Amon Düül II - The Best Of 1969 - 1974 (1997)
Amon Düül II - The UA Years: 1969-1974 {Best Of)
# Audio CD (January 21, 1997)
# Original Release Date: August 3, 1999
# Number of Discs: 1
# Label: Cleopatra/Purple Pyramid
# ASIN: B000001JW1
Review by John Bush
The only side of the continually frustrating Cleopatra label that makes any sense at all, the reissue subsidiary Purple Pyramid continues its commitment to quality archival Krautrock with The Best of Amon Düül II 1969-1974, a collection that charts the best moments from the best period of one of the most fascinating (and often bewildering) German groups of the '70s. Included are tracks from several of Amon Düül II's best LPs: from Yeti comes "Soap Shop Rock" and "Pale Gallery," from Tanz der Lemminge comes "A Short Stop at the Transylvanian Brain-Surgery" and "Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight," and from Wolf City there's "Surrounded by the Stars," "Deutsch Nepal," and the title track. Though Amon Düül II's albums of the period are necessary for fans of the group, this makes not only a perfect introduction for new listeners but also a handy summation of what made the band great.
Tracklist:
1. Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse
2. Archangels Thunderbird
3. Deutsch Nepal
4. Kannan
5. Surrounded by the Stars
6. Improvisations
7. Soap Shop Rock
8. Wolf City
9. Cerberus
10. Henriette Krotenschwanz
11. Race from Here to Your Ears
12. Kronwinkl 12
13. Utopia No. 1
14. Stumbling over Melted Moonlight
15. A Morning Excuse
16. A Short Stop at the Trans-Sylvanian Brain-Surgery
17. Pale Gallery
Amon Düül II - Live In London (1973)
Tracklist:
1. Archangels Thunderbird
2. Eye Shaking King
3. Soap Shop Rock
4. Improvisation
5. Syntelman's March of the Roaring Seventies~a) Pull Down Your Mask -
6. A - Restless Skylight - Transistor Child - B - Dehypnotized Toothpa
7. Race From Here To Your Ears~a - Little Tornados - B - Riding On A C
8. Bavarian Soap Shop Rock
9. Improvisation On Gulp A Sonata
Amon Düül II - Phallus Dei (1969)
Tracklist:
1. Kanaan 4:03
2. Dem Guten, Schönen, Wahren 6:11
3. Luzifers Ghilom 8:34
4. Henriette Krötenschwanz 2:03
5. Phallus Dei 20:45
6. Freak Out Requiem I (Bonus Track) 7:53
7. Freak Out Requiem II (Bonus Track) 0:44
8. Freak Out Requiem III (Bonus Track) 7:49
9. Cymbals in the End 0:34
Amon Düül II - Yeti (1970)
Tracklist:
1. Soap Shop Rock a. Burning Sister, b. Halluzination Guillotine, c. Gulp A Sonata, d. Flesh Coloured 13:47
2. Soap Shop Rock a. Burning Sister, b. Halluzination Guillotine, c. Gulp A Sonata, d. Flesh Coloured 13:47
3. She Came Through The Chimney 3:02
4. Archangels Thunderbird 3:33
5. Cerberus 4:21
6. The Return Of Ruebezahl 1:41
7. Eye-Shaking King 5:40
8. Pale Gallery 2:17
9. Yeti (Improvisation) 18:12
10. Yeti Talks To Yogi (Improvisation) 6:18
11. Sandoz In The Rain (Improvisation) 8:59
Amon Düül II - Tanz Der Lemminge (1972)
Date of Release: 1971 (release) inprint
1997 CD: Repertoire REP 4749 (Germany)
1971 2-LP: Liberty Teldec LBS 83473/74 (Germany)
1971 2-LP: United Artists UAD 60003/4 (UK)
2-LP: United Artists UA 9954
2-LP: Teldec 6.28525 DT (Germany)
2-LP: BASF UDB 8030
2-LP: 93001 (Japan)
1989 CD: Mantra MANTRA 014 (France)
1992 CD: Repertoire REP 4276 WY (Germany)
1996 CD: Captain Trip CTCD-032 (Japan)
