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Joined: November 16 2014
Location: Italy
Status: Offline
Points: 120
Posted: March 02 2015 at 14:59
Well, I had never heard Amon Duul before, but now I'm curious. This song is very "bright", I like it. And there's a violin. I always love it when there's one.
And, before I looked it up, I thought the vocalist was male, since I'm so used to those male singers who have "helium voices".
Joined: August 12 2011
Location: Uruguay
Status: Offline
Points: 86
Posted: March 02 2015 at 19:11
First time listening to Amon Duul II here, too. On a first listen I have to say I loved the bass the whole way through. It got stuck on my mind. The violin flourishes are nice, and I especially love keyboards and ambience between 2:50 and 3:20 aprox. Also that weird synth/guitar? solo during the six minute is crazy and so interesting!
The acoustic guitar towards the end is amazing, as well as with the violin I love the folksy tone it gives to the song. The female singer is definitely one of the most interesting aspects, even when her sound is quite similar to some male singers. She reminded me of folk singer Laura Marling for some weird reason.
The whole song reminded me of A Very Cellular Song by The Incredible String Band even though they are very different -if that makes sense-, and some more 'dissonant' moments remind me of the noisier side of the Grateful Dead and Neutral Milk Hotel.
Joined: July 29 2005
Location: None
Status: Offline
Points: 24392
Posted: March 03 2015 at 05:13
I am very familiar with this song, as ADII are one of Micky's Top 10 bands, and their albums are frequent guests of our CD player. This album in particular (Wolf City) is my favourite of a band that I have grown to appreciate over the years, though it wasn't always so. A friend of ours (also a fan) once called ADII "the European answer to Jefferson Airplane", which I think is (at least in part) a rather fitting description - though the Germans are definitely more edgy and adventurous than the legendary San Francisco outfit.
Regarding this particular song, my favourite element of it is the violin - which reminds me of East of Eden, another great early prog band that sadly seems to have been forgotten by most prog fans. On the other hand, Renate Knaup's vocals are definitely an acquired taste. I am still somewhat ambivalent about them, though they are undeniably an integral part of the band's sound.
Joined: April 01 2009
Location: Atlanta
Status: Offline
Points: 26133
Posted: March 03 2015 at 08:08
I must get back to Gazpacho when I get the chance. I have one of their albums, and it sounds good, but it's just not the kind of thing I typically listen to so I only hear it very occasionally.
As for Amon Duul II, I admire them greatly. I'm not quite as big a fan of Wolf City as most people, though I'd place it in their top 5 albums without much trouble. Surrounded by the Stars has a great opening - I think it gets the album off to a great start. It has "majestic epic" vibes that no other ADII track really had until then - although they had their share of epics, they were mostly of the "underground freak music" type (which I actually prefer, but still).
I could personally do without the violin, I have a hard time with that instrument sometimes, but Karrer takes the instrument in more psychedelic directions than most. Most violin players use it either to impart a sense of "classical sophistication" or "rootsy authenticity" (in which it then becomes a "fiddle"). Chris Karrer just uses it to make creepy noises, which is cool - but my inborn bias keeps me at arms' length.
Renate's vocals are also a bit iffy for me. She sounds kind of like Nico in a frantic mood. Still, she's Renate, and they're ADII, and that's good enough for me to pronounce them eternally cool.
My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
I've been a fan of gazpacho for a long while, and Night is my favorite album from them. Tons of studying hours spent listening to Chequered Lights back in college days. Although I'd say that it's probably the most 'passive' song on the album and my least favorite for that reason. I'm not sure who they remind me of. Maybe some combination of lunatic soul and early pineapple theif in my mind. Obviously Radiohead, but that goes for so many bands its kind of a valueless comparison.
As for Amon Duul II, I just experienced them for the first time last week by listening to Yeti and I already am pretty hooked. They don't really remind of any other Krautrock bands, which is pretty exciting.
For some reason the vocals remind of of Wootton from Comus.
Joined: October 02 2005
Location: .
Status: Offline
Points: 46828
Posted: March 03 2015 at 16:04
Horizons wrote:
I have to listen to Yeti
hah.. I know (and count on you) are a champion of the modern stuff man.. but you do have to check that album out. Along with Tanz der Lemminge.. and Phallus Dei
best description of that album... mine
'Tanz is like walking through a haunted house; Yeti is like being chased through one'
The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip
Joined: June 22 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 16130
Posted: March 04 2015 at 07:23
Raff wrote:
As Steve said, this song (and everything else on Marillion's first two albums) compares favourably with Misplaced Childhood, an album that never clicked with me. Though Fish's vocals are undoubtedly an acquired taste (like Peter Hammill, in my opinion his real inspiration), they work very well with both the music and the lyrics. When Hogarth stepped in to replace Fish, the band gained a lot in terms of subtlety, though they lost the visceral impact of their original singer's personality.
For today's pick i decided to dabble into the Post-Rock genre. Post-Rock and Math-Rock are special to me, and I feel are sometimes misunderstood in prog rock circles.
Here we have The Evpatoria Report's C.S.S Logbook. I hope everyone takes the time and listens to this without many distractions. Music like this is a lot like jazz, because of the instrumental nature - both the most subtle nuances and the biggest revolutions in the music are important and have an impact of what came before and what will happen in the song.
I consider this song an excellent introduction to this side of Post-Rock and hope the song sparks interest in the album and artist like my previous posts seemed to.
As always, my other thoughts will come a little later.
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