Tuesday, February 20, 2007

Krautrock #7: Amon Duul II - Phallus Dei

A messy delight from 1969, this record is the Kraut record, for me, not least because it was the first I ever bought, from a cheapie pile back at the height of punk when I was already looking for something further out there. All my punk mates hated it, could barely comprehend its demented but bracing stew of riffing and shrieking. For me, things were never the same again, and hard on its heels came Faust and the Residents. Even now the mangled Deutsche vocals, both male and female, take some getting used to -- and on that note do brace yoruselves for Renate Knaup's racket "Archangel's Thunderbird" on the next one -- but I love the fact that these guys take all their ramshackle elements, fling them together and somehow rock.

1. Kanaan
3. Luzifer's Ghilom

Download here (mp3s, 11.7 mb)

Progweed has more details of an album where "Guitar and organ freakouts become coated with choir like backing vocals courtesy of Renate Knaup, before resuming their unrelenting fury. This album simply rules."

1 comment:

Dave Berry said...

It's ages since I heard any Amon Duul 2. I'm looking forward to hearing Archangel's Thunderbird again.