Amon Duul Live

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.

Amon Düül II was born of an artistic and political community called Amon Düül (which recorded during the late sixties a long live session made around collective and free musical improvisations). The band emerged from the underground German rock scene with a very original and eccentric album called "Phallus Dei" (1969). Only Human (1978) is way better than people give it credit for. Granted, it does not sound like Phallus Dei at all, but that doesn't make it bad, just different. What we have here is a band stretching out to encompass the style of the times, while adding its own unique flavor. As such, Only Human shows strong Disco influences, often incorporating elements from World Music. Spaniards & Spacemen is a delightful highlight, fusing flamenco guitar with cutting edge electronic dance music…

Formed in 1970, Grobschnitt was one of the best German band from the mid-Seventies. All of the members of the band adopted pseudonyms, namely "Eroc", "Mist", "Wildschwein", "Lupo" and "Popo". The band was created by Joachim "Eroc" Ehrig (drums, percussion), Stefan "Wildschwein" Daneliak (guitars & vocals), and Gerd-Otto "Lupo" Kühn (guitar, vocals). This nucleus was later completed by Wolgang "Popo" Jäger (bass) and Volker "Mist" Kahrs (keyboards, Mellotron, synthesizers). They were best known as Yes-inspired band, but they also explored other progressive rock styles (either psychedelic prog or more cohesive "Krautrock" with some stunning instrumental passages that will be familiar to anyone into the likes of Man, Amon Duul II, Wishbone Ash and many similar bands)…

Live at the Philharmonie was the Dave Pike Set's third record for MPS in the year 1969 alone; Noisy Silence-Gentle Noise (MPS 15215) and the stellar Four Reasons (MPS 15253) preceded it. One of the most interesting ideas about this amazing set of music concerns the notorious circumstances under which it was recorded, at the 1969 Berlin Jazz Days festival. The reason for this is the year itself: Miles Davis and his group had brought their fiery brand of electricity to jazz and its reverberations were being heard the world over. At the same time, prog rock and Krautrock were making their heads (considered ugly by jazz purists) known in the guises of Can, Neu!, Amon Düül, and Faust. Add to this Charlie Mariano's great band, the new hip embracing of rock culture by the Kenny Clarke-Francy Boland Big Band, Peter Herbolzheimer's Rhythm Combination & Brass, and any number of other groups, and Berlin was in a state of tension. The wild thing is, everybody agreed on Pike's group – it was the bridge between the jazz tradition, what was transpiring, and what was to come.

Formed in 1970, Grobschnitt was one of the best German band from the mid-Seventies. All of the members of the band adopted pseudonyms, namely "Eroc", "Mist", "Wildschwein", "Lupo" and "Popo". The band was created by Joachim "Eroc" Ehrig (drums, percussion), Stefan "Wildschwein" Daneliak (guitars & vocals), and Gerd-Otto "Lupo" Kühn (guitar, vocals). This nucleus was later completed by Wolgang "Popo" Jäger (bass) and Volker "Mist" Kahrs (keyboards, Mellotron, synthesizers). They were best known as Yes-inspired band, but they also explored other progressive rock styles (either psychedelic prog or more cohesive "Krautrock" with some stunning instrumental passages that will be familiar to anyone into the likes of Man, Amon Duul II, Wishbone Ash and many similar bands)…

Formed in 1970, Grobschnitt was one of the best German band from the mid-Seventies. All of the members of the band adopted pseudonyms, namely "Eroc", "Mist", "Wildschwein", "Lupo" and "Popo". The band was created by Joachim "Eroc" Ehrig (drums, percussion), Stefan "Wildschwein" Daneliak (guitars & vocals), and Gerd-Otto "Lupo" Kühn (guitar, vocals). This nucleus was later completed by Wolgang "Popo" Jäger (bass) and Volker "Mist" Kahrs (keyboards, Mellotron, synthesizers). They were best known as Yes-inspired band, but they also explored other progressive rock styles (either psychedelic prog or more cohesive "Krautrock" with some stunning instrumental passages that will be familiar to anyone into the likes of Man, Amon Duul II, Wishbone Ash and many similar bands)…

Birth Control's straightforward progressive rock sound is perfectly demonstrated on Birth Control Live, recorded in June 1974. With Zeuss B. Held's organ and Wurlitzer contributing to their simplistic keyboard and vocal arrangements, the album takes favorites like "The Work Is Done" and "She's Got Nothing on You" and dresses them up a bit, proving that the band can be just as exciting in concert as on their studio albums. Much like Amon Düül II or even Atomic Rooster to a certain extent, Birth Control puts great emphasis on their keyboards, with lead vocalist Peter Föller adding some humorous support from time to time…