Amon Duul II - Wolf City 1972 original Venezuela Ed. LP gate-fold kraut rock

$

20

"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." AMG

Grading
nm  :::: pretty much like new
nm- ::::::: few hardly noticeable flaws
ex   ::::  may have some, not many very minor imperfections. clean sound
vg++  :::: close to excellent, might have some hairlines, very subtle interference with sound here and there, slight ring wear on cover, some spotting, a very small seam split or writing are possible
vg+ :::: occasional interference, possibly light surface noise in few spots. There may be ring wear, minor splits on cover.
vg   :::: occasional to frequent light surface noise. Cover: pronounced wear and seam splits.

cc - cut corner

srw - slight ring wear

sc - saw cut

toc - tear on cover

woc, wol - writing on cover or label

Vinyl is inspected under direct bright light.
Play-graded if needed.
All records are professionally cleaned on VPI machine.

Shipping records outside the cover to avoid seam splits.

We do combine!

Domestic $4.20 via Media Mail w/ tracking.

50 cents for each additional LP

We will gladly answer any questions regarding the item.
If not satisfied with your purchase please contact us first.

Thanks for looking.