AMON DÜÜL

AMON DÜÜL UK compilation "Airs On A Shoe String" is undoubtedly one of my favorite Krautrock release until this moment. This compilation is a good "Best Of..." and clearly not have the magic of an album but, this is important, "Airs On A Shoe String" is not only a compilation. "Airsd On A Shoe String" is a sort of testament of true Krautrock, a great moment of music and, in my humble opinion, a collextion of great music. Not a music so complicated or for die hard fans of Krautrock. I not have a favorite song (this is a limit, maybe?) because I think that "Airs On A Shoe String" is a collection of moments of Amon Duul (UK) mental creativity (as Krautrock is) and not a collection of songs. So it is difficult that I have a favorite song. In my vision of Krautrock only a total vision of an album is important. And in this case "Airs On A Shoe String" it makes no difference. Because this compilation is compact and good as an album.

This was the last studio album from AMON DUUL UK. It features as usual the original AMON DUUL II pair of Dave Anderson and John Weinzierl also known as Hawk and Penguin. Again like on "Fool Moon" Robert Calvert is here on vocals along with Julie Wareing. Guy Evans is again on drums and for the first time we get the OZRIC TENTACLES duo of Joie Hinton and Ed Wynne helping out on synths and guitar. The first thing I noticed with this album is how different it is from the previous ones. I would never had guessed this was AMON DUUL UK. It's a very straight forward album with little in the way of progressive moments. It was released in 1989 and it is very eighties sounding. Funny how I never heard this album before but when listening to it i'm taken back to this period of time.Calvert doesn't sound much like himself here, he sounds more like a cross between the singers for BLUE RODEO, REM and CHALK CIRCLE from this time period.The music is catchy and enjoyable but I miss those experimental and freakish moments.This is FM music for the masses really.

"Big Wheel" is a straight forward tune with vocals and some outbursts of guitar. Synths also come and go. It's funny listening to Calvert's vocal style and the music here because it's like a flashback in time for me. "Urban Indian" has some heavier guitar as the vocals join in. A good rhythm late to end it. "Adrenalin Rush" has almost a country vibe to it. The tempo picks up on the chorus. A ripping guitar solo starts before 3 1/2 minutes.

"Visions Of Fire" has a bit of a reggae flavour. Nice guitar solo 3 minutes in. "Drawn To The Flame Pt.1" sounds great when the tempo picks up before a minute. Synths are a nice touch as well. It settles back then kicks in again at 6 minutes. Nice. "They Call It Home" opens with what sounds like an electrical hum then it kicks in. Female vocals this time before 1 1/2 minutes. "Die Losung" has both female vocals and male spoken words in this uptempo track. "Drawn To The Flame Pt.2" is much like Part 1 really but it stays mid paced until after 5 1/2 minutes when the tempo picks up.

This is still a good album but if you want to hear AMON DUUL UK i'd go with either "Hawk Meets Penguin" or "Fool Moon".

It can get a little confusing when there's three AMON DUUL's listed on this site.The original AMON DUUL were a free love, hippy commune from Munich, Germany that started in 1966.They weren't all that great musically and that wasn't their goal either. It was about expressing yourself in any way possible. Chris Karrer who was more serious about the music left and formed a new version of this band while the other band still kept going.This new version were the most famous and now legendary Krautrock band AMON DUUL II. Dave Anderson and John Weinzeirl were part of the beginnings of AMON DUUL II and both played on the debut "Phallus Dei". Dave would go on to become a member of HAWKWIND. Anyway fast forward to the eighties and John Weizeirl has relocated in Wales and built a home studio. He contacted Dave Anderson and they along with VDGG's drummer Guy Evans and vocalist Julie Wareing re- formed AMON DUUL and became commonly known as AMON DUUL UK.Their first album was called "Hawk Meets Penguin", and this one "Fool Moon" is their third release. Julie is gone by this time but in her place we get HAWKWIND's Robert Calvert.

"Who Who" opens with experimental sounds including banging noises. Chaotic is the word. We start to get a beat 3 minutes in as spoken vocals arrive and echo like on some HAWKWIND albums i've heard.This is very psychedelic. Guitar and heaviness around 5 minutes. Cool track. "The Tribe" is an instrumental that opens with guitar, drums and bass that build. Great sound here. Love the guitar especially 4 1/2 minutes in. And the bass has an echo affect on it. "Tik Tok" is my least favourite probably because of those tape loops of accelerated ticking clocks. It then turns into an electronic tik tok. I like when the heavy guitar and drums arrive though after 2 1/2 minutes.

"Haupmotor" is such a cool track that opens with the sounds of the woods with the water running and birds singing.Then you can hear someone using a saw then all these voices, then cars driving by as city life has taken over. Some cool ideas here.Then after 6 minutes the music kicks in and Calvert starts to sing in German ! Incredible track. "Hymn For The Hardcore" has an Eastern vibe to it because of the sitar which they apparently got from a neighbors house. Fuzzed out lead guitar with percussion too. So much going on though.

I feel fortunate to have the remastered version of this album, especially for the excellent liner notes by Andy Higgins. Highly recommended to those who like HAWKWIND, AMON DUUL II and adventerous music.

