Wolf City [Import]

Amon Duul II, Amon Duul 2 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 23, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Repertoire
• ASIN: B00000ILGA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (24 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #819,958 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

The fifth Amon Düül II studio album, Wolf City, saw the light of day in September of 1972. While its predecessor, Carnival In Babylon, had, according to Karrer, still been produced "with revolvers drawn", the recordings of Wolf City went off comparably peacefully. The same applied to the musical direction of the album, which sounded more song-oriented, not as multi-layered and more geared to Renate Knaup's unusual vocal style. Even the sweeping improvisations of earlier days were a thing of the past, with only the seven-minute opener Surrounded By The Stars coming close to the playing time of their previous cuts. Atmospheric numbers such as Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Straße or the brief, avant-garde Deutsch Nepal were definite highlights of Amon Düül II's creative oeuvre.

Amon Düül II, the second formation of this now legendary band, are one of the earliest and best known of the German experimental (Krautrock) bands. For the complete re-issue series of the Amon Düül II catalogue, the CDs will be released as remastered deluxe editions, with enhanced booklets, featuring new liner notes and photos. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More acessible Amon Dull II but also supreme!!!, September 19, 2005

By 

PortugueseMusicFan (Porto, Portugal) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wolf City (Audio CD)

These ahead-of-their-time germans made several masterpieces of underground rock, half-progressive half-psychedelic, each of them a unique scented experience... Wolf City, envolved in a disturbing art cover, remind us something lost in the mysteries of ancient cities, a pagan Xanadu with strange rites, remind us how human is fear... Renate Knaup is a bit sweeter here, as in "Surrounded by the Stars", the acid entrance to this album; the atmosphere is still weird with the use of keyboards (especially the choir-like one - maybe a Mellotron?!) giving the dreamy touch, used in a particularly manner; the inner design making part of the music, in a Max Ernst way of contrasting elements taken from diverse places, a collage serving as a complement of the music... Well, I wish I could visit Wolf City personally just to see this really exist!!! ANOTHER MUST!!!

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An emphasis on shorter pieces and glorious melodies, January 3, 2006

By 

Jeffrey J.Park (Massachusetts, USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Wolf City (Audio CD)

The most noticeable difference between this 1972 release and classic albums like Phallus Dei (1969), Yeti (1970), and Tanz der Lemminge (1971) is the shift from lengthy "freak outs" to shorter pieces that emphasize melody and harmony. In fact, most of the seven pieces on Wolf City are in the 3-6 minute range with only Surrounded by Stars reaching 8 minutes in length. I for one do not mind the change at all because it turns out that Amon Duul II was just as good at writing shorter pieces as they were at writing the longer pieces. The major selling point for me on Wolf City is the haunting, drifting melodies that are developed on this album - they are simply wonderful and make me forget the pieces are only a few minutes long. Furthermore, the interesting thing (and this is really clever) is that spacey, instrumental preludes and interludes are worked in here and there to create the illusion of a larger piece. The use of loads of synthesizers does not hurt either. All in all, this is a very good album that is recommended along with Carnival in Babylon (1972) which is somewhat similar.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Jefferson Airplane Album That JA NEVER Made!!, February 17, 2005

By 

P. McKenna "theowlwatches" (Atlanta GA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wolf City (Audio CD)

If there is a disc in which the words psychedelic and brilliant can and should be used together, this tasty offering from Amon Duul II is most definitely it!

This band never met a sound or musical style it didn't like at the time this was produced, and as always, they managed to cook up a heady psychedelic brew of rock, folk, experimental and prog stylings with rich vocals, trippy atmospheres and haunting melodies plus their every whacky miles left of center humor.

Not one bad track on here, but I have to say my favorites are the title cut and "Sleepwalkers Timeless Bridge" which ends with one of the spookiest Mellotron passages you ever heard in your life!

If only Jefferson Airplane dared to get this ambitious and really stretch themselves (they did get dangerously close on some parts of "Crown of Creation"). In the end, AD II came out the clear winner for a time.

Highly recommended.