#Lothar Meid

[longliverockback]

Amon Düül II Hijack 1974 NOVA ——————————————————————— Tracks: 1. I Can’t Wait (Part 1+2) 2. Mirror 3. Traveller 4. You’re Not Alone 5. Explode Like a Star 6. Da Guadeloop 7. Lonely Woman 8. Liquid Whisper 9. Archy the Robot ———————————————————————

Chris Karrer

Renate Knaup

Peter Leopold

Lothar Meid

Falk Rogner

John Weinzierl

* Long Live Rock Archive

[myrecordcollections]

Amon Düül II rose from the communal pit of Amon Düül I, a group of beaters and stompers who made three albums culled from the chaos of a single tribe-jam session. The second outfit saw the madness in that situation, and decided to do their own thing, and not worry about getting a new name (or fighting too hard for the first one). Guitarist Chris Karrer took with him seven of the collective's best musicians, and they formed what is generally thought of as the better half of this family. They're usually aligned with Faust (not really a good comparison), Can (getting colder) and Neu! (might as well say "Frank Sinatra"), but if indeed the band was ever typical "krautrock," they were decidedly closer to the rambunctious prog-rock side (though comparing them to Yes is even worse), with a liberal dose of heavy psych.

Amon Düül II was infinitely darker than most of their countrymen as well, with songs (or more accurately, suites) often running the gamut of proto-goth subjects: aliens, funerals, alien funerals-- they did it all. Of course, none of it would matter much without some seriously engaging music. I first got into Amon Düül II after a friend had compared Boredoms' Super Ae to their 1970 release, Yeti, and though that's a convenient reference, the German band were the far hairier proposition. Pounding rhythms, acid-attack guitar freak-outs, inappropriately wet reverb overdoses, and strange lyrics about H.G. Wells and toothpaste all contribute to the general strangeness that is an experience with the early works of this band.

1971's Tanz der Lemminge (Dance of the Lemmings) was the band's third album, and though they'd already taken the pedal off the spacy, overdriven metal a bit, it's still a sight removed from the pop charts. By that point, only Karrer, John Weinzierl (guitar), Lothar Meid (bass), Falk Rogner (organ) and Peter Leopold (drums) remained from the original group (plus a few guests), though that didn't stop them from filling up their second double LP in a row. The sound is something like old school Jethro Tull (uh-huh, though sans-flute) with so many odd sonic detours as to make the prospect of not one, not two, but three full-grown, epic-length goth-prog tunes (and some group improv to boot) not as daunting as it could be. And for the record, this stuff rocks the haus.

[emptypiepan]

[longliverockback]

Amon Düül II Tanz der Lemminge 1971 Liberty ————————————————— Tracks Disc One: Syntelman’s March of the Roaring Seventies 1. In the Glassgarden 2. Pull down Your Mask 3. Prayer to the Silence 4. Telephonecomplex Restless Skylight-Transistor-Child 1. Landing in a Ditch 2. Dehypnotized Toothpaste 3. A Short Stop at the Transsylvanian Brain-Surgery 4. Race from Here to Your Ears     I. Little Tornadoe    II. Overheated Tiara   III. The Flyweighted Five  5. Riding on a Cloud  6. Paralized Paradise  7. H.G. Well's Take Off

Tracks Disc Two: Chamsin Soundtrack 1. The Marilyn Monroe-Memorial-Church 2. Chewinggum Telegram 3. Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight 4. Toxicological Whispering —————————————————

Chris Karrer

Renate Knaup

Peter Leopold

Lothar Meid

Falk Rogner

John Weinzierl

* Long Live Rock Archive

[myrecordcollections]

Amon Düül II rose from the communal pit of Amon Düül I, a group of beaters and stompers who made three albums culled from the chaos of a single tribe-jam session. The second outfit saw the madness in that situation, and decided to do their own thing, and not worry about getting a new name (or fighting too hard for the first one). Guitarist Chris Karrer took with him seven of the collective's best musicians, and they formed what is generally thought of as the better half of this family. They're usually aligned with Faust (not really a good comparison), Can (getting colder) and Neu! (might as well say "Frank Sinatra"), but if indeed the band was ever typical "krautrock," they were decidedly closer to the rambunctious prog-rock side (though comparing them to Yes is even worse), with a liberal dose of heavy psych.

Amon Düül II was infinitely darker than most of their countrymen as well, with songs (or more accurately, suites) often running the gamut of proto-goth subjects: aliens, funerals, alien funerals-- they did it all. Of course, none of it would matter much without some seriously engaging music. I first got into Amon Düül II after a friend had compared Boredoms' Super Ae to their 1970 release, Yeti, and though that's a convenient reference, the German band were the far hairier proposition. Pounding rhythms, acid-attack guitar freak-outs, inappropriately wet reverb overdoses, and strange lyrics about H.G. Wells and toothpaste all contribute to the general strangeness that is an experience with the early works of this band.

1971's Tanz der Lemminge (Dance of the Lemmings) was the band's third album, and though they'd already taken the pedal off the spacy, overdriven metal a bit, it's still a sight removed from the pop charts. By that point, only Karrer, John Weinzierl (guitar), Lothar Meid (bass), Falk Rogner (organ) and Peter Leopold (drums) remained from the original group (plus a few guests), though that didn't stop them from filling up their second double LP in a row. The sound is something like old school Jethro Tull (uh-huh, though sans-flute) with so many odd sonic detours as to make the prospect of not one, not two, but three full-grown, epic-length goth-prog tunes (and some group improv to boot) not as daunting as it could be. And for the record, this stuff rocks the haus.