Can - The Lost Tapes

I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now but people have been posting about this new box set in like four different threads and I'm sure we've got 200+ posts to go when the thing's actually out, so here

CAN – THE LOST TAPES – RELEASE DATE: 18 JUNE 2012

3CD BOX SET OF UNRELEASED MATERIAL

AN OPPORTUNITY TO HEAR UNRELEASED MATERIAL

BRAND NEW TRACKS AS IF YOU WERE THERE – HALCYON DAYS, NOT OUTTAKES

Spoon Records and Mute are delighted to announce the release of Can – The Lost Tapes, the long awaited box set of unreleased studio, soundtrack and live material.

The Lost Tapes, out on 18 June 2012, was curated by Irmin Schmidt and Daniel Miller, compiled by Irmin Schmidt and Jono Podmore, and edited by Jono Podmore.

When the legendary Can studio in Weilerswist was sold to the German Rock N Pop Museum, they bought everything, including the army mattresses that covered the walls for sound protection, and relocated it to Gronau.

Whilst dismantling the studio, master tapes were found and stored in the Spoon archive. With barely legible labeling, no one was sure what was on these until Irmin Schmidt and long time collaborator Jono Podmore started to go through over 30 hours of music.

What they found was years of archived material, not outtakes, but rather tracks which had been shelved for a variety of reasons – soundtracks to films that were never released and tracks that didn’t make it onto the final versions of albums due to space.

Irmin Schmidt explains “Obviously the tapes weren’t really lost, but were left in the cupboards of the studio archives for so long everybody just forgot about them. Everybody except Hildegard, who watches over Can and its work like the dragon over the gold of the Nibelungen and doesn’t allow forgetting.”

The final cut of tracks, dating from 1968-1977, features studio material recorded at Schloss Nörvenich and Can Studio, Weilerswist with the Can line up of Holger Czukay on bass, Michael Karoli on guitars, Jaki Liebezeit on drums and Irmin Schmidt on keyboards, and on most tracks, vocals from Malcolm Mooney or Damo Suzuki.

Can was formed by ex-student of Stockhausen Irmin Schmidt, who, fired by the sounds of Jimi Hendrix and Frank Zappa abandoned his career in classic music to form a group which could utilise and transcend all boundaries of ethnic, electronic experimental and modern classical music.

Can’s influence is well known and far-reaching and the impact they made on music is felt today as keenly as it ever has been. They themselves have always been impossible to classify and reflecting this, the scope of artists who in recent years have cited Can as a major influence is varied from John Lydon to Radiohead, The Fall to Portishead.

With a phenomenal cannon of work that includes Tago Mago, which celebrated its 40th Anniversary in 2011 (the anniversary release was awarded 5* from MOJO, Uncut, Artrocker and Record Collector), The Lost Tapes is an opportunity to hear unreleased material from this iconic band – whoever thought that would be possible?

Whoever, indeed?

Me, for a kickoff!

anyone know anything about a vinyl release?

Checked the NovaMute site (the mail order), nope.

Let's not get greedy here

apparently there are no plans for a vinyl release of the Lost Tapes....

....which is a shame as I'd buy it in a second...

Yeah, the only thing that's putting me off buying this is if they *do* release it on vinyl in the future, I will be hella pissed off that I bought it on *yuck* CD.

I'm guessing there'll be a download option

Well, the price of a vinyl edition would make the CD version a fifth of the price?

i'm looking forward to it. even if the songs released so far aren't great and i hope there's more damo than malcolm.

The vinyl version would probably be digitally mastered anyway, thus pointless.

Glad our distributor finally started pricing this reasonably - early import price was like $80+. So looking forward to this!

somebody's gonna put it out on vinyl inside the next decade. you have to go into this with that understanding.

I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now I know ILX doesn't desperately *need* another Can thread right now

*brief drum break*....

"even if the songs released so far aren't great"

u mad

The vinyl version would probably be digitally mastered anyway, thus pointless.

this really isn't true. records sound different. & you listen to them different.

i know ilx doesn't *need* another cds vs lps thread

have previews of all the songs surfaced?
I really need to verify whether the Alice track is the elusive theme to 'Alice in the Cities'

what happened to the 14 lp box set? so has anyone here got this yet? just read the review in the wire and goddamn i want to hear this NOW

Booth: Do you mean mastered FOR digital formats, or mastered IN the digital domain?

The former can be a problem for recodings mastered with a lot of brickwall limting, but Can I imagine wouldn't go down that route.

I have no problem with mastering and recording in digital being pressed on vinyl.

I want AAA all the way man. I don't want to blow this thread up with the analog vs. digital stuff, but just for me, personally, I don't really see the point of pressing digital music on an analog format. But I'm sure 99% of LPs these days go through some digital processing/mastering at some point and I still wind up buying new vinyl occasionally.

OK, for me that's no problem at all, a large propotion of the music I buy has been DDD all the way until it hits wax, I just prefer the experience of vinyl.

I hate the experience of vinyl.

Well, hate is strong. But it bugs me.

Hey Noodle. Go away man. You don't get cute points in Can threads.

Somewhere I read the vinyl will be out in late 2012...now I can't find where I read that. But I believe it was from Mute.

An early (5 Star) review:
http://www.godisinthetvzine.co.uk/2012/05/31/can-the-lost-tapes-mute

Roll on June 18th.

Said Schmidt of the material they found: “Obviously the tapes weren't really lost, but were left in the cupboards of the studio archives for so long everybody just forgot about them. Everybody except Hildegard, who watches over Can and its work like the dragon over the gold of the Nibelungen and doesn't allow forgetting.”

Another review.

http://mog.com/blog_posts/3894713/mogbar?a=mn70403

Streaming here:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/musicblog/2012/jun/11/can-lost-tapes?fb=native

So far, I'm surprisingly underwhelmed.

i'm pretty whelmed

Spotify is pretending to have this, actually it's a 5 track sampler...

I like "Millionenspiel" a lot; it goes a lot of places in 5+ minutes. Especially like the spy guitar/bongos part that sounds like Can-goes-B52s. I've listened to that one three times, but the others aren't doing much for me tbh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLufW9YvBz4

Don't want to lose my (huge) enthusiasm for this, but I can see why they cut the sax shuffle from the early Millionenspiel clip.

i'm scared to listen to this because it probably won't be anything like tago mago/future days/ege bamyasi

so someone tell me it is

This is extremely reasonably priced on Amazon. $23.00, is that possible?