Tracks
LP One:
01 - Syntelman's March Of The Roaring Seventies (Karrer)
a. In The Glassgarden
b. Pull Down Your Mask (Karrer/Rogner)
c. Prayer To The Silence
d. Telephonecomplex
02 - Restless Skylight-Transistor-Child (Weinzierl)
a. Landing In A Ditch
b. Dehypnotized Toothpaste
c. A Short Stop At The Transsylvanian Brain-Surgery
(Weinzierl/Rogner/Meid)
d. Race From Here To Your Ears
i. Little Tornadoes (Weinzierl/Rogner)
ii. Overheated Tiara (Weinzierl)
iii. The Flyweighted Five
e. Riding On A Cloud (Rogner/Meid)
f. Paralized Paradise
g. H.G. Well's Take-Off
LP Two: Chamsin Soundtrack
03 - The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial-Church
(Karrer/Meid/Weinzierl/Rogner)
04 - Chewinggum Telegram (Karrer/Meid/Weinzierl/Rogner)
05 - Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight
(Karrer/Meid/Weinzierl/Rogner)
06 - Toxicological Whispering (Karrer/Meid/Weinzierl/Rogner)
Note:
- The above is the correct tracklisting, as opposed to that
given on the Repertoire CD artwork.
John Weinzierl - Guitar, Vocals, Piano (LP Two),
Chris Karrer - Guitar, Violin, Vocals
Falk U. Rogner - Organ, Electronics (LP Two)
Karl-Heinz Hausmann - Electronics
Lothar Meid - Bass, Vocals
Peter Leopold - Drums, Percussion, Piano (LP Two)
Guests (LP One):
Alois Gromer - Sitar
Jimmy Jackson - Organ, Choir-Organ, Piano
Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz - Vocals
Rolf Zacher - Vocals
There aren't many double art-rock albums from the early '70s
that have stood the test of time, but then again, there aren't
many albums like Tanz, and there certainly aren't many groups
like Amon Düül II. While exact agreement over which of their
classic albums is the absolute standout may never be reached, in
terms of ambition combined with good musicianship and good humor
both, Tanz, the group's third album, is probably the best
candidate still. The musical emphasis is more on expansive
arrangements and a generally gentler, acoustic or soft electric
vibe; the brain-melting guitar from Yeti isn't as prominent on
Tanz, for example, aside from the odd freakout here and there.
You will find lengthy songs divided up into various movements,
but with titles like "Dehypnotized Toothpaste" and "Overheated
Tiara", po-faced seriousness is left at the door. The music
isn't always wacky per se, but knowing that the group can laugh
at itself is a great benefit. The first three tracks each take
up a side of vinyl on the original release, and all are quite
marvelous. "Syntelman's March Of The Roaring Seventies" works
through a variety of acoustic parts, steering away from
folksiness for a more abstract, almost playfully classical sense
of space and arrangement, before concluding with a brief jam.
"Restless Skylight-Transistor-Child" is more fragmented,
switching between aggressive (and aggressively weird) and subtle
passages. One part features Meid and Knaup singing over an
arrangement of guitars, synths and mock choirs that's
particularly fine, and quite trippy to boot. "The Marilyn
Monroe-Memorial-Church" exchanges variety for a slow sense of
mystery and menace, with instruments weaving in and out of the
mix while never losing the central feel of the song. Three
briefer songs close out the record, a nice way to get in some
quick grooves at the end.
