Miroslav Kefurt - Pauken Twist 1963

I heard this earlier today on a compilation of East German "Twist" songs from the early/mid 1960s. You find the strangest things on YouTube.

The collection was mostly horribly square, as one would expect from the Osties. This was the exception. This is a very accomplished piece with some real swing to it. Miroslav can really play.

The Germans are a hit-or-miss people when it comes to music. They seem to catch fire sometimes, but does it last? I'll leave that up to the real musicologists. There's Beethoven, of course, and Bach, and so many others, back in the day. They weren't only composers, either, they were players. Beethoven, in his youth, was like a combination of Frank Sinatra and Jimi Hendrix. The women swooned and the guys wondered, "how the fuck is he doing that?" Then there's the flash of wild inspiration that gave the world Krautrock in the 1970s. Guru Guru; Can; Amon Duul II; Kraftwerk; etc. They'll be back, that's my guess.

But this Miroslav character . . . boy, can he play, or what? And look at those fingers! It was either the guitar or become a surgeon.