Band: Can

[AnthonyCinder]

I never got around to hearing Future Days until just a few weeks ago. Absolutely ridiculous how good this album is

Yeah, Future Days is brilliant.

Can't get into it. Should I 1) try another or 2) leave out the back door?

Tago Mago, my friend. Tago Mago. The first four songs are flawless.

[cjh]

Bill Swansea - Are you familiar with Shikako Maru Ten? It was released as a b-side to the single version of Spoon in 1971, the same year as 'Turtles'. Its downbeat, 7/8 shuffling groove is one my my favourite non-album tracks.

Here's my rubbish but (to me at least) pleasing Can anecdote from a couple of weeks ago. As its autumn I was hankering for a bit of nostalgia and was poking around Flickr for images of London in the 1970s and 80s when I noticed a black and white set from the Notting Hill Carnival. I thought this should provide succor with a background glimpse of an Austin Allegro or something when I chanced on this image:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/30063076@N02/5692702098

Clearly Holger from Can up to some mad shit. Feeling bold, I blasted the link over to czukay.de and had a charming exchange of emails with the old buffer. He remembered it well and spoke fondly of his Nakamichi tape machine that he was using to capture festival ambiance.

(Of course I took no credit for this and copied in the owner too who was an interesting guy in his own right, he mentioned the republic of Frestonia and the London squat scene of that period whose burning braziers and greyscale concrete more than provided the period hit I was after.)

[Bill Swansea]

Bill Swansea - Are you familiar with Shikako Maru Ten? It was released as a b-side to the single version of Spoon in 1971, the same year as 'Turtles'. Its downbeat, 7/8 shuffling groove is one my my favourite non-album tracks.

That was fucking awesome. Someone really needs to put together all these rarities properly. Unless they're all on Cannibalism II?

[cjh]

Probably their earliest available recording (with flautist David Johnson), they absolutely nailed it down from the start.



Horrible but amusing, also from the Inner Space years (available via Crippled Dick.)



Additionally, Tago Mago has just turned 40, the bonus disc has an absolutely scorching live version of Mushroom that I've never heard before.

[LBx]

Tago Mago, my friend. Tago Mago. The first four songs are flawless.

Just a tad too danceable and hip for my taste I think. NC but not for me.

[AnthonyCinder]

Tago Mago, my friend. Tago Mago. The first four songs are flawless.

Just a tad too danceable and hip for my taste I think. NC but not for me.

Really? The only track on Tago Mago that I would say is danceable is "Hallewujah."

"Paper House" is just a flawless tune.

I think Ege Bamyasi has more songs on it that I would describe as danceable.

[whoisalhedges]

Monster Movie and Ege Bamyasi are nearly perfect albums. Oddly enough, Tago Mago is probably my LEAST favorite Can album (though I haven't heard any of the post-Damo stuff).


Very, very not crap.

[dabrasha]

Saw Skolimowski's Deep End a few nights ago, and there's a sequence that features almost all of "Mother Sky" as background. Good stuff.

[Dave//Eksvplot]

The musique concrete solo in "Moonshake" is far out. Never tire of hearing it.

[punch_the_lion]

Not that much into post-Damo albums, but the early stuff is NOT CRAP, zero waffles.

[Angus Jung]

"Lost Tapes" 3-CD box set due in June.

Awesome track from this set.

[Angus Jung]

wtf - some Can trivia:

According to Damo, the lyrics to "Vitamin C" are about alcoholism. He read someplace that your body loses Vitamin C when you booze up.

[cjh]

Another Lost Tapes teaser surfaced yesterday.

[noise&light]

Another Lost Tapes teaser surfaced yesterday.

This is very pleasing to my ears.

[Sowley]

This band.

so unfuckwithable.

[EmpireStateTroopers]

I'll vote crap. just because I CAN.

[tarandfeathers]

Anyone have any info about the various "United Artists" LPs from the last few (five?) years or so? Pretty sure they're all bootlegs but do they sound any good?

[cjh]

Anyone have any info about the various "United Artists" LPs from the last few (five?) years or so? Pretty sure they're all bootlegs but do they sound any good?

They're definitely bootlegs but they sound alright*. They use the original 70s UK artwork (filmstrip cover Soundtracks, live band cover / envelope wallet for Tago Mago etc.) and look really nice but they're absolutely not legit.

*I'm pretty sure they must have been mastered from the CDs that are currently in print. I'm in the somewhat ludicrous position of having a couple of these albums on original UA vinyl, Spoon reissue vinyl, Spoon SACD and bootleg UA vinyl (I know how that sounds but Can were/are "that band", I'm always looking for a faint echo of the initial buzz of my first exposure), when I get time I'll give 'em a proper spin and see how they stand up in comparison. Worst case scenario is they're a bit flat sounding, not a recording from a dictaphone in the same room as a scratched LP playing with fluff on the needle etc.

[tarandfeathers]

Haha, I can totally see ending up with a selection like that. I'd definitely be interested to hear how the bootleg UA stuff compares with the Spoon reissues. Original UAs are probably out of my price range for the moment. I believe there is some gargantuan 14LP box set planned with all the studio albums (plus presumably Delay 1968 and Ltd Edition?) but I'm not entirely sure I actually want ALL those records, I'm pretty happy just going as far as Future Days really so individual copies might be the way to go...

[Rémy]

I'm a real big krautrock fan.
How can I even think of voting crap ? Tell me. Therefore, I prefer Neu! and Amon Düül II.