Record #321: Can – Ege Bamyasi (1972)

ege bamyasi

The last time I wrote about Can, I worried if the internet could handle anymore of its finite data being used to write about the legendary Krautrock pioneers.
Because friends, there have been terrabytes written on their importance and influence.
​The lion’s share of that code is occupied with musings on this album.
Ege Bamyasi is, with no room for debate, Can’s most long-reaching record. It found the group tightening their free-form, chaotic noodling into slicker, more sophisticated arrangements. While they would perfect this approach on their next album, Future Days (my personal favorite), Ege Bamyasi is absolutely unparalleled in its cultural importance. It’s been covered by Stephen Malkmus and Beck, sampled by Kanye West, and offered Spoon their band name. And it’s not for no reason: the songs contained on this disc are incredible. Pinch creeps darkly across a hardbop shuffle. Sing Swan Song is as morose and soothing a ballad the group ever wrote. One More Night writes Stereolab a love letter twenty years in advance. Vitamin C shivers with manic energy. Soup rocks and rolls heavier with a tempo that accelerates until it crashes into whooshing and whirling tape effects and formless improvisation. I’m So Green is as far from that as you can get–a simple, short, happy pop song (remember: Beck covered it). Spoon is a nocturnal, half-asleep chant set to a slow samba. Every minute of this record is brilliant, and it is deserving of its crown as King of the Krautrock Albums.

Record #320: Electric Light Orchestra – Eldorado (1974)

Record #320: Electric Light Orchestra - Eldorado (1974)
The way the legend is told, it took Jeff Lynne some time to properly align his project with his imagination. It wasn’t until this, his fourth album, that the Electric Light Orchestra actually...

The way the legend is told, it took Jeff Lynne some time to properly align his project with his imagination. It wasn’t until this, his fourth album, that the Electric Light Orchestra actually used an orchestra in its recording. The result is ELO’s first great record. While Lynne’s songcraft and pop mastery have always been apparent, the addition of an orchestra brought the lushness that would make ELO legendary.

 

Record #319: Echo & The Bunnymen – Heaven Up Here (1981)

Record #319: Echo & The Bunnymen - Heaven Up Here (1981)
The early 80s were famous for great post-punk lead singer/guitarist duos. Bono & The Edge, Morissey & Johnny Marr, Ian McColluch & Will Sargeant…wait, what do you mean you’ve never heard of Ian...

 

The early 80s were famous for great post-punk lead singer/guitarist duos. Bono & The Edge, Morissey & Johnny Marr, Ian McColluch & Will Sargeant…wait, what do you mean you’ve never heard of Ian & Will?

That, my friend, is a tragedy, and I’m sorry that society has largely ignored Echo & The Bunnymen, who remain one of the most under-heard bands of all time.

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Record #317: The Doors – Waiting for the Sun (1968)

Record #317: The Doors - Waiting for the Sun (1968)
For being psychedelic mainstays, the Doors are tragically unhip among certain musical circles. A lot of that has to do with Hello, I Love You, a hokey, clumsy pop single released by a band that just...

For being psychedelic mainstays, the Doors are tragically unhip among certain musical circles.

A lot of that has to do with “Hello, I Love You,” a hokey, clumsy pop single released by a band that just the year earlier released two classic albums in the psychedelic canon. It has always been my least favorite Doors single (well…excepting their cover of Backdoor Man).

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