YETI

The first two tracks on here I could live without but once they are over this album takes me deep into a musical trance where i'm pretty much mesmerized throughout the remaining run of this double album from 1970. If the debut album was like gleeful little children hopped up on sugar and caffeine daring to be as mischievous and playful as possible displaying their newfound freedom in the larger world away from their Amish paradise then this album displays the opposite effect of a band who has taken on the overstimulation of the world at large and possibly dropped healthy doses of mescaline or LSD to sort it all out.

The music like the those drugs seems like it induces synesthesia which is a neurological condition in which the stimulation of one sensory pathway leads to experiences in other cognitive pathways. The fact is that I have listened to this album many times always wondering why in the world do I like this? If you are in a resistant mood and are not allowing yourself to meld with the music it sounds repetitive and uninspiring with a total disregard for any sort of traditional songwriting structure. But then again I think that's the point and when I just surrender to the experience I find myself sucked into the hypnotic bass with some unique guitar sounds swirling around in repetitive loops with subtle variations that swallow up mammoth chunks of time.

This was my very first AMON DUUL II album so what a surprise when I discovered all their albums have a unique flavor all their own. This one holds a special place in my musical heart also being one of my first Krautrock albums as well. If this were trimmed down a bit this would be a masterpiece in my mind, but because I could never really appreciate the two opening tracks and the very last track (Sandoz In The Rain) could have been trimmed off as well i'm left with giving this a very strong 4 stars.