Search - Krautrock Meeting 2005 on DVD

Krautrock and German Prog-rock 30 years later

W. T. Hoffman | Pennsylvania, United States | 04/27/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I was a bit disappointed overall in this double DVD. I think that perhaps I was deluded to believe that I would NOT be let down. Just to set the record straight, only TWO of these bands, perhaps three, were really what people call KRAUTROCK. (Amon Duul, Guru Guru, and maybe Birth Control.) Nevertheless, I was excited to see what these bands looked like playing live, how they would sound, etc. Naturally, they are pretty old. Amon Duul were past their prime by 1974, so add another 30 years onto them, and you have German versions of Keith Richards. Nobody is an embarrasment, or unprofessional. But if you think these AMON DUUL II has the energy to play an 18 minute jam from TANZ DER LEMMINGS, forget about it. GURU GURU was great...Mani is a nutcase. I completely enjoyed them. Again, no 20 minute jams like THE LSD MARCH, but they were into some great middle eastern/world music grooves, which is one of the defining traits of REAL Krautrock to me. As for the rest of the bands, well... JANE was more or less a generic sounding hard rock band back when they were popular. Now, its hard to say what they are. It wasnt interesting, unless perhaps JANE were a favorite band of yours to begin with. BIRTH CONTROL were pretty good. This is a band I only like a little bit, maybe a couple of albums from the early 70s. And BIRTH CONTROLL are not Krautrock, as much as rock in the vein of "Uriah Heep" or perhaps "Deep Purple". ITs hard to see these bands, with only 2-3 original members, and younger hacks filling in the old band seats, reproducing a couple of their signiture numbers without any real passion or interest. Those other bands, were very small potatos back then, and now, they barely hold the interest of the audience in attendance. EPITAPH? I think they were mostly British. KARTHAGO? I have an album by them, but its like basic hard rock from the 70s. I watched the DVDs all the way thru once, but only really got into the AMON DUUL--GURU GURU--BIRTH CONTROL parts of it. I love Krautrock, but I just dont think that much of this concert catches the vibe. Still, when you have NO CHANCE of ever seeing these bands, then this is your only oppotunity. If you want a REAL Krautrock experience, buy the CAN DVD, or the new KRAFTWERK DVD. (Both are amazing.)"