AMON DÜÜL ll - Wolf City (1972-2002) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Amon Düül II's fifth studio album is a more conventional recording than most, though there's still a lot of the involved experimenting and dark undercurrent which sets the band apart from the mainstream, along with the off-kilter hooks and odd humor which saved them from being lumped alongside more serious (and less easy to take seriously) prog rock outfits. After the lengthy explorations of Tanz der Lemminge, Wolf City seems targeted to an extent at a commercial English-speaking audience, perhaps reflective of their increased status in the United Kingdom, if not in America. Regardless, opening song "Surrounded by the Stars," the longest track on the album at just under eight minutes, is also one of the band's best, with strong vocals from Renate Knaup-Kroetenschwanz, a dramatic building verse (complete with mock choir), an equally dramatic violin-accompanied instrumental break, and a catchy chorus leading to a fun little freakout. Knaup actually takes the lead vocals more often this time out and turns in some lovely performances, as on the beautiful, perhaps slightly precious "Green-Bubble-Raincoated-Man," with a great full-band performance that grows from a nice restraint to a slam-bang, epic rockout. Lothar Meid gets his moments in as well, his sometimes straightforward, sometimes not-so-much vocals adding to the overall effect as before. The one full instrumental, "Wie der Wind am Ende Einer Strasse," is excellent, with guest Indian musicians adding extra instrumentation to an intoxicating, spacious performance. While Wolf City generally sounds like a tight band playing things live or near-live, there are some equally gripping moments clearly resulting from studio work, like the strange loop opening the title track (percussion, guitar?). Concluding with the groovy good-time "Sleepwalker's Timeless Bridge," including some fantastic E-Bow guitar work, Wolf City works the balance between art and accessibility and does so with resounding success. by Ned Raggett  
Tracklist :
1    Surrounded By The Stars 7:44
Bass, Synthesizer – Lothar Meid
Drums – D. Secundus Fichelscher
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – John Weinzierl
Guitar [6 String Guitar], Twelve-String Guitar [12 String Guitar], Violin – Chris Karrer
Organ [Choir- Organ], Piano – Jimmy Jackson
Organ, Clavinet [Clavioline], Synthesizer – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Vocals – Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz
Written-By – Karrer, Rogner
2    Green Bubble Raincoated Man 5:03
Bass – Lothar Meid
Drums – D. Secundus Fichelscher
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – Chris Karrer, John Weinzierl
Organ [Choir-Organ] – Jimmy Jackson
Synthesizer – Peter Leopold
Vocals – Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz
Written-By – Weinzierl
3    Jail-House Frog 4:50
Bass, Vocals – Lothar Meid
Clavinet [Clavioline] – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Drums – D. Secundus Fichelscher*
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – John Weinzierl
Piano, Organ [Choir-Organ] – Jimmy Jackson
Soprano Saxophone [Soprano Sax] – Chris Karrer
Synthesizer, Engineer [Recording] – Peter Kramper
Vocals – Olaf Kübler, Peter Leopold, Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz, Rolf Zacher
Written-By – Weinzierl
4    Wolf City 3:18
Backing Vocals – Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz
Bass, Vocals – Lothar Meid
Drums, Backing Vocals – D. Secundus
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – Chris Karrer
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar], Backing Vocals – John Weinzierl
Organ – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Written-By – Karrer, Fichelscher, Rogner, Weinzierl, Meid
5    Wie Der Wind Am Ende Einer Strasse 5:42
Bass – Lothar Meid
Drums – Daniel Fichelscher
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – John Weinzierl
Organ, Synthesizer – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Sitar – Al Sri Al Gromer
Soprano Saxophone [Soprano Sax] – Olaf Kübler
Tabla [Tablas] – Pandit Shankar Lal
Tambourine – Liz van Neienhoff
Timpani – Peter Leopold
Violin – Chris Karrer, Paul Heyda
Written-By – Karrer, Fichelscher, Rogner, Weinzierl, Meid
6    Deutsch Nepal 2:56
Bass – Lothar Meid
Drums – D. Secundus Fichelscher
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – John Weinzierl
Piano, Organ [Choir-Organ] – Jimmy Jackson
Vocals – Rolf Zacher
Written-By – Meid, Kübler
7    Sleepwalker's Timeless Bridge 4:54
Acoustic Guitar [Ac.-Guitar], Electric Guitar [E-Guitar], Vocals, Drums – D. Secundus Fichelscher
Bass – Lothar Meid
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar] – John Weinzierl
Electric Guitar [E-Guitar], Violin – Chris Karrer
Organ – Falk-Ulrich Rogner
Written-By – Fichelscher, Rogner