-- Ned Raggett (AMG)
---------------------------------------------
The third album from Amon Düül II, Tanz Der Lemminge (1971), is
a more sophisticated work, but no less terrible (and monumental)
than Yeti. The ever-changing line-up (Chris Karrer on guitar and
violin, John Weinzierl on guitar, Lothar Meid on bass, Falk
Rogner on electronic keyboards, Peter Leopold on drums) is
rounded out by Alois Gromer on sitar and American jazz
keyboardist Jimmy Jackson (playing the church organ that would
become a trademark of their sound). The album's key compositions
are the three multi-part suites, which expand on the concept of
Phallus Dei. They are neither as dark nor as apocalyptic,
although they maintain a degree of angst and perversion. The
production is cleaner, crisper, lighter. The playing is tight
and cohesive. The songs are not improvised at all: they are
rational constructs. Instead of obsessively pounding on a theme,
they explore a theme with the scientific diligence of
progressive-rock. The 16-minute "Syntelman's March Of The
Roaring Seventies", is an odd fusion of Stravinsky's ballets,
Bob Dylan's narratives and and Frank Zappa's tempo shifts. The
instrumental passages are more atmospheric than apocalyptic, and
they are typically sustained by the gentle strumming of the
acoustic guitar. A virulent Hendrix-ian electric riff and a deep
groove open the 20-minute "Restless Skylight-Transistor-Child"
in a more aggressive vein, but soon the the male vocals engage
the sitar in a psychedelic duet, under the threatening shade of
eerie Stockhausen-ian electronics. At 7:23 the electric guitar
resumes its funky riff, thereby sparking off a Phallus Dei-like
charge. At 11:30 the piece mutates into a frenzied boogie, the
groove getting bigger and bigger, the guitar work echoeing the
Allman Brothers or Grateful Dead. A few seconds later, suddenly,
the music stops again; only to take off again for the final
seven-minute trip. The title of the seven parts are: "Landing In
A Ditch", "Dehypnotized Toothpaste", "A Short Stop At The
Transylvanian Brain Surgery", "Race From Here To Your Ears",
"Riding On A Cloud", "Paralized Paradise" and "H. G. Wells
Take-Off". (The Repertoire CD reissue had all the titles messed
up). The all-instrumental jam "The Marilyn
Monroe-Memorial-Church" (18 minutes) is the album's masterpiece,
and has little in common with the rest of Amon Düül II's career.
For 14 minutes this is an avant garde piece that lets
disconnected tones, phrases and chords float in the sky. An
organ echoing Pink Floyd's "A Saucerful Of Secrets" prevails for
a few minutes, but then the music falls apart again, leaving the
instruments to test the limits of free improvisation. Very
little is actually dissonant, but almost everything is loose,
irrational, incoherent, amorphous. The last four minutes are
louder and frantic. The "dance" concludes with three shorter
pieces, of which the psychedelic/futuristic blues-rock
instrumental "Toxicological Whispering" is the most disturbing.
Amon Düül II had mastered the fusion between rock'n'roll,
avant garde and world-music, using such fusion to pen long and
dynamic post-psychedelic musical journeys that reinvented the
form of the classical fantasia in the age of post-modernism.
-- Piero Scaruffi
Tracklist:
1. Syntelman's March Of The Roaring Seventies a. In The Glassgarden b. Pull Down Your Mask c. Prayer To The Silence d. Telephonecomplex 15:52
2. Restless Skylight-Transistor-Child a. Landing In A Ditch b. Dehypnotized Toothpaste c. A Short Stop At The Transsylvanian Brain-Surgery d. Race From Here To Your Ears i. Little Tornadoes ii. Overheated Tiara iii. The Flyweighted Five e. Riding On A Cloud f. Paralized Paradise g. H.G. Well's Take-Off 19:34
3. The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial-Church 18:11
4. Chewinggum Telegram 2:46
5. Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight 4:39
6. Toxicological Whispering 7:49
Amon Düül II - Live In London [2007 Remaster] (1973)
Amon Düül II - Live In London (1973/2007 Revisited Rec. Remastered Deluxe Edition)
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Artist: Amon Düül II
Album: Live In London
Released: 1973/2007
Revisited Rec./SPV (SPV 305362)
Genre: Krautrock
