YETI

Here Micky comes to one of the most interesting groups in all of prog. The history of the group is well noted in the groups bio here so I invite you to read it if you are not familiar with them. ADII released what must honestly be considered if not THE prog trilogy of all time (Gong I guess may get that nod) then surely among the greatest of trilogies in prog none the less. The debates among prog fans are endless as to which of those 3 albums is best; Phallus Dei, Yeti, or Tanz der Lemminge. Most will agree the the last two are the most fully realized. With this review.. I cast my lot ...as I have in the forums... with the mighty Yeti.

'Tanz is like walking through a haunted house; Yeti is like being chased through one'

Read those words one time in regard to this album.. and man alive is it so true. ADII is a bit of an aberration from the typical Krautrock you may or may not know about. Much of the music from that movement was cold, dark, and depressing. ADII and Yeti is no exception. Where ADII differed was, at least for these 3 albums, was a different mode of Krautrock eschewing the minimalist principals that many Krautrockers latched onto. The sounds is a catatonias explosion of guitars and all kinds of instruments under the sun. A multi-layered, doom laden , sci-fi sound that was more futuristic than anything around at the time even more than Floyd. Though put into Krautrock here.. and correctly so. Fans of psychedelic prog and space rock will adore this album.. and those of the trilogy.

The album kicks off with a bang and the multi-sectioned 14 minute long suite: Soap Shop Rock. The first section Burning Sister is a riff laden explosion of bass and guitar with the trade mark SR cascading drums. The operatic Halluziantion Guillotine is a real mind fuck haha. With the always terminally underused Renate *heart*. Gulp A Sonata has some sweet violin and crunching guitar in it and nice 2 part vocals in it. The aptly titled Flesh-Coloured Anti-Aircraft Alarm sounds like a soundtrack from a horror movie. The piece is brought to a conclusion by a reprise of the main riff from Burning Sister. A Fabulous if not exactly a coherent flowing piece of music.

After that sonic assault on the ears She Came Through the Chimney come next bring a more sedate guitar, violin and bongo drum driven piece of music that is a bit of respite from the opening track. Not exactly my favorite moment on the album.. but nice contrasting piece that leads into one of AD II's signature songs and one my personal favorites.. the driving Archangels Thunderbird with a driving guitar riff but featuring my favorite female prog vocalist of all the incomparable Renate Knaup-Krotenschwantz. Such a dynamic.. powerful.. expressive voice. God I love that song. Cerberus is up next beginning with a strong driving folkie acoustic picking with congos accompanying then explodes into an electric orgy with harsh guitars.. driving bass. Excellent stuff. The instrumental Return of Ruebezahl is next, a short piece that is basicly a multi-layered guitar riff carried on for a minute and a half. Eye-Shaking King follows and would have done any horror proud as a soundtrack hahah. Distorted voices.. shrill guitars. Creepy as hell. Top notch stuff full of dark atmosphere. Pale Gallery follows next a short track LONG again on creepy dark atmosphere. With Organ... disjointed guitars.. a plodding drum pattern. Feels like a trip into the cosmos without hope of a return ticket. Great stuff.

The rest of the original album is taken up of 3 improvisational pieces. For some this is where the album begins to tail off.. for others though.. this is the meat of the album. Full of the atmospherics that made up the first half of the album but as the nature of improvisational pieces.. lacking in structure.. or great melodies or largely the vocals which I always saw as a strong suit of the group. Great stuff if you love the dark gloom and doom of the atmosphere of the first half of the album. Yeti Talks to Yogi being the best of these in my opinion. The recent reissue has two bonus tracks and these are actually two of my favorites on here surprisingly. Rattlesnakeplumcake is a punchy number with a a great bass and Renate vocal section that just grabbed from the first listen. Between the Eyes is a track that would surface on Tanz der Lemminge under another title (Stumbling Over Melted Moonlight). This version here on Yeti smokes that with pure manic energy. Renate's Geddy Lee like shrieking is simply priceless and the monstrous guitar riff which leads into a extended atmospheric exit make for a definite headphone experience.

Ranking the album. Easy... a Krautrock.. a Space Rock.. and a Psychedelic Prog masterpiece. This album should be in your prog collection. 5 stars. For me.. preference. 5 stars. Next to Wolf City my favorite AD II album and has a fire, and passion that Tanz lacks.. but that is for a future Tanz der Lemminge review to elaborate upon.

Michael (aka Micky)