Tag: V1

CAN – FLOW MOTION / SAW DELIGHT / CAN / RITE TIME

Well, here we enter a controversial part of the Can history. Controversial, because popular opinion generally states that these albums weren’t very good. So, what does hindsight and remastering do for the embarrassing end of the Can catalogue? Well, firstly, they’ve rubbed “Out Of Reach” off the discography. It’s not listed on their site nor is it getting a remaster. So they’ve owned up to “Out Of Reach” being crap, but they’ve also represented 3 other albums of that era in this last blast of remasters.

It all starts with 1976’s “Flow Motion” which saw them getting on Top Of The Pop’s with the opening track “I Want More”. Obviously, this is their most commercial sounding album, and is actually a whole lot of fun. There’s still some very fine freak out moments, like on “Smoke (E.F.S. No.59) and the title track, as well as little delves into disco and reggae. Not their peak, but still a damn fine album and perfect for Summer days.

1977’s “Saw Delight” saw a major line-up alteration. Holger Czukay moved over from the bass to using a wave receiver to bring radio broadcasts into the music. Replacing him was former Traffic member Roscko Gee on bass, alongside another Traffic escapee, Reebop Kwaku Baah on percussion. Curiously, despite the dramatic change, this album still manages to work. Opening up with the classic Can groove as used on “Moonshake” from the early album “Future Days”, it delves heavily into world music and yet still has that Can feel. When I first came across this album I considered it a dreary, middle of the road disappointment. Listening to it again, I find myself enjoying. It could be the wonderful job done in remastering it or it could just be blind hero worship. I’m not sure.

The band have declined to remaster, reissue or acknowledge the next album “Out Of Reach”, so it’s straight onto 1978’s “Can”. Here, even I loose patience. “Can” is crap. Boring, dreary, flat and annoying. It features a ridiculous version of the “Can Can” and becomes so irksome, as to make it a test of patience and endurance to get all the way through it. Holger Czukay had left at this point and was brought in to edit the record together. I can’t imagine what he thought when he heard it but to me this album is definitely not a patch on any of his classic solo albums.

However, things pick up now as the next Can album took a step back in time to their 1968 recordings, which Holger edited together into an album. Rawer and wilder than the songs from their debut album “Monster Movie”, this introduced the world to classic, lost tracks with original vocalist Malcolm Mooney such as “Butterfly” and the song Radiohead covered during their classic 1997 Glastonbury set, “Thief”. What’s even more impressive is the way the remastering has done such a good job of replicating the sound of the original vinyl version.

It all ends with the surprise 1986 reunion of the original line-up, complete with Holger and Malcolm. Strangely enough, they never got round to mixing it until 1988. The reception given at the time was rather luke-warm, but with the benefit of hindsight, “Rite Time” is actually a really good album. Nothing like any of their other albums, as it should be. Bursting with warmth, humour and personality, it’s influence could be heard on some of the most spectacular new bands to emerge after it’s release, particularly Happy Mondays and The Sugarcubes.

I know not everyone will agree with me. Many of you will think I am being too lenient on “Flow Motion” and “Saw Delight”, others will think I was too harsh on “Can” but I can honestly say that the above opinions are my own honest reactions. You, dear reader, will have to decide what you think and what you want to buy.

FAUST + Ectogram – Newcastle Academy 2, UK, 8th November 2005

So, my first encounter with the group Ectogram. Two dueling psychedelic guitars underpinned by a powerful drummer and complimented by the vocals of one of those guitarists, Ann. It’s always tricky to judge a support group, particularly when you haven’t heard them before and are all hyped up for the main act, but still Ectogram managed to impress. I am going to have to track down some of their stuff.

As for Faust, well, I never! Where to begin? I go to gigs every week. Hell, this week I’ve got 4 gigs written into my diary. I have been a regular gig goer for around 15 years now. The point I’m trying to make, basically, is that I have seen a thing or two in my time. I’m not wet behind the ears or easily impressed [2022 note – think I was insecure about being new to krautrock].