I hope so. A lot of labels have been putting out multi-disc box sets for really cheap as of late. I paid less than $20 for the 3-disc Bitch Magnet reissue set and just barely over $20 for the Feedtime 4-disc thing. Its a nice trend.

This is, I'd say, an essential Can artefact and is chock full of amazing stuff. Given that Can haven't had a notable release since I've actually been a fan - something that I'd presume holds true for most people using this board - this is like monumental stuff for me. I'm surprised there hasn't been more of a song and dance about it. Good on them for putting out one large amount of stuff in one go rather than eking it out over a few years. The early version of Spoon and the live version of Spoon are especially magnificent.

LOL jono podmore

This is extremely reasonably priced on Amazon. $23.00, is that possible?

― kwhitehead, Wednesday, June 13, 2012 8:33 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

$18.99 on itunes.

$18.99?! For electrons?!

Man, three more days. I haven't felt this sense of excitement over a "new" release in years. Arthur Russell posthumous releases come the closest.

still £26 on amazon uk

10" square box?

Our distro at work said it was filled for our Friday shipment and when it wasn't in the box I was pretty sad.

Arrived with us on Wednesday.

Yes, a 10'' box and booklet.

I haven't opened and listened to one myself yet, but various friends are absolutely raving!

how much is it?

£31.99 in store for the moment.

$18.99?! For electrons?!

― Peaceniks, Homos, and Potheads Who Wear Ties (GOTT PUNCH II HAWKWINDZ), Thursday, 14 June 2012 03:23

^^

http://open.spotify.com/album/4cjiajlI63FLfGBXHVPsct

Is 'Deadly Doris' where Die Tödliche Doris got their name from or do both things refer to something else?

box should arrive today but ive been giving it a listen on Spotify. Pretty good so far.
Since its out in the usa on tuesday it might be on spotify usa later today

jaki on 'waiting for the streetcar' :-00000000000000000000

Probably the best review/column yet on this: http://thequietus.com/articles/09079-can-the-lost-tapes-review

Just picked up the box on lunch break. Psyched.

lol, thought at first that Damo was singing "WAITING FOR THE STREAKER!!!"

i am only two songs in, but i am enjoying this so far.

lol, thought at first that Damo was singing "WAITING FOR THE STREAKER!!!"

think that one's Malcolm in fact.

ah could be. wasn't sure.

this really is something else. that live version of 'spoon' kills!

Listening to it now, someone remind me what the chorus of Spoon is again plz?

aaaah seeohwahmacheeoooh

p much

I just read the actual lyrics to Halleluwah, I've listened to it over 40 times and never recognized anything past "Did anyone see the snowman..." besides "Mushroomhead, Oh Yeah, Paperhouse"

This is totally worth it for Disc One alone. Been jamming that non-stop.

I like the live takes, but they don't add much to what was already out there. I kinda prefer the Peel Sessions. :O

I just plunked down for it.
Dead Pigeon Suite is awesome, seems like it was cut up and spread throughout Ege Bamyasi in different places.

and never recognized anything past "Did anyone see the snowman..."

Is it "Did anyone see the snowman/walkin' with the Lord"? That's always been my suspicion.

man this fucking rules. better than i expected. a few songs are hard to listen to, i suppose, but that's to be expected.

The Mooney tracks Streetcar and Midnight Sky are awesome. There is lot to love on here, damn that Pitchfork reviewer who said it could have been condensed into a single album.

Midnight Men and Graublau are stunning, this isn't mere archive material its Can!

yeahhh, graublau might be my fave thus far. i mean, yeah, sure they could've just put out a single disc of the highlights, but wtf, i want to hear it all.

I can't look at pitchfork at all anymore. Editing this into a single disc release completely misses the whole point of this release imo.

yeah, basically if jaki liebezeit is playing on it, it's worth hearing.

i would've settled for a 40-disc set of all the tapes, thank you very much.

what's the breakdown between malcolm/damo/post-damo tracks?

What's the actual lyric for the bit in Halleluwah that I've always heard as 'something for my ba-athroom HALELULELULELULEWAH!'

searching for my brother?

I got "searching for my brother" from a lyrics site, but was never sure.

something for my problem

my bathroom problem

is this cd only?

At the moment, I have heard there are plans for an eventual vinyl release but I have not seen that in writing anywhere.

There's a really interesting article in this month's 'Sound On Sound' magazine on The Lost Tapes.

what's the breakdown between malcolm/damo/post-damo tracks?

Around 50/30/20

This box set is a HUGE boost for Malcolm Mooney. I love 'Can Delay 1968' , but most of disc 1 kills stuff on that album, some rivals 'Monster Movie'
Mooney's performance on "Bubble Rap" is the best I've heard him. And I've flown his flag since the 1990 Can reissues, when I first got into them.

I love the Malcolm tracks in Unlimited Edition, too.

right, I always disliked Malcolm until I heard Unlimited Ed.

Huh. Unlimited Ed. was always a malcom debit for me. For me he shines best on Delay. And maybe some day my brain will forget 'Hoolah, Hoolah'.

BTW, speaking of Unlimited Edition. Did it always have that epic length track at the end or was that added for the remasters? I seriously don't remember it from the CD i owned way back when.

it was edited on the earlier cd?

I don't know about Delay...both the "why must I beee the theeeef" and "froggeeee and toadeeee eeet the tangerine seeds, one by one" songs are really grating

"Father cannot yell", never bettered but then again who could?

Yeah, I'm not the biggest Monster Movie fan but Father Cannot Yell is one of the 4 or 5 best things they ever recorded.

I don't know about Delay...both the "why must I beee the theeeef" and "froggeeee and toadeeee eeet the tangerine seeds, one by one" songs are really grating

Aw. "Thief" is amazing. "Little Star of Bethlehem" is great too if you imagine they're making fun of the Red Hot Chili Peppers 15 years before they formed.
Mooney is more grating and less dynamic & deliberate than Damo. And it takes more time to get into Mooney. But he's just as perfect for Can as Damo, just in entirely different ways. Mooney is more like Iggy, if Damo is Bowie - singing context only. (not a perfect analogy, I realize)

I love the version of "Little Star" on Radio Waves, but I don't know if that's Mooney or Damo!

