DELAY 1968

I really like this album. I don't know why I used to have a problem with Monster Movie (this album's successor, and CAN's first official release) and not this one, because they certainly share a lot of the same "distinct" characteristics. Malcom Mooney, of course, is the big one. If you've never heard his vocal style, it's not so much singing as what one could call "schizophrenic ranting." I think he actually did go nuts a few years down the line, which is no big surprise once you hear the stuff that spouts out of his mouth... Anyway, musically speaking, all the songs on this album are pretty similar: odd droning keyboards; driving, subtly shifting drum patterns; super-distorted guitars and sound effects; and of course, said shizophrenic ranting. The atmosphere is raw and electric, and there's little of what I would think of as conventionally "pretty." But, for me, the magic of this album (and of CAN in general) is that it all comes together to form music that is actually strikingly beautiful in an odd, indescribable way; so instead of paying attention to the elements (almost "punk-like," serious..) I would just plunge right in, and prepare to be bewildered.