Carnival in Babylon

I was quite shocked when I stumbled upon the reviews for AMON DUUL II's classic "Carnival In Babylon" (1972). This is an album which for years lived in the masterpiece category of my mind and to read how misunderstood the album was by many of the reviewers was quite a surprise. First off, certainly it must be admitted that "Carnival In Babylon" (1972) is quite different from "Phallus Dei" (1969), "Yeti" (1970), or "Tanz der Lemminge" (1971). "Carnival In Babylon" certainly does have elements of folk, but they are utilized in the same ways as Os Mutantes (Brazil) or the Velvet Underground. It is a mellow album, but one with highly emotional songs sung with passion and angst. It is amazing that the follow up to "Carnival In Babylon" was "Wolf City", also released in 1972. "Wolf City" is as savage as Krautrock gets, which leads me to my main point concerning why "Carnival In Babylon" (and Amon Duul II in general) is so awesome. It is totally unique in the Amon Duul II catalog. While it certainly could be argued that EACH Amon Duul II album is unique, none for me stands so tall in stature as a single piece of art quite like "Carnival In Babylon" (although 74's "Hijack" LP equals it for me in brilliance, but is so vastly different that it deserves only a mention). It's all in the song arrangement and the brilliant female vocals of Renate Knaup, one of Krautrock's most alluring and on "Carnival In Babylon", sensual voices. Bottom line, it would be a tragedy to skip over this amazing album because it is more song oriented than the exploratory and chaotic days of "Phallus Dei" (an album released almost four years before "Carnival In Babylon"). "Carnival In Babylon" is an essential moment in Amon Duul II history and one which MUST NEVER be overlooked! Another Krautrock masterpiece from Amon Duul II and an essential purchase!

duul rocks

Dandy trippy stuff from Germany's best space rock band. All the parts that made the band special are there. If you like any of the 'krautrock' bands, you'll really enjoy this.

I just have a hard time understanding all the negative reviews for Amon Duul II's Carnival In Babylon. First of all, what a *beautiful* album cover! Alright so an album cover alone can't save an album if the music isn't any good, but... this is definitely a clear example of an album that DOES deserve to be heard. Numerous times, in fact, because with every listen you'll hear something new you missed the previous time.The opening song is solid proof that Blue Oyster Cult HAD to have been familiar with this band. Oh sure, the members of BOC have said in the past that they were influenced by the Doors and a few other American and British artists, but I'm honestly not buying it.I mean seriously, I can think of several BOC songs that resemble the songwriting, the guitar playing, and the atmosphere of the opening song. I hear the lyrics are completely in German, too. If so, that explains why I can't understand them!"All the Years 'Round" shows us why the female singer from this band is a perfect comparison to the legendary Neil Young. Just LISTEN to that voice and tell me it doesn't resemble Neil Young a little bit when he's hitting those high notes. It sure does!Anyway this song rules because it's really dreamy, then eventually it drifts into a speedier vocal section with an even higher and more unusual vocal range. I LOVE it though. Probably inspired by Pink Floyd's psychedelic years, but you know what? This songwriting feels more complex and unpredictable than what Pink Floyd was doing at the time."Shimmering Sand" continues the same theme as the previous track- atmospheric and melodically played guitar solos, and a build-up to some downright *fascinating* vocal work. I especially like the vocal melody you hear at the very end. Cool stuff."Hawknose Harlequin" displays the bands talent at laying down some interesting guitar solos.Calling this album a sellout or a disappointment compared to Yeti and a few other Amon Duul II albums never made a bit of sense to me. It's not worse in ANY way. It doesn't feel like the band got lazy with their songwriting or their ability to constantly explore new ground, so it will forever remain a mystery to me why this album isn't better received by the majority of music fans.