I state all this because at this gig, I was more than a bit impressed. A bit bloody gob-smacked would probably be the right turn of phrase here. I’d seen the first rehearsals from this line-up of Faust on the “Connections” DVD. I’d heard them on the “Collectif Met(z)” box set. I’d read all about how good the tour was from the e-mails on the Faust List. I even knew the set lists for every previous night of the tour. I’d even heard about what went on in the stage show.

Somehow, though, even though I knew all about it, Faust still managed to completely surprise me. Maybe it’s the way they lulled me into a false sense of serenity by opening up with a lush, soothing rendition of “Listen To The Fish”. They followed that up with “It’s A Bit Of A Pain” and suddenly, Zappi’s no longer holding back and neither is Jean-Hervé. The new members Olivier and Amaury fuse naturally into the sound, adding a distinct edge of their own.

After breathing fresh new life into that old classic, Jean-Hervé begins to shout at us that “this is not music” and suddenly, he hops off the stage and unveils an ironing board at the front. He switches on the iron and persuades an audience member to take off their shirt for ironing. Suddenly, Zappi comes marching to the front of the stage with a load of metal bars and begins to hurl them off the stage onto the metal plate at the front of the crowd. A plate I’d been standing on until I stood back to give Jean-Hervé room to hop off the stage. Luckily, they’re fairly light pipes or I’m too enraptured by the whole thing to feel any pain when they bounced off and into me.

I’m feeling all cool and laid-back, when suddenly “oh fuck!” he’s wielding a bloody big lead pipe above his head and I start to leg it into the crowd when I realise he’s just banging it above his head and isn’t going to lob it at me. That sense of calm and safety is soon shattered when he begins using an angle grinder and fires sparks into the crowd. The security guard’s faces are a complete picture – horror, fear and helplessness as they shout into their headsets and walkie-talkies. One of them later on tells me not to dance near to the iron. Come on! They’re an avante-garde rock ‘n’ roll band! They may throw pipes off stage and shower us in sparks but they’re not going to leave the iron plugged in! They’re not barbarians!

By now, a big smile is stretched across the faces of nearly all the crowd (if not the venue staff) and then they only go and play “The Sad Skinhead”. After that, Zappi conducts a small group of beautiful young ladies [2022 note – single, much?] for a rendition of “I’ve Got My Car And My TV” and dancing like mad seems the only sensible option.

Then, Jean-Hervé begins the discussion: “Rund Ist Schön” when suddenly the local firemen’s marching band ambush us from behind and come to the front to jam with Faust. After this, you begin to wonder what next? An alien choir? What comes next is a fantastic selection of songs, mainly new which meld Zappi’s heavy but oh-so-danceable drumming with some head-banging guitar thrash-outs and heavy wildness. We get a blazing version of “Mamie Is Blue”, another marching band jam and some big smiles.

Of course, the crowd wouldn’t let them get away without an encore and very loud applause dragged them out to finish us all off with “It’s A Rainy Day, Sunshine Girl”. How could you sum this night up? It wasn’t a gig, it was a happening, a special event and something that will stay with me for a very long time [2022 note – it certainly has and not just because it came out on DVD in the ‘Faust in Autumn’ set]. Blimey!

 

 

Huge thanks to Peter Kidd, David Enzor and to Emma @ AMG.

TUSSLE – KLING KLANG

TUSSLE – “KLING KLANG” (Smalltown Supersound)

What if……..

What if Danny Krivit did a disco re-edit of Neu!
What if Can’s disco experiments had really worked? A fusion of the Can sound with the finest disco rhythms?
What if the classic early P.I.L. line-up had been on E instead of speed?

What if? What if?

Here is the answer – “Kling Klang” an album by San Francisco act Tussle. These boys raise the kind of joyous noise you would associate with the likes of Can, Faust and Neu! and set it to a live but very deep, disco rhythm. Sometimes, the results veer close to the classic Public Image Ltd sound. The bass gets funky, percussion gets a good smack-down while the guitar and electronics get into the kosmische territories. Despite the association with two musical movements of the 70’s, Tussle manage to sound fresh, mainly thanks to the overwhelmingly live sound. In fact, for all their obvious orgins, Tussle manage to sound thorougly modern. The nearest likeness would have to be !!! (pronounced chk-chk-chk).

