One man, two first names, the sound of some 100 feature films and 600 TV productions: Peter Thomas is a central figure in German-language cinema and television. His scores for series and films such as »Raumpatrouille Orion«, »Derrick«, the »Jerry Cotton« franchise and numerous »Edgar Wallace« adaptations turned the composer, who died in 2020, into a legend. Thomas himself was still involved in the Peter Thomas Archive, founded in 2007 to preserve his artistic legacy.
Following The Tape Masters Vol. 1 – Library Music, a second compilation has now been assembled from his vast oeuvre: The Tape Masters Vol. 2 – Soul Power from West Germany. Half of its 20 tracks have never been officially released before; several others make their vinyl debut here. The recordings date from between 1967 and 1974.
Every single track taps straight into party mode: big-band line-ups, buoyant energy, tipsy rogue funk and unrestrained B-movie breaks. Some titles make their intentions clear from the outset: »Haschkeller«, »Night Trip«, »Midnight Love« and »Lesbische Liebe«. Six tracks feature vocals by Joe Quick or Joe Ki, who throw themselves with relish between James Brown, Joy Fleming and Daliah Lavi. And right at the opener, »Black Power«, comes a small sensation: the very first solo vocal recordings by Donna Summer. They were made for the ZDF mini-series »11 Uhr 20« – five years before she and Giorgio Moroder would take disco by storm.
