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ONCE UPON A TIME, BEST OF 1969 - 1999
Tracklist:
Phallus Dei; Soap Shop Rock; Archangel Thunderbird; Syntelman's March of the Roaring 70th; C.I.D. in Uruk; All the Years Round; Surrounded By the Stars; Wolf City; Cerberus; Nada Moonshine #
In the late 1960's Amon Duul started out as a politico-musical commune based in Munich, Germany. The group's way of life took on board ideas that were not uncommon in the youth culture of the time, they readily
embraced the notion of free love and were not unwilling to investigate the properties of 'mind altering' drugs.
At the same time their music tended to be very experimental and was heavily built around free jamming sessions. From this commune a number of individuals led by Chris Karrer, whose main interest lay more purely in musical expression, broke away to form the group that was to become known as Amon Duul II.
The band quickly became associated with the emerging 'Krautrock' scene which, at a time when the UK and American progressive movements were forging ever closer ties with jazz or classical music, seemed to be
concentrating more on the emerging technology that could be used to create the music.
Consequently these two diverging movements ended up with very different outlooks and different sounds although, not surprisingly, there were areas of common ground.
For listeners who have a greater familiarity with the more traditional progressive scene Amon Duul's music can seem very alien, and certainly many will find it a taste that has to be acquired.
In terms of content the title of this compilation is something of a misnomer since one might have expected to find tracks spanning the band's entire history.
Instead what we have here are nine tracks taken from the first five studio albums, which covers the period 1969 to 1973, these are followed by 'Nada Moonshine #' which was the title track of a 1995 album. Curiously, the CD has been put together in such a way as to seamlessly join the tracks together so that what you get is effectively a single unbroken piece of music and, although this might seem like a strange approach, it actually works well in practice.
The opening track takes us back to the band's beginnings and is the title track of the 1969 'Phallus Dei' album.
I can remember this album being recommended as a 'must have' by a friend back in the seventies, but having bought it I could not see what the fuss was about and it was not long before I gave it away again, finding it far too weird.
Despite having been put badly put off the band by this early experience I was determined to give this CD a fair hearing, but it soon became apparent that some deeply ingrained opinions were not about to change.
At the risk of being branded as 'ignorant' by those who hold the band in high esteem, I have to say I still find little merit in the track 'Phallus Dei'. The free form playing style and clear jazz influences are too strong for my tastes, perhaps if some of the strange vocal noises were removed it would help - but I doubt it somehow.
Despite any misgivings I may have had after the opening track, I can honestly say I found most of the reminder of the album to be a pleasant surprise ...
Three tracks are featured from the 1970 album 'Yeti', the first of which is 'Soap Shop Rock'. This track has strong driving rhythms but perversely the overall approach of the song is quite laid back and easy
going. The only problem I have with the track is that there is not really sufficient variation to justify its run time of nearly thirteen minutes.
Having said that, the last five minutes of the track, where the music is strongly punctuated by violin work is really superb, and while I could have done without the male vocals the female singer adds significantly to the atmosphere of the piece.
The second of the 'Yeti' tracks is 'Archangel Thunderbird', a much shorter piece full of changes in direction and with a harder rock edge to it. The singing here is somehow reminiscent of Grace Slick and some
of the musical elements have a King Crimson feel to them.
The last of the three tracks from 1970 is 'Cerberus', another short track with a strong ethnic feel created by the use of acoustic string work and the gentle pounding of tom toms. Half way through the mood
changes completely and the tones switch to a much harsher sound with more electric guitar work being utilised. A strong sense of discord is prevalent in the build up to the finish and this has a strangely
disorienting effect on the listener.
The 1971 album 'Dance of the Lemmings' is represented by a section of the track 'Syntelman's March of the Roaring 70th' which demonstrates capably the band's ability to take a much softer approach, and in terms of
overall style, parallels can be made with some of Daevid Allen's work with Gong.
Two tracks are taken from the 1974 album 'Carnival in Babylon: 'C.I.D. in Uruk' and 'All the Years Round'.
The first of these starts out promisingly, again the mood of the piece is fairly laid back and relaxed, but I feel that the band's vocals are a real weak point and for me the piece would have been better had they left it as an instrumental. This is also true of 'All the years Round' which has a sound similar to what Solstice were to achieve many years later. The problem here though is that while the basic melody is pleasant enough, the female vocals sound too thin to be convincing - a shame as this track could have worked so much better.
Moving forward again we now have two pieces from the 1973 album 'Wolf City'.
'Surrounded by Stars' seems to be trying to head in a far more commercial direction and, although I suspect this may not please the purists, it makes a very interesting contrast to some of the other featured pieces. As a definite plus point is the fact that, finally, the vocals seem to be working in the band's favour.
'Wolf City' on the other hand seems to point back to where the band came from with a strong psychedelic edge and bold and confident delivery.
The running time of just over three minutes seems perfect for the piece but once more the vocals are a real let down.
The final track 'Nada Moonshine #', as mentioned earlier, comes from the 1995 album of the same name and is something of a disappointment being another track that comes into the too long and too repetitive category.
Before summing up, a quick mention should also be made of the packaging since the CD comes with an eight page booklet which contains a fairly detailed (and useful) history of the band and also includes several
interesting black and white photos.
While in many ways Amon Duul were probably ahead of their time I am left with a strong impression that they are badly let down by the vocal work, which is often weak and sometimes downright appalling.
Although the songs are not always easy to get into first time through, they do seem to have an appeal that grows with subsequent hearings.
The CD's claim to be 'The Best of...' may be open to debate, but it is true to say that it does go a long way towards showing the range of styles that the band were capable of delivering.
Furthermore, regardless of any criticisms I have made on the way through this compilation has nevertheless given me a desire to hear more of the band's work and consequently it has succeeded in its aim.
If you feel most comfortable with traditional or neo-prog music, this may find this a difficult album to get on with - if, on the other hand, you have an adventurous streak and like to try something a little more on
the edge this could be an excellent starting point to get acquainted with ADII.
Simon 6th March 2001
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