Little Star of Bethlehem is one of the best ever can songs. Waterlilies in the bath tub. He seems so lovable does Malcolm and the poor guy was on the verge of a nervous breakdown as a Can member. I thought Bubble Rap was a Damo track?

Little Star is kind of an oddity in the Can catalogue, as I actually can understand the lyrics

19th Century Man is another class Malcolm performance.

And maybe some day my brain will forget 'Hoolah, Hoolah'.

But it's so good. Love that album.

"Bubble Rap" is Damo. It's probably bcz I'm getting old, but I needed headphones to confirm that. His delivery is very Mooney-esque

right, I always disliked Malcolm until I heard Unlimited Ed.

Madness, Malcolm is awesome and that period of Can is their most consistent imo

In terms of the outtakes yes but c'mon Suzuki all the way

We've had this debate on here before. Early Can has far less noodling about and wayward experimentation - well far less released noodling about and wayward experimentation! That's all.

Are you waiting for the streetcar?

I thought I was, but a naked man just ran past.

Anyways, the impression I get is that MMooney was more of a driving force in the early days ("The Can" being an americanism, for example), and that Damo was added to the mix while it was being made.

Sounds right

surprised by the musique concrete-style things on here.

I love the Malcolm tracks in Unlimited Edition, too.

― Trip Maker, Thursday, June 21, 2012 5:24 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

^^^^ fwiw. a few of their v best songs. i can't understand why the slimmer limited edition is the thing that's usually reissued.

psyched to hear people are into this. i heard a little and it was bizarre just to hear a song that started with the weird broth of can-sounding bass, karoli guitar whines, &c

i didn't think limited edition had ever been reissued. unlimited replaced it in 1976.

was pretty sure i saw a bunch of new vinyl copies last time they did a batch of reissues. maybe i'm wrong though.

fakeys.

oh huh

Mine just came in and I'm shocked at the sound quality; dunno if it's just years of d/ling shitty bootlegs or listening to the "official" Live Box and Radio Waves releases but I expected the quality to be terrible, especially as these recordings basically sat for forty years, but damn does this thing sound good, even though some of the avant garde junk on the first disc is pretty damn irritating (how much of this stuff did Can produce?)

why did no one mention that there was basically a 12-minute version of "Vitamin C" on here, this is so damn great

friendly neighbourhood whore - fabulous groove

and if that's not one for the 'out-of-context' thread...

there should be a "favorite moment in dead pigeon suite" poll

well not really but there are so many to choose from

its gotta be right when the music switches from the slow part to that insane groove

which time!?

i like the early music arrangement of the first minute --> when the percussion comes in around 1:11 or so and then also that OOOOW somewhere in the middle

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dDmmrpyVnk

the vitamin c segment is OUT OF CONTROL

yeah the part where Damo kind of comes out of nowhere is my favorite

My actual physical copy of this should be arriving at the record store today! I was a good person and bought it locally. Excited!

Also, LL being a Can fan makes me happy

Lindsay Lohan?

She knows all about the Can

You should be excited! I waited (so chaste!) until I could listen to my very own copy and it was worth it. The book is fun too.

Lene Lovich.

Jamming this this morning and my 2 1/2 year-old was jumping around gleefully during "streetcar"... "WHAT IS HE SAYYYYYING?!!"

Gonna show some of my friends the Can Free Concert film.
Can fever all over again.

I know people talk about how great Jaki is all the time but I kinda feel sometimes that this boxset is just one big testament to him

I know people talk about how great Jaki is all the time but I kinda feel sometimes that this boxset band is just one big testament to him

xp Lucky friends! I've never seen that.

You should.

Ha...my girlfriend can't stand "Streetcar", "It just keeps going and going!"

Me: "That's the point!"

Also read this sold 2k in Wk1 of release.

More than anything, this box, to me, shows how important Malcolm Mooney was to Can.

they were all pretty good

Yay, at last Malcolm is getting his due

yeah if you just go through the actual albums you'd get the impression that Malcolm was just a crazy vocalist that got kicked out halfway through the 2nd album (and replaced with an even crazier one)

Damo was not crazier. I liked Rosko Gee, so I'm not the most subjective here.

Certainly they all play crucial roles in the band. Just reading Irmin's thoughts about the early days made me realize that Malcolm provided that difference they needed, and his chants gave something for Jaki to anchor to.

I would think Damo was probably a more stable person in general but his vocals definitely were a lot freakier

The Can Book by Pascal Bussy isn't likely to finally see a reissue anytime soon is it? I got caught out by the Book Depositary saying it was imminently being reissued about 4 or 5 years ago, ordered it and it never appeared. Would love to read it, or any new bio of the band in book form.

Would think with their international popularity there would be at least a couple of bios around. There was the book that came with the original can Box Set but that isn't very long or in depth.

Did anyone else notice how "Streetcar" has the "Go go power rangers!" melody in it halfway through

lol, almost as great as Parappa the Rapper having a direct rip of "Turtles Have Short Legs" in it

I noticed that too!! But I thought it was kind of silly to assume that the creators of the game had heard some obscure Can B-side, so I figured the melody itself was pretty common. I didn't think anyone else would make the connection.

ilx has noticed it many times

I suppose so. I dunno what other message board would.

Anyway, I'm starting to really appreciate Malcolm now - I really wish they'd gotten more stuff like "Midnight Sky" on record

It's funny you say that because Midnight Sky sounds a whole lot like "Little Star of Bethlehem" imo.

I *like* "Little Star" on Radio Waves; the version on Delay kind of got on my nerves. I think it's actually Damo on the Radio Waves one though. Also "Midnight Sky" is a lot more intense. But I'll have to give Delay another listen; outside of "Uphill" I don't remember much of it.

Also read this sold 2k in Wk1 of release.

I'm so clueless I don't know if that's good or bad. I mean, in the mind of the sort of person for whom Can really are "bigger than the Beatles," it sound incredibly low. But maybe not?

I can't imagine how all the great reissues happening over the last decade are making a living for anyone, if Can sells 2k copies of their first unreleased music in 25 years. . .

outside of "Uphill" I don't remember much of it.

