Can

nick_h_nz wrote: Cristi wrote: nick_h_nz wrote: Cristi wrote: Catcher10 wrote: Embarrassingly underappreciated on this site... I don't think so, I've seen Can get nothing but respect here on PA.  "Embarrassingly underappreciated"?!  That's very harsh TBH.  I’m not sure if it’s harsh, but even if so, it’s still true. Even if I’ve also seen Can get nothing but respect here, that doesn’t mean they can’t also be underappreciated - and I too think they are underappreciated. he said "embarrassingly underappreciated" which is an exaggeration. it puts a very negative connotation in his statement.  I think it’s neither an exaggeration, nor negative. Embarrassingly has no negative connotation to me. Now if he had said “stupidly unappreciated”, or similar, that would be a different story.

I moved this to the Prog Bands, Artists and Genres Appreciation forum before I posted in this topic earlier today. I left the move notification, the icon (that is the default) and if in mobile mode then it still appears in the Suggest New Bands forum like it is in that forum despite the move. I will remove the move notification if that is causing issues.

As for Can, I too have thought of it as underappreciated at this site, especially when going by the ratings (as Silly Puppy had referred to). This site does seem to tend to favour -- as was mentioned in a Swans poll I did and Swans plays with those Can and Krautrock type grooves -- old school symphonic prog and neo-prog... I might put it as the more melodic forms of Prog tend to be more appreciated than the more experimental acts. A lot of people dislike kinds of repetition and certain hypnotic qualities in mudic. Can is very hip these days in certain music circles, and it is highly influential. Regarding the ratings, Can commonly is divisive. Looking at the ratings and reviews of Tago Mago which many consider to be a masterpiece (I do) one can see the diversity of opinions.

Perhaps it should go without saying that everything that I really appreciate that others do not hold in such high regard is grossly underappreciated by those not me. ;) (J/k)

Edited by Logan - April 05 2022 at 13:52

I first heard Can in 74'. I did some backtrack and collected their earlier releases. I found them to be a little insane because I had never heard anyone like them. That's probably typical of a 17 year old. As time progressed I was lucky to find reviews of their albums and some history on the band. I found their history fascinating. I discovered them late in the game and the following year they released Soon Over Babaluma which I wore out the grooves on the record.

Decades later I discovered that a certain percentage of people disliked their later releases such as Saw Delight, Flow Motion, etc...but I liked those albums and I particularly liked an album on the Harvest label simply titled Can. It featured a kind of Space Rock or Punk version of "Can Can" which was a type of traditional dance ..but Can's version was fantastic

Edited by jamessavik - April 05 2022 at 16:48

I definitely need to do more of this, as so far I have only investigated Holger Czukay’s solo work, although I have heard the odd collaboration with Damo (but that is more because of who he was collaborating with).

  "YOU MAKE ME NERVOUS" by Irmin Schmidt from his FILMMUSIK series is one of my most favourite songs, & a regular sonic intervention on SPACE PIRATE RADIO.  if I hadn't seen DEEP END in a Santa Barbara theatre & later again in a Drive-In in the earliest of 1970's onwards, I would have never discovered music by "Cat Stevens & The Can."  by 1973, the world had changed for this old soul.  

Can were (for me), a different approach to Space Rock entirely. When I discovered Can...I had already been listening to stuff like..Ummagumma, The Body Geesin/Waters, The Residents, Hawkwind, Tangerine Dream, Ashra Tempel, and Klaus Schulze.

Can felt a bit strange and disturbing at times, but truly fascinating and interesting. There were so many interesting aspects to their sound. It could be dark sounding and experimental at times and it produced that class of dark music you'd hear on Tangerine Dream Zeit..or even Atem..but it was often surrounded with percussion. Although that one particular section of Cutaway lures a person in and causes them to dream of Space and the greatest feeling is to hear that section of Cutaway when you're gazing at the nightsky.

So Can did in fact produce that atmospheric quality. The introduction of "Future Days" and sections of "Belair " are truly strange and in a world of their own. "Chain Reaction" is rhythmical, but the keyboards are not. Instead they are atmospheric throughout the piece which creates a unique vibe or impression. This was an important part of Can's sound. The drums and or percussion are busy..but the other instruments are creating soundscapes.

"Quantum Physics " produces dark and dreamy soundscapes that I believe I heard in the music of Jeff Grienke during the mid 80s. Can actually had a unique sound when they used sustaining keyboard sounds and chords of dissonance. Different from Tangerine Dream and Ashra Temple.

I played their albums frequently on a windy and cloudy day ..or I made it a point to. Hooking up the stereo on the screened patio and stepping outside to feel the wind while listening to their music. ..which had a strange affect on me.

Edited by Jacob Schoolcraft - May 01 2022 at 19:21