CARNIVAL IN BABYLON

The preceding TDL had already hinted at diminishing mushroom abuse in the Amon Düül studios. On CIB they have almost entirely given up on all things psychedelic and tried to create a flower power folk album. But apparently they were still doped enough to hit and miss some of the notes they intended to sing.

I wouldn't have minded the style change had they done the effort to show some more enthusiasm for the material. Also Renate's vocals disappoint me here. Too hippie for me probably. The folk-songwriting and the performance is rather sloppy, but it's not an entire disaster. A few songs manage to get some groove going. Kronwinkl 12, Hawknose Harlequin and the bonus Between The Eyes are more psychedelic then the folk around them and are reasonably cool, if somehow ill-fitting on the record. But they don't meet the standards of the previous Amon Düül II albums.

When it comes to the true folk songs, CID and the bonus track Light are the best. Not in the least because Renate doesn't sing on them, but also because they manage to merge the woolly folk songwriting with Amon Düül II's usual psychedelic style. Still, this must have sounded very aged in 1972 already.

Regardless whether you consider it as a folk or a kraut album, it's far below what I've heard in both fields. For determined fans only.