BOX MUSIC (LIVE 1971-1977)

Crammed with over two hours worth of Can performing during their peak years this selection of live cuts shows just what a dazzlingly inventive outfit the German free-form pioneers could be outside of their natural studio habitat. Like many innovative groups of the 1960's and 1970's Can live were a remarkably different beast from their studio persona, many of the tracks captured on this two-disc compilation either completely unrecognisable from their original album form or simply the result of some impromptu jams between the five members. With the sonic shackles of the studio well-and-truly disposed of, this raw and powerful approach is best exemplified by the utterly extraordinary 'Colchester Finale', a fuzzy, dizzy, relentless thirty-seven minute long abstract masterpiece that brings to mind - and also surpasses - the thunderous invention of 'Tago Mago'. Recorded at the now defunct Essex University campus during the British leg of 1972's European tour, 'Colchester Finale' is, simply put, an experience like no other, a performance which - much like the rest of album's eight tracks - manages to showcase almost everything that makes Can such a pioneering outfit. This is essential listening for any serious krautrock fan, with tracks such as 'Jynx', 'Cascade Waltz' and 'Spoon' - from the album 'Ege Bamyasi' and possibly the track which resembles it's studio version the most - revealing a dynamic new view of Can's highly expressive music. Hopefully, the future will bring much more live material from this most unique of collectives.

STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2012