Can - Ege Bamyasi
United Artists, 1972
I am completely convinced that Can is not a band from the 70s. Sometime off in the distant future, a group of Space-Germans with a fetish for early 70’s musical gear hopped into a time machine, went back in time, and recorded a few albums. This is the kind of music I would expect to hear in one of the less-frequented bars on a space colony from the stars. Imagine the scantily clad daughter of a uranium miner dancing around as Damo Suzuki screams the lyrics to “Soup.” Then, the crazy noise-machine breakdown hits just as everyone’s futuristic space drugs start to peak… aw, it just works, doesn’t it?
Everything about this record is great. Can, as a band, meshed particularly well. There’s no showboating, really, everyone does their part and gets their turn. While this certainly is more accesible than “Tago Mago,” I find it to be a more cohesive record, overall. From the tight percussion on the opening track, “Pinch,” to the future-military-funk of “Vitamin C,” to the driving electronica in the closing song, “Spoon,” this is yet another album that really doesn’t skip a beat at all. It’s trance-inducing, to say the least.
So, do yourself a favor. Get some space-grass (or astroturf, to steal a joke,) light some… space-candles, turn this shit way up, and make an hour or so of it. You won’t regret it.
Review by Luke
Track Listing:
1 Pinch (9:28)
2 Sing Swan Song (4:18)
3 One More Night (5:35)
4 Vitamin C (3:34)
5 Soup (10:25)
6 I’m So Green (3:03)
7 Spoon (3:03)
