Tago Mago
Can
1971
Album Summary
Tago Mago is the second studio album by the German krautrock band Can, originally released as a double LP in August 1971 on the United Artists label. It was the band's first album to feature Damo Suzuki after the 1970 departure of previous vocalist Malcolm Mooney. Recorded in a rented castle near Cologne, the album features long-form experimental tracks blending rock improvisation, funk rhythms, and musique concrète techniques.Tago Mago has been described as Can's best and most extreme record in sound and structure. The album has received widespread critical acclaim and is cited as an influence by various artists. Drowned in Sound called it "arguably the most influential rock album ever recorded."
WikipediaDid not know what to expect with this one. There's so much going on here and it gets better with every play through. Stand out tracks for me are Mushroom and the experimental, brooding crescendo of sounds in Aumgn which transported me somewhere else altogether. Perhaps the wailing soundscape of Peking O goes a little too far into the avant-garde, but overall this is a stunning album, I can't even imagine being hit with this in 1971. So good. Probably not one to play at a dinner party though, unless your friend Saffron is planning to lace the avocado salad with something.
Tago Mago is a combination of rock, funk, psychedelic freak out, avant-garde jazz improv, elevator muzak, proto techno, stoned mantra, and trippy tape loop experimentation. It handles all these styles better, for longer and harder than any album that’s come before it or since, backed by a truly stellar rhythm section. If Tago Mago was a movie, it would simultaneously be The Empire Strikes Back and 2001: A Space Odyssey.
The problem with experiments is sometimes they fail. I was vibing with this music, berating myself for judging another album by its genre, when all of a sudden I was assaulted with a 17 and half minute song that sounded like a monkey humping a didgeridoo, following by 11 and a half minutes of eastern strings accompanied by tiny men who crawl up your nose and dance upside down on the bottom of your brain. How many krautrock albums are on this stinking list? Best track: Halleluhwah
Really not sure about this. A bit too experimental for me I guess. Parts of it sounded like someone had put Mr blobby into a washing machine while it was spinning slower and slower, other parts sounded like they'd just got really high and started making noises into the recording equipment. A bit like kids messing about with the casio keyboards at other times, so not what you might call particularly easy listening.
I was ambivalent towards this until track 5, which is 17.5 minutes of clattering. It gave me a headache. Track 6 sounds like a 7 year old child randomly hitting a toy drum, bashing a piano and trying to explain the rules of Mallet's Mallet. For those reasons, I mostly hate this.
When I was introduced to Can they kind of blew me away, it did not sound like the 70s rock I knew. Can is my favorite group in the classic Krautrock pantheon. They're funky as hell, sometimes accessible, while other times experimental and jammy. Damo Suzuki might be my favorite of their vocalists, although Malcolm Mooney has some great performances as well (not on the album). There are a bunch of interesting Krautrock documentaries and articles for digging deeper, highly recommended for music nerds. "Halleluhwah" goes by a lot faster than its 18:31 track time would suggest, it keeps it interesting and changing in subtle and dramatic shifts somewhat subtle ways that you can get lost in pretty easily; definitely my favorite track. Not sure if this or "Ege Bamyasi" is my favorite, but this is almost the perfect Can album. Going from "Aumgn" straight to "Peking O" is a bit much though, I think "Peking O" should be removed completely since it doesn't add anything "Aumgn" didn't already do and parts of it don't fit with the rest of the album to me. Looks like originally "Aumgn" was Side 3 and "Peking O" + "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" was Side 4, which is a bit more palatable I suppose. Favorite tracks: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah, Bring Me Coffee or Tea
Such a blend of funky rhythm and experimental nonsense, in a way few other acts can match. Maybe no other acts. I have been wanting to listen to this album for years, and it absolutely didn't disappoint.
The first 4 songs are phenomenal, they really blew me away. The last 3 are a bit too experimental for my taste, but I appreciate what they did with them. An amazing album, very interesting. I'm happy I took the time to listen to it.
Experimental, but as opposed to 10cc this is in that way that takes itself very seriously. I like Oh Yeah. I can't help nodding along to Halleluhwah. Aumgn sound like the score to an old horror movie and I love it... Peking is dog shit. Overall a little jammy. A little jazzy. A little schizophrenic. Not exactly my cup of tea but that's not a bad thing.
Sometimes a good jam band like this feels right. Can has always been a favorite and they’re just a vibe. Sometimes it’s chill, sometimes a little incoherent, but it truly is a vibe Favorite Tracks: “Paperhouse,” “Halleluhwah”
A forward-thinking sonic metaphor for the first few hours of a psychedelic experience. Lots of avant-garde sounds here. Meandering, but not boring. Kinda reminds me of Duster. Aumgn and Peking O are not especially pleasant to listen to but are a good characterization of the overwhelming parts of a trip.
First three songs are great, then it starts to become way too weird and experimental for my taste. Feels like being stuck in laundry machine listening to 5 types of different music. Truly WTF.
