FUTURE DAYS

The final CAN album featuring Damo Suzuki as vocalist is probably the most accomplished one. It is very different from their earlier works and it introduces the band offering highly atmospheric, almost ambient music. There are no ups and downs; listening adventure is mostly linear but that doesn't mean it is monotonous. On the contrary - it is a wonderful music of atmosphere. Production is superb for the time being and most of the engineering and editing credits go to Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt who successfully experiment with various keyboards, synths, sound effects and "soundscapes", sometimes reminiscent of Brian Eno's later works. Jaki Liebezeit's drumming is amazing as always, with few more percussions added. Karoli's guitar is moved backwards a bit, and he is more engaged in making sound textures rather than usual solos and chords. The 20 minutes "Bel Air" approaches the GONG territory and is a fine example of "space-rock". Suzuki's voice is less present than ever before, albeit those rare moments are effectively performed in an unintelligable whispering manner that fits nicely in the overall sound picture. For those average prog listeners who are not in love with highly experimental Kraut-rock, "Future Days" might be the best place to start exploring this amazing band. But for me, this is a masterpiece of music art.