Can (band)
Can ("The Can" until 1970) was an experimental rock music group founded in Germany in 1968. They found little success in conventional terms, but they were one of the major Krautrock bands, an "anarchist community" who have had a great influence on modern rock and electronic music.
(1968-1979) Band years
Can formed in Cologne in 1968 as "Inner Space", comprising bass guitarist Holger Czukay, keyboard player Irmin Schmidt (both music teachers who had studied under Karlheinz Stockhausen), guitarist Michael Karoli (a pupil of Czukay), and jazz drummer Jaki Liebezeit, along with original member David Johnson.
In the fall of 1968, they had enlisted an imaginitive and highly rythmic (if abrasive in tone) American vocalist, Malcolm Mooney. He added intensity to the band's music, which sounded something like a combination of Velvet Underground, James Brown, and Pink Floyd among other things. As with those influences, repetition was stressed on bass and drums, particularly on the 20-minute "Yoo Doo Right," which had been edited down from a six hour improvisation. This song had been(covered in abbreviated form by The Geraldine Fibbers, Thin White Rope and others).
Mooney returned to America soon afterwards and was replaced by gentler stylist Damo Suzuki, a Japanese traveller found busking outside a cafe. The band's first record with Suzuki was Soundtracks (1970), in which his multi-lingual vocal style (somewhat influenced by Yoko Ono) added character to a set of relatively straightforward pop songs. Also included were two songs by Mooney including an unexpected foray into melodic jazz, "She Brings the Rain".
The next few years saw them release their most acclaimed works, which arguably did as much to define the Krautrock genre as those of any other group. While their earlier records mostly stuck to traditional song structures, on their mid-career albums the band reverted to an extremely fluid improvisational style. Tago Mago (1971) is a groundbreaking, influential and deeply unconventional record, based on intensely rhythmic jazz-inspired drumming, improvised guitar and keyboard soloing (frequently intertwining each other), tape edits, and Suzuki's idiosyncratic vocalisms. The rhythm section's work on Tago Mago has been especially praised: One critic writes that much of the album is based on "long improvisations built around hypnotic rhythm patterns" [1]; another writes that "'Halleluwah' finds them "pounding out a monster trance/funk beat" [2].
Tago Mago was followed by Ege Bamyasi (1972), a more accessible but still avant-garde record which featured the catchy "Vitamin C" and the Top 40 German hit "Spoon". Next was Future Days (1973), an early example of ambient music, though there was also the quasi-pop song "Moonshake". The names of these albums represent the band members' interest in world music referring to other cultures' languages and traditions.
Suzuki left in 1973 to become a Jehovah's Witness, and the vocals were taken over by Karoli and Schmidt. Arguably the music suffered when Suzuki departed; both were competent singers, but neither Karoli nor Schmidt was a particularly memorable vocalist, especially when compared to Mooney's demented energy or Suzuki's freewheeling charm. In live performance, though, the music grew in intensity without a vocal center, and the band maintained their ability to collectively improvise with or without central themes for hours at a time, resulting in a rather great body of performances.
Can released Soon Over Babaluma in 1974 before signing to Virgin Records the following year. Throughout the albums Landed (1975), Flow Motion (1976), Saw Delight (1977) and Out of Reach (1978), Can moved towards a somewhat more conventional style; the disco single "I Want More" from Flow Motion became, in the UK, their only hit record.
In 1977 Can added former Traffic bassist Roscoe Gee and percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah to the existing personnel, pushing Holger Czukay, who is now perhaps the best-known ex-member, to the fringes of the group's activity. Czukay left in late 1977 and did not appear at all on the albums Out Of Reach (1978) or Can (1979). The band quietly disbanded at the end of the 1970s, but has reformed on a few occasions since.
(1980- . . . .) Later years
Since the split, all the former members have been involved in musical projects; Czukay seems to have had the most success. In 1986 they briefly reformed, with Mooney but without Suzuki, to record Rite Time (released in 1989), and have since been the subject of numerous compilations, live albums and samples. Like The Velvet Underground, their real impact was not commercial success, but their subsequent influence, not only on rock music but on dance as well.
- Michael Karoli died on 17 November 2001 after a long battle with cancer.
- In 2004 Spoon Records reissued Monster Movie, Soundtracks, Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi with plans to release the rest of their discography in 2005. Schmidt has also begun working with the acclaimed drummer Martin Atkins, producing a remix for the industrial band The Damage Manual, and a cover of Banging The Door for a Public Image Ltd tribute album, both released on Atkins' label, Invisible Records.
Personnel
Primary members
Holger Czukay (b.March 24, 1938): Bass guitar, sound engineer and electronics (1968-1977).
Michael Karoli (b.March 29, 1948; d.November 11, 2001): Guitar, vocals and violin.
Jaki Liebezeit (b.1939): Drums and percussion.
Irmin Schmidt (b.May 29, 1937): Keyboards and vocals.
Malcolm Mooney: Vocals (1968-1970, 1986-1991).
Damo Suzuki (b.January 16, 1950) Vocals (1970-1973).
Secondary members
David Johnson: Reeds, winds, electronics and tape manipulation (1968).
Manni Löhe: Vocals, percussion and flute (1968).
Rosco Gee: Bass guitar and vocals (1977-1979).
Rebop Kwaku Baah: Percussion (1977-1979).
Michael Cousins: Vocals (April 1976).
Discography
Studio albums
- Monster Movie (Liberty, 1969)
- Soundtracks (Liberty, 1970)
- Tago Mago (United Artists, 1971)
- Ege Bamyasi (United Artists, 1972)
- Future Days (United Artists, 1973)
- Soon Over Babaluma (United Artists, 1974)
- Landed (Virgin, UK/Harvest, Ger., 1975)
- Flow Motion (Virgin, UK/Harvest, Ger., 1976)
- Saw Delight (Virgin, UK/Harvest, Ger., 1977)
- Out of Reach (Harvest, 1978)
- Can (Harvest, 1979)
- Inner Space (Peters International, 1979)
- Rite Time (Mercury, 1989)
Singles
- "Kama Sutra"/"Melting Away" (Liberty, 1969)
- "Soul Desert"/"Deadlock" (Liberty, 1970)
- "Turtles Have Short Legs"/"Halleluwah" (Liberty, 1971)
- "Spoon"/"Shikaro Maru Ten" (United Artists, 1972)
- "Moonshake"/"Splash" (United Artists, 1973)
- "Dizzy Dizzy"/"Come Sta La Luna" (United Artists, 1974)
- "I Want More"/"..and More" (Virgin, 1976)
- "Silent Night"/"Cascade Waltz" (Virgin, 1976)
- "Don't Say No"/"September" (Virgin, 1977)
- "Can-Can"/"Aspectacle" (Harvest, 1979)
Collection albums
- Limited Edition (United Artists, 1974) - collection of 1968-1974 rarities
- Unlimited Edition (Virgin, UK/Harvest, Ger., 1976) - collection of 1968-1975 rarities
- Delay 1968 (Spoon, 1981) - 1968-1969 rarities and outtakes collection
- Peel Sessions (Strange Fruit, 1995) - collection of 1973-1976 recordings from BBC radio's John Peel Show
- Radio Waves (Sonic Platten, 1997) - collection of 1969-1972 live and rare recordings
- Live (Spoon, 1999) - collection of live recordings 1972-1977 (originally packaged with the Can Box cd/video/book set)
Compilations
- Opener (Sunset, 1976) - compilation from 1972-1974 album material
- Cannibalisms (United Artists, 1978) - compilation from 1969-1974 album material
- Incandenscence (Virgin, 1983) - compilation from 1969-1977 album material
- Cannibalism 2 (Spoon, 1992) - compilation from 1974-1981 album material
- Anthology (Spoon, 1993) - compilation from 1968-1991 album and soundtrack material
- Cannibalism 3 (Spoon, 1993) - compilation from 1979-1991 solo album material
Bootlegs
- Prehistoric Future, Paris 1968
- Mother Sky Berlin, Waldbühne 1971
- University Of Essex, Colchester, UK 8-5-72
- Horror Trip in the Paper House Köln 03.02.72
- Live at Paris Olympia, France 1973
- Live at Sussex University, Brighton, November 1975
- Live at Stuttgart 31.10.1975
- Live at Hannover 4.11.1976
- London und Grenoble Live 1976
Film and video
- (1972) Free Concert
- (1998) The Can Documentary
- (1999) The Can Box (Box set including Can Documentary, Free Concert, Two Live CDs and a book)
- (2004) The Can DVD (2 DVDs and 1 Audio CD)
Soundtracks
- (1968) Kama Sutra
- (1969) Ein Großer graublauer Vogel
- (1970) Creem
- (1970) Deadlock
- (1970) Deep End
- (1972) Tatort - Tote Taube in der Beethovenstraße
- (1973) Alice in den Städten
- (1991) Until the End of the World
- (2002) Morvern Callar
Miscellaneous facts
- When preparing a soundtrack, only Irmin Schmidt would view the film and then give the rest of the band a general description of the scenes they would be scoring. This assisted in the soundtrack being successful both inside and outside the film's context.
- Although Can's sound has always been ahead of it's time, they did not use multi-track recorders until 1975.
- Irmin Schmidt's wife Hildegard has managed the band and handled all the bands financial affairs since 1974.
- Damo Suzuki's debut performance with Can in 1970 nearly frightened an audience to the point of rioting due to his odd style of vocalizing. David Niven, of Pink Panther fame, was amongst the crowd who remained to hear what Can and Damo would do next.
- Can made attemps to find a new vocalist after the departure of Damo Suzuki, although no one quite fit the position. One such vocalist, Michael Cousins, toured with Can in April, 1976. Audience members dissapproved of his presence, they literally spat at him while on stage. The only available recording with Cousins is the Live Hannover 1976 bootleg.
- In 1976, folksinger Tim Hardin took the lead vocal spot with Can for one song, performing his classic The Lady Came From Baltimore.
- John Lydon (aka Johnny Rotten), formerly of the Sex Pistols formed Public Image Limited patterned after Can's early 70's line-up. Lydon wanted to join Can in 1979 as the group decided to disband.
References
- Rock: The Rough Guide (second edition), Penguin, 1999.
- Martin C. Strong's Great Rock Discography (fifth edition), MOJO Books, 2000.
External links
- Spoon Records.com - The official Can website
- Can discog (short) - With credits, sleeve details.
- Can discog (extensive) - Albums, collections, compilations, collaborations, lives, solos.
- Yoo Doo Right music performance in memory of Michael Karoli (1948-2001)