Amon Düül II – live in Paris 1971 – Gordon Skene Sound Collection –
Amon Düül II in concert from Paris tonight, recorded for RTL in Paris in 1971.
I don’t know who dubbed it Krautrock, but I think initially it was a term of derision and not respect for a what became one of the many instances of the spread of Progressive Rock around the world, particularly from West Germany. Somehow, over the years it stuck.
Just by happy coincidence that two of the most influential bands at the time (Can and Amon Düül II) were on the same label (United Artists worldwide) – during a period of time when the Major labels were trying to wrap their heads around this new and highly experimental music. Some labels, like EMI or Philips formed subsidiary labels to handle bands they weren’t quite sure of, but who were popular in underground circles and on FM Radio and subsequently didn’t want to miss out on anything. Harvest and Vertigo definitely had their fair share of eclectic and highly influential bands – and both labels built a solid reputation around that. United Artists didn’t. So picture being in Radio promotion and your label releases Canned Heat, Slim Whitman and Amon Düül the same week, and your job is to make a pitch to the radio Station music Director that Amon Düül should get a lot of airplay because, as you half-heartedly tell them, “they are the wave of the future”.
To be honest, I don’t think I heard Amon Düül played more than once on any FM station in Los Angeles in the early 1970s. They were deemed just too weird, especially for the aficionados of the ever-present laid-back SOCal Rock. But Amon Düül did get a following and most who heard them were also fans of the burgeoning Progressive Rock movement and they were considered the backbone of what West Germany had to offer. Amon Düül has endured, having gone through numerous personnel changes and losses over the years as well as direction shifts, they are still touring and still considered representative of the ProgRock movement of the early 70s, and for that have won a permanent place in the foundation of that milestone form.
Although the mix is strange and many numbers have been cut, it still gives a representation of the band during their earlier incarnation – and highlights two of their most well-received albums at the time, (Yetti and Dance Of The Lemmings).
Have a listen.
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