Incredible stuff, and without a doubt, CAN at their finest! But those two pieces are absolute genius, and you have to be pretty accustomed to the more radical albums of Krautrock (like TANGERINE DREAM's "Zeit") to appeciate this. Without a doubt "Aumgn" and "Peking O" are the definate love it or hate it pieces.Įveryone will question your sanity for listening to those pieces, and they're certain clear parties so fast, you'd be wondering if you remembered to hold a party. Then the album closes with "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" which is a much more mellow, psychedelic number dominated organ, it's like a very welcome ending after being hammered for a half an hour with relentless noise and electronic effects. Luckily it's not so sinister, but it's just completely demented, complete with Damo's mindless babbling and a cheesy sounding drum machine. And just when you think you've had enough, side four opens up with "Peking O". Then after that's over, Jaki Liebezeit then gives us a wall of relentless percussion over more relentless electronic effects. Somewhere is this almost didgeridoo-like droning played on a double bass (if the band actually used a didgeridoo, it would make that piece even more sinister). The first side of the second disc is taken up with "Aumgn", by far the most frightening and sinister piece of "music" I have ever heard! Mainly trippy sound effects with Irmin Schmidt, without a doubt having noted 1920s British occultist Aleister Crowley on his mind, repeatedly chanting "Augmn" (which sounds like "Aum", but with a much more sinister tone - "Aumgn" was a chant invented by Crowley himself) over and over with some extremely relentless electronic effects. The second disc (that is, if you own the LP, as both discs were crammed on to one CD) is by far some of the most radical pieces of "music" I have ever heard, and I've heard some very radical stuff in my lifetime (such as BRAINTICKET's "Cottonwoodhill", ASH RA TEMPEL's "Seven Up", or the early works of TANGERINE DREAM on the Ohr label). There's a couple of detours on the way, but it sticks to the same throughout, and while this result might seem boring, it actually isn't, it works quite well. Then there's the side length "Halleluwah", which is definately Jaki Liebezeit's time to shine, especially with the percussion, with Damo's voice on top. Then after a bit, he starts singing (forward, with the rest of the band) in his native tongue, Japanese (it's too bad that I don't know what it translates to, or the Hiragana, Katakana and Kanji characters to the lyrics). This is definately the high point of the album, great psychedelic vibe with Irmin Schmidt's organ, Holger Czukay keeping his own on his bass, and Damo Suzuki at first singing something in reverse (that is, the tape of him singing was playing in reverse, while the band plays in forward). The music then segues in to "Mushroom", which is a bit difficult for me to describe, so I'll go on with the next song, "Oh Yeah". Plus there's lots of great percussion work from Jaki Liebezeit. A lot of this still sounds quite psychedelic, as "Paperhouse" demonstrates, with Michael Karoli's guitar work. Malcolm Mooney, now history thanks to his mental illness that forced him back to the United States, Damo Suzuki (who already appeared on all but two cuts on Soundtracks) of course, filling in. Things are really looking up for CAN at this point. Social review comments | Review Posted Wednesday, Ma| Review this album | Report (Review #23223) To many I suppose this album will sound a wee bit dated, but for me it is a wonderful and highly experimental avant garde piece of German progressive rock. Lead vocalist Damo Suzuki must suffer from schizophrenia as he too sings in many styles from soft controlled almost meditative in nature to screeching psychedlia. This album ranges from droned-out minimalistic moments to the most wonderful exploratory interludes. Led by the creative mind of Holger Czukay, "Tago Mago" would certainly rank as one of most original "headmusic" albums of all time. Fans of BRAINTICKET and AMON DUUL II will love this album to death, as it combines experimental gadgetry with space and psychedelic imagery and soundscapes. I believe "Tago Mago" was CAN's 4th official album released, which was originally a double album set and I am told was actually a soundtrack written for some cheesie 70's B - movie.
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