Struggling to understand how anyone could not remember "Butterfly" or "Thief" tbh

So this may be too nerdy even for ILM, but I got to thinking--as much as I like this as a box set, it seemed like the music might make more sense in the context of the albums of the same eras of creation. Basically, as "bonus tracks" to the albums proper. And I figured, why not do the same with 'Unlimited Edition' since I've always felt like there's good stuff there, but it never did it for me as an album.

So, these are the bonus tracks I added to the albums:

Delay 1968 (1968) [59:22]
08. Deadly Doris
09. Midnight Sky
10. Connection
11. True Story
12. Waiting for the Streetcar

This one is a no-brainer. Material is clearly on par, just makes it a double LP.

Monster Movie (1969) [71:34]
05. Blind Mirror Surf
06. E.F.S. #7
07. The Empress and the Ukraine King
08. E.F.S. #10
09. Your Friendly Neighbourhood Whore
10. Mother Upduff
11. E.F.S. #8
12. When Darkness Comes
13. Fall of Another Year

Less essential, but still adds nicely to the picture of Can, 1969. "Fall of Another Year" would be one of the best bonus tracks ever.

Soundtracks (1970) [69:02]
08. Desert
09. On the Way to Mother Sky
10. Millionspiel
11. Oscura Primavera
12. Graublau

Again, mostly context-providing, but high-quality listening, not just "interesting".

Tago Mago (1971) [88:10]
08. Musette
09. Blue Bag
10. Turtles Have Short Legs
11. E.F.S. #27
12. Shikaku Maru Ten
13. TV Spot

Nothing here from 'Lost Tapes,' and not the strongest material from 'Unlimited Edition,' but surely at least "Shikaku" and "Turtles" deserve a proper home. I think maybe "TV Spot" would be a hidden track, since "Shikaku" is a great bonus-track closer proper.

Ege Bamyasi (1972) [79:38]
08. Evening All Day
09. Bubble Rap
10. Messer, Scissors, Fork & Light
11. A Swan is Born
12. Dead Pigeon Suite

Maybe some of the strongest material from the 'Lost Tapes'. You could argue "Messer. . ." and "Dead Pigeon Suite" belong on 'Soundtracks,' since they were soundtracks, but they came after that album, plus it's just awesome to hear "Dead Pigeon Suite" in context with "Vitamin C".

Future Days (1973) [58:28]
05. Alice
06. LH 702
07. Doko E
08. I'm Too Leise
09. Gomorrha

This is the album I'd want a 30 second gap between the album proper and the bonus tracks. But the stuff is mostly strong, and very much of a piece stylistically (except maybe "Doko E"). "Gomorrha" is given a chance to shine in context.

Soon of Babulama (1975) [65:01]
06. The Loop
07. Ibis
08. Private Nocturnal
09. Midnight Men

This surprised me, but I think this album benefits most from expansion as an album, because the bonus material is of equal strength to the album and has the exact same DNA. "Midnight Men" is a stronger closer than "Quantum Physics".

Flow motion doesn't get anything added.

Saw Delight (1977) [45:43]
06. Barnacles

Perfect one-track addition, still works as an LP. I like late-era Can better than most, so I would've loved to see a 4th disc on 'Lost Tapes' of stuff from the Rosko Gee era, maybe some more Disco-Can. But that's just me.

What I could find online for Unlimited Edition listed "Cutaway" (from U.E.) as being from 1969, but it sounds much later to me--the opening sounds most like 'Flow Motion,' but that's 7 years later. What do you guys think? It's no "Aumgn," but I like it as one of their very abstract, shape-shifting long-form pieces.

On the whole, I think the "bonus track" approach helps me to appreciate the music from 'Lost Tapes' and 'Unlimited Edition' more than I do as box set/compilation. All of the music benefits from context--and while rarely improving the albums as albums, it made me realize that Can really did put out an album whenever they entered a new creative phase--every period distinct from the others, such that even without dates for the music, it would've been fairly clear how to redistribute the tracks.

of = over, of course.

Ha, and 'Babaluma'. I always do that, for some reason.

To be even more nerdy, "Delay 68" is actually from 1969, much of it recorded after "Monster Movie"

Yeah. Added the tracks that had the fully raw quality it has, and slightly less raw stuff to 'Monster Movie,' even though the dates are sometimes backwards.

"Cutaway" is obv. some sort of collage from various eras, I assume Czukay assembled it (and not very well in my opinion!) for "Unlimited Edition", Malcolm Mooney's voice is on there but then so's Damo (I think) and some of the music is obviously from 1973-75 (there's definitely a synth or two)

There's also 'Transcendental Express' from "Unlimited Edition"

Yeah, didn't think that one made the cut. Also all the live stuff from 'Lost Tapes' makes a nice 'Can Live' LP, maybe add "Bakerloo" from the BBC stuff.

I wonder who the sneery English guy is on "Cutaway"? The guy trying to explain how to use a ring modulator to (I assume) Malcolm Mooney...

Fine work, Soundslike!

The "recent" remasters came in those round-edge cd boxes that can take two cds easy.

So, might add these tracks as CD2 editions, along with "Sacrilege" tracks. Or would that be, um,..

Nah, never too nerdy. . . ; )

really nice work, Soundslike! thank you!

No work involved--just putting tracks with the right years, mostly. Fellow nerds should definitely try it, though--not like I needed a new incentive to listen to Can's albums, but it's been really fun hearing this unheard stuff (and underheard) with what I've loved so well.

I would like to second that, good work Soundslike. I only go on ILM for the nerdy stuff!

yeah that is excellent; not that I really want to hear all these albums this way, but now I can make a chronological 10 hour long Can playlist

"Dead Pigeon Suite" is fantastic; exactly the music I want to hear at the moment.

the part where Damo kind of comes out of nowhere is my favorite

^^^ Oh, and this.

Back in print again, after the first press sold out, but it won't last long, as far as I hear.

Also read this sold 2k in Wk1 of release.

I'm so clueless I don't know if that's good or bad. I mean, in the mind of the sort of person for whom Can really are "bigger than the Beatles," it sound incredibly low. But maybe not?

I can't imagine how all the great reissues happening over the last decade are making a living for anyone, if Can sells 2k copies of their first unreleased music in 25 years. . .

