Can: Tago Mago

Can: Tago Mago

1971

United Artists

Format I Own it on: Compact Disc

Track Listing: 1. Paperhouse  2. Mushroom  3. Oh Yeah  4. Halleluhwah  5. Aumgn  6. Peking O  7. Bring Me Coffee or Tea

Often singled out as being the band's finest moment, "Tago Mago" is a double album  featuring a mere 7 songs....A very immersive experience...When it's time to listen to "Tago Mago" it's best to make a whole night of it...

 Malcolm Mooney is out (after suffering a mental breakdown on stage) and replacing him is Japanese vocalist  Damo Suzuki, who brings with him a radically different approach...Not as consistently assertive as Malcolm, Damo is usually more ethereal, but he's more prone to violent vocal explosions...He's a perfect fit... I can't imagine "Tago Mago" without him. That said, I also can't imagine Damo singing the "Monster Movie" tracks, either...

This is because the band changes their sound...This album isn't as rock as "Monster Movie"...It's more shadowy...A hazy sort of rackety German funk-rock, which must have sounded like the weirdest, most alien shit back in '71...Hell, it sounds like the weirdest, most alien shit now!

Each side of the record has its own unique character, so let's break it down that way...

Side one consists of three tracks...Album opener "Paperhouse" sets the scene...The song slowly flickers to life as Damo sort of mumbles in the murk until the drums suddenly snap into place and the guitars build into a chopping crescendo...Still, Damo doesn't explode like you'd expect him to...Instead he sort of whispers and hisses as the music coils around him...I kind of overlooked this song for a long time, but now I fully acknowlege its awesomeness...

"Paperhouse" bleeds into the second track "Mushroom," which is in the running for best song on the album...Jaki Liebezeit unassumingly shuffles into the room on an intricate, clockwork drum pattern, as Damo numbly mutters:

 "Well, I saw mushroom head,
I was born and I was dead..."

You fall under its cool, repetitive spell very quickly, but the rug is suddenly pulled out from under you when he abruptly shrieks, "I'M GONNA GIVE MY DESPAIR!" At least that's what I think he's saying...Hard to tell what he's talking about...

Magic Mushrooms?

Mushroom clouds?

 That living mushroom from the "Troll" movie?

Who knows...Either way, the skies are red...

Side one ends with "Oh Yeah," where we learn Damo singing backwards sounds about the same as Damo singing normally...

 Okay, Side Two is where it's at....This entire side is devoted to the 18+ minute "Halleluhwah," which is just the most badass piece of Godzilla Funk ever set to vinyl...It's official...Jaki Liebezeit is the greatest drummer of all time and this is one of his best moments...How he plays this for 20 minutes straight without screwing up is beyond me...Perhaps the quintessential Can song...

 
Side Three similarly only has one song on it...The 17+ minute "Aumgn" which is where things start to get weird(er.) I personally find this to be the hardest track to get through, and probably the only time I find myself staring at my watch...

Now that I think about it, "Aumgn" kind of reminds me of those scary cassette tapes you can buy around Halloween...

Yea, those...Either way, it  would sound great playing in a haunted house...I will say that bowel-chilling violin scrape always manages to give me the creeps...

Alright! We get two whole songs on Side 4..."Peking O" is just the most insane thing ever...It's all smooth sailing until the drum machine comes in and Damo Suzuki starts losing his damn mind! The part where the drum machine speeds up and Damo responds with his manic jabbering-in-tongues is the single most amusing piece of music I own...It never fails to crack me up...A lot of people seem to hate "Peking O" but I love it so much...Play this song at your next Friday Night Record Party and it's sure to liven things up...

"Bring Me Coffee or Bring Me Tea" works as a nice little wind-down...It feels really welcome after the 29 protracted minutes of weirdness that came before it and helps hammer it into your head one last time: This is a classic album and stuff like this doesn't come along every day....So yea...When you put on Tago Mago make a night of it...

Let's check out "Mushroom" by Can... Enjoy...