Bet you didn’t know German mod music existed. Maybe you didn’t care. Well, you were wrong, and you should. Hamburg’s Marina Records recently released The In-Kraut, a compilation that includes twenty rare soul, beat, Now Sound, mod and soundtrack gems straight from the dustbin of post-war Germany, recorded between 1966 and 1974, to convince you of the error of your ways.

As you probably didn’t know, the pop-musical climate in Germany of the late 60s and early 70s was dominated by sub-kitsch radio hits called Schlager (literally, “hits”), with only the occasional 45 released that was comparable to the swingin’-est out of the US and the UK. Due to the shocking dearth of information available in English about the following bands and artists, I am forced to let the following tracks all but speak for themselves.

Those behind post-Schlager pop productions were mostly slick jazz players and studio musicians from the most popular big bands and orchestras in Germany. Composer and organist Ingfried Hoffman, known for his work on the German version of “Sesame Street” and member of the Klaus Doldinger Quartet turned the beat for a commercial jingle he was working on into Memphis Black’s groovy “Why Don’t You Play the Organ, Man.”

Erwin Halletz’s unique brand of proto-funk is highlighted on “Das Stundenhotel Von St. Pauli,” a down-and-dirty track with a funky groove clearly inspired by James Brown, originally included on a soundtrack from a B-movie about the goings on in a pay-by-the-hour hotel.

The drugsploitation nugget “Marihuana Mantra” by Kuno & The Marihuana Brass was a 45 celebrating the merits of marijuana use written by members Frank Dostal and Achim Reichel of Hamburg’s most renowned beat band The Rattles, both of whom, oddly enough, admitted to never having touched the stuff. Maybe that’s why it sounds more like they’ve been huffing paint thinner.

There’s even proof here that Germans sometimes have a sense of humor: Werner Müller’s hilarious “Bodybuilding” seems to foretell Arnie’s career, and was even sampled by camp-masters Bentley Rhythm Ace in 1997.

If for no other reason, pick this up for Heidi Brühl’s “Berlin.” Brühl was a successful Schlager Fräulein and musical theatre starlet who once co-starred in Sammy Davis Jr.’s Las Vegas show. Eventually, Heidi decided to update her sound for the Now Generation. She made the pilgrimage to London, put on her white go-go boots and recorded “Berlin” with English musicians, whose presence is conspicuously evident in the song’s trademark psychedelic guitar solo.

[Christmas is coming. Buy this for that Deutschophile in your life.]