ONLY HUMAN

AMON DÜÜL 2 has always had this strange style: bizarre, not really catchy, very German light prog compositions. They do good music, but what is amazing is that I do not find them catchy and accessible at all, despite I can feel in their compositions the many tries to be pop and catchy. Compared to the 2 other older records of them I own, the keyboards and sound here are more modern: it gives you the feeling of a more pop album, maybe. They still remain very German and marginal. The are some violin, piano and sax parts. The songs are loaded, and the instruments are well played, but there are many bits that do not retain my attention. But some bits are interesting, especially on side 2.

Sad to have it end this way. Even John Weinzierl had bailed by this time. Chris Karrer manages to retain a smidgen of his dignity on the Near East-flavoured "Kismet", but it's not enough to make us forget rubbish like "Ruby Lane" or the horrid flamenco-disco of "Spaniards and Spacemen". An appalling sell-out, hard to believe this is even the same band that once brought us DANCE OF THE LEMMINGS. Technically, it's not.

So, they are "only humans" - and humans make mistakes! Truly, this is a minor work of AMON DUUL II, which is highly disposable. They changed the style completely, trying to sound as a pop-rock group, even with some disco hints (as in "Ruby Lane"), but not in a condition to make decent pop-rock. Still, there are two good moments: eastern-tinged reminder of their prog roots "Kismet" and "Pharao" that curiously resembles the mid-1970s GENESIS style. Overall, this album is not good enough to be recommended - 2,5 stars!

Okay, look. This album 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 and Spacemen is a delightful highlight, fusing flamenco guitar with cutting edge electronic dance music. Kismet is also wonderful, with a distinct Middle East flavor. So if you're open minded and not averse to a little Disco, give Only Human a listen.

The most important thing about this album is that you should know "Kismet", even if you're not interested in the rest. Kismet is truly great. It would be a perfect opener of my favourite ADII setlist, it starts dark and mysteriously and builds up nicely, has a number of interesting melodies and changes, strong oriental influences, and Chris Karrer's mysterious voice is wonderfully suited for this. The only reason why they didn't start the album with this is probably that then the listener would expect too much from the remainder of the album and would be badly disappointed. In any case, this song is a strong reason not to dismiss "Only Human" completely. Unfortunately , Kismet towers head and shoulders above the rest of the album, which is pretty underwhelming. Well, it won't hurt you to lsten to it from beginning to end, much is rather easy going and there are some OK melodies with the odd twist or turn. I personally like Spaniards and Spacemen with its light feathery feel although many hate its disco sound. Anyway, Kismet is great and all the rest is, while not unbearable or really bad, still rather unremarkable.