Amon Duul II always had a good grasp on melodic and harmonic development - even on albums that featured lengthy freak-outs like Tanz der Lemminge (1971) and Phallus Dei (1969). On this 1972 release the melodies are still present, although the songs are shorter and generally range from 3-5 minutes in length, with a single track at 7'19" and the closing track Hawknose Harlequin is the longest at 9'45" (and is simply incredible). Stylistically, this is very psychedelic stuff with subtle shades of prog here and there - a perfect combination in my book. The instrumentation consists mainly of acoustic and electric guitar (sometimes heavily distorted), energetic electric bass (it is way up in the mix), and drums, with some soft Hammond organ work a la Rick Wright (Pink Floyd), acoustic piano, Farfisa organ, and various electronic effects. I really like the unusual vocal style of Renate Knaup and the vocal harmonies with the other musicians are fantastic, although I can't imagine that every listener would agree (they all have an odd vocal style). Hands down, my favorite tracks on the album include Shimmering Sand, with its gloomy soundscapes and minor keys, and the closing track, which features the freak-out qualities of their earlier albums in the form of a KILLER spacey jam with some great electric guitar playing. With respect to the remastering effort by Repertoire, the sound quality is pretty good, there are photos of the band, and the liner notes are informative (and in English). In addition, four bonus tracks in the 2-4 minute range have been included that were released as singles between 1970 - 1972 and are all pretty good. All in all, this is a great album that was put together with a tremendous amount of imagination. Highly recommended along with Phallus Dei (1969), Yeti (1970), Tanz der Lemminge (1971), and Wolf City (1972) - which was released shortly after Carnival in Babylon and is very similar, although not as psychedelic.

I used to buy Amon Düül albums when they first came out on vinyl. Having only recently discovered the CD version I was wondering if the music stood the test of time. I am happy to say that it passed with flying carpets!

So good to be able to get hold of the back catalogue of Krautrock bands from the 70's

A very good CD of this 70s classic album. Nicely, re-mastered and delivered at a keen price, Will use again.

Nachdem Sängerin Renate Knaup-Krötenschwanz zwischenzeitlich kurz aus der Gruppe austrat und auf Lemminge nicht zu hören war, kehrte sie zum Karneval in Babylon wieder zurück. Bestimmt zur untergänglichen Freude mancher damaliger Fans.Mit German Folk und Westcoast-Rock leiten die Düüls erstmalig einen erkennbaren Stilrichtungswechsel ein, und All The Years Round veranschaulicht dies gut und ist ein sehr schönes Stück deutscher Musikgeschichte, zu dem auch ein Video-Clip entstand, den man auf der CD-Version der Lemmingmania Best-Of als Quicktime-Movie finden kann.Die Fans und die Fachpresse wollten der Gruppe trotz allem keinen eigentlichen Fortschritt attestieren und zeigten sich 1972 etwas begeisterungslos. Völlig zu unrecht, denn massentauglich ist deutscher Rock noch lange nicht und in meinen Ohren verspricht der Karneval eine gewisse Erleichterung nach den vorherigen Ausschweifungen, damit will ich sagen Babylon ist ein schönes Album, an dem auch Leute wie Julian Cope gefallen finden können.Das ist es und mit dem Nachfolger Wolf City wurde es sogar noch ein Stück besser. Entgegen der allgemeinen Auffassung bin ich eher der Meinung, dass Amon Düül 2 sich mit vorherigen Werken eher "einspielten" und als große Dilettanten auf späteren Alben noch viele Lichtblicke präsentierten.Ein bisschen Geschmackssache.

Hier versuchen die Düüls sich tatsächlich an mehr songorientiertem Format, dennoch sind die Stücke oft sehr lang. Wichtig: Es glückt vollkommen, so das man hier von einer Ihrer besten Scheiben sprechen muß!Es fängt sehr freakrockig an und bereits >All the years round<, gesungen von Renate erzeugt eine dermaßen strange Gänsehaut mit ihren abgefahrenen aber beseelten Gesangskünsten. Das Ergebnis haut mich so aus den Schuhen; mir fällt kein Vergleich ein. John Peel hat das Lied in seiner Show rauf und runter gespielt. Kann ich sehr gut nachvollziehen. Es schwingt auch eine verkiffte Schwermütigkeit durch große Teile der Scheibe, die aber sehr anarcho-sexy daherkommt. Auch die rotzig-virtuose Gitarrenarbeit hat mehr Abgründe als man zunächst direkt wahrnimmt. Gegen Ende wird es dann sehr entspannt und meditativ, was ganz besonders in den tollen Bonustracks weitergetragen wird.Ich empfehle diese tolle Platte jedem "Krautfan" wärmstens! Nutzt sich ganz sicher nicht ab und wächst mit jedem intensiven hören.Gruß und viel Fun damit