― Soundslike, Friday, June 29, 2012 6:01 PM (3 days ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

I think 2k first week sales of a Can box set that retails for $35-40 is pretty decent for 2012.

It is very good sales. They were caught off-guard by how well it did.

I like you, soundslike.

Hey, I bought two! By mistake, forgot I'd pre-ordered it long ago. Found a good home for the second copy.

Soundslike idea is great, I'm definitely going to "playlist" them that way.

A bunch of The Lost Tapes are on YouTube. I like this short version of "Dead Pigeon Suite"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=THc1zz1EqSI There's also an 11-minute version, which looks like it'll have the same visuals as several other TLPs. Scared to use the YTD converter now.

nice one for "Messer, Scissors, Fork and Light" (a trailer for some shit before, be prepared to click "skip ad")
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jUwBdGAbrMA

what's the deal with the new 2012 reissues? same shit different box? also wasn't there supposed to be a studio album box too?

speaking of unlimited edition: always loved doko-e and was equally impressed when i heard the 20 minute jam that this ever so small song was edited out of: impressed by the clarity of czukay to pick just the greatest bit.

i like this box set a fair bit but it's really congealed my dislike for karoli's soloing - it's the worst part of can for me: if only he kept to rhythm and hooks and effects.

Yeah--always wondered how much Karoli adds, because he definitely liked to noodle. His mid-80s album with Polly Eltes is surprisingly great, though--sounds like the Raincoats, Family Fodder, etc. with little noticeable guitar at all.

unless this is referring to weird peripheral can & solo works i haven't heard, this is baffling to me - even allowing for a distinction between his rhythmic playing & soloing i love karoli, he's one of the most distinct constitutive parts of their sound, what smooths it out, maybe

karoli - defn refers to the soloing on this box and a lot of the boots and live stuff i have. in the the major recordings he's usually pretty fine but not always.

the late great - I believe that the album box is scheduled for the end of the year.

I guess I'm thinking generally of post-'Future Days' Can, where he really favors a highly processed, very thin and needle-like sound for his solos, which strike me as very "rock" and against the general melding-of-all-parts that I associate with Can. That said, I still tend to like later Can more than most people (particularly the last, self-titled album).

That said, I still tend to like later Can more than most people (particularly the last, self-titled album).

Yeah, for all of the venom directed at the s/t album (a friend hated it so much that he gave me his copy), it's also my choice for the post-Babaluma studio material.

funny, i've really only heard/thought good things about s/t (All Gates Open, to name one, is absolutely classic Can. and i think there's a couple others).
but before that one saw delight was a serious drop off and out of reach was to me completely unremarkable and i haven't missed it since selling it many years ago

'Can' ends--the album, and the band--in the stupidest way possible. But it has some great tracks.

I love the ominous swarming synths on this one. Has that needly Karoli soloing, but doesn't bother me for some reason:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHn9faRcD48

love this song!

I wonder if you could make a whole mix of (ex)Krautrockers making sweet dark dance tunes in the late 70s. . . Kraftwerk, obviously, but then Can, and even Amon Duul II got in on the action:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hFYd1VG8hIM

Rite Time is like the s/t album but with Malcolm on vocals!

I was surprised to find out that people don't like Saw Delight. It's a pretty fun album with some real catchy instrumental stuff; has very little to do with classic Can but it's pretty good for what it is. The Inner Space album is pretty good too. "A Spectacle" is funky as hell and IMO one of their best post-Future Days tracks.

The one they did in between (Out of Reach?) was kind of garbage though...was that ever released on CD?

No, that's the one they all hate and disown.

It was released as a two-fer with Inner Space in the 90s but I think it's been missed out of all the more recent reissues/remasters:
http://www.discogs.com/Can-Inner-Space-Out-Of-Reach/release/173674

(I have that CD and assume it was a legit reissue but it does have a slightly cheap look to it so it may not be. There are a couple of OK tracks on Inner Space but really the whole twofer is a bit of a sad affair)

beg yr pudden: http://www.discogs.com/Can-Out-Of-Reach/release/2432778

(xp to self)

Actually I guess Inner Space (which is the more "correct" title, Inner Space or s/t?) is p. fun up until the Can-Can tips it over the edge for me, damn me and my taking music too seriously gene. The drumming is tight as hell and iirc it has a really bright, clean sound which reminds me of 90s post-rock more than the thick swampy vibe I get from earlier Can. It just seems to be missing something though. The Out of Reach half I can remember exactly nothing about except that it feels quite long to sit through.

God, those last two tracks--what a bummer way to go out.

While I like 'Out of Reach' pretty well, the first Phantom Band album is by far the best late-era Can album (that happens not to be called a Can album).

I've always felt that if you are an instrumental jam band that likes playing puns on the fact that you are called Can, then after 12 albums, you have the right to cover a very famous (esp. in Europe) instrumental song called the Can-Can.

they've earned the right to play that jam and for that I salute them...

even if its never going on a C90 of my favourite Can tracks.

(this C90 would be vastly different pre&post Lost Tapes)

the first Phantom Band album is by far the best late-era Can album (that happens not to be called a Can album).

Uhhhhhh, have you heard "Movies" by Holger Czukay?

It's a pretty good version of "Can-Can" too!

the first Phantom Band album is by far the best late-era Can album (that happens not to be called a Can album).

Uhhhhhh, have you heard "Movies" by Holger Czukay?

Yeah--I dig 'Movies'. But I'll still take 'Phantom Band' as my favorite post-Can album, with Karoli's probably next, followed by the second 'Phantom Band' album.

