Live In London

Performer: Amon Düül
Engineer: Vic Maile
Producer: Amon Duul II; Olaf Kubler
Distributor: Ryko Distribution

Notes: Recorded live in December 1972. CD contains 2 bonus tracks. Amon D��l: Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz (vocals); Chris Karrer, John Weinzierl (guitar); Falk U. Rogner (organ); Lothar Meid (bass guitar); Peter Leopold, Danny Secundus Fichelscher (drums). A curious release in the Amon D��l 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 band able 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. A 2000 U.K. CD reissue includes bonus tracks, but they appear to just be remixes of album cuts. ~ Ned Raggett

Q (1/04, p.128) - 4 stars out of 5 - "[N]ot even time can diminish the supercharged blues of Chris Karrer's epic guitar solos."

Best understood as a single concept split into two actual ensembles--Amon Duul I and Amon Duul II--with a shared origin and vision, Amon Duul is arguably the quintessential example of the style of music known as Krautrock. Born out of Germany's hippie art scene of the late 1960s, the Amon Duul name had divided into two separate entities by 1969, with the original band choosing a more free-form, improvisational approach to music making, while its sequel (and often contemporary) chose a more rigorous, technically adept progressive sound. Both acts went through various line-up changes over the subsequent decades, continuing to perform into the new millennium and benefiting greatly from the resurgent interest in German avant-garde music that took place in the late 1990s.

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