LANDED

"Stranded" is the 7th full-length studio album by German experimental/psychadelic rock act Can and the second album after the departure of lead vocalist Damo Suzuki. The album was released through Virgin Records in September 1975. While the last couple of releases very both reasonably strong it´s was hard not to notice the decline in quality compared to the early releases by the band and "Stranded" continues down the downward quality spiral.

Stylistically the music on "Stranded" is very similar to the music on "Soon Over Babaluma (1974)". It´s just a bit more easily accessible. "Stranded" is still characterized by the trademark repetitive beats and both "Vernal Equinox", and the 13:20 minutes long closing track "Unfinished", feature the usual psychadelic experiments, as do the other shorter tracks, albeit in smaller doses.

Can are still an exceptionally well playing band and that of course is one of the greatest assets on the album, when the songwriting isn´t as interesting as it used to be. The sound production isn´t as interesting as it could have been either and it actually sounds a bit cold to my ears. So all in all an album that leaves me a bit biased. Some parts are pretty great but it ultimately lacks the magic that the best albums by the band feature. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.