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The opening three tracks from the film Deadlock include vocal and instrumental versions of a tune that, unlike everything else here, is an obvious film theme, though with Michael Karoli's exquisitely distorted guitar to the fore, along with a quite accessible song, Tango Whiskyman, which is good but not their greatest. The excellent Don't Turn The Light On, Leave Me Alone is the first Can song to feature the four descending semitones that they returned to on many occasions throughout their career, both live and in the studio, and features some superb latin-inflected drumming from Jaki Liebezeit. Soul Desert is a terrifyingly bleak, minimalist howl of anguish from Mooney and clearly foretells the breakdown that led to him leaving Can and returning to the USA a few weeks later.
The 14 minute Mother Sky is the first really great track Can recorded with Damo Suzuki and combines full on guitar rock (one of Michael Karoli's finest performances) with their hypnotic rhythmic pulse to brilliant effect. The track has been edited from a clearly much longer recording and the seamless, if obvious, edits add structure and changes of mood to a track that motors on at the same tempo for its entire length. On top of this, they've added some highly effective drum overdubs, dropping "bombs" into one of the most hypnotic sections.... Read more ›
'Soundtracks' followed 'Monster Movie' (1969) and the delayed 'Delay 1968' (released 1981)- listening to those two prior to this makes more sense, before moving onto the key Can-titles 'Tago Mago' (1971),'Ege Bamyasi' (1972), 'Future Days' (1973) & 'Soon Over Babaluma' (1974). I don't know if these are soundtracks to films, or imaginary soundtracks, or imaginary soundtracks to imaginary films (...I really should learn more about Can, bizarrely I just know several albums and not much else!). The films to which these songs soundtrack include 'Deadlock','Cream','Madchen Mit Gewalt', 'Deep End' & 'Bottom - Ein Grober Graublaeur Vogel.'
Two of the songs have a vocal from original Can-singer Michael Mooney - 'Soul Desert' (later a title for a track on Julian Cope's 'Jehovahkill') & 'She brings the rain'- the latter a track which feels quite jazzy after the primal meltdown of 'Mother Sky' - sounds like Ry Cooder after Krautrock. Several other tracks feature Mooney's replacement Damo Suzuki on vocals- I like Mooney's vocals, but plump for Suzuki's - perhaps as it sounds like a language I know and don't know at the same time? Damo sings opener 'Deadlock', the Doors-in-Space of 'Tango Whiskeyman', 'Don't Turn the Light On...' & the epic 'Mother Sky' ('Deadlock- titlemusic' is an instrumental).
All these tracks are moving towards the styles explored on the subsequent albums - you can hear tracks like 'Halleluwah' & 'I'm So Green' in tracks like 'Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone' & 'Mother Sky.' Which leads me to...
MOTHER SKY!!!!!
... Read more ›And the rest?
2 tracks from the Deadlock movie - not typical Can and you probably have to see the movie ( If any one has?!)
Tango Whiskyman and Don't turn the light on are more typical Damo period Can - Ok, but not outstanding by their standards.
1st Can vocalist Malcom Mooney gives it some on Soul Desert. If Monster Movie was your favourite Can album then you'll want to hear this too. Finally, there is She Brings the Rain. Mr Mooney again on what might be an average walking blues song but with Holger Czukay painfully attempting to play a structured and very rigid bassline it couldn't be average if it tried - and there's some very pretty/normal guitar from Herr Karoli too. I honestly can't tell if the fiddle/viola on this is Michael again or Irmin Shmidt distorting the hell out of his Farfisa organ!
Never mind - play Mother Sky again.
At 14 minutes "Mother Sky" alone justifies the entry fee, at 14 minutes its easy to dedicate the whole review to the one track, but that would be indulging in fuitility as words alone can never do any justice to its glory!!
There are other tracks on this album and they too can be quite fantastic. "Deadlock" opens with familiar sounding acid rock riffing ala Cream era Clapton, and "Tango Whiskeyman" is yet another Can back catalogue high point. Dreamy, breezy and melodic the song even has a chorus, lead by Karoli's descending and tender guitar melody that pre-dates Terry Bicker (House of Love) by 20 years.
"Soundtracks" though, is not an album proper as such, it is yes, a collection of various film Soundtracks which the band had been commisioned over ther years. Consequently it features both vocalists Malcomn Mooney and the aforementioned Damo Suzuki, consequently many of the tracks end rather abruptly (probably where the original film scene ended) much to the records detrement. Furthur criticismn of the LP is "She brings the Rain", Can try to sound ordinary and in the process write the worst song of there career.
Not the best place to start your journey into the wonderful world of Can (Ege Bamyasi is), but definitlely a record that every self respecting Krautrock fan must own and love.
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