Made a mix of post-Can Can stuff a few years back that might be of interest to some:

http://musicophilia.wordpress.com/2009/06/16/one-off-can-the-church-of-latter-day-can-book-two-beyond-can-1977-1984/

01 Michael Rother (with Liebezeit & Plank) – “Karussell” (Edit) – ['Flammende Herzen,' 1977] (3:22)
02 Michael Rother (with Liebezeit & Plank) – “Zeni” (Edit) – ['Flammende Herzen,' 1977] (3:38)
03 Czukay (with Liebezeit & Rebop Baah) – Cool in the Pool” – ['Movies,' 1979] (5:03)
04 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Without Desire” – ['Phantom Band,' 1980] (2:38)
05 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit & Rosko Gee) – “You Inspired Me” – ['Phantom Band,' 1980] (4:00)
06 Eurythmics (with Liebezeit) – “Take Me To Your Heart” – ['In The Garden,' 1981] (3:35)
07 Eurythmics (with Czukay & Liebezeit) – “Never Gonna Cry Again” – ['In The Garden,' 1981] (3:05)
08 Les Vampyrettes (Czukay & Plank) – “Biomutanten” (Edit) – ['Biomutanten' EP, 1981] (3:32)
09 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Experiments” – ['Freedom of Speech,' 1981] (3:34)
10 Liebezeit, Czukay & Jah Wobble – Trench Warfare” – ['How Much Are They?' EP, 1981] (4:50)
11 Czukay (with Liebezeit) – “Fragrance” – ['On the Way to the Peak of Normal,' 1981] (4:13)
12 Phew (with Liebezeit & Czukay) – “Fragment” – ['Phew,' 1981] (3:59)
13 Schmidt (with Bruno Spoerri) – “Toy Planet” – ['Toy Planet,' 1981] (3:04)
14 Schmidt (with Liebezeit, Karoli & Gee) – “Endstation Freiheit” – ['Filmmuzik Vol. 2,' 1981] (3:37)
15 Dunkelziffer (with Liebezeit) – “Strom” (Edit) – ['Stil Der Neuen Zeit' EP, 1982] (3:03)
16 Czukay, Jah Wobble, The Edge & Francois Kevorkian – “Snake Charmer” – ['Snake Charmer' EP, 1983] (4:07)
17 Gabi Delgado (with Liebezeit) – “Victim” – ['Mistress,' 1983] (3:30)
18 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “The Party” – ['Nowhere,' 1984] (1:31)
19 Phantom Band (with Liebezeit) – “Loading Zone” – ['Nowhere,' 1984] (3:50)
20 Dunkelziffer (with Suzuki) – “Watch On My Head” – ['In The Night,' 1984] (2:52)
21 Karoli & Polly Eltes (with Liebezeit) – “Yours & Mine” – ['Deluge,' 1984] (4:28)
22 Karoli & Polly Eltes – “Watch On My Head” (Edit) – ['Deluge,' 1984] (3:47)

Yeah, that is a fantastic mix. I downloaded it back when you originally posted it and have spent quite some time with it. Book One also finally motivated me to finally check out the latter albums. Two questions:

1) Does anyone know if the album box set is going to be all of their studio albums?

2) Soundslike, are you ever going to get that blog going again? It was fantastic and I still check once a week or so in the hopes that its active again.

>But I'll still take 'Phantom Band' as my favorite post-Can album, with Karoli's probably next, followed by the second 'Phantom Band' album.

hats off for comprehensive listening

personal favorite Irmin Schmidt solo moment = the 15 minute "Man On Fire" from Filmmusik Vol. 2. I drop that one on road trips a lot even now. But it is not post-Can Can. I'm not as into a lot of Schmidt's solo stuff, but the best of it sounds more like Schmidt than any echo of the previous band

I like quite a lot of Schmidt's solo material but Czukay's stuff is just on a whole other level to anything any other member of Can has achieved outside of Can

Anyone know the full story of why Czukay left Can? I've just read another interview with Irmin Schmidt where he drops all sorts of dark hints about it being a "private matter" - I say another because it's not the first time I've read him say that. Whereas I've read Czukay say that the rest of Can didn't think he was a good enough bass player (and having just heard a live bootleg from 1976 I can tell you he is, uh, a good bass player)

@jon re. 1) - that was what I'd heard initially; that it would include even the previously brushed under the carpet album. I hope so! There's not been any real news on it though yet. We shall see...

The first couple tracks of that Irmin Schmidt & Kumo album were excellent...anyone heard of it?

Czukay's stuff is just on a whole other level to anything any other member of Can has achieved outside of Can

I'm objectively with you on this one, I always played Movies / Peak of Normal / Rome Remains Rome more than most Can

Yeah that nonsense about Rosko being a better bass player than Czukay always sounded like madness. Czukay was more interested in tablecore electronics & shortwave live-sampling than playing bass by that point, and the rest of the band felt that what he was doing didn't fit anymore. If it got more personal than that, it certainly didn't need to. Here's the bit about his interest in sampling & leaving from Czukay's interview in the Can Book.

I could use all possible sources of sound… the only problem was the
disagreement among ourselves. Reebop, who later had also joined the band,
thought that this music would steal people’s soul. That’s a typical native idea,
that someone can take your soul away by taking a photograph. Fine, you can
have this idea, but you can’t get out of the middle ages with it. I had, moreover,
a vision of special media-referent music. It even came to fisticuffs with Reebop.
I should say, he hit me and I defended myself. Ten minutes before the start of
a concert in Berlin. Of course he was sorry, and I’m only mentioning it because
it was a clear sign to me that it was time to go my own way.

Is The Can Book worth seeking out?

1) Does anyone know if the album box set is going to be all of their studio albums?

'The vinyl deluxe box set, due in early 2012, will feature remastered editions of all 14 of Can’s studio albums on both vinyl and CD, as well an exclusive, previously unreleased live album (vinyl-only), a newly remastered Out Of Reach, extensive booklets and more. It will be available for pre-order next month (October 2011).'

having a really hard time finding out about this online - i'm surprised they're remastering them again considering they just did this for the SACDs not that long ago

ah ok doesn't sound like a remaster so much as a repackaging

there are two books; the first one to come out was the 'Can Book': http://www.amazon.com/The-Can-Book-Pascal-Bussy/dp/0946719055

the second was the 'Can Box: Book': http://www.amazon.com/Can-Box-Book-Hildegard-Schmidt/dp/3933642019

my quote's actually from the later one. they've both got unique interviews. they were less guarded in the first book and more stuff about the solo careers; a lot of good journalism. the second book is much longer and is organized as four extensive interviews with each band member telling the history from their own perspectives, so their personalities really come through. really spells out what happened with their recording process when they moved to multitrack recording in 1974/5. I'd probably get the second one before the first one (if you can even find a reasonably priced copy of the first)

Good info, thanks.

