I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Did you ever pick up The Lost Tapes box? Some fuller, but lots of quality material to satisfy those looking for more.
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums...he-lost-tapes/
WANTED: Sig-worthy quote.
Interviewer of reprobate ne'er-do-well musicians of the long-haired rock n' roll persuasion at: www.velvetthunder.co.uk and former scribe at Classic Rock Society. Only vaguely aware of anything other than music.
*** Join me in the Garden of Delights for 3 hours of tune-spinning... every Saturday at 5pm EST on Deep Nuggets radio! www.deepnuggets.com ***
I'm a big fanboy, here's my take on the Can catalogue...
Great:
Tago Mago
Ege Bamyasi
Future Days
Soon Over Babaluma
Almost Great:
Monster Movie
Landed
Saw Delight
Some Great Cuts:
Limited/Unlimited Edition
Flow Motion
Can
Soundtracks
Rite Time
Mediocre:
Out of Reach
All the subsequent archival releases are worth getting too:
the DVDs, the BBC, Can Live, and the Lost Tapes
https://noisey.vice.com/en_us
Future Days appreciation blog post.
Having it now along with Scotch. No one else were as free and equally as sophisticated as this - and in 1973? Unbelievable.
An aspect I always wanted to address, however, was the concept of 'improv'. with the Can gang MO. Because yeah, they were studio- as well as stage jammers, and there can come a lot of fantastic stuff out of that, yet with Can there's sometimes an overt impression that this particular asset was often adapted in retrospect by the post-punk Wire generation in order for it all to appear more artistically legitimate in accordance with current 'aestehtic hipness ethics'. Even a tune as loose but structurally stringent as "Yoo Doo Right" - not to mention the sometimes very arranged-sounding "Bel Air" - are attributed to 'improv'. Possibly in the sense of post-processing (courtesy Holger, of course, who was impeccable at that), still, much of it amounts to obvious idea-implementation - whether originating in freeplay or not. Anyone who's ever played in an improv unit would know how this principle works; you "find" the the impulse while jamming, and then you refine it afterwards.
Was there ever a book on Can, a separate piece outlining this aspect? Anyone? I've been listening to them for nearly 30 years and think the world of them, I'm just wondering.
"Improvisation is not an excuse for musical laziness" - Fred Frith
"[...] things that we never dreamed of doing in Crimson or in any band that I've been in," - Tony Levin speaking of SGM
Great insightful post Richard (as usual). That is a very interesting prospect re: the influence of their "brand" of improvisation.
I've heard Future Days many times this week, and it has seemed to enter a new category for me - one that I place in the highest regard of albums. Its truly a masterpiece of the genre, and there doesn't seem to be a single moment out-of-place or overwelcoming its stay or containing any twee moments, etc. Its all created with a vision in mind and Holger has outdone himself on this work. The overall slightly laid-back feel of this album isn't something that can be created at will either, imo, yet its not without a real keen sense of energy. An absolute joy of an album, and I have no qualms placing this thing along any of the best albums of the era.
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
Count me in as another Soon Over Babaluma booster, in my top 3 of Can albums alongside Ege Bamyasi and Future Days.
I could just wrap my heart around Future Days, incidentally. Has a Krautrock album ever achieved such beauty? “Bel Air” is the sound of heaven. When it fades out, then fades back in again, it could go on for another twenty minutes, or twenty hours, as far as I’m concerned.
Confirmed Bachelors: the dramedy hit of 1883...
If it isn't Krautrock, it's krap.
"And it's only the giving
That makes you what you are" - Ian Anderson
There was quite a lot of post production done by Czukay on those Can jams lots of edits and manipulations
Bookmarks