01: Amon Duul - Paradieswarts Duul

Amon Duul's Paradieswarts Duul, released in 1970 was a fairly late addition to my set being bought on the 21st January 2010 whilst in Barcelona. The Wah Wah reissue also adds the Eternal Flow 7" tracks. To me the record was a bit of an anomaly - both for the group and in terms of the overall list. The book describes the formation and split of Amon Duul into Amon Duul and Amon Duul 2, but then focuses more on Amon Duul 2. Psychedelic Underground is mentioned and always seemed to me to be the more appealing sounding record.

At the time of the book, I'm not sure how easily available it was - certainly a Spalax reissue existed but I don't recall ever having the chance to buy it or seeing it in the shops. For me Psychedelic Underground came first via the "This is Amon Duul" cheapo copy. That was as I expected: Chock full of monster riffs, radio static and booming cut up drums. This one passed me by until I read the Europe chapter of Seasons they change and I had no idea that this one was a bit of an acid folk classic.

Musically it is very different to the jam session Amon Duul and to Amon Duul 2. All European folk noodling and extended jamming - it does cross a little into the territory featured on the collaborative track on Yeti but stays on the right side of rural rather than spacey. The side long tracks preclude repeated listens and it meanders a bit too much but it is a stunning listen and fundamentally beautiful to the core. I don't know if it's up there with the classics or maybe it transcends them - I haven't listened to it enough to decide either way. I think the meandering jamming is the crucial flaw and whilst it's nice to have it on in the background it never really demands attention - not because it's laid back but it doesn't have the focus needed to go beyond what it is.

Ohr records are an interesting one though - some of them are incredible (Emtidi, Embryo etc.) and some of them are meandering (Limbus 4) but there's always something about it that suggests mystery and enigmas. I imagine originals of this are hideously expensive and even the 45 is pretty hard to turn up though I've never really seriously looked.

So in short it's a good record but not one I return to that regularly. I think there are a lot of other records that do something similar slightly better.