(xp) Yeah, the Pascal Bussy book has good stuff, esp. from Jaki, who's such a tough nut on the band's career, he doesn't seem to rate much beyond "Monster Movie"!

The Pascal Bussy book was announced as being rereleased a couple of years back through SAF I ordered a copy which never appeared. Have wondered since if anybody did get a copy of it.
That was definitely between late 2008 and 2010.

I'm just wondering if it did actually reappear since SAF seemed to go into some kind of difficulty some time around then and several of their titles went out of print.

I kinda hope they have separate boxes, vinyl and CD, or at least if they are packaged together that it doesn't become prohibitviely expensive.

Even though their website is still up, SAF Publishing has pretty much gone under... Very much doubt anything will get reprinted from them..

aw, I have the Can book and the CabVol one.

Even though their website is still up, SAF Publishing has pretty much gone under... Very much doubt anything will get reprinted from them..

― Talcum Mucker, Friday, July 13, 2012 3:28 PM (24 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

Question was more did it happen at the time, I always wondered if it had seen a short run reprint before they sunk.

There are some very good books on that imprint so one might hope somebody else might pick up some of them. Thought there were other labels like Esoteric or Sunbeam might be interested in redoing some of them.
Probably other labels I can't think of immediately too.

2) Soundslike, are you ever going to get that blog going again? It was fantastic and I still check once a week or so in the hopes that its active again.

― heated debate over derpy hooves (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Thursday, July 12, 2012 1:02 AM (2 days ago)

Glad those mixes got you to give the maligned late-Can a chance. It isn't on par with the first half--but neither is 99.99% of other music, so that doesn't mean it's not great.

I've hoped to to get it going again, but returning to graduate school and working intensively in the summer has meant I've never been able. I've got about six or seven mixes for which I started culling songs, and several music-friends are working on mixes, so hopefully there will be some new content over the next year. Vast projects like '1981' are a thing of the past for me, unfortunately.

'A lot of it was bollocks'

http://thequietus.com/articles/09376-can-the-lost-tapes-interview

Thanks Soundslike! I totally understand "real life" gettnig in the way, I just wanted to thank you for your work on Musicophilia and to let you know it was appreciated.

been waiting for a copy of this for the last few weeks only to find that my order's still on hold.
Think I was having an intermittent trouble with signing into mute bank so ordered through a Can store I'm not sure how I connected to.
Pah

Great quote here

The reason why Can weren't this horrible, academic, German, up its own arse collective was because they had an African American singer who lit the fuse and gave them a proper sense of grit. He wasn't just any African American either, he was a proper artist and bonkers to boot. When we played the tapes at home my daughter, who was five at the time, would be jumping up and down singing along to 'Waiting For The Street Car'.

::facepalm::

NOT HERE

HORRIBLE :(

One can only guess that Jono has some unresolved issues with his father-in-law.

A lot of Holger Czukay's contributions to that Quietus interview are word for word stuff that I've read in previous interviews, is Holger really that boring?

he sampled himself

xp I noticed that too! Especially in regards to the first show w/ Damo, did they just take that section from a different interview?

Well that was what I was thinking, but then Holger seems to consider himself something of a comedian so maybe he just repeats the same amusing anecdotes

5lp box set version, £55 out in December, apparently

.. dudes

Just saw a party of a '73 live set from French tv yesterday. Don't think I've seen it before and didn't remember it being on the dvd.
Looked like it could be a half hour show or something, is it POP 2?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TVAKoCJCL6w&feature=share

Potentially of minor interest to Can fans, a remix of sorts I did of "Vitamin C" mixing it with Steve Reich's "It's Gonna Rain (Part II)" (and Alvin Lucier deep in the mix) a few years back:

http://www.mixcloud.com/musicophilia/musicophilia-various-collidecoalesce-1950-2004/

Skip to ~50:30

Ha! Did anyone else get the email from Can with this in it?

Thanks for your support of Can this year, The Lost Tapes has been more enthusiastically received than we were expecting, we hoped a few people would be pleased that Irmin was persuaded to listen to the old Can tapes, it was beyond everyone's wildest dreams that so many people would love it and that it would get rated so highly in so many magazine end of year polls.

Anyway, we are writing to you as you bought The Lost Tapes from one of the Mute or Spoon sites, which gives us the opportunity to thank you directly, so thank you!

Along with the thank you we'd like to give you this track 'Fingers' by Cyclopean, an early Christmas present if you like.

I know, I know, I can hear you saying already "why are you giving me this track, you crass marketeers, this has nothing to do with Can", but actually, this is a brand new track from Irmin Schmidt and Jaki Liebezeit, it's a new project they have created with Burnt Friedman and Jono Podmore called Cyclopean.

Pronounced like this.

The four of them got together at Irmin's house in France in 2011 and Cyclopean was born.

aw I want an email from Can! How's the track sound?

Oh, that's nice.

I got a 'standard edition' off ebay, didn't know it existed. Basically, it's the three discs, in a wraparound CD sleeve with a booklet.

I don't know what the big box contained, beyond those things.

I've never been able to find this, so haven't bought it yet

Yours doesn't have the book? The book was really fun and informative (for me at least).
I haven't listened to the track yet, but gimme a sec...

It's like they didn't expect it to sell or something (xp)

The booklet is fun and informative. And slightly less than 5" square.

Deadly Doris and Dead Pigeon Suite are still two of my favorite songs I heard this year. Esp Deadly Doris. I LOVE it.

My booklet is full of pictures and about twice that size.

I ordered from Mute and have not seen that mail.. :-(
When did you receive it LL?

Ok I listened to it. Starts out kinda Pure Moodsy/late (not great) PV, somewhat corny beats, it evolves into some quasi "ethnic drumming" and then it gets pretty groovy and then it's over. That's my expert review. Would listen again. I didn't dislike it.

I got the email this morning, like 15 min ago? It took me all of 15 seconds to post here after I got it because i wondered if anyone else had gotten it.

I'll be happy to forward the email if anyone wants to hear the track. Don't know if they're being weird about how many downloads are allowed, but prob not.

