FUTURE DAYS

This is my first outing with Can. And although it doesn't have the "oomph" to rate an "excellent," I nevertheless really liked it. I have little to add to the review of my colleague, Peter Rideout, who summed it up pretty well, including his comment that the vocals are used as much as another "instrument" as for the purpose of relating lyrics (which are both "back" in the mix and breathily spoken, so they are (deliberately?) difficult to make out). / I would describe this music as a mixture of beat-oriented soundscapes, space jamming, and moody, sometimes ethereal, texturing. "Future Days" opens the album with a solid beat-oriented soundscape. "Spray" reminded me alot of the type of space jamming usually associated with The Grateful Dead. "Moonshake" has an infectious quasi-latin rhythm. (N.B. I'd bet dollars to donuts that David Byrne was listening to Can: the rhythm on "Moonshake" is without question the progenitor of many of the rhythms for which Talking Heads became known.) "Bel Air" is a somewhat rambling composition (it sounds almost haphazardly pieced together...), with a particularly eerie Crimzoid-type jam toward the end. / The musicianship is clearly high throughout, and the overall effect is wonderful. I look forward to hearing more of Can's music in the future.