Prog Song Pit

Oh man, huge fan of this band, album, and song. Great choice.

Glad to hear. I'm not very well versed in Krautrock, though i love Can. 

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!

Edited by Littlecarrots - March 02 2015 at 19:12

Thanks guys for the thoughtful posts. 

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.

awesome man.  Nice to see some first time and new listeners turned on to ADII

and yeah.. Yeti will hook you.

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'

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.

That sums up Marillion very well for me..

Gazpacho's debut Bravo and Night an Tick Tock were on my radar but after Tick Tock their sound and formula went stale for me.