Amon Düül

By 1976, Amon Düül II had transitioned from a highly experimental unit to an almost traditional pop-rock act, with lyrics sung in English and a decidedly (and unexpectedly) rockist approach to songwriting. New members Stefan Zauner (keys) and Klaus Ebert (guitar and bass) contributed the majority of the songs, adding to the stark newness of the sound. While this album has its share of exciting moments, it is not a typical Amon Duul album, and will probably be best enjoyed by completists.

Made In Germany was a real musical transformation for Amon Düül II. If you took this album, and ADII's first album "Phallus Dei" and played them both for an unknowing listener, they would never even suspect it was the same band! The songs like "Ludwig" have an almost Beatlesesque quality to them (albeit on much more drugs). Ambitious vocal harmony arrangements, pristine production values, orchestral flourishes… Amon Duul? Anyway, this album is a masterwork of a completely different sort than their earlier releases, so naturally many fans will not still be onboard at this point. Short, vaguely Floydian spacy instrumental breaks replace the full-on sonic assaults of yore, and the main feature is… songs. Beautiful, sometimes achingly melancholic, sometimes witty and humorous, always honed like a gem; this is top-notch songwriting without ever losing ADII's keen eye for ambition.

Released to raise money for victims of the Kobe, Japan, earthquake, this Amon Düül II disc from 1996, like the very similar Eternal Flashback, is actually material from 1969 to 1971 reworked through the wonders of plunderphonics by members of the group into one seamless, 65-minute-long space rock epic. It's not quite as radical as the John Oswald remix of the Grateful Dead's "Darkstar" on Grayfolded or the Can remix album Sacrilege, though it's still a quite fascinating bit of trickery, as bits of tracks from the first two albums, Phallus Dei and Yeti, are blended with previously unreleased material. The rhythms are often looped to retain the essence of the original album, but drawn out into long, hypnotic passages with oozes of guitar floating around them, while most of the vocal sections have been completely excised out, leaving this a complete instrumental workout…

The return of the definitive Krautrock band, Amon Düül II, who proudly present their first CD & vinyl release in nearly 20 years, a bold new album of extra trippy, progressive, spacey, Düüliriousness! This special project features founding members John Weinzierl (guitar), Chris Karrer (guitar, violin) and Renate Knaup (vocals) plus longtime members Lothar Meid (bass) and Daniel Fischelscher (drums), With one of the most fanatical followings in all of rock music as well as a world renowned reputation as perhaps the most influential experimental band, this release is sure to get the music community talking.

Live in Tokyo is a live record from the reunited original lineup of Amon Duul, and while most of the members are in place, the band isn't able to recapture the spark that made their early-'70s albums prog-rock milestones. The lineup features three longtime members, Renate Knaup, Lothar Meid, and Chris Karrer, with Wolf Wolff on drums and new second guitarist Felice Occhionero, Michael Ruff on keyboards and Jan Kahlert doing percussion and vocals. Most of the material is from Nada Moonshine # and one of their best albums, Wolf City.

The return of the definitive Krautrock band, Amon Düül II, who proudly present their first CD & vinyl release in nearly 20 years, a bold new album of extra trippy, progressive, spacey, Düüliriousness! This special project features founding members John Weinzierl (guitar), Chris Karrer (guitar, violin) and Renate Knaup (vocals) plus longtime members Lothar Meid (bass) and Daniel Fischelscher (drums), With one of the most fanatical followings in all of rock music as well as a world renowned reputation as perhaps the most influential experimental band, this release is sure to get the music community talking.

Amon Düü II's follow-up to their landmark double-LP set Tanz der Lemminge features a musical approach less experimental than previous recordings, but nonetheless distinctive and broad-reaching in its sphere of influences. The almost epic tack of the earlier works has been pared down here, but full-forward, guitar-heavy tracks like "C.I.D. in Uruk," "Ballad of the Shimmering Sands," and "Kronwinkl 12" use disparate folk and hard rock elements cannily. The band moves the music with a majestic sweep punctuated by the snaky guitar work of Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl.