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Amon Duul II is Wolf City
2008-10-20 by Eric Fillion
Maybe not but Wolf City is certainly an astounding record. It has been spinning consistently on my turntable since I got myself the gatefold copy pictured further below. It is neither Amon Duul II's landmark record nor is it the first record that comes to mind when one thinks of German krautrock although it does appear in Julian Cope's Top 50 list. And rightfully so.
Wolf City's unique album cover is the first thing that captures attention. One of Cope's Head Heritage reviewer indicates that the cover artwork is what possibly first drew him towards Wolf City. I lifted my own copy of the album from the racks for the same reason. After listening to the material, it became clear that the "psyché-futuriste" typo used to spell out the letters AMON DUUL II, the superimposition of photographic elements and the intriguing collage were all coherent components of a solid and effective 7-song album.
Not everyone will agree. Matt from Ground and Sky reviewed Wolf City and gave it his seal of approval although he clearly was not impressed by the cover artwork.
But in the end, Wolf City is an album worth exploring. Prog Archives contributor, Sean Trane, refers to Wolf City as Amon Duul's "last great album". He might be right.
Wolf City is where krautrock, prog, west coast psych and pop fuse. But you will not find this out by quickly browsing through the album's seven songs. A proper listening session is required. So why not begin by immersing yourself and listening to the first three songs (Surrounded by the Stars is usually listed as the opening track but the United Artists copy I own begins with Wolf City so you will get drawn into the music the way I did and that means through Wolf City, Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse, and Deutsch Nepal).
Wolf Citylisten
Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasselisten
Deutsch Nepallisten
Below is a 1975 performance of Surrounded by the Stars, which was broadcasted on Germany's WDR television.
Kraftwerk, Neu and others also saw their work featured on the German public broadcasting television channel.
(It might be worth encouraging others to plough through piles of archived material to see what else can be uncovered from WDR's archives.)
COMMENTS
duckfeeling :
Wolf City is a beautiful album and it has the advantage to be more concise than Yeti. I don’t know which one I prefer between Phallus Dei, Yeti, Wolf City and Lemminge because they’re all great. Julian Cope isn’t fair at all with Tanz Der Lemminge by the way but I can understand his disappointment.
Well, Amon Düül II is a fantastic band. But the Wolf City cover is so ugly, uhuh! : )
Duck.
Eric :
I have not had the chance to listen to Lemminge but I would say I have a strong preference for Phallus Dei and Wolf City. There is some very good material on Yeti but as you said, Wolf City is more concise and perhaps more coherent. Whereas Phallus Dei is a strong album because of the ways with which rhythmic structures and improvised segments are developed and executed. And we will agree to disagree on the cover!