CAN Retrospective DVD coming out

From Playlouder.com

A CANNED HISTORY
News Feature: Retrospective on DVD release
24 Nov 2003

CAN might have long since ceased to exist as a working band but their influence continues to resonnate through the very fabric of experimental music from Kraftwerk, Public Image, Einsturzende Neubauten, Sonic Youth and DJ Shadow to dalek and Godspeed You Black Emperor! and the 35th anniversary of the foundation of this hugely influential German group is celebrated with today's release of the 'CAN DVD' on Spoon/Mute.

Formed in Cologne in 1968 by mutual refugees from classical music keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist Holger Czukay, when they teamed up with free jazz drummer Jaki Liebezeit and rock guitarist Michael Karoli CAN subsequently recruited vocalists Malcolm Mooney - then later Damo Suzuki - and over the space of the next decade went on to release some of the most startling albums in the history of rock. Thanks to their complete refusal to compromise on stylistic grounds or follow established methods of recording CAN's groundbreaking work on such landmark albums as 'Monster Movie' (1969), 'Soundtracks' (1970), 'Tago Mago' (1971), 'Ege Bamyasi' (1972) and 'Future Days' (1973) not only sounded way ahead of its time but anticipated future musical genres including trance and ambient, and what have since become everyday production techniques like the use of tape loops and sampling.

Assembled as the definitive upgrade on the long deleted 'CAN Box' which was given a limited edition release in 1999 to belatedly mark the 30th anniversary of the group's formation the 'CAN DVD' is, in reality no ordinary DVD. Comprising not one but two DVDs and an audio CD 'CAN DVD' is essentially everything you ever needed to know about the band, it's history and its individual members crammed into the space of one tidy package.

DVD One includes the 'CAN Free Concert' documentary previously released on VHS as part of the 'CAN Box'. Filmed by Robby Muller and edited by Peter Przygodda both famed for their work with Wim Wenders and, in the case of Muller, also for his work on Alex Cox's 'Repo Man' and Jim Jarmusch's 'Dead Man' and 'Ghost Dog', this legendary film documents CAN's monumental free concert staged in front of a crowd of 10,000 in Cologne's Sporthalle in 1972. DVD One also includes 'Can Notes' - a brand new feature length documentary by Peter Przygodda, compiled from footage shot by the band's manager Hildegard Schmidt during the CAN Solo Projects tour in 1997-99 - plus a selection 5.1 surround sound remixes of 'Half Past One' by Irmin Scmidt, 'Below This Level' by Jaki Liebezeit and 'Smoke' and 'Get The Can' by Holger Czukay.

DVD Two meanwhile features Rudi Dolezal and Hannes Rossacher's 'Can Documentary' shot during the recording of the 'Rite Time' album in 1999, a short tribute film by Brian Eno commemorating Can's Echo Lifetime Achievement Award, footage from the Echo Awards ceremony including the presentation of the award by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

Besides this both DVD's include discographies, photo galleries, biographies and web links to an exclusive Can site with other interviews and photos previously included in the 'CAN Box'. And there's more...

In addition to all this the audio CD features 13 tracks including selections from Irmin Schmidt & Kumo's 'Masters Of Confusion'' project, Jaki Liebezeit & Burnt Friedman's 'Secret Rhythms' album, Jaki Liebezeit's 'Drums Off Chaos' project, a quartet of exclusive tracks from Holger Czukay plus three live recordings of the late Michael Karoli's 'Sofortkontakt!

Irmin Schmidt explains the thinking behind the 'CAN DVD'. 'The 'Can Box' was only released in a very limited edition which sold out in a week or so and now with the 'Can DVD' both the 'Can Free Concert' and the 'Can Documentary' films are available for everybody to see again plus there's the new film that's never been seen before 'Can Notes' by Hildegard Schmidt and Peter Przygodda. There's a lot of information about the music and the history of CAN on the two DVD's and the audio CD. You get to see us from 1968 to 2003 so it gives you the full story. I think it's quite a nice idea.'

And according to Irmin the audio visual extravaganza that is the 'Can DVD' is far from the last you'll be hearing from them.

'The complete CAN catalogue will be remastered and released over the space of the next two years. The remastered versions of the first four albums will be released in the springtime.

"When the albums were mastered for the first time on CD in 1987 the CD was still a very new format. At that time the albums were all mastered in what people thought was state of the art sound but actually now we've reached the point where we think they should sound like the original vinyl.

"Sometime between March and April the first four albums will be out and come autumn the next four albums will follow and so on until by the end of 2005 we'll have the whole catalogue remastered in a fantastic new way. We won't be adding any extra tracks or anything like that. Each of the albums has its own sound and character and we'll be leaving them as they were.
He added: "We might do other things and bring out something interesting and new. We've talked about doing a 5.1 surround sound mix of a selection of Can tracks but that will be something totally different."

In other CAN related news the entire contents of the band's legendary Inner Space studio which was housed inside a converted cinema outside Cologne is to be moved lock, stock and barrel (including the 1500 mattresses which were used to soundproof the walls and ceilings) to it's new home in a building next to the German Rock'N'Pop Museum in Gronau near the Dutch border some time early next year.

Grahame Bent

Classic....or Classic?