Wunderbar! Dass ist alles!
(Wonderful! That says it all!)
The only thing that comes close to a personal experience with the cold bier, warm food, and Deutsche atmosphere of Sanford’s classic German restaurant the Willow Tree Café is this musical trip to the Rheinland. Featuring Jimmy Horzen (accordion, vocals) and Eckhard Wachsmuth (vocals, Alpine horn, musical saw, Schnitzel baster, Alpine bells, yodeling, and “wooden laughter”), this CD covers the gamut of what one could ever expect to sonically experience at an authentic German Bier Garten.
This live recording from 2009 (it seems they’ve been doing this for some time), with it’s enthusiastic audience participation and cheer, places the listener directly into the family-style seating that surrounds the dance floor. The well-recorded CD captures all the nuances of Jimmy and Eckhard’s harmonized vocals, as well as Jimmy’s apt accordion accompaniment. Although they perform live as a duo, with a pre-programmed Alesis SR16 Classic Drum Machine and Jimmy providing a realistic bass sound through his midi-accordion, the overall effect of the experience is that of a much larger group.
As in their live shows, the CD presents a complete 47-minute uninterrupted set of classic “German” tunes that span the breadth of the country from the northern shore “Nortseeküste” to the Alps in the south “Wenn Ich Auf Hohen Bergen Steh’ (When I Stand in the High Mountains),” to the Rheinland in the west “Jetzt Trink Ma Noch Ein Flascherl Wein (Now Drink Another Flask of Wine),” and even Hollywood, “Edelweiss” by Rogers and Hammerstein.
Jimmy & Eckhard’s signature drinking song “In Sanford Steht Ein Schnitzelhaus” is sung in honor of the Willow Tree Café.
My personal favorite is the fast-food-inspired “Pizza Hut” polka.
But…no German Bierhall experience would not be complete without a couple of intermittent “Prosits (Toasts)” that beckon you to run to the Fridge for a cold one.
All in all, Jimmy & Eckhard Live is ausgezeichtnet, an “outstanding” aural experience, that’s guaranteed to liven up any party, with sing-a-longs and plenty of polkas. I am a huge fan of Epcot with it’s recreated German village and Bierhall. But, for the true Germanic experience, I highly suggest Sanford’s Willow Tree Café, just twenty miles or so north the the Magic Kingdom. Disney, eat your heart out! – James E. Cunningham
For more music, merch, and information on Jimmy and Eckhard visit Polkatime.com