TAGO MAGO

Tago Mago is widely considered the best Can album. Having only heard this one and Future Days, I can't speak to that, but this is certainly a strange and unique double album. The first half is filled with groove oriented Krautrock jams, like Paperhouse and Mushroom. I can't say I'm very fond of these songs. The singer's voice strikes me as somewhat annoying and the aimless repetition does nothing for me. However, after just a few songs, the album takes an abrupt left turn into spacey experimentalism.

Here Can seems less jazzy and more similar to other Krautrock bands like Faust. Halleluwah and Aumgn are long, swirling experiments of droning vocals, sound collage and other weird studio experiments. This type of music is much more up my alley, and I really enjoy these two songs, although they do get a little self indulgent after about ten minutes.

Bring Me Coffee Or Tea is similar to the songs that begin the album, but much more successful in my opinion. Can is not one of my favorite Krautrock bands, and I prefer Future Days to Tago Mago, but there is a lot here to appreciate. It just goes on a bit too long.