Fun to funky

The history of Amon Duul and Amon Duul II is one of the most confused in all prog. Essentially, there are two separate bands with the name Amon Duul. The first Amon Duul split almost instantaneously, with one faction retaining the name and the other using the name Amon Duul II. Some time later, Amon Duul II members John Weinzierl and Dave Anderson left that band, forming a new band called Amon Duul, who in reality are Amon Duul 3. It is this British version of the band who recorded this album in 1989.

"Die losung" ("The solution") is the third album released by this version of Amon Duul, and arguably the most interesting. The members include Guy Evans, the drummer with the classic Van Der Graaf generator line up plus a couple of Ozric Tentacles members. Of even greater interest though is the presence of the late Robert Calvert of Hawkwind, who provides the lyrics and lead vocals.

The music here is generally more accessible that that of the other Amon Duul configurations, with strong melodies and choruses. Calvert's vocals are slightly distorted and sometimes multi-tracked. Instrumentally, it is the guitar of John Weinzierl and the synth of Joie Hinton which dominates, with both contributing fine performances.

The opening "Big wheel" has all the ingredients of a potential single for the 1980's, with hints of bands such as Japan, Talk Talk, the Human League and even a bit of Bowie. "Adrenalin rush" moves into Billy Idol territories, with passing similarities to "Rebel yell" and songs of that ilk. The song, which once again has single potential, includes a superb but all too brief guitar break. "Visions of fire" reminds me of Bowie's "Ashes to ashes", even down to the accented vocals, here though the guitar solo is allowed to develop far more satisfactorily.

The feature track is the 8 minute "Drawn to the flame", where Calvert's vocals are supported by Julie Wareing. Calvert's slightly off key delivery suits this pulsating piece perfectly The song is allowed to develop through a more intricate structure into something of an epic. Wareing assumes the role of lead vocalist for two remaining tracks, giving those songs a different feel to the rest of the album. The 80's atmosphere remains, but the tracks seem even more straightforward and commercial. That said, "They call it home" has some good riffs generating a fine overall sound.

The song sometimes entitled "Drawn to the flame part 2" is in fact simply an alternative version of "Drawn to the flame". There are significant differences in the two versions though, this rendition resisting the temptation to lift the tempo for much longer.

In all, while those seeking the difficult prog of Amon Duul/Amon Duul II's early years will have to look elsewhere, this is something of a lost gem. Not only do we get some of Robert Calvert's most accessible work, we also find a collection of well crafted pop prog. Those wishing to acquire this now rare album will be pleased to learn that it is included in its entirety on the Retro Gold budget compilation entitled "Anthology of Cosmic Music".

Trying to find out any information about this album is very difficult. Dave Anderson(Hawk) and John Weinzierl(Penguin) both formerly of AMON DUUL II got together in Wales to form this version of that legendary band. I've read on the "Gepr" site that Guy Evans from VDGG is the drummer on this one. I read somewhere else that the female singer on the first track is Julie Wareing. Both Julie and Guy are listed as members of this band on a later record called "Die Losung" where Robert Calvert(HAWKWIND) also plays a prominant role.

"One Moment's Anger Is Two Pints Of Blood" opens with guitar, light drums, bass and synth sounds. Quite spacey as female vocal melodies come in before a minute(they come and go). We start to get a melody 4 minutes in until a great sound is created(with keys) a minute later. It calms right down before picking back up after 6 minutes. This sounds so beautiful. Love the keys as female vocal melodies return before 8 minutes. Some tasteful guitar joins in. Again the keys and sound 9 1/2 minutes in are so simple yet so wondrous. Vocal melodies again follow. More tasteful guitar before 11 minutes. Synths late make some noise. I've played this over and over many times.

"Meditative Music From The Third Before The Producers" is divided into two parts, although they do blend together as one long 23 1/2 minute track. This one is experimental and seems like it's improvised. Percussion and bass? sounds before some spoken words then chanting arrive before 2 minutes. Spacey synth-like sounds with chanting and percussion continue into part 2. Waves of sound start to float in after 3 minutes of part 2 as different sounds come and go. This is very atmospheric and I like it. The waves stop 6 minutes into this second part as bass and percussion can barely be heard. It starts to rebuild slowly as guitar, percussion and synths take the lead. Another almost dead silence before 9 minutes. It sounds like clarinet or maybe flute 9 1/2 minutes in and to follow. No melody as different sounds come and go especially 11 minutes in. It's 13 minutes in when a jazzy melody comes to the fore. It settles back down for the final minute.

Well for my money this doesn't match what AMON DUUL II did on their earlier albums(no surprise there), but I am impressed especially since this was 1981 ! Barely 4 stars though.

Whether the UK branch of Amon Düül really needed a compilation after the release of just two studio albums is an interesting question. However, "Airs On A Shoestring" is an interesting album in its own right, comprising the long, freaky improvisation "One Moment's Anger Is Two Pints Of Blood" from their debut, two more commercial hard rock tracks from "Meetings With Menmachines Unremarkable Heroes From The Past", and "Hymn For The Hardcore", which would later appear on "Fool Moon". But the real gem - and the real reason to buy this - is the otherwise unreleased "Olaf (Where's My $20,000)?", a majestic, slowly unfolding progressive masterpiece that just may be the best thing they ever recorded.

