Can I have some more please...?

Can-Soundtracks-1970
Krautrock,experimental, soundtrack



















What a wonderfully lazy sunday afternoon is is today, the sun is out, the ferocity of my hunger has been satisfied by a burrito, Hawkeyes are ranked 13th after beating Penn State and I'm listening to the second Can album, and it all fits perfectly. Soundtracks is as it says a series of soundtracks to films performed by Can, along with two original songs featuring the bands former singer Malcom Mooney who would leave due to mental health problems, and the rest featuring the newly acquired frontman and talisman Kenji Damo Suzuki. More about the band members next time with the incredible masterpeice "Tago Mago".

The first three songs feature in the film Deadlock, 1970, directed by Roland Klick; "Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone", Damo's first recorded performance is from the film Cream, "Soul Desert" is from the film Mädchen... nur mit Gewalt, the epic "Mother Sky" is from the Jerzy Skolimowski film Deep End, and the Mooney sung "She Brings the Rain" is from the 1971 film Bottom - Ein großer graublauer Vogel .

The style of this album is oceans apart from their next 3 albums and it only comes close to the originality, exuberance and mind-fucking nature of these stunning albums, but this album holds a special place in my heart/brain.

The whole album seems to ache, it longs for something, and it torments itself about it repeatedly, stabbing away at its own heart. As I said the band were still finding its sound at this point, but the departure of Mooney and Suzuki's introduction really advanced their sound into the extraordinary directions they would explore.

The story of Damo Suzuki's initiation into the band is also extraordinary. On a morning before Can were due to play a gig , Czukay and Liebezeit were sitting in a Munich cafe, when they came across the japanese traveller Suzuki. They invited him to trial for the band and he played the gig that evening, he would become iconic, with his inaudible spontaneous lyrics sung in a variety of languages, he was what would elevate Can to one of the most innovative and influential bands of the time.

The album itself is like a prototype for whats to come, the Mooney songs are much evolved from monster movies more bluesy meets Velvet Underground inspired sounds, and contains the repetitive chaos which would shape "Tago Mago". Without doubt the highlight of this album is the 15 minute epic "Mother Sky". An epic beast, it blows me away every time I listen, its swirling monotony hypnotizes the listener, and Damo's slurred incomprehensible vocals capture your whole consciousness. It captures Can so well, the apparent contradictions of the underlying mechanical bass and drums, the guitar which melodic at some points, and tearing at others, fuses the song together, allowing Damo's insane ramblings to sound so beautiful and natural. Mother Sky is a song to hear intently and involve yourself in like no other, a real journey, it really hits you hard, not for the quiet background listeners please. Get high, drunk, turn it up loud, turn off the lights and immerse yourself. God I love Can
jamscoopa

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