There was a point, while listening to this album, that I was prepared to give it a five-star rating. I thought to myself, "Dang! An experimental album that manages to blend genres effectively while never losing the plot or falling out of the pocket! These grooves are so great!" And then it all fell apart in dramatic fashion. Track five brought an eighteen-minute collection of disconnected noises punctuated by random moaning and lost the album a star. Track six continued the downward trend with eleven minutes of tangled strings and a violently bi-polar time signature. There goes another star. Track seven, the last track, managed to pull a grove out of its back pocket to save the album from truly failing marks. Overall, an interesting but extraordinarily frustrating album.
By turns, a lot of fun and an inoffensive drag. When they go full weird disco, the rhythm section is one of the best in prog. The drummer is suitably rigid. I picture him playing with straight arms., though I suppose that would make his tippy-tappy style harder to perform. Silly if not funny, which is good enough.
Cet album demarrait de la meilleure des manières, avec des solos de guitare chaloupées, et de fantastiques rythmiques proposées par les différents musiciens du groupe. Quand dès la deuxième piste, l'album pris une toute autre tournure. En effet, dès lors, un personnage absolument consternant va venir faire son apparition. Au premier abord, ce personnage que nous appelerons M., nous apparait des plus sympathiques. Il arbore en effet une bouille bien ronde, avec son crane chauve et sa bedaine mignonnette. Lorsqu'il s'exprime, un leger cheveu sur la langue vient rendre le dialogue chantonnant. Il tente d'ailleurs tout de suite de nous mettre à l'aise, avant même que les instruments débutent la deuxième piste. "Inzstallez vous, auzourd'hui z'est la CAN" Mais ne vous y trompez pas: derrière le gentil M. se cache en fait un personnage redoutable, aux idéaux racistes extrêmement limite. "çza z'est pas ma CAN çza" lorsque le guitariste noir du groupe commencera son solo. Ce seront ses premières paroles, qui en emméneront de nouvelles toutes plus limites les unes que les autres, que je ne peux retranscrire dans ce review, pour ne pas offenser mes amis africains. Ce suprémaciste blanc répondant au nom de M. sera instoppable, et viendra complétement ruiner l'écoute de cet album. Je demande d'ailleurs aujourd'hui sonnalement à Robert, au nom de la lutte contre le racisme, de retirer cet album de sa liste.
This album is so good. Not every song is perfect, and a couple of the more experimental ones kind of drag on, but the imperfections are outweighed by some really great tracks.
To me Can is like a genre unto themselves in that they are utterly unique. They are comprised of such an interesting combination of individual backgrounds but yet they are all completely devoted to a group mentality so that it doesn't get pushed in any one individual direction more than another, and that, I think is the secret to their success. It sounds like they really listened to each other when they played and fed off of each other. I tend to gravitate towards music you can get lost in/hypnotized by and Can does that with some of the funkiest grooves ever put to record. Bewitching. The closest thing I can compare it to is Miles Davis' fusion era but Can is even more boundary-less in their search for a sound. The album covers such a rare emotional range that it is beyond words, as are most of Damo Suzuki's lyrics! Tago Mago is their sprawling masterpiece and where they really caught fire, and I do love it, but I actually prefer their next album Ege Bamyasi for it's tighter construction. Unfortunately that album is not part of this list (but I am glad to see that Future Days is). I think the first two sides (or four songs) of Tago Mago are nearly flawless, and that would have been a fantastic album in and of itself. When you get to sides 3 & 4 they are much more experimental, and while I do appreciate them conceptually, etc., having listened to this album many times, I'm not always in the right place to listen to Aumgn or Peking O. It's kind of like the White Album in that way. How many times do you really listen to Revolution #9 the whole way through without skipping? Still, this is 5 stars for me simply for their efforts in making the journey to find their own wholly original sound, which they would go on to perfect in subsequent albums IMHO. Listen to the 40th anniversary edition to hear on the bonus tracks how differently these songs could be performed live!
Brilliant. Probably not one I'll play all the way through consistently but the first half will definitely go into rotation.
9/21 "The music was like nothing I'd ever heard before, not American, not rock & roll but mysterious and European." 4.5/5. Standout Tracks: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah, Aumgn
One of the most unique, influential, trailblazing albums. Caused an anxiety attack. 5/5
I played through the first 5 songs of tago mago on bass, just doing it by ear and jamming with the band, and wow. The subtleties of those bass lines are incredible, the interplay between the drummer and the bassist is some genius stuff. Especially on the song Helluhwah, the way the bassist will be playing the groove, subtly changing it over the course of a few measures and hiding behind the beat, then just dipping out in a way where you don't even notice he stopped playing and a synth/guitar break will come in and carry the song in a new direction
This feels like avant guard done right. Everything comes together perfectly, even despite it's offset sounds. The use of sparse vocals works in perfectly. The timing on where they come in is perfect. The atmosphere the bands creates is palpable. It's both light and dark. It's bot cheerful and moody. I have no idea how a piece of music can hold both, but every song on this album seems to. I particularly liked "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" and "Aumgn." I only wish I had better headphones to enhance the experience.