This album is a strange release by this incarnation of Amon Duul - sure bassist Dave Anderson and guitarist John Weinzierl are from the original Duul II line-up - and with drummer Guy Evans (of Van Der Graaf Generator fame) and a female singer with a sweet voice, Julie Waring, you'd probably expect the classic Krautrock sound to live on. The previous release by this band, 'Hawk Meets Penguin', was more in line with Krautrock and a great, spacey album in itself, but with this album, we have quite the pop album, but not without it's spacey characteristics. I'd imagine that the band were a great Festival attraction at the time. Almost each song starts with an electronic synth-scape that really has no relation to the song itself, but seems fitting never-the-less. There is no credit for synths, but on the back of the LP I have (with a really nice art-work, different to the one pictured here,) states "extra help - Bruce and Mick ". The overall sound of the songs themselves is clearly at the Rock/Pop end of the scale, with solid drumming from Guy (seldomly elaborate, this time 'round), strong and busy Bass playing, the guitaring is mostly rhythm with few solos, synths and vocals. Opening song, 'Pioneer', is an excellent track, 'The Old One' is a rocking song and very good at that, 'Marcus Lied' is a long track, a pleasant tune with a slower pace, but doesn't change much. Side 2 opens with 'Confucius Say' - similar to 'Pioneer' and quite good. 'Things are often Not what They Seem' is a ballad with just acoustic guitar and vocals and the last track 'Brumundi - Drummer's Nightmare' (as it reads on my LP, not 'Burundi') is a lengthy rocker, book-ended with an ambient synth-scape (almost sounding like Jean-Luc Ponty's keyboard work) and has a cool middle section where mad analogue synth 'bubbles' steal the show with some almost tribal drumming from Guy. A good chance to hear Dave Anderson's 'vocals' too !! Overall, At times, I prefer this album to the jammy 'Fool Moon', but the consistency throughout the 4 Duul UK albums I own is pretty even. Whilst not contributing much to the whole 'Prog-rock' genre, 'Meetings with Menmachines...' is an enjoyable album - especially if you are into Hawkwind, Amon Duul II, Magic Mushroom Band, Tubilah Dog, maybe even Ozrics. 3.5 star effort.

Here goes my second review at Progarchives : immediately noticeable are the song titles listed here, I have the Demi Monde vinyl of this release and it features 5 tracks ; Side 1 - Who Who , The Tribe and Tik-Tok Song , and side 2 - Haupmotor and Hymn for the Hardcore. While this line-up of Guy Evans, Dave Anderson and John Weinzierl may not have what it takes to produce the dense sounds of Lemmings or Wolf City, what we have here is a rocking, jamming band who just let it rip !! Most of the album contains long, instrumental jams which, even if a little repetitive, have a strong psychedelic vibe to them (particularly the last track, with loads of sitar) and for those familiar with the musicians involved, their execution on their respective instruments is immediately noticeable. Guy has got the most inventive and imaginative percussive skills in the prog world (VDGG/Hammill, Mother Gong, Long Hello etc) and Dave A's bass is solid and clear (always liked him in early Duul and his one time stint with Hawkwind). So, this is a great album, and something of a treat (this is a 1989 release) and I wouldn't hesitate recommending this to fans of the bands mentioned above, or for the curious wanting an album of 70's spirit from a time when the art had long become a business. 4 stars.

This album is interesting mainly because of the guest appearances. It includes Bob Calvert from Hawkwind and Ed and Joie from Ozric Tentacles amongst others. It starts off with some nice catchy songs (Big Wheel and Urban Indian). The music is slightly psychedelic with repeating patterns that give a trance-like effect.

Drawn to the Flame gets a bit repetitive, particularly when it comes round a second time as Drawn to the Flame part 2. As this is the final track, I stop the CD before part 2 starts.

Overall, a pleasant rythmic psychedelic-like album that will be of particular interest to fans of the guest musicians. A good album but not essential.

The British Amon Düül were formed by bass player Dave Anderson (who had played on the first albums of Amon Düül 2 and went to join Hawkwind after Yeti; he is the "Hawk" mentioned in the album title) and John Weinzierl, one of the guitar players of Amon Düül 2 (the "Penguin"). The album contains only 2 long tracks, one of them split into 2 halves on the original vinyl because of being overly long; on CD the 2 parts of that long track have been fused, and there is no pause at all. There is a lot of wild improvisation going on here, and it takes some time before they rock off, but when they do they really rock! Only one short passage seems to be composed, but it follows a long improvisational part. The album is very much like early Krautrock, although it was recorded about 10 years later. Anyone who loves the free-form improvisations of early Krautrock (the Cosmic Jokers come to my mind) should love this album too; others beware! This is some freaky and atonal stuff and may be boring or "just noise" for some. But I think it is an excellent addition to any prog- rock collection, therefore I give it 4 stars.