The version of the album that I have is the European one which comes with some great bonus tracks and remixes. Perfect for alternative dancefloors, krauty-parties, half-converts, dancefloor weirdos, bass-lovers, percussion-heads, Jah Wobble fans, hypeactive Kosmische fans and punk-funk lovers.

Faust in a box

It’s taken me a while to get round to reviewing this box set, as it takes a lot of getting your head around. The first disc is more rehearsals from the new Faust [JHP, Zappi, Olivier & Amaury]. The second disc is a live album they recorded in Paris in 1996 with the same line-up under the name Collectif Met(z). Disc 3 features solo material from Jean-Hervé Peron and Zappi. The fourth disc is an 8 minute VCD of footage from after the 1996 concert.

Let’s begin in the present with disc one – the modern Faust. Sometimes heavy drone-rock, sometimes lighter and more song-based. These are not studio recordings but more recordings of the new Faust in rehearsal (like the excellent Connections DVD). Someone once described acoustic performances as being “a band naked” but in many ways, these raw, primal sessions are the closest music gets to naked. Just a band playing and something in the corner recording. Not that for a minute you should associate such abrasive sound for anything substandard. It takes a certain confidence in your art to release your music in such an unrefined format, a confidence which recently led to the band Arctic Monkeys selling out large venues in the UK before they’d even released a single thanks to their demos being all over the internet. We’ve all heard great songs with massive production, now the public’s thirst for something new craves great songs without any studio trickery. That’s disc one for you.

Disc two is 6 solo tracks from Zappi and 3 from Jean-Hervé. All the tracks on here are playful and quite laid back. As you can imagine, Zappi’s pieces are heavy on rhythm, while Jean-Hervé’s are more song based. JHP’s epic “Rund ist Schoen” is a 15-minute
meditation from somewhere outdoors in London. His other 2 tracks “Melancholy on Three Strings” and “Decisions” are acoustic, laments sung in his mother tongue (French). Zappi comes up with some great songs and some equally great song titles: “Mufflet” and “Stumpling” both being delicious words that I have never heard before.

The third disc is the 1996 concert. This is a heavier, more firey kind of a beast. In fact, it’s fair to say this is a sonic assault. Brutal, provocative and, of course, utterly enjoyable. Here Faust (or Collectif Met(z) as they were known at the time) go full-on. Things unknown roar and rumble, while JHP takes to the microphone like he was summoning demons. The rhythms are heavy, driving, skull-crushing and immense. The noise is hypnotic.The sound is intense. This is a chugging beast of a concert. No old songs are played, although JHP does sing “Mamie Is Blue” at one point, but the music is so different it seems more like a nod to the original than a reworking. It sounds like the audience don’t know what to make of it – the crowd noise could be rapture or could be rage. It’s probably both.

The 4th and final disc is simply an 8 minute video filmed as the live set on disc 3 ended. One of the tracks from the set plays while over the top we hear the audience’s joy and confusion. As the camera darts around the smoke-filled venue and then does close-ups on people talking a language that I don’t speak, the effect is a disorientating as being hit repeatedly in the face with an invisible brick.

It’s a cracking little box, full of magic and indispensable for the Faust fan.

Remembering John Peel

I have just finished this book and I am left feeling very emotional by it. How can I begin to explain how important John Peel was to me? As a lover of music, his show educated me so much and he opened my eyes to so many styles of music throughout my life. As a broadcaster, you knew he was being his own self. As a person, he seemed to me incredibly endearing, humble and witty.

