The Crystalairs - 23 taguary tiptop thingummybob trax
The Crystalairs - classy doo-wop from Germany.
1.Strange world 2.Leave me alone 3.Lonely teardrops 4.By day my limbs, by night my mind 5.Here comes the fat man 6.She's not Mona 7.Romeo and Juliet 8.At the fair 9.Das Wunderbild 10.The show must go on 11.Tokyo girl 12.Rapping with Ronnie I. 13.Nether rhyme nor reason 14.Kleiner Stern 15.Mermaid love 16.Elevator of love 17.Song from Moulin Rouge 18.Never such love 19.Congratulations for Sandrine 20.(It's the) beginning of the end 21.Martha 22.Gotta get back to you 23.Doo wop shop talk
The Crystalairs
"In 1988 Claus-Peter Niem and Ralf zur Linde were about to graduate from High School. They both participated in their High School bands singing and playing instruments. They sang a lot of oldies and knew they were about to leave behind a very important part of their young lives. They were attending a party where they met a local acappella group from the neighborhood, the Vermonts. This group too was in the process of breaking up when brothers Daniel and Jens Franke and Olaf Roesner convinced Claus and Ralf to join together and form a new group. Thus was born the Del Romans. The group worked together in the local areas for a few months, and Olaf eventually dropped out for personal reasons. The group continued as a four man act. They had all collected many 45's from the USA ranging from Doo Wop to girl group classics and wanted very much to record a record of their own. They had gone in a small studio and recorded some demos of both cover songs and a few originals. It was this tape accompained by a letter that introduced me to the boys from Germany. Unknown to me at the time was the fact that the Del Romans decided to change their group name. They had many releases from my Crystal Ball label and decided to to call themselves the Crystalairs. I was impressed with the sound especially the original tunes and started to write to the group. They had planned a visit to New York in the summer of 1989 where they recorded many sides at Steve Dworkin's Cue Recording studios in New York City. When they returned to Germany they contacted Michael David whose talents became available when his group, the Belangels, disbanded. Michael also sang lead with his group under the name The Chordliners who had several releases in the states. The group re-recorded the originals and an EP with a picture sleeve was released including the original tunes Telephone and Picture of an angel and the covers Man from the moon and Mr. Moon. The Crystalairs grew in popularity and started performing all over Europe. Several singles and an LP followed. Other cuts appeared on several various artists LP's and CD's and the group eventually released their own CD And then. The group's musical growth can be seen as their own style slowly emerged. All the material was always unreleased or original. They never felt the need to copy other artists tunes as long as they had their own arrangements. Many times I'd give them a song and say, this sounds like the Mystics, and they would say no, it now sounds like the Crystalairs. The group would spend two more summers in New York doing radio shows and some local gigs. Their biggest thrill was meeting some of the stars whose records they collected, Vito Picone of the Elegants, Dion, Tony Amato of the Chaperones, Earl Lewis of the Channels, the Chiffons and many others. At this time Michael David left the group, and once again the Crystalairs were four. They participated in the Christmas CD for my label contributing five outstanding performances. They also recorded Elevator of love, a long standing joke Ralf and I had been sharing for years. Backed by Tokyo Girl this was to be the final Crystal Ball 45 release. The summer of 1996 was about the time to present the third album from the Crystalairs, Strange World. This CD features almost all original tunes showcasting the sound of the Crystalairs, their own sound. Some of my favorites are Neither rhyme nor reason, Here comes the Fat Man and the title track Strange World. In the years 1997 to 1999 the group again released some tunes on various artists CD's, such as the three songs they gave me for my Crystal Ball 20th Aniversairy CD's (Volume 1 to 5). I also could convince the group to re-release their old vinyl material on a CD The early years, added to by eleven previously unreleased demo songs of their early nineties recordings. This was one of their latest publications. After that they started working on their latest album 'Straight into the jungle' that came out in may 2000." Ed Engel, Crystal Ball Records, New York, USA
The Crystalairs - classy doo-wop from Germany.