Just got my vinyl set this week. It's a thing of beauty.

have we talked about how awesome this whole thing is? wow. one of the best outtakes collections ever.

yeah a while ago i listened to it all on spotify and flagged the must-have tracks. It turned out to be like 70% of the collection.

totally worth buying in the format of your choice imo
even though i have listened to it a bagrillion times already, i still get genuinely happy when dead pigeon suite pops up on my ipod while i'm walking

just endlessly great, what a cool band! also may have tipped me over to malcolm in the can vocalist championship sweepstakes.

too many box sets which I "need" "urgently"!

-this one
-Wonderful and Frightening World of the Fall deluxe reiss
-BOC Complete Albums
-Star Trek TOS Complete Scores
-grrarghh the $$$$$

"dead pigeon" is probably my favorite but yeah this is a pretty amazing collection. I don't like some of the avant-garde stuff on disc 1 but almost everything else is ace

kinda neat to have a "lost tapes" boxset that consists of actual lost tapes (not just stuff that wasn't good enough for a studio album)

yeah this thing is wall-to-wall amazing, a gift that keeps on giving.

yeah a while ago i listened to it all on spotify and flagged the must-have tracks. It turned out to be like 70% of the collection.

hah, this was exactly my experience as well

Having another listen to this in honor of this thread getting bumped. I think that the ratio of 70% good/30% wtf is about right; but there is about 2 LPs worth of raw, prime-era Can material here which is way more than I was expecting out of something like this. God I love this band.

at the part where the 16-minute live "Spoon" kicks up, just hearing the echo of that little shuffle and the keyboards is sending shivers to my brain

yeah and the audience participation at the start of that spoon is amazing, not really like yr standard "hey everyone clap along" thing but almost as if the band is *playing* the audience.

Can anyone tell me if the vinyl box comes with a download code?

mine didn't....

i've been listening to disc 3 on repeat while i get ready in the morning for weeks
messer, scissors, fork and light especially

so great!

it's the perfect start to every day

I am taking that idea

I highly recommend it! Before too long you will start to hear the turbocharged Spoon long after it has stopped playing.

When they launch into the "ooooooohhhhhh" part on Spoon it blows me away every time

I need to buy the rest of this, so far only have a few tracks on iTunes

i was a little disappointed by this. hardly anything outstanding and a couple of tracks i don't care for like waiting for the streetcar, desert, godzilla fragment, on the way to mother sky, barnacles and mushroom.

pvmic

Also posted on the Can S/D thread, but this one is more active.

Malkmus does Can

i revived this one a week ago Search and Destroy (Can)

(xp) Yeah, the Pascal Bussy book has good stuff, esp. from Jaki, who's such a tough nut on the band's career, he doesn't seem to rate much beyond "Monster Movie"!

finally read this book thanks to an interlibrary loan and was disappointed as it's more lightweight than i'd hoped. occasional good quotes throughout though, including jaki's gripes mentioned above and the fact mentioned more than once that he hates playing alongside bass!

statementallity 1 year ago
what's a streetcar ?
Reply ·

Jimi Hendricks 1 year ago
Another name for a trolley.
Reply ·

statementallity 1 year ago
what like a cart ?
Reply ·

I wish the CD box wasn't stupid

Why? Too flimsy?

it's huge! I want something that's gonna fit on my shelf

I never listen to this. :(

Unwieldy, yes.
It is SO GOOD. Lost epics, would gobble up more tbh.

They've now shrunk the box down to CD size

That's better since i think there were 3 cds just in envelopes with no real place to fit them inside the box. Though there are 3 holes at the back which might fit them without the sleeves, would be easier to have the kind of click in fittings that you get in book form sets or something.
There's also an oversize booklet included in the original version. presumably whatever content could be transferred to a smaller booklet, not sure if the layout was of any importance. Looks like the larger booklet allowed relevant photos to be next to text.

I think other countries (not sure which) have had a smaller version of the packaging for some time, I got mine off ebay a few years ago.

isn't the box LP-sized or close? I forget

my CD version is just a regular sized digipack-y kinda thing.
this set is the best thing. wonder if there's any more good stuff lurking in the can archives?

xpost the original box size is 10"

Yes. I sort-of assumed that a vinyl issue might have been done on 10" albums, but no.

file next to your reel-to-reel tapes, problem solved

My reel-to-reel tapes are seven inch, max.

If I see the CD-sized one in the wild, I will def pick it up

Soon of Babulama (1975) [65:01]
06. The Loop
07. Ibis
08. Private Nocturnal
09. Midnight Men

This surprised me, but I think this album benefits most from expansion as an album, because the bonus material is of equal strength to the album and has the exact same DNA. "Midnight Men" is a stronger closer than "Quantum Physics".

That's insane imo, "Quantum Physics" is different level genius. "Midnight Men" contains elements of "Vernal Equinox" (and Holger Czukay's "Oh Lord Give Us More Money") so it surely belongs with "Landed" anyway?

pretty happening Can rarities thing over here, some familiar things, some not familiar things: http://itslostitsfound.blogspot.de/2016/02/can-rare-one.html

Three of those tracks are on my standalone CD of Cannibalism 2, weird that they've fallen through the cracks. Never heard about the early pseudonymous The Innerspace stuff!

Whole CD of Inner Space has been released.

Correction, Two whole CDs of Inner Space have been released.

huh, missed those ... is Crippled Dick Hot Wax! a legit label? haha.

Think so, they've done stuff for years. schulemadchen report soundtrack LPs, that sort of thing..

https://soundcloud.com/finderskeepersrecords/finders-keepers-radio-show-krautrock-special

Was listening to this last night, there's a fairly long telephone interview with Malcolm Mooney, he sounds in rude health and humour.

just spotted this at irmin's website:

Irmin is currently working on a CAN book commissioned by Faber & Faber

Yeah this was mentioned on rolling reissues thread, it's exciting news!

www.allgatesopen.co.uk

Would be great. I got told that the Pascal Busey book was going o get a reprint about 10 years ago and ordered a copy which never appeared. Would like to read that.
But an insider book would be better still.

Last time i saw the Lost Tapes box on the shelf in FOPP it had been reduced in size to that book size taht Miles Davis etc sets got put out as. Is that still around?

It's been a while since I've listened to Turtles Have Short Legs and I'm listening to the singles collection and trying to remember if the stereo separation was always this ridiculous. It works, but it also sounds like someone was having a whole lot of fun putting it together

you remember rocky jones?
i remember rocky jones
rocky jones was a space ranger