I still remember where I was when I heard the news. I was in a car with Boo, who I work with in my day job at Alive magazine, delivering our rather fine gig guide to Saltaire, near Bradford (little did I know at the time that this was where his wife Sheila was from). My Ryan Adams tape had just ended, so I pressed eject and caught the last few moments of a song before Colin Murray announced that they had some very sad news. I was surprised at just how much it upset me. I’d always been a bit disdainful of the public displays of grief over the death of Princess Diana, but there I was utterly shocked and upset over the death of a man I never knew.

So, this is the book John was working on when he died. What can I say? John’s part of the book is pure John. You can hear his voice in your head as he tells you his life story. It is everything you would want it to be – moving, engrossing, unpretentious and very funny. His widow Sheila and their children all got together to research the rest of his life and then Sheila finished the book off. My heart goes out to his family for this and I must express my strong gratitude for what must have been a very difficult labour of love.

No-one else could have finished this book other than Sheila and John’s dry sense of humour and skill with an anecdote appear to have rubbed off on her very well. In fact, this approach benefits the book, as John managed to cover most of his life before Sheila and getting a different point of view for the second half somehow adds to the books feeling of authenticity.

Never does the book get boring at any point. It is touching, sad, very funny and full of wonderful anecdotes. Anything other than a wonderful book would, quite frankly, have been unacceptable but between them, John & Sheila have managed to deliver the book that had to be written and that we needed to read. Now all we need is that young buck John always feared would suddenly turn up and take his place to finally materialise [2020 note – still waiting].

Faust “Connections” DVD

A new Faust has been born, fusing Zappi & JHP from the original line-up with Ulan Bator members Amaury Cambuzat and Olivier Manchion. This DVD allows you to witness the birth of this new line-up. We begin with the plane containing Amaury & Olivier landing and then you get their first session. Unrehearsed, spontaneous music with no overdubs.

It’s a brave move for a band to release a DVD of their all-new line-ups first ever session but, let’s face it, they all know how to play and the results are nothing short of exciting. 6 new, spontaneous songs that let you know a brand new Faust is coming.

As you would expect, the visuals are as disorientating and entertaining as the music. Sometimes words scroll across the top of screen. At times they seem to be translations of the lyrics, at others times they appear like invocations on the themes of the lyrics.

Zappi really is a hell of a drummer and Jean-Hervé the perfect foil to his power. These 2 have a musical bond built up over years, so it’s incredible to hear the new members finding their place in the music immediately.

As fun as it is fascinating, “Connections” is a very well produced DVD and definitely one that I’ll be watching again and again.

a small chat with Jean-Hervé Peron of Faust!

