Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Powerful, Scary Statement, August 20, 1999
It's easy to over-think the meaningfulness of German rock (Krautrock) of the late 60s and early 70s, especially since its image has always been somewhat cerebral and cold in itself. Too much from the head, not enough from the crotch, some have complained. Its players meant for it to be "head" music certainly, and all that implies - there was an intention to the music, a commitment to experiment and improvisation sparked by the intellectual and chemical freedoms of the 60s. But at its best Krautrock conjured a mood distinct unto itself, which in its post-WWII teutonic heaviness could be as threatening and scary as any music ever made, and in its experimental innocence also convey a warmth and humor that speaks to the soul. The album Yeti does both these things. Amon Duul II's second record is a double-album monument of dark European soundscapes that possess a Led Zeppelin heaviness without an over-reliance on the blues or a dependency on rock cliches. The hard riffing has a much more exotic, eastern European or central Asian tone, and the improvisatory tenor, no matter how edited the music might have been in the end, contributes to the feeling that this is NOW music, that this music is happening in the present. Made in 1970, it could be straight out of any time in history. It's as heavy as Beethoven, as Gothic as, well, the Goths, as free from the restrictions of language as Can, as art-y as Roxy Music, as punk as you think you are, and ROCKS in its way like the most electric god of all time. So yeah, it's music that's actually worth thinking about.
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brain-busting meisterwerk from Krautrock ultra-psych band, October 12, 1999
This is Amon Duul II's masterpiece. Furiously molten guitar playing, weird and disturbing vocals, roaring chaos contrasted with fragile delicacy, naivete bouncing against cynicism, overlaid with a glitter of lysergic glamour and undergirded with a humanity and heartfulness their American and English counterparts could not muster. Possibly the greatest psychedelic rock band of all time; certainly the greatest psychedelic rock record of all time. I am not kidding. On a par with Syd Barrett's Pink Floyd and the post "Priest Driven Ambulance" Flaming Lips.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Sandoz was famous for..., June 30, 2002
Amon Duul were a German collective who split thus Amon Duul and Amon Duul II. Whereas the former were more politically involved and wanted to be closer to the people, II focussed on raising the people's awareness through the music. Inspired in part by the Grateful Dead, in part by Pink Floyd, Amon Duul were very much part of the nascent Krautrock scene in Germany.Yeti, along with the first Ash Ra Tempel album, are representative of the psychedelic side of the German scene. Another reviewer appears somewhat critical of aspects of the album but given the situation at the time in Europe, it is not clear to non-Brits why this was such an innovative album. For a start most German bands were guys. Amon Duul had non-descript female vocals but II had Renate. Influences here included Yoko Ono, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin and the Teutonic goddess Nico. The combination of the vocals, the guitar effects and the focus on improvisation marked this band out from almost every other aside from Can. Yeti is the gem in the crown of their work. One of the earliest European albums to include recorded improvisational material, Yeti occupied one complete side of the album. At the time they were little known outside of Germany although there was a growing awareness by a small cognescenti in Britain due to the connections with members of the psychedic warlords, Hawkwind. In a sense the track listings do not really matter as the album was intended to be a reflection of their live gigs but aside from the title track, two others standout. Archangels Thunderbird became a crowd favourite much to the disdain of the band reportedly at the time but was included in many gigs and appeared in Live in London. The last side of the vinyl album devoted to Yei, Yogi and Sandoz is a genuflection to the company who first created LSD and is played accordingly. This is the last album which would capture the band in it's full improvisational glory. Thereafter there music became more complex much in line with other developments on the music scene at home.
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by Amon Düül II 
