Can: Ege Bamyasi Vinyl LP

Usually when I listen to Can, all I can think about are all the groups that bit, I mean were "influenced" by, their sound. When listening to Ege Bamyasi however, I heard for the first time all the groups that Can incorporated into their style. The major influences have got to be the Beatles and James Brown's rhythm section, but there are a lot more. Right off the bat "Pinch" sounds like it samples "Mommy What's a Funkadelic," over processed guitar and drums just riding out the extended beat. While the music on "One More Night" is really a precursor to what we would hear from Zeppelin's House of The Holy a year later in '73, the drums sound straight off the best of Prestige's soul-jazz sessions. And how can we not mention the producer's favorite, "Vitamin C" (sampled by everyone from Kurupt to Spank Rock)? "Soup" takes us into the territory of their one time mentor Stockhausen, complete with eerie sound-scapes and glitches they didn't have a computer to create. Although they're still there, the influences aren't as pronounced on the other songs and I am back to disbelief of just how innovative these Germans were. My pick, music and production wise is "Spoon," which led to them charting in Germany because of it's use in a German gangster tv show called Durbridge. "I'm So Green" and "Sing Swan Song" both have beautiful melodies and rather coherent lyrics (a rarity for them, to say the least). All together, this is the most accessible Can album I have heard and I can't think of anyone who wouldn't find something they dig on it. 2014 Remastered version, recommended.

• black vinyl pressing
• remastered audio
• printed inner sleeve
• original release year: 1972
• music label: Spoon 2014

reviewed by jemz 05/2005