After the creative summit of 1971-1972, change was in the making for Amon Düül II. Before a tour of the UK in the spring (a session was recorded for the BBC in May), Lothar Meid and Daniel Fichelscher departed, the latter for Popol Vuh. Peter Leopold returned, and multi-instrumentalist Robby Heibl later arrived to help complete the ensuing album, Vive La Trance. Sporting 11 individual tracks, the band left the instrumentals of their previous albums behind for something far more concise and, perhaps, even more commercial.

By now, Amon Düül II had settled into what would be the classic lineup of Chris Karrer on guitar and vocals, Renate Knaup on vocals, John Weinzierl on lead guitar, Lothar Meid on bass, Falk-Ulrich Rogner on keyboards and Peter Leopold on drums, with the ever-present Olaf Kübler producing. Here the band is assisted by Karl-Heinz Hausmann on keyboards, and the more permanent arrival of Daniel Fichelscher as a second drummer.

Continuing a creative peak for the band, Wolf City became Amon Düül II's second studio release for 1972. The lineup was mostly stable, with Peter Leopold as the odd man out here. Chris Karrer and John Weinzierl were the primary writers, and the first side shows off their craft.

The original Amon Düül saw its beginning in 1967 as an art commune in Munich, albeit one of a more socio-political nature than that of a musical group. Most of their recordings stem from two jam sessions recorded in 1968-69 and were mainly released posthumously, after 1969's Psychedelic Underground. Led by Chris Karrer, Amon Düül II formed in 1968 as a live band, featuring the more "musically proficient members" of the commune: Karrer, John Weinzierl, Falk-Ulrich Rogner, Renate Knaup, Peter Leopold and Dieter Serfas comprised the original lineup.