Of course this was recorded in a rented castle near Cologne. Where else could you craft something so extraordinary. Whatever is going on here is truly remarkable - uncategorisable, ahead of its time. You can hear the influence on so many bands to follow. Is it jazz? Hard rock? Prog? Electronica? All these things and none. This project is so incredible - introducing you to bands you had never heard before and being blown away.
FIVE STARS An all-time classic and a personal favorite of mine. As is usually the case with those five-stars albums, I won't write a full-blown review about this particular record, because others have already written wonderful stuff about it and there's not much I can add that I feel could be relevant and interesting. It's just a gem. Go and listen to it a.s.a.p. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: more than 900, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter
I absolutely adore this album. Somewhere between a jam band, musique concrète, and ambient, Can managed to make music that still sounds strikingly modern. I can hear their influence in Radiohead, especially in the OK Computer era. This album goes in and out of coherence somewhat ominously at times in their more experimental songs. They deconstruct song forms and in doing so completely blow open the door for what music can be.
If I took a hit of acid and put on Aumgn there is no telling where I would end up. 5/5
One of the most beautiful and sophisticated records ever and one of the most brilliant albums of the 70s for sure. More than a hour of great music, just incredible!
Wasn't paying attention until Halleluhwah. Then it became too chaotic to ignore.. still liked it.
Yet another album that solidifies in my mind that 1971 would be the one year to pick if I had to choose only one year of music. Halleluwah! And throw a little Japanese in there for good measure. For all its intimations of spinning in circles until you're dizzy, I find myself rather inclined to recline and just mong out with this album. Listening to "Aumgn" is like being digested through the guts of the universe and shat out the butthole of space.
Hypno-psych-drone groove at its very best. Fresh as a psilocybin enhanced daisy, sprinkled with a mist of LSD for extra feels. Do it.
Love this, enough groove to hook you in, enough weird stuff to keep it interesting. One of the best drummers ever in my opinion. Only loses a mark as the last tracks are a bit too out there for me
Surprisingly listenable and relevant 50 years later. Listening to this, I can hear both contemporaries (like Yes and Magma) and unabashed descendants (Radiohead comes immediately to mind).
quite hard work to find the moments of genius that do pop up - dare to say you might need to have eaten a bunch of something special to full appreciate this
Yes that's great, excellent album, but it still doesn't make up for making me listen to that execrable garbage by 'Missy Elliot' yesterday.
Weird experimental music should not be this funky. This album makes later Avant/mainstream crossover stuff 30 years later look derivative (hi Radiohead) which is high praise indeed. Listing Stockhausen as an influence but sounding cool is quite a tightrope to walk. Is it a bit too difficult at times? Yep. The back end of Aumgn is just noises fed through a delay loop as far as I can tell - revolutionary in 1971, but that doesn't make it any more fun to listen to! But overall, for this level of experimental ambition to meet such a high level of listenability is VERY impressive.
Can is an incredible band that sound so far ahead of their time that it's mind boggling. The rhythms and cool melodies are at times accessible and at times otherworldly. The drumming on this album is virtuoso. Two of the longer songs are noise fests and unlistenable to me. This keeps this album from being 5 star entry. So for now 4 🌟
This was a little bit out of left field. Definitely can see this as very divisive, but personally I really enjoyed it (but then I like avant garde jazz and psychedelic rock). I want to give it a 4.5, but that's not an option.
I AM DAMO SUZUKI Prefs: Paperhouse, Mushroom, Oh Yeah, Halleluhwah, Bring Me Coffee Or Tea Moins pref: Aumgn
Genre: Krautrock 4/5 It's 1971. Prog rock and art rock groups are pushing the envelope as far as it can go in terms of experimentation, and what we as listeners would consider standard song structures. When Can came on the scene, the true pioneers of Krautrock, the European-led music movement, heads were swiveled. Their unique take on rock and roll, articulately blending experimental rock with hints of psych, avant-garde, and even early tinges of proto-punk, catapulted Krautrock to mainstream ears. Tago Mago, Can's second album (but the first to feature Japanese vocalist Damo Suzuki), is a double LP that shocks and awes all throughout its runtime. A 75-minute record in the early 70s, especially for a Krautrock outfit, is something that was generally reserved for the big ticket sellers, but United Artists took their chance and won big. Recorded in a castle in Cologne, Germany, Can went to work jamming and improvising, and cutting their sessions together into more complete song ideas. Czukay, the group's bassist, also functioned as their engineer, and took full advantage of the acoustic environment that the castle grounds provided. The recordings were then grouped into two discs, one disc more rock-oriented, and the second disc more focused on sound collages and musique concrète. Paperhouse, the album's psych rock intro, is one of the band's best cuts, with touches of acid and funk rock, fully utilizing the full band's potential. The rest of the first disc is classic, and a really interesting look at the infancy of experimental rock, forging many paths for many musