HIJACK

This was a rather abrupt shift in direction for the band, it would seem. Gone are the many colorful, psychedelic washes of brilliance and in their place is a more commercial, streamlined sound that still has some fragments of their previous brilliance.

"I Can't Wait Pt I & II" opens things on a promising note with its bizarre and funny lyrics and insistent cellos. "Mirror" however lapses into some rather pedestrian rock with a few horns, nothing very remarkable as could be said for the remainder of the disc, despite the fact it tried to cover a lot of musical styles. "Da Guadeloop" could be called the obligatory/gratuitous disco track (it was 1975 after all). "Explode Like A Star" threatens to light a fire (again, some really funny/bizarre lyrics like "Is it the "J" in their names that gets them killed?/Like Janice or J Jones or just another public relations thrill?"). It's not until the album's closing track "Archy The Robot" with its insistent marching band pulse and over- the-top brass arrangement at the end that the brilliance of the previous ADII albums seems to peek out again.

Not a bad disc but hardly a good place to start with this band.

At first listen this album sounded weird to my personal taste. It's probably that the music is composed in a single structure format so it sounds repetitive. It's like creating a highway as a main structure and lay all instrument solos in alternate way using the same highway structure. A good example is what the band offers with track like "Da Guadeloop" (7:03) where the main structure (the rhythm section) is a repetitive drum and bass guitar work that is played over and over. The only variation is with the solos that are put on top of this main structure: string arrangements with eastern nuance, guitars, etc. It applies the same with "Lonely Woman" (4:44) where it has one structure (repetitive bass guitar work) plus female vocals and saxophone work. It's too straightforward and so boring to my personal taste. This album is probably worth for fans / collectors only. Keep on proggin' ..!

Peace on earth and mercy mild - GW

The band's first misfire in the studio. It's the classic lineup of Karrer/Knaup/Weinzierl/Rogner/Meid/Leopold, yet the band had gone rather void-of-course by this point. The band add strings and brass to their sound, but to little effect (the cellos on "I Can't Wait Pt.1" do make it more interesting than it might otherwise be, though). Mostly bland mainstream rock, folk rock, and even more cabaret stylings (the execrable "Lonely Woman"), plus the ludicrous "conspiracy theory rock" of "Explode Like A Star". Instead of sounding like revolutionaries as on earlier albums, they sound utterly tame, as on the cuddly sci-fi anthem "Archy The Robot".

Still, it's not a total wash. "I Can't Wait Pt.2" has some of Falk Rogner's most compelling synth work. "You're Not Alone", while seriously mainstream, is suitably moody, with lush phasing effects. And the instrumental "Da Guadeloop" offers a smidgen of the old experimentation. Curiously, it sounds mostly like Can.

For this album, the core members of Amon Duul II were still present, but intrusions from a plethora of 'outsiders' has seemed to have dragged some of the music down the pathway of mediocrity by incorporating un-necessary sonic colour, such as pompous string arrangements to certain tracks, which sometimes enhances, sometimes doesn't.. Bassist Lothar Meid is great on his instrument, although I'm not a big fan of his voice (or is it just the 'mix' of his voice - it's always loud). He dominates side 1 of the record, not that the songs are particularly bad, just a bit bland. 'I Can't Wait - 1 & 2' starts off a little uncertain and unsure of where to go but the 2nd part features some spacey synths and a great Bass-line. Very 'hip' sounding. 'Mirror' is a song that just doesn't work - pure, standard rock-music, with some shrill 'chipmunk' backing vocals - not the sort of thing we expect from this great band. 'Traveller' bounces along in a 'cosmic-country'-ish sort of way, nice to hear Renate Knaup at the mic again, and includes some colourful clavinet playing. Meid's 'You're Not Alone' is majestic and grandiose, with tasteful Soprano Sax solos from Olaf Kubler, quite an accessible tune, too, but one can't help but think that the musicians here were capable of much more.

Side 2 shows off a more eclectic run of songs ; 'Explode Like a Star' is quirky, reminiscent of the previous studio album 'Vive Le Trance'. The 7min+ 'Da Guadeloop' is a sensational piece of music - a percussive show-case with interesting Bass playing, the string parts work well, the 2 guitar solos are exciting, and various sound effects are used in the right place. Possibly the best track on the album. 'Lonely Woman' is a smooth, sleek song, more French sounding than German, great rhythm - it's pure enjoyment. 'Liquid Whisper' is a dreamy, mellow tune, with Renate singing again. Final song, 'Archy The Robot' is somewhat directionless, and suffers from a goofy Brass arrangement - not the ideal way to finish off an album, it tends to leave an unsavoury taste in the mouth. Still, 'Hijack' is, for the most part, a pretty good listen, though not definitive Duul. 3 stars.

Just like the preceding album, Hi-Jack is an art-rock oriented Amon Düül II album that is most disappointing if you look for the psychedelic and creative qualities that were explored on their early albums. As a collection of "rock songs with a hook", this still works for a couple of listens.

The band had succumbed under commercial pressure and saw their own sound and personality buried under studio effects, string arrangements, gimmicks and session musicians. Just as on the preceding and ensuing albums, this is a diluted Amon Düül II doing art-pop, folk, tango and whatever else that sounded cool to do at the time. As said, some of these songs are not without merit and I certainly enjoy I can't Wait and Lonely Woman. But the bulk of the material is too faceless and mainstream.

Not a bad album as such, but held against their first three albums it is quite poor. Might appeal a bit more to dedicated fans of 70s art-rock such as Bowie, Cale and Eno.

Amon Duul II: Hijack [1974]

Rating: 3/10

Hijack is the album that made me lose all hope in Amon Duul II; after this, I was no longer interested in exploring any more of the band's discography. This once-seminal krautrock group began exploring a more commercial sound on 1972's Carnival in Babylon, and things soon went south. Vive La Trance showed the band losing all remaining experimental credibility. On Hijack, they dig themselves even deeper. This is a tired and dull collection of short rock songs with absolutely no feeling or heart whatsoever. Almost all psychedelic influences have been eliminated in exchange for blues, R&B, and hard-rock. The end result is a horribly unenthusiastic record that just barely manages to avoid a full-on one-star rating.

"I Can't Wait, Part 1+ 2" is an R&B-style rock song with a generic bass-line and uninteresting vocals. "Mirror" sounds kind of like late-era Captain Beefheart, expect not nearly as good. "Traveller" features some horrible female vocals. The flute solo at the end is one of the few good moments on the album, however. "You're Not Alone" exhibits slow-paced drawn-out blues rock that leaves me with absolutely nothing. The pace picks up on "Explode Like a Star", but things remain totally uninteresting. "Da Guadeloop" is a disco song. That's right: a disco song. Fortunately, a solid guitar solo prevents this from being a complete disaster. "Lonely Woman" is a funky Latin-influenced track. Yet again, the musicianship is uninspired and the composition is weak. "Liquid Whisper" is an irritatingly lighthearted folk song. "Archy the Robot" closes the album. This feels like a novelty song, but it doesn't even work in that respect.

This album is an embarrassing low point, especially for the band that was responsible revolutionary albums like Yeti. There is absolutely nothing progressive, experimental, or creative about Hijack. The songs are generic and painfully boring. However, there are two reasons why I'm avoiding a one-star rating. First, none of these songs are bad; they are simply mediocre. Second, there are occasional enjoyable moments, such as the flute in "Traveller" and the guitar solo in "Da Guadeloop." Regardless, this is an album to avoid. I would stipulate that hardcore Amon Duul II fans are the only ones who need apply, but even they may not appreciate the unfortunate direction that the band had taken at this point.