CAN

The music on the album is the unmistakable sound of Can. Repetitive rythm figures and melodies and a jamming and generally adventurous approach to playing music. It´s mostly instrumental but several of the tracks feature minimalistic type vocal lines delivered in a sedated sounding vocal style. While the basis in the music is the same as when the band started out, the band´s music has become more accessible over the years and that trend continues on "Flow Motion". Tracks like "I Want More" and "Babylonian Pearl" both have "hit" potential to my ears and are among the band´s most simple and accessible material. That doesn´t mean that "Flow Motion" isn´t an experimental rock album though. The band have opted to include quite a few musical influences in the music in their never ending quest for trying out new things. This time around off beat reggae rythms are a dominant part of the album´s sound. When they mix that influence with a country music sounding violin in "Laugh Until You Cry", that´s when things really take off into space.

The album features a pleasant sounding organic sound production that suits the music well, and paired with the excellent musicianship and the at times interesting songwriting, "Flow Motion" is a relatively good quality release. It´s not an album that blows my socks off, but it´s an enjoyable listening experience and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.

Damo had just walked... but was on the LP... at The Olympia they had stapled dozens if not hundreds of records sleeves in the foyer... Impressive display... The theatre was replete with Katmandu returners who knew how to stoke a fire if you catch my smokey drift... Hair, Afghan sheepkins and patchuli on the air Still young i was smitten and to this day Can is King; Long live Can...

The title says it all : Future Days; looking ahead, birdsong, heartsong, uplifting... everything gonna be A-Ok... ask the Katmandu guys in the theatre... all will be fine ... just had the 60s... seventies in progress; twin spectre of Ron and Maggie a yet unformed nightmare for a distant nebula called Earth...

Right now smoke joy Kat-mandu... On the first track Karoli's Kalifornia glass-needle guitar lancinates around in your brain like a pleasure machine... and Damo muffled voice promises you something about future days; Jaki keeps count on the drums... the beat accountant no calculator could ever defeat... Optimism properly defined in 9:32 minutes...

The second cut "Spray" is all water and bubbles; a track for a frogman or maybe one to listen to in the bath with a snorkel... Irmin on the farfisa blowing raspberries underwater... avant-garde man !... and Jaki as the doorman... making sure.

Then we have "Moonshake"... like Autobahn but on the moon... driving down with Damo singing in a coupe with the roof peeled back This here is optimism to the power of 72... Again it had that California by the Rhine vibe... we are going ahead and the sun is shining...

Bel Air is actually in California so nothing hidden here; we know where we are and we are here for almost 20 minutes and it is beautiful soft and sunny... Farfisa galore and an oneiric sense of drift..

Is Future better than Tago Mago than Soundtracks than Ege? No. Is it as good? Emphatically yes... One of the most intricate and musically evolved members of the multifaceted hydra called Krautrock Can was here at their best...

Future days i have no qualms giving a 5 to i would a six or a 7 if i could; it is their best album as much as the 2 or 3 before and the 2 after... heyday music by a band at their peak..

I wish i could sit in that theatre for ever....

It's not like you'll recognize instantly tracks that came from such and such classic album either. Most of it is barren enough, but the Mooney-era stuff has a few bright moments that approach the shoulder height of the music that's featured on Monster Movie, Soundtracks, but nothing of the quality of Delay 68 (originally released in 82). Clearly the better disc of this boxset in terms of album-worthy material.The Suzuki-era stuff is unfortunately not really up to par with the Tago-Bamyasi albums, though it's still quite nice, but they'd only be good bonus tracks when sized up against the original albums' music. The notable exception to that comment being the lengthy Neighbourhood Whore, where Liebezit's wind instruments are enthralling. Unfortunately much of that second disc is not meeting the same level, some of it being almost ambient mumbo. We all know that Can's music became somewhat softer around the Soon Over Babaluma and their later albums, but that's not to say that these later tapes are of more exploitable quality from what one can hear in that third disc. Actually that third disc is the weaker one of the three, as a knowledgeable Can expert would easily guess, and you find much from the Traffic (Reebop and Rosko) connection of 77-78.

Despite the dramatic cuts (something like 90%), the least we can assume from what was held back for this boxset is that the average quality of these tapes were either unusable or of no interest whatsoever. Don't get me wrong here, the unconditional Can fans will most likely find their happiness in this release; but if you're a more casual fan and you like some more musical meat to sink your teeth into, you'd better seriously investigate the contents before shelling out the dough. Some uberfans will disagree vehemently, but this set is not essential at all.

Disc one begins with "Jynx" an over 16 minute track from 1975. It's fairly experimental for about 2 minutes then they eventually get into this groove. Some nice guitar after 5 minutes. A calm around 11 minutes with spacey keys as they continue to jam. "Dizzy Dizzy" also from 1975 has this steady beat with the organ and guitar standing out. Vocals 3 1/2 minutes in but they are brief. "Vernal Equinox" is from the exact same concert as the previous track. Piano to start then drums take over followed by guitar. Great sound 10 minutes in as the drums pound and the guitar grinds away.

"Fizz" from 1977 is trippy but then starts to build but settles back just as fast. "Yoo Doo Right" from 1975 has some vocals from Damo but they are surprisingly brief. It does pick up and the guitar is making lots of noise. "Cascade Waltz" is easily my least favourite but it's only 5 minutes long. Recorded in 1977 this comes across as lightweight and somewhat whimsical.

Disc two has only three tracks on it including the almost 40 minute opener "Colchestor Finale" from 1972. Lots of jamming here and check out the guitar after 10 minutes. It calms down and vocals arrive before 15 minutes. Insanity late to end it. "Kata Kong" from 1975 is a trippy, underground sounding tune while the closer "Spoon" from 1972 is uptempo with a beat and vocals as the crowd cheers.

CAN was a band who flew by the seat of their pants never knowing in what direction each concert would take them as they loved to improvize and make music based on their surroundings at the time. A low 4 stars but a piece of CAN history that many a fanboy would call essential.