VORTEX

I saw this album in a used CD shop at half price, and literally fell down in surprise. Krautrock albums are just not seen on the shelves 'as is', and I ran to the counter begging for more. I had heard 'phallus dei', 'yeti', and 'Tanz der lemminge' and expected more of the same. The shop assistant gave me a weird look, as if to say "Whatever rocks your boat". I should have taken this as a hint.

Generally speaking... this is a pop album.

The title track attempts to make some ethreal keyboard effect, and fails miserably. It ends up reminding me of early 80's bands like 'Flock of seagulls' and their ilk. The rest of the actual album is very similiar. Standard 4/4 signature songs that wouldn't look out of place in the pop charts of the time. "Die 7 Fetten Jahre" and "Wings of the wind" do try to create the magic of the Amon Duul 2 of old, with 'out of place' musical interations and the spotaneouiety (sorry for the spelling) of changing ideas. Unfortunately, the majority of the album proper is very average, containing true duds, like "Mona", which, for me damages the eardrums, and "We are machines", which is just boring - pure and simple.

A positive comment is that Renate's voice sounds more musical than on previous attempts. She even holds all the notes asked of her

The Additional Tracks ("Whatever" and "(Ras)putin in der badewanne") do attempt to recreate the rawness of old, with more dramatic interactions between the instruments, which includes, in the case of "Rasputin", a 'madman' style speach. Renate actually attempts to create a mood with her voice - near desperation with "Whatever", and sounding dire with "Rasputin...". For me, these two tracks save the album from being donated to the winds.

In short, the production killed this album. The intensity of their early albums is gone, and the musical interactions have been almost engineered out of existance. It shows what happens when too much power is given to the mixing desk.