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Can - What's it all about?

I love Tago Mago, particularly Halleluwah, which I first heard in its entirety in a London back street record shop. I’d been flicking through various LPs, Halleluwah was playing over the shop system, and I realised I’d taken no notice of what I was looking at for a quarter of an hour. Astonishing stuff.

Mick
 
Tago Mago is one of my favourite albums by any band. It just flows so well with wonderful soundscapes evolving over that primal beat. I do though wonder whether I would appreciate it now had I not a long while ago in my 20s listened to it whilst into spliff and sometimes mushrooms?
 
Getting into solo Holger at the moment, On the Way to the Peak of Normal is up there.


I think "Movies" and "Peak.." are excellent but the later albums don't have the same appeal. "Rome Remains Rome" is particularly duff.

If you don't have them, I would recommend the album he made with Jaki and Jah Wobble, "Full Circle"

...the "Snake Charmer" Mini LP with Jah Wobble and The Edge

and the single with Conny Plank as "Les Vampyrettes"
 
I have a complete blind spot for Can. I've given the odd record a listen in the past and never made it all the way through.

Shameful to admit I know!
 
I think "Movies" and "Peak.." are excellent but the later albums don't have the same appeal. "Rome Remains Rome" is particularly duff.

If you don't have them, I would recommend the album he made with Jaki and Jah Wobble, "Full Circle"

...the "Snake Charmer" Mini LP with Jah Wobble and The Edge

and the single with Conny Plank as "Les Vampyrettes"
Yes, back when I was a huge Can fan, in a time and place where it was difficult to get hold of even slightly obscure records, I managed to track down a copy of Rome Remains Rome and decided, never again. Only recently managed to overcome that aversion and it’s been a really pleasant surprise to find that a lot of the other stuff is really good.
 
I have a complete blind spot for Can. I've given the odd record a listen in the past and never made it all the way through.

Shameful to admit I know!
They are definitely a band of many parts and Seeker’s chart is very helpful in navigating them. Personally I prefer the loose, dubby stuff, Future Days and Soon Over Babaluma. I think the hardcore fans consider those a bit toothless. I can’t handle anything after Soon.
 
Yes, back when I was a huge Can fan, in a time and place where it was difficult to get hold of even slightly obscure records, I managed to track down a copy of Rome Remains Rome and decided, never again. Only recently managed to overcome that aversion and it’s been a really pleasant surprise to find that a lot of the other stuff is really good.

Do you like the "Canaxis" album?
 
They are definitely a band of many parts and Seeker’s chart is very helpful in navigating them. Personally I prefer the loose, dubby stuff, Future Days and Soon Over Babaluma. I think the hardcore fans consider those a bit toothless. I can’t handle anything after Soon.

OK that's my homework for this weekend :)
 
When I was flogging albums to Cambridge, it was the height of 'Madchester'. You could spin the b-side "...and More" and the congas / wah-wah guitar groove was easily mistaken for a white label of some obscure baggy outfit.

'I Don't Know', the lead off track from Saw Delight, IS the coda to Fool's Gold. And it's very very groovy

There's a killer playlist to be made from their later albums, but Out of Reach is truly execrable.
 
'I Don't Know', the lead off track from Saw Delight, IS the coda to Fool's Gold. And it's very very groovy

There's a killer playlist to be made from their later albums, but Out of Reach is truly execrable.

Own up time...

ISTR "Fools Gold" and FYC's "Not the Man I Used to Be" came out about the same time. At that point, the only James Brown I'd heard was "Sex Machine" and so didn't know where the rhythm tracks for both came from (they sounded similar to me). What I did know was they were vaguely Can-ny and got a thumbs up from me.
 
Own up time...

ISTR "Fools Gold" and FYC's "Not the Man I Used to Be" came out about the same time. At that point, the only James Brown I'd heard was "Sex Machine" and so didn't know where the rhythm tracks for both came from (they sounded similar to me). What I did know was they were vaguely Can-ny and got a thumbs up from me.
Own up time, I ****ing love 'The Raw and the Cooked' way more than the first Stone Roses album.
 
They are definitely a band of many parts and Seeker’s chart is very helpful in navigating them. Personally I prefer the loose, dubby stuff, Future Days and Soon Over Babaluma. I think the hardcore fans consider those a bit toothless. I can’t handle anything after Soon.

Have you tried the two recent live albums? Funky as hell and some of it reusing/reinterpreting grooves from Soon Over Babaluma, but stretching everything out the way Miles did in the early to mid-70s. They are now two of my favourite Can albums, certainly the best post-Liberty/UA by far.
 
my first bit of Can that I didn’t know was a bit of Can, I referred to the artists just as Jah Wobble, probably as I didn’t know how to pronounce Jaki & Holgar’s names…
Purchased at the time, at the age of 15.

I used to cart this 12” about to all the parties at the time. Great leftfield dance tune of the time, and I love rhythm boxing.



More images


Jah Wobble, Jaki Liebezeit, Holger Czukay – How Much Are They?
Label: Island Records – 12WIP 6701
Format:
Vinyl, 12", 45 RPM
Country: UK
Released: 1981
Genre: Electronic, Rock
Style: Dub, Leftfield, Disco, New Wave

edit: I still have this 12” and play it aboot twice a year.
 
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