AMG Review: A curious release in the Amon Düül II catalog -- originally it appeared only in Britain, and then as an astonishingly cheap budget release -- Live in London is, unsurprisingly, exactly what it says it is. Recorded near the end of 1972, it features the full-band lineup performing songs mostly from Yeti and Tanz der Lemminge for a quite enthusiastic crowd (if prog rock bands performed for a bunch of stoned hippies, one would never know that from the cheers throughout). The group pours on the energy in turn; while they aren't simply playing at full blast throughout, the song selection and inspired performances are the mark of a bandable to cut it just as well live as in the studio. Whether it was a conscious decision on the band's part to focus mostly on the rockers as opposed to the drifters is up for grabs, but it works; even the spacier numbers, like the aptly titled "Improvisations," consisting mostly of buried feedback and burbling keyboard intrusions, still have a good power to them. The heavy groove of "Eye Shaking King" is one standout to note; it's such a great take that swaying and gentle headbanging seem like the only natural things to do, while Karrer's fiery mid-song guitar solo is one of his best performances. Two lengthy Tanz tracks, "Syntelman's" and "Restless Skylight," appear in abbreviated forms, gaining in a more direct performance what they lose in length, while Knaup and Meid share vocals throughout to further reshape the songs for the live venue, a nice and successful change from the album cuts. Closing on a fine medley of "Riding on a Cloud" and "Paralyzed Paradise," with some more excellent mind-f*ck guitar on the latter (only a couple of minutes' worth, but just enough), Live in London is worth scrounging around for.
Progarchives Review: I absolutely love live in london it starts with archangels thunderbird which is better than the version on yeti and absolutely brilliant version,and then eye shaking king is a better version as the middle guitar bit is so addictive and played loud sounds excellent you just must hear both of these tracks,then soap shop rock is next which is shortened to 7.36 mins is good to but should of been the same length as the yeti version as its to short but this is all live and sounds good anyway,all the other tracks on the album are a good listen and a must hear in my opinion,i got the mystic records version of live in london which makes me which i got the remastered version,the version ive got has 2 bonus tracks one which is bavarian soap rock rock[17.44 mins]is i cant help but to say what or whoever made the extra bit in this song the extra sound in the song has messed it up as it sounds like the original of yeti with just extra sound in it which is a waste of time[ i could of made a better job on it and i cant play guitar or bass that well],and then improvisation on gulp a sonata at 2.54 isnt to bad but i think if you want to buy live in london buy the reamasted version in stead as i think that is what i will do,till then i,ll play this till the end of paralized paradise and stop after that,this is worth having as its a good live album but i dont think its a whole altogether live album as it would of been nice to hear the talkitive bits between the songs like when they say what songs next this way it would of been better than cutting it,i give it 4 stars.
Amon Düül II - Wolf City (1973)
Tracklist:
1. Surrounded By The Stars 7:47
2. Green Bubble Raincoated Man
3. Jail-House-Frog 4:52
4. Wolf City 3:19
5. Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse 5:45
6. Deutsch Nepal 2:59
7. Sleepwalker's Timeless Bridge 4:54
Amon Düül II - Hijack (1974)
Tracklist:
1. I Can't Wait 6:17
2. Mirror 4:43
3. Traveller 4:22
4. You're Not Alone 6:53
5. Explode Like a Star 3:58
6. Da Guadeloop 7:03
7. Lonely Woman 4:41
8. Liquid Whisper 3:31
9. Archy the Robot 3:30
Amon Düül II - Carnival In Babylon (1972)
Tracklist:
1. C.I.D. in Uruk (John Weinzierl) 5:38
2. All the Years 'Round (Falk U. Rogner/John Weinzierl/Renate Knaup) 7:25
3. Shimmering Sand (Chris Karrer/Falk U. Rogner) 6:36
4. Kronwinkl 12 (John Weinzierl) 3:57
5. Tables Are Turned (Chris Karrer/Falk U. Rogner) 3:38
6. Hawknose Harlequin (Chris Karrer/Danny Secundus Fichelscher/Falk U. Rogner/Hausmann/John Weinzierl/Lothar Meid/Peter Leopold) 9:52