Gemacht in Deutschland

Gemacht in Deutschland. Some of the BEST music from the Europe of the 1970s was made in Germany. Being a self confessed Krautrock enthusiast, the spectrum of bands to talk about is ultimately too diverse, as is their music (I'll post other Krautrock favorites in the future). For all of the genres that have been documented and declared, Krautrock is one of the most diverse of all. The range of styles and sounds ranges from the fluid synthesized sounds of Tangerine Dream to the Musicique Concrete inspired sounds of Can to the highly electronic experimentation of Manny Neumauier of Guru Guru, Klaus Dinger & Neu! or Rolph & Florian of Kraftwerk. I truly enjoy all of this music and I continue to seek out more. One such Krautrock band that I have admired the most were the one band that had more directly in common with the Western "hippie" counter culture than any of the other Krautrock acts of the time.

Amon Düül II's commune lifestyle and musical integration almost collapsed under its' own weight, and then ultimately re-surface as 2 separate bands under the near same name, Amon Düüll and Amon Düül II. The latter went on to more international critical acclaim and cult status, while the former version disbanded after just a few records. Their various recording including Phallus Dei, Yet, Carnival In Babylon and Wolf City, all display such large canvasses of sounds, wild arrangements and near transcendental passages and jams. Some of the music was LSD fueled and other times their music bore influences of western styles ranging from country to rock n roll to the blues, mixed with their own European inspired experimentation. Wildly psychedlic album covers graced each release.

However, American acceptance and success eluded them. A short lived deal with Atlantic Records sub label Atco (Home of Genesis in USA), delivered their highly regarded yet most misunderstood album Made In Germany.

Originally it was a double album when released in Germany in 1975, but in North America it was issued as a single LP and less songs. Only recently, thanks to SPV Records in germany, has the original sprawling double LP of music made it way onto compact disc.

For this album, and unlike previous releases, the band reached back into their own Germanic roots for theme and style. The German LP cover picture had the bands dressed in 18th & 19th century bavarian costumes.

Made In Germany is an essential album for any AD II fan and one that deserves investiagtion for any young or old music fan that digs Space Rock from the 1970s. Less deranged sounding than their English counterparts Hawkwind and not as "commercial"sounding as Pink Floyd, Amon Düül II found an interesting median sound that, for me, was every bit as enjoyable.

Since there are near 20 tracks spanning this double LP, I'd like to highlight just a few and leave the rest to those who are adventurous to challenge their tastes in Rock music.

My favorite tracks, off the top, include the surf rock-ish number with the sluggish rhythm - the beautiful instrumental "La Krautoma". The dreamy vocals of "Ludwig" and the spacey "Blue Grotto" are exceptional highlights of the record, as is the temptingly imaginative "Loosey Girls". Lastly, I would be obliged to mention the violin flavored "Dreams" with its incessant beat driving it. These tracks alone are worthy of any "Best Of" compilation and guarantee a much more expansive journey when you listen to the entire album.

I loved this album went it first came out in 1975 and it still ranks as one of my more listened to Amon Düül II albums. I found this clip on youtube from another fan. It includes "La Krautoma". Enjoy.