Yeti: Remastered [Enhanced, Original recording remastered]

Yeti, along with the first Ash Ra Tempel album, are representative of the psychedelic side of the German scene. Another reviewer appears somewhat critical of aspects of the album but given the situation at the time in Europe, it is not clear to non-Brits why this was such an innovative album.

For a start most German bands were guys. Amon Duul had non-descript female vocals but II had Renate. Influences here included Yoko Ono, Grace Slick, Janis Joplin and the Teutonic goddess Nico. The combination of the vocals, the guitar effects and the focus on improvisation marked this band out from almost every other aside from Can.

Yeti is the gem in the crown of their work. One of the earliest European albums to include recorded improvisational material, Yeti occupied one complete side of the album. At the time they were little known outside of Germany although there was a growing awareness by a small cognescenti in Britain due to the connections with members of the psychedic warlords, Hawkwind.

In a sense the track listings do not really matter as the album was intended to be a reflection of their live gigs but aside from the title track, two others standout. Archangels Thunderbird became a crowd favourite much to the disdain of the band reportedly at the time but was included in many gigs and appeared in Live in London. The last side of the vinyl album devoted to Yei, Yogi and Sandoz is a genuflection to the company who first created LSD and is played accordingly.

This is the last album which would capture the band in it's full improvisational glory. Thereafter there music became more complex much in line with other developments on the music scene at home.

But those masterpieces are there, and worth finding. Of them, "Cerberus" is perhaps the best, although the version on the retrospective "Best of" disguises this all too well. In fact, all of what was originally side two of the etched-black-plastic version remains amongst the best Amon Duul II produced, ie amongst the best music washed up in the wake of 1960's psychedelia experimentation. "Archangels Thunderbird" begins the superlative sequence, albeit a little leadenly, leading into the sharp-as-shards "Cerberus", and culminating in "Pale Gallery" (which, it is hoped, is reproduced in its full rather than 2:11 truncated version on CD).

One day, a university course entitled "Twentieth Century Music" will race through the "Dylan-Beatles era" lecture and the lecturer will address the nodding heads with "some groups took these ideas further" and cue "Cerberus". The class will wake up.

Until then, or at least until a truly "Best Of" is released, "Yetti" is worth it for its timeless visionary glimpses. If you were there you might not remember, if you weren't you might still find the music unforgettable.