Jean-Hervé Peron is a man who should need no introduction.However, it would be rude and lazy of me not to. It is now 35 years since Faust began their extraordinary transmissions from the studio. We, the world, are still scratching our heads and trying to work out where this music came from. How can we ever nail it down with such crude weapons as words? Listening to the works of Faust makes you crave for more words in the language to try and express what is happening to your ears.Jean-Hervé Peron is part of the multi-headed beast that is Faust. At the time of writing, he is part of a new line-up of Faust with Zappi and Ulan Bator members Amaury Cambuzat and Olivier Manchion.This new line-up played at Jean-Hervé’s Avante-Garde Fiesta in September 2005 alongside the likes of Uli Trepte (Guru Guru), Ectogram, Chris Cutler (Henry Cow, Art Bears), Charles Hayward (This Heat, Camberwell Now) and a set from Ulan Bator. The festival took place near Hamburg/Lubeck and Jean-Hervé even arranged for festival goers to be collected from the nearby railway station and airport (and cheapo airline Ryanair fly there!), so it shouldn’t have hurt the bank too much for anyone.Next up is the ‘Faust in Autumn’ tour of the UK and Ireland to come, so it is all go right now.I e-mailed Jean-Hervé a few questions by e-mail. Here is his response.Jean-Hervé: Hi Ned. Some among us have had the privilege to be visited by the Sacred Fire, this for no evident reason; as the seed blindly falls here or there, so Inspiration visits him or her without distinction: it just happens. It is even useless to hope for it or to prepare for it.Nonetheless, the duration and the intensity of this state of soul depends, without a doubt but only to a certain extend, on our personal behavior and on outer circumstances. This fire kissed me, devoured me. I have known love, jubilation, innocence. Within this period Faust was born.What happened then to this Fire, to Faust, and what will I become?For the sake of laughing, I shall say that, the fire being eternal, it does not bother about my whereabouts. Faust, being what it will be, remains what it was, with or without me; And as far as I am concerned, dear Ned, although I still do not fear to lose neither my teeth nor my time, it is undeniable that they inexorably abandon me and time seems somehow to bypass me. I must confess I am almost fully responsible for this, as my own philosophy tells me we are, consciously or unconsciously, the own makers of the circumstances around us. Of course, there are still the divine or banal unforeseenables such as… for example… for example…Ned: What are your current musical projects?Jean-Hervé: I am ever so glad to say that I have so many projects at the moment, the most actual being an avant garde festival in mid september. My beloved wife Carina and myself organize events regularly and this one is going to be fantastic. Check the line-up! Besides this immediate project, I am preparing the ‘Faust in Autumn’ UK tour for October and November. The ‘machine’ is a bit rusty so we are having some problems here and there. But we’ll get by with a little help from our friends, like the members of the Faust-Pages or Ankst Records or you.I am finishing the cd box of Collectif Met(z) it will be a box of three CDs plus a cd-video, the story of our encounters with Ulan Bator in 1995 and then 2005.I have started my own website Art-Errorist and I am developing my merchandising. That includes the re-productions of past live concerts, very old documents, collaborations with various artists. Oooh that is so exciting, and a lot of work.It is getting in shape though!What else? Well we have a big house with a big garden and we have five children and a few grandchildren. Keeps you busy, all this.Ned: How important is being independent to achieving your maximum creativity as an artist?Jean-Hervé: “Independent”? You mean financially independent? I am broke man, poorer than the poorest church-mouse as we say in Germany. This financial state is more inspiring than anything else.Or you mean mentally independent? Yes, I am free in my head. I think it is called inhibited? I have no problem with making a fool of myself, I feel I am the center of the world and I don’t feel it’s wrong to think this way; I have managed to get over the top after a mighty depression caused by past problems related with Faust. Well I do not know whether I achieve the ‘maximum of my creativity’ or not but I know it is extremely liberating/fulfilling to create music.Ned: How exposed are you to popular culture?Jean-Hervé: I am extroverted and thus I do expose myself quite openly to whatever comes my way, let it be a group of kids shouting or a klezmer band going wild or a pig eating or a concrete-mixer churning peacefully or the radio turned on to any channel according to the hazard of the moment.Ned: Given the chance, would you allow the mainstream to embrace you? For instance, would you accept a support slot with U2 or allow your music to be used for an iPod commercial?Jean-Hervé: I have heard that U2 is a very good band but they would never accept to play as a support act for Faust. or do you mean faust supporting U2? It would not be suitable. The audience would not be prepared: no I would not do it.My music being used as a commercial? Yes. I have done this already. I do not feel bad about it. I would NOT sell my music to a firm that I reject for reasons of ethics. I do not care about money in general.Ned: How did you first come across Ulan Bator?Jean-Hervé: Through Olivier Manchion who contacted us 1994 maybe, very quickly a friendship developed between us. We did a gig in Metz, France 1995. They helped us in our tour 1994 when I decided to withdraw from the tour.Ned: As half of Ulan Bator are now in Faust, will there be a full Ulan Bator show before Faust concerts on this forthcoming tour?Jean-Hervé: No. Ectogram will be supporting us. I like them very much. They give me strength. They spread vibes of love and dedication. I am glad they accept to support us on this difficult come-back.Olivier and Amaury and Zappi and myself melt into Faust.Ned: What was working with Michael Gira (on Ego:Echo) like?Jean-Hervé: I sat early in the morning at the door of the recording studio. No one around yet, I blew my trumpet. They arrived. I went into the studio. Olivier sat beside me. I played one ton. A long time. Somebody in the mixing room liked it. It was done then. I left. I did not see him.Ned: Who do you most admire from popular culture?Jean-Hervé: Edith PiafNed: How do you feel about the strong interest in Kosmische music and it’s influence on music’s present mainstream?Jean-Hervé: It is an absolute natural phenomenon: we were avant garde 30 years ago. Now we are simply modern, soon we will be out of date. But I’ll be dead before I get old.C’est le printemps chez les herbivores! Love and respect.

LUNZ “LUNZ/REINTERPRETATIONS”`

Lunz is a collaboration between Grammy nominated composer Tim Story and Hans-Joachim Roedelius. For anyone not yet familiar with Rodelius contributions to German cosmic music, I’d recommend Cluster “Cluster II” and Harmonia “Musik Von Harmonia” as excellent starting points.

However, enough of the past, let us move on to the present. What does Lunz sound like? The music is dominated by the piano with subtle, analogue electronic accompaniment which at times serves the same purpose as an orchestra playing some of Gorecki’s more minimalist symphonies. Not until “Wobbly Flu Twilight” do the electronics begin to raise their head a little higher and take the lead. By the time we get to “Akimbo” they’re dominating the experience, rumbling along like some kind of classical music meets dub.

U2’s The Edge [2022 note: I was quoting him to try and give the music mainstream mass appeal] described this album as “A beautiful train ride of a record” but to me it’s less of trip and more of a story. It sounds like the soundtrack to some fantastic film, a journey of inner discovery and realisation like “American Beauty” but with a rural setting. The album “Lunz” has a great beauty and a gentle strength that overwhelms. This is not the sound of a man chasing past glories but a powerful and fresh piece of work, packed with inspiration and charm.

Although in some territories, “Lunz” and “Reinterpretations” are sold separately, in others they come as a double CD pack. “Reinterpretations” sees a varied array of remixes. Forget any notions of “dance remixes”, for all these reworkings seek to represent the music in a new guise but none of them seem to be trying to ‘work the dancefloor’. Instead, the remixes seem to be coming more from the leftfield, with people like former Fridge member Adem keeping large elements of the original and adding his own vocals, as does Half Cousin. Astrid Kane chips in a great remix which adds in Lloyd Cole on vocals and Manchester’s current finest Elbow also do their own remix. One of the most striking things about these remixes is how faithful they all seem to be. All of the songs are still recognisable, have a similar spirit but each one has the remixes own personality stamped onto it.

2022 note: the Bandcamp embed below is for a recent reissue of just the original album but remastered and with bonus tracks

LOOKING AT GOD’S PENIS

AMON DUUL II – “PHALLUS DEI” DVD

I mistakenly believed the only German cosmic DVD around was the “Can DVD” but when I spotted this one on Piccadilly Record’s website, my heart leapt – another live kosmische DVD? So, I went into the shop when I was in Manchester and took a look. £17 for a DVD of Amon Düül II performing the title track from their debut album “Phallus Dei”. That’s it. Mind you, as the track clocks in at nearly 25 minutes and Wim Wenders was one of the camera crew, I decided to go mad and buy it.

The film captures the band, before they released their debut album, playing a frenzied live session of “Phallus Dei”. Let’s begin with the negative points first. The sound and picture quality are not of today’s standards. There’s a noticeable hiss in the sound and the film is grainy. Still, it’s an underground film from 1969, not bloody Star Wars, so what do you expect? Let’s concentrate on the positives here and there’s plenty to chew on. Firstly, “Phallus Dei” is one of my favourite Amon Düül II tracks and this live rendition explodes with energy. The cinematography is defiantly different. A mixture of the band playing live, sunrise, sunset and even a few blackouts. The band footage doesn’t zoom or pan, but band members wander in and out of the frame.

There can be no doubt that this DVD is a little bit on the expensive side but it is a fantastic historical document – a collision of pioneering greats of both music and film. Sure, it may lack the razzle-dazzle of the “Can DVD”, it’s is still well worth getting your mitts on it. It stands up well to repeated viewings and if you buy & support this, who knows what other DVDs may come out of the woodwork?

CAN – FUTURE DAYS / SOON OVER BABALUMA / LANDED / UNLIMITED EDITION

I’m delighted to say that today the latest Can remasters arrived. To say I was happy was an understatement. Landing on my desk at work were “Future Days”, “Soon Over Babaluma, “Landed” amd “Unlimited Edition”. All 4 are packaged in exactly the same manner as the previous 4, with plenty of previously unseen photos, new sleeve notes and exceedingly good sound remastering.

I had only heard these albums on the previous CD issues, never on vinyl, so to hear these versions is like having an extra dimension added. A giant step closer to how those elusive records must sound.

Ambling through these 4 recordings, you can feel the evolution of Can. For a start, “Future Days” was their last album with their second vocalist, Damo Suzuki. For me, the marked difference with “Future Days” is that they seem to be slipping into a groove. The songs feel more affable, more laid-back but never lazy. There’s an overwhelmingly peaceful feel to this album. Could this really be the same band who recorded “Aumgn”? It’s more the band who made “Bring Me Coffe Or Tea”. Confident, laid-back but as innovative as ever.

On “Soon Over Babaluma”, they find themselves stripped down to the essential musical 4-piece that many view as the heart of Can. However, as soon as guitar wizard Michael Karoli takes the microphone for the aptly named “Dizzy Dizzy”, it becomes clear that Can have been completely unfazed by any departure. “Soon Over Babaluma” sees Can flirt teasingly with more conventional song structures, only to leave their typical forward-looking vision all over them. “Come sta, La Luna” sounds like a cross between Latin jazz, an Eastern european funeral lament and reggae. “Splash” again has a slight Latin feel to the keyboards, while Karoli teases impossible sounds out of his instrument (it’s hard to tell if he’s playing a guitar or a violin, such is his unique style). Meanwhile, Jaki & Holger bash out a frantic, nevous amphetamine rhythm.

“Landed” meanwhile sees Can take a veracious bite into rock. The album leaps into life with the big sing along of “Full Moon On The Highway”. I have to admit to being previously a bit suspect about “Landed” but hearing it here in top notch sound, it’s qualities become a lot more aparent. “Vernal Equinox” sees Karoli doing the same kind of guitar shamanism that marked him so highly on “Mother Sky” while Hogler & Jaki get frantic and Irmin gets off into the voids of space. “Red Hot Indians” is a bizare, tribal, funk stomp and “Half Past One” is the kind of psychedelia that only Can could conjure up. Of course, there’s still outrageous journies into inner space such as “Unfinished” which is over 13 minutes of Can at their furthest from earth.

One of the joys of Can is that they never made albums that sounded even remotely similar. Hell, even over the course of one album you were served such a banquet of sounds that it was hard to credit that you were listening to 1 bands’ studio album and not a well-crafted mix tape. So, when you tuck into “Unlimited Edition” which is a compilation of 19 unreleased tracks from 1968 to 1975, you know you’re in a pretty wild place. It’s got tracks with their two very distinctive vocalists, Malcolm Mooney (on 4 songs) & Damo Sazuki (on 5 songs) and introduces their E.F.S. (Ethnological Forgery Series). With the CD filled up to the brim (1 hour, 17 minutes and 31 seconds worth of Can), this is a CD that can’t let you down. It’s always a major sign of a major talent when the stuff they throw away is better than the stuff most people release.

These remastered editions really are a joy to own. They work in normal CD players, but give it that little extra when popped in a SACD player. Whatever your thoughts about CDs as a format, these remasters are essential if we want Can to be embraced by a generation that doesn’t embrace vinyl. It’s proof that we are not wrong about this music to see such care and attention lavished on it. If you’ve already got these albums on vinyl and don’t own a SACD player, then you probably needn’t worry too much about buying these, but if you have just downloaded them or bought the earlier CDs or if [SHOCK] you don’t own them at all then get your arse down to your local record shop and buy these. They may be a little dearer than this weeks chart releases, but you know for a fact that you are going to be playing them for a very long time!