One final dip in the cosmic ocean of early 70s German music. After the abstract concepts of Faust and the Autobahn journey with Neu!, it's back to straightforward space rock with Amon Düül II.
Hawknose Harlequin is the final track on the Carnival in Babylon album. It begins with low end bass thumps. Guitars, flute, violin, and drums slowly awaken as we sit by a fireside and listen to the storyteller:
I heard about
A place they call Blind Square
In the middle
Of prophesied land
Surrounded by
A wall of mirrors
Two hundred feet high
And transparent...............
The storyteller finishes at 3:30 and vanishes. We begin to feel strange. We look around and at 3:57 find ourselves in a cold, dark room. Where are we? An electric guitar starts soloing at 4:27, which sends us wandering about, looking for an exit.
At after what feels like forever, at 6:50 the music fades out and the walls suddenly vanish into nothing. A new musical passage gently reveals itself and we discover ourselves out a on a grassy plain, warm air carrying us up and away among the puffy clouds. I love this glorious final section, a musical reincarnation.
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