After the 60s had died down a new musical direction arose in Europe. Dubbed 'krautrock' by British music journalists, the music which originated in Berlin was a combination of psychedelic and progressive rock with other genres such as jazz and electronica. Although the krautrock scene was short lived, half a dozen or so bands remain forever popular and of those bands the one which stands out the most is Can. Their magnum opus Tago Mago, released in 1971, gained high critical acclaim on release and still stands as one of the most popular alternative albums ever.
Slick grooves and repetitive funky beats are Can's signature sounds. The long double album leaves room for extremely long free jams which might seem a bit overpowering if they weren't done with such undeniable style. The lead singer, Kenji "Damo" Suzuki sings in a combination of Japanese, English and German, making the lyrics almost indecipherable at times but this adds to their mystery and haunting power. Combined with swaying beat the effect produced is enough to send you in to a trance. The few more experimental tracks such as 'Peking O' and 'Augmn' are impressively complex if a little hard on the ears. It's not an album that will grab you with its full force on first hearing, its a slow burner and takes time to understand but once you get there you'll find out that it was worth every second.
Label: United Artists
Tracklist:
1. Paperhouse
2. Mushroom
3. Oh Yeah
4. Halleluhwah
5. Augmn
6. Peking O
7. Bring Me Coffee Or Tea
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