I discovered Seattle, by the Damo Suzuki Network, several weeks ago. It was never listed in any of Can's discographies, so I had never heard of it before. Now, I believe that Kenji "Damo" Suzuki was fundamental in the creation of Can's music, so I ordered it from Amazon. I've been listening to it for two weeks now, and I'm so happy I found it. There were 4 very different stages in the development of Can: The first stage, which can be found in Delay, Moster Movie, part of Soundtracks and part of Unlimited Edition, included Czukai, Karoli, Schmidt and Liebezeit with Malcolm Mooney as a singer. The music was great, and it produced some of Can's greatest songs (She brings the rain), but Mooney's vocals were irregular, sometimes great, sometimes not. The second stage, which I consider Can's Golden Era, saw Mooney replaced by Damo Suzuki. Can's greatest albums were produced during this stage (Tago Mago, Ege Bamyasi and Future Days). Suzuki also sings in some songs from Soundtracks and Unlimited edition. After Suzuki left the band (to become of all things a Jehova's Witness), the band decided not to replace him. Karoli and Schmidt did the singing, but the music became mostly instrumental, and Holger Czukai became the band's "leader". Some important albums were produced during this third stage (Soon over Babaluma, Landed, and Flow Motion, which remains probably the most accesible Can album for the uninitiated). Finally, there's the dreadful (in comparison) fourth stage, when Czukai left the band to pursue his solo career, and was replaced by Rosko Gee. All of Can's forgetable albums belong in this stage (Saw Delight, Can and Out of Reach). The original lineup, with Malcolm Mooney, reunited in 1989 to produce Rite Time, which recovered most of Can's music usual greatness. There are also many Can's members solo efforts. All diverged significantly from the band's style, and while some were very good, they failed to capture Can's magic in it's totality. Not so with Seattle. This is a double CD with a live performance recorded in 1998 in Seattle. Here we find Suzuki at his improvisational best, backed by a band which highlights Michael Karoli in guitar and violin, Mandjau Fati in bass, Thomas Hopf in drums and Alex Schoenert in supporting guitar. From the starting chords of "Half of Heaven at Half past Eleven" you will feel as if you were listening to a new, previously unreleased Can Golden Era album. Suzuki's vocals are masterful, Hopf somehow manages to drum up to Liebezeit's "Mekanischer Mensch" ultra-high standard, Fati's bass holds the whole jamming structure together pretty much like Czukai used to do, and Karoli's guitar SHINES, oh how it shines. It brings back flashbacks of Can's greatest works, with it's unearthly but subtle wail. This sound demonstrates how important Karoli was for Can's structure, if he can support a similar structure all by himself. This music is all that Can used to be. On the edge, creative, uncommited to any musical concept, groundbreaking and above all, so beautiful. Here we can find ambient, jazz, rock, psychedelia and avant garde in an unrelentless mix that keeps on surprising every time we listen to it (headphones strongly recommended unless you're lucky enough to own megabuck speakers). There are 10 tracks, varying in duration from 7 to 29 minutes, with a magnificent rendition of Mother Sky, one of my all time Can favorites, as the album's highlight. Don't miss on this one if you love Can's music as much as I do.
I've heard a whole bunch of their songs, but I don't own any of their work. Of what I heard, I enjoyed. They've been touring all across the globe for the past 3 years now. They played in NYC not too long ago, but I couldn't go.
I didn't know they're still touring. Do you know who replaced Michael Karoli? Pretty hard to replace, I think, if not totally irreplaceable.
