Tago Mago

Performer: Can
Engineer: Holger Czukay
Producer: Can
Distributor: Caroline Distribution

Notes: Can: Damo Suzuki (vocals); Michael Karoli (guitar); Irmin Schmidt (keyboards); Holger Czukay (bass instrument); Jaki Liebezeit (drums). Personnel: Holger Czukay (bass guitar). With the band in full artistic flower and Suzuki's sometimes moody, sometimes frenetic speak/sing/shrieking in full effect, Can released not merely one of the best Krautrock albums of all time, but one of the best albums ever, period. Tago Mago is that rarity of the early '70s, a double album without a wasted note, ranging from sweetly gentle float to full-on monster grooves. "Paperhouse" starts things brilliantly, beginning with a low-key chime and beat, before amping up into a rumbling roll in the midsection, then calming down again before one last blast. Both "Mushroom" and "Oh Yeah," the latter with Schmidt filling out the quicker pace with nicely spooky keyboards, continue the fine vibe. After that, though, come the huge highlights -- three long examples of Can at its absolute best. "Halleluwah" -- featuring the Liebezeit/Czukay rhythm section pounding out a monster trance/funk beat; Karoli's and Schmidt's always impressive fills and leads; and Suzuki's slow-building ranting above everything -- is 19 minutes of pure genius. The near-rhythmless flow of "Aumgn" is equally mind-blowing, with swaths of sound from all the members floating from speaker to speaker in an ever-evolving wash, leading up to a final jam. "Peking O" continues that same sort of feeling, but with a touch more focus, throwing in everything from Chinese-inspired melodies and jazzy piano breaks to cheap organ rhythm boxes and near babbling from Suzuki along the way. "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" wraps things up as a fine, fun little coda to a landmark record. ~ Ned Raggett The influence of these seminal '70s Krautrockers on the alternative music of the '80s and '90s has been quiet but enormous. Blending the ethics of acid rock with a more forward-looking penchant for subtle sonic experimentation and atmospherics, Can dismantle traditional song structures to pursue lengthy explorations of pulsing polyrhythms, floating, associative guitar lines, keyboards, tape loops, hard, sometimes danceable grooves, and enigmatic, often indecipherable singing. TAGO MAGO is one in a triumvirate of essential Can albums (also including EGE BAMYASI and FUTURE DAYS). The least "ambient" of the three, TAGO MAGO retains much of the group's early hard-edged, guitar-based sound while still creating tapestries of rhythm, space, and texture. Shimmering pieces such as "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" alternate with full-fledged journeys into electronica ("Aumgn"), while the nearly 20-minute psych-groove opus that is "Halleluhwah" serves as the album's centerpiece. This disc is a crucial addition to any "alternative" record collection.

Spin (9/01, p.134) - Included in Spin's "5 Essential Krautrock Records" - "...'Post-rock' starts right here....one tough, streamlined groove..." Magnet (p.93) - "[The band's] groove-centric art-rock masterpiece..." The Wire (p.62) - "[With] one of the most dazzling set-pieces in early 70s music." Q (Magazine) (p.140) - "[A] mind-expanding double-album...whose most jaw-dropping item is the 18-minute 'Halleluhwah'..." Mojo (Publisher) (p.126) - 5 stars out of 5 - "TAGO MAGO displays Can's psych-free and disciplined sides at their most ritually balanced." Mojo (Publisher) (p.153) - "Punctuated by bursts of thunder and disturbing silences...it encapsulates the band's ability to demonstrate musical freedom within strict bounds."

Though they were one of the key bands of the 1970s Krautrock movement, Can always saw themselves as individualists. They were influenced more by composers like Stockhausen than by psychedelic rock, but this seminal German band combined their avant-garde tendencies with rock trappings and funk-inflected rhythms in an amazingly natural way, influencing subsequent generations of iconoclasts.

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