Search - Can :: Tago Mago

Can-Tago Mago (Spoon Records, 1971)

Music Fan | New Mexico | 11/22/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I've always been a fan of weird music. I'm a devotee to Mr. Bungle, Frank Zappa & The Mothers, Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, Butthole Sufers, Pere Ubu, Edgard Varese, The Residents, Renaldo & The Loaf, Sonic Youth, John Cage, Snakefinger, Kraftwerk, John Zorn, Faust, etc. etc. and CAN is one of the best. The first track I heard from this album was "Mushroom" which, at times sounds like Kurt Cobain. The first time I heard it I knew I had to have it. I then went on to play the record,and it makes your balls go straight into your abdomen. At the time when I first heard this, there really were hardly any artists that had the guts to put something out like this! Damo Suzuki and Can's live shows were extreme. They had a juggling butler, while the band spun out the most mezmerizing powerful music ever. There was so much energy that sometimes concert-goers would vomit and faint. Can is a group who hardly ever wrote songs to paper. They preffered improvised jamming, and when they were in the studio, they would record many tapes, cut them up, and randomly put them together. Damo also would not write lyrics down, he'd come up with them on the spot.

This particular recording is mind-bending, beautiful, hypnotizing, funny, scary, and all of the above. It's very schizophrenic. The album opens with "Paperhouse", which is a bit more accessible sounding to most untrained ears. Towards the end of the track it becomes a frantic psychedelic workout, leading directly into "Mushroom", a tight rocking track led mainly by Damo's vocals. As usual the drumming is attention grabbing. The sound of the drums, as well as the sense of timing Jaki has is unbelievable. Emmediatley after the track, an explosion is heard leading into trippy "Oh Yeah". The song's vocals are backwards, the keyboard has a ascending/descending feel. The drummer is on fire. The bass riff is tight, in a way a song of it's own. The guitar licks towards the end sound like Jimmy Page on acid. Next is "Halleluwah" clocking in at an odd 18 minutes and 33 seconds.It's a funky jam with pounding drums. Not much to be said about this track, it's more simplistic than the other tracks, but equally as great. Next on here is "Aumgn", which sounds like a John Cage soundscape, or something from a Renaldo & The Loaf record. It's a good 17 minutes of dogs barking, low hums, insane percussion, and the keyboardist is heavily experimenting with sound here. Next is a track that I play real loud for the neighbors to hear. It's "Peking O" which starts off sounding pretty much like the meaty part of "Aumgn", then at about 5 minutes into it, Damo is obviously tripping on acid. He screams mad gibberish, at one point it sounds like he's screaming "AHHH!!! IT'S GONNA KILL ME!!!!!!!AHHHHH!!!!!I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!!" wonderful stuff.

Once that insanity is over the Radiohead like "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" begins. A Beautiful piece that is perfect for ending this mad record. I've heard alot of reviewers say this album is like a dream. I agree. It starts off kind of dozily and then it gets a little more adventourous, then a little weird, then really scary, then once "Bring Me Coffee OR Tea" starts, it's like you've woken up thinking "What did I just dream?"

It's an experience like taking to much Niquil and then going to sleep and having 7 odd dreams. The more you listen, the better it gets. Ahead of it's time? It still is...nothing sounds like this. It's music for the future by the past. It's an impressive piece. You never get tired of it because with every listen, you hear something you didn't hear before.

5/5. Wonderful."

Proto-Ambient

Kurt Harding | Boerne TX | 11/05/2007

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Unless you were a krautrock devotee in the late sixties and early seventies or were an avid reader of obscure music publications, chances are you never heard of Can until latter-day hosannahs became ever more frequent in today's nearly universally accessible digital world. Heck, I don't think the term "krautrock" had been coined at the time Tago Mago was current so if you lived in North America at that time and had actually heard Can, then you were avant-garde indeed!

I bought Tago Mago because it generates the most rapturous commentary in the music magazines to which I subscribe. After listening a few times, it became quickly apparent that this is not everyday fare. This is an album you have to be in the mood to enjoy although judging from some of the near-orgasmic reviews, some listeners are always in that mood.

If I was asked to classify the music, I would say you might call it proto-ambient or proto-trance. Indeed, some of the cuts seem as though they are meant to induce a trance-like state in listeners. I have found that I like it best when driving through an area of monotonous scenery, like the road between Gila Bend and Yuma AZ.

Anyway, what strikes me most about Can is their use of percussion. Its very relentless on a couple cuts and for me it sets the mood, sternly guiding, but not overshadowing what else is happening. My favorite cuts are Oh Yeah and Halleluhwah. But the cacophonous din of Aumgn, Peking O, and Bring Me Coffee or Tea do very little to excite me.

There is enough interesting material on Tago Mago to get me to hazard another Can album, but its not the kind of gripping, soul-stirring work I had been led to expect. If you haven't heard this recording or Can before, by all means read some of the other reviews to get a balanced view. If you have heard it, then you already know whether or not you like it. This remastered issue comes with an attractive booklet, the best features being a couple of short essays that broaden the listener's appreciation of what the band is about."

Lives up to the hype

jvdi | Fort Lauderdale, FL United States | 08/08/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Many people like the more traditional tracks and somewhat dismiss Aumgn and Peking O as a little bit too much out there. I admit when I first heard it I was a bit skeptical myself. But something caught me...just a little bit. I continued to listen to this album pretty much once a day and it did not take more than a few days before those two insane tracks caught on to the point where I actually wanted to listen to them.



Yes, Halleluhwah is still the best track. But do not dismiss Aumgn and Peking O as just experimental noise. If you pay attention there are all sorts of interesting melodies going on there. For example in Peking O you can hear a snippet of an ethnic dance type vibe. Which is pretty bizarre to hear an ethnic dance snippet smack dab in the middle of this very psychedlic track.



If you like early Pink Floyd you will probably like this.



Summary, you will almost certainly like the "obvious" tracks but listen to the whole album."