's foray into the "as is" bins at Everyday Music on Capitol Hill. The particular deputy who handles lead vocals on "Ringo" sounds lethargic and even a little bored, so I tried playing it at a faster speed, which turns this gloomy gunfighter ballad into a chirpy Frankie Laine song that you can actually dance to. I like that the album's title has been riddled with bullets.