#29 A little more Can.
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There's a lot of MOGlove for Can around these here parts. And with good reason, too. Influential and awesome, really. What more needs to be said? But if you were to scroll through the Can posts, you would notice a definite bias towards the earlier days of the band. From inception through 1973, when Damo Suzuki left the band, Can has had plenty of acclaim.
But that wasn't the end of the story. When Damo left, the rest of the band moved to take up the slack. Rather than replace him with another singer, the rest of the band took on that role. Michael Karoli (guitar) and Irmin Schmidt (keyboards, violin) did most of the singing duties, but bassist Holger Czukay also took some spins behind the microphone. The music changed almost immediately. The frenetic chaos that marked the Damo period was gone. The group was still percussive and rhythmic, but there seemed to be more of an effort to write structured songs rather than push sonic boundaries.
Although Can was always influenced by other styles of music, notably African rhythms and such, the group also began to bring in a distinct reggae sound. I haven't heard all of the later recordings, but the first post Damo album, Soon Over Babaluma, begins with this sound and in one way or another it seems to stick througout most of the recording.
I write all of this because I, too, have been afraid of post-Damo can. Babaluma is alright, but it took me a long time to appreciate it, and I still don't listen to it nearly as often as I do the ones that came before. So, yesterday, when doing some shopping, I surprised myself by picking up another one, the 1976 release Flow Motion. This is surprising not only because it's post-Damo, but because it's very post-damo--four albums in. I usually like to go in order and hear a band's progression through the years, but here I skipped Landed and Unlimited Edition and went for this one. Why? I don't know. I think the price tag had something to do with it. :-)
It was also surprising because this album actually had a bona fide hit in the opening track, "I Want More." They were even on the Pop of the Tops for that song! A far cry from the band that recorded such mind-blowing and radio-unfriendly albums like Tago Mago. Still, I bought it. And listened to it. And you know what? It ain't that bad.
It's not earth-shattering, but it's got some good stuff on it. The hit single is catchy, I'll give them that, and I like listening to it. The breathy vocal style works, and I like the shimmery guitar style. Here's a vid I found on youtube that, for some reason, mixes this song with scened from the ocean:
The real reason I'm writing about this, though, is the last song on the album, the title track. "Flow Motion" is a ten-minute sonic marvel. It's got a great funky groove to it, the bass is minimal, a la Holger style, yet it really pushes the drive along, and the guitar is awesome. All the way through. They might not have been the same after Damo left, but songs like this prove that their later catalogue is still worth listening to, and still can provide some ground-breaking moments.
Comments (9)
never heard of these cats until now. I will have to say, they sound perfect for a surf movie or two
You think? I guess the video makes sense in that respect. We must have not met yet on here when I was posting krautrock stuff left and right. There was a lot of Can being bandied about back then. It really is amazing stuff.
when were you doing that, it might have been when I left mog for a bit. Either way that video makes me want summer to get here soon
This sounds cool. I've also shied away from the post-Damo stuff..w/ the exception of "Unlimited Edition", which is actually a compilation of their rare work up to that point and is also very Malcom Mooney heavy.
Thanks for posting video--I was thwarted by the dread yellow button.
Yeah, I just recently read that Unlimited Edition was a compliation of sorts. I hadn't realized that or I would've probably bought it sooner. How does it stack compared to the other stuff?
Doesn't get played a lot by me, but I ripped a few of the actual songs. Has a lot of experimental stuff on it, it's worth checking out..
I'll have to do that, then.
Ege Bamyasi is also fantastic. That and Moon Over Babaluma were big underground hits in mid 70s Britain. Lydon, Wobble and Sid Vicious were all big fans and it probably influenced the thinking of just about every 'thinking' musician from that period.
And their stuff is still influencing people today. Not bad, when you think about it!