Track Listing 1. In the Glassgarden 2. Pull Down Your Mask 3. Prayer to the Silence 4. Telephonecomplex 5. Landing in a Ditch 6. Dehypnotized Toothpaste 7. Short Stop at the Transylvania Brain Surgery, A 8. Little Tornadoes 9. Overheated Tiara 10. Flyweighted Five, The 11. Riding on a Cloud 12. Paralized Paradise 13. H G Wells Take Off 14. Marilyn Monroe Memorial Church, The 15. Chewinggum Telegram 16. Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight 17. Toxicological Whispering 18. Hidden Bonus Track
| Details | | Distributor: | Ryko Distribution | | Recording Type: | Studio | | Recording Mode: | Stereo | | SPAR Code: | n/a |
Album Notes German art-hippie communards Amon Duul II were among the Krautrock genre's most unusual propositions. Less doggedly motorik in their approach than contemporaries Neu! and Harmonia, less self-consciously arty than groups like Faust and Can, their acid-drenched brand of psych-rock combined a wildly primitive streak with sophisticated prog-like arrangements. TANZ DER LEMMINGE, a brain-melting, epic double album set from 1971, stands as a definite statement of the group's early sound. Toning down the doom-laden guitar freakouts of their previous effort, YETI (1970), for a gentler, more acoustic palette, the follow up stretches out across four LP sides consisting of extended jamming, folksy vignettes, and freeform improvisations. TANZ. opens with an extended suite of acoustic jams cryptically titled "Syntelman's March of the Roaring Seventies." Building upon a thematically introduced melody through various connected movements, the song moves deliberately from gentle folksiness to fragmented, abstract weirdness. Meanwhile, "The Marilyn Monroe Memorial Church," a long form-free improvisation, bears almost no traces of the band's rock roots, recalling instead the proto-industrial soundscapes of groups like Kluster. While TANZ DER LEMMINGE marked the last album of Amon Duul II's most experimental phase, the sheer variety of approaches and sensibilities on display also makes it a recommended entry point for neophytes.
Editorial Reviews 3 stars out of 5 -- [A]n incredible odyssey of sonic inventiveness. Uncut
| See an error? Submit a change request |