If I Can have wings then you Can have some more.

Can-Tago Mago-1971
Krautrock, experimental, progressive.



















After a rather crazy weekend involving red wine, 5AM vodka, Hawkeyes struggling to another win and a haunted cornfield, today is thankfully another lazy Sunday, which means another lazy Sunday afternoon post for you guys, and a huge step in out journey through Can's discography, in the first of their three masterpieces; "Tago Mago", "Ege Bamyasi" and "Future Days". "Tago Mago" is the first full album to feature Damo Suzuki after his warm up on the previous album "Soundtracks". The album is one of my favorites, one I will never get old off. Its depth, creativity, composition and sheer crazyness of the album makes it for me one of the essential albums I post on this blog.

All the songs are excellent, with the first half being the stronger, mainly due to its listenability, as the 2nd halfs swirling noise in the epics "Aumgn" and "Peking O" are hard to access for quite some listens through the album,

The first half contains 4 near perfect songs, songs in a style and of such pure expression that hadn't been heard before. "Paperhouse" is the album opener, its downbeat pulse and flowing keys work to create something simply beautiful and the rather simple sympathetic guitar creates a sad yet honest feel to the song. Its not until Jaki Leibzeit's drums really kick into the song after the first few minutes that you get a true idea of where this album and band are heading. The rest of the song is a swirling organised sonic mess of epic proportions. Damo's sound, tone and lyrics really work well, and the band have much more creative freedom than with Mooney. The pause in the middle is just enough time to catch your breath before the ferocious closer to the song, in which Irmin Schmidt pushes along the band with great force straight into the next song "Mushroom".

The song is even more downbeat than "Paperhouse" bordering on insanity, the torment displayed in Damo's muttered lyrics influences the whole feel of music, this song portrays madness so well, its hypnotic. A huge explosion begins the next song and what a stunner it is, 7 minutes of pure brilliance.
"Oh Yeah" is an atmospheric consuming juggernaut. Damo's backwards singing creates a rather uncomfortable feel from the out, and Jaki's drumming is truly magnificent on this song and especially the next "Halleluhwah". I've listened to both songs just to absorb the drumming and vocals as something by themselves. But really the main ethos of Can and why they are so good is the fact that the band has no egos, its not about virtuoso performances and long decadent solos that would plague English progressive music, its about creating fluid, meaningfully expressive music, the skill its takes to turn 5 individuals in to one sound is much more than simply technical prowess.

"Halleluhwah" is 18.32 minutes long, but do not let you put you off, its a stunning song and as mentioned a testament to Leibzeit's drumming expertise. It has a similar feel as the rest of the album, essentially that the drums and bass keep their heavy hypnotic rhythm whilst Karoli and Schmidt are free to explore and weave sounds together over the top, to play with and enhance Damo's vocals. One must not also forget that many of the songs came from extended jams in between takes, and that Holgar Czukay'spioneering editing techinques allow the album to not watse one note, and "Halleluhwah" is that beat-trance monster example of Can's sheer excellence.

Side two contains the swirling madnesses that are "Aumgn" and "Peking O" as well as the closer "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea". "Aumgn" is a wonderful listen, dark and disturbing but with a hint of of the ambigious beauty that the album has at its center. It perhaps show its length too much unlike "Halleluhwah", and so does "Peking O" which are small issues in such an excellent album. "Peking O" is pure experimentalism, and Damo's song, as he chants and screams chaotically to a variety if themes and sounds. Its a crazy song, hard to fathom or make any sense out of, but that not the point, its just to enjoy 12 minutes of musical insanity.
The albums ends with "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" a respite from the previous 30 minutes and a welcome comedown, much more peaceful than the rest of the album, yet still fits in wonderfully.

Tago Mago was an album not appreciated commercially or critically at the time, yet at least now is being heard by more people. A true masterpiece of the era, its pioneering, deep, beautiful. A gargantuan in experimental music, it has influenced nearly all those who have heard it. One should see this as an album, however I have described the songs.
Next time will be "Ege Bamyasi" the 2nd flawless album by Can from 1972.
Enjoy
jamscoopa

Info
Paperhouse Live (on youtube)
Spoon
AMG
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Oh yeah (256kbps)

Creepy, you see.....very creepy

Comus-First Utterance-1971
Acid-folk, folk-rock, proto-progressive, experimental.

Good evening boys and girls for your audiological experience tonight I bring to you a daft affair which will entertain, unsettle and drive you into delerium, or i guess you'll just put it on in the background or something.

Comus (with a hard S{not like Camus}) were an english folk rock band from the late 60s early 70s, who produced a few albums of little success or critical acclaim. First Utterance is their debut and their most interesting work. Based on a poem by John Milton it deals with as my good friend wikipedia tells me:

"two brothers and their sister lost in the wood. The Lady becomes fatigued, and the brothers wander off in search of sustenance. The Lady is captured by the debauched Comus, a character inspired by the god of mockery, brought to his pleasure palace, and magically affixed to a chair with "gums of glutinous heat." Comus urges the Lady to "be not coy" and drink from his magical cup (representing sexual pleasure and intemperance), but she repeatedly refuses, arguing for the virtuousness of temperance and chastity. Meanwhile her brothers, searching for her, come across the Attendant Spirit, an angelic figure sent to aid them, who takes the form of a shepherd and tells them how to defeat Comus. The three manage to rescue her and chase off Comus, but the Lady remains magically bound to her chair. With a song, the Spirit conjures the water nymph Sabrina who frees the Lady on account of her steadfast virtue."

It sounds reminiscent of very traditional folk at some points and at other times raucous ramblings of a madman over a drunken flute rock band lost in the woods waiting to die. This complement alone should entice a willing reader to listen, frankly its a very unique album, partly due its concept nature and also due to its rather odd song structures which seem to start, change and stop at odd intervals.

The lyrics are somewhat undeceipherable, whether there about torture, madness or rape is anyone's guess, but that is not the point, if you want pretty lyrics then this is not the place to listen, but if you want a full on journey through a theme of human suffering in a folk rock style than this is your definitive cup of tea.

"Diana" and "Drip Drip" are probably the two strongest songs although the latter tends to go on a fair bit too long, "Song to Comus" and "The Bite" also stand out as highlights on what is a fairly consistent album. A really novel experience and a cult classic, very interesting music, it always has a slightly bemusing effect on me, its really quite eerie. The strained vocals and high pitched violin create a vibe of unease, whilst the "gypsyesque" drum beats force the songs through unabated tension and feelings primal witchcraft. In the end you feel like you've been cursed somehow, only to remember "I don't believe in curses" then lots of your friends relatives get cancer. But you think the odds are high, 1 in 3 people will get cancer, of course it's not a curse, then one day you wake up in the middle of the night and a giant rabbit with a glowing eye is at the end of your bed and asks you to follow it and leads you on to commit a series of crimes, then you find that you time traveled and................oh
Enjoy, recommended for any curious listeners.
jamscoopa

Please buy from a good retailer or:
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UK
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Utter