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 Hermann
Lammers Meyer -- The Good Old Days
Label: Desert
Kid Records
Album Review by Cheryl Harvey Hill
In
America
we call it honky tonk
music; in
Germany
they call it “Kneipensongs.”
Hermann Lammers Meyer of Aschendorf,
Germany
doesn't care what you
call it as long as you let him sing it. For almost as long as he can
remember he has been introducing new fans, and pleasing old ones,
to traditional country music in
Europe
. What makes him
unique is that he has often recorded and performed in
Texas
and/or
Nashville
as well. Some of his
albums are in German, some are in English and some are both -- but all
are wonderful or as they would say in German, wunderbar. The handsome
Mr. Meyer is like really good homemade schnaps; very smooth and very
traditional.
I
lived in
Germany
for six years and I
saw many German bands perform at various fests that billed themselves as
"American country" bands. Some of them were quite good but
they often sang the songs in English using phonetic cue cards and since
they had no idea what most of the lyrics actually meant it was difficult
for them to put a lot of feeling into the songs. But Meyer is different.
He not only understands English, he writes songs in English and he has
actually recorded with some of his musical heroes; Willie Nelson, Johnny
Bush, David Frizzell, Billy Walker and others.
Meyer
is among the most played European country singers on the international
Country Radio Airplay charts. His career has spanned three decades and
he has won numerous awards over the years; among them is the European
Country Music Association Artist of the Year, Singer of the Year and The
Last Country Song was named Album of The Year in 1997. While
recording his I'd Like To Live It Again CD in
Nashville
he was privileged,
and fortunate, to have well-known session players Buddy Emmons join him
on steel, Pete Wade on guitar, Buddy Spicher on fiddle and
"Pig" Robbins on piano. Meyer says it was an honor to be able
to record with musicians that had been some of his childhood music
heroes.
Two
songs from The Good Ole Days album, "Games People
Play," a duet with Nashville singer Sandy Posey, and "Don't
Forget To Remember," which became his fourth number one hit in a
row, received international radio airplay and become hits for Meyer on
the European Independent Country Radio Charts EMS from England. Meyer
showcases his songwriting skills on the title tune, as well as on
"The Drink," "Barstool Paradise," "Highway
Heroes," "No, I'm Not Leaving," and he co-wrote on
"Southern Comfort." He also includes some great tunes written
by Hank Snow, Faron Young, Hank Thompson and a pleasing rendition of the
old Bee Gees tune, "Don't Forget To Remember." I also liked
his version of Randy Vanwarmer's "Just When I Needed You
Most."
Meyer
traveled back to
Nashville
to record this latest
album and I'd say it was worth the trip. The end result is seventeen
tunes that really are reminiscent of The Good Ole Days when
country music was really country; with simple lyrics, great vocal
harmony and lots of marvelous pedal steel.
http://www.english.hermannlammersmeyer.de/
http://www.hermannlammersmeyer.de/
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