Cosmic Dreams at Play - Stoned Circus radio show - Free

another big one in l973, the inventive Future Days. This time Can relied more on atmosphere
than power. Things had certainly changed since the agony of Monster Movie. The long title track
(which opened the album) was a particularly good example of their new style. Tile track "Spray"
parodied rock riffs, while "Moonshake" also was released as a single with an edited version of
"Future Days" on the other side (U.A. 35596). "Bel Air" was a lengthy improvisation, covering a
full album side (edited from a very long session!). Damo Suzuki performed his last concert with
Can on the 25th August 1973 in Edinburgh and then returned to Japan. The group recorded their
1974 album Soon Over Babaluma as a foursome. This was an even better collection than Future
Days containing further lively experiments with refined rhythms from all around the world.
Schmidt and Karoli now shared the lead vocals parts. "Dizzy, Dizzy" was a fast number with
whispering vocals, electric violin and echo drumming. "Come Sta, La Luna" had melodramatic
vocals by Schmidt, radio talk over and bird screams caught by Czukay and a perverted tango
rhythm from Liebezeit. You've never heard such a tango before! "Chain Reaction" (11:12) had
furious percussion with several tempo shifts - complete madness! "Quantum Physics" calmed
things down a bit, as it rolled more on atmospherics. Soon Over Babaluma must be regarded as
Can's best album after Tago Mugo! Short versions of "Dizzy Dizzy" and "Splash" were released
on a single (U.A. 35749).
In 1975 Can signed new recording contracts - with EMI Electrola in Germany and with Virgin
world-wide. United Artists, for their part, released 15,000 copies of a retrospective album aptly
entitled Limited Edition. It contained previously unreleased tracks recorded between 1968 and
1974. There are many really bright moments in this collection, like the strange story of "Mother
Upduff" (told by Malcolm Mooney) and "Gommorha" (another soundtrack theme), a
characteristic Can instrumental. In 1976, this collection was made available again by EMI and
Virgin as side one and two of the double album Unlimited Edition. Sides three and four offered a
new selection of previously unreleased tracks. This Can release, recorded live in their studio in
countless styles and moods, was as great as most of the conventional Can albums! Landed (1975)
was their last album of sheer excellence and at the same time their first 16 track production.
Karoli played his most fuzzy guitars since Monster Movie on the tracks "Full Moon On The
Highway" and "Vernal Equinox". Can's British live sound engineer Peter Gilmour contributed
lyrics to this and their two subsequent albums. The track named "Unfinished" really sounded as it
never was finished, and revealed (in my opinion) the first signs of Can's forthcoming creative
stagnation. Different vocalists were tried out at this time: the Japanese female singer Michiko
Nakao, Tim Hardin (performed a song live with the group on one occasion), Michael Cousins
and the Indonesian Thaiaga Raj Raja Ratnam, but none of these remained with the group. As
usual, a single was lifted off the album: "Hunters And Collectors" coupled with "Vernal
Equinox" (Harvest IC006 31392).
Flow Motion (1976) was an attempt to make more commercial music with funky rhythms and
new guest vocalists (Peter Gilmour and Rone Timmer). The abnormal group Can had finally
turned normal, though they remained somewhat eccentric. Their funk rock single "I Want More"
coupled with "...And More" (Harvest ICOO6-31727 in Germany and Virgin VS 153 in the UK)
climbed into the British charts. For Christmas 1976, Can released a disco version of "Silent
Night" coupled with "Cascade Waltz" (Harvest ICOO6-31973 and Virgin VS 166). Unhappy
with this new direction, Holger Czukay began his withdrawal process from Can. The group was
now expanded by two former Traffic members: the bassist Rosko Gee (who actually was brought
in on the initiative of Czukay!) at the end of 1976 and the percussionist Reebop Kwaku Baah in