Embed and breakfast man: Amon Duul II

Something slightly Proggy and a lot Teutonic this weekend - that'll teach you for complaining about Britpop. Inspired by Rob Hughes' replaying of a 1973 Peel Session this week on 6Music, we're dipping into the back catalogue of Amon Duul II. Without Amon Duul II, it's probable there wouldn't have been Krautrock as we know it.

Founded in 1969 out of a schism in a commune-based improv band, Amon Duul II were the more successful of the two factions. They achieved chart success in the UK - along with the Peel Session - but a move to Atlantic Records irked the purists and marked a change in the music; striving for accessibility, and sales, resulted in an erosion of early support without much in the way of new fans to replace them. Oh, yeah, and punk. Punk definitely didn't help them. They called it a day in 1981, although the surviving members reunited to perform at drummer Peter Leopold's funeral in 2006.

Let's start near the very beginning - this is an untitled jam from 1969:



More about the band
Official site - aptly for a prog band, the site is completely over-engineered and slow to navigate
Wikpedia entry
Amon Duul II on Last.FM

Buy
Phallus Dei - debut album, and yes, it translates as God's cock.
Vive Le Trance
DVD of Phallus Dei live - not the greatest quality, but essential for aficionados

More video action across the weekend
Phallus Dei
Between The Eyes live on Beat Club
Surrounded By Stars live in 1975