Saturday, July 25, 2009

Amon Duul II "Wolf City" 1973

Wolf City (United Artists 1973)
Genre: Krautrock
Album Legnth: 34:39
Best Song: "Green Bubble Raincoated Man"

Tracks:
1. Surrounded By The Stars 7.46
2. Green-Bubble-Raincoated-Man 5.04
3. Jail-House-Frog 4.52
4. Wolf City 3.20
5. Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse 5.44
6. Deutsch Nepal 2.59
7. Sleepwalkers Timeless Bridge 4.54

Overview:
'Wolf City' is perhaps the most popular Amon Duul II recording. The sound is a continuation of the style which dominated "Carnival In Babylon". The tracks are shorter and made more accessible by a more mainstream rock approach and Renate Knaup's dominance on lead vocals. In addition to her vocals, Lothar Meid sings on the title track while Danny Fichelcher is responsible for the vocals on 'Sleepwalkers Timeless Bridge'. Despite losing touch with their underground ways the songs are fresh and range from the psychedelic "Wolf City' to the ethnic-rock-fusion 'Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse' to the heavy gothic rocker 'Deutsch Nepal'. Some songs are so fresh that there are a few musical passages which could be deemed as 'proto-punk' or even 'proto-new wave' (check out the rocking middle section of Green-Bubble-Raincoated-Man). The obvious standout are tracks 1,4,5,6. It should be noted that allegedly, 'Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse' was the result of an LSD trip in which according to legend, the entire band dropped acid and decided to record while tripping... This is a must-have for fans of Amon Duul II and Krautrock fans in general. Most ADII fans view this as their last great album while viewing later material as sadly lacking.
[5/5 Doug]

Musicians:
Chris Karrer - Guitar
Johannes Weinzierl - Guitar
Renate Knaup - Vocals
Falk Rogner - Keyboard
Lothar Meid - Bass
Danny Fichelcher - Drums

2 comments:

  1. Great review for an outstanding album. Having listened to Yeti and Tanz Der Lemminge for many years, I was wary of a shift to a more accessible style - but it rocks while retaining the signature craziness. And the changes of tempo throughout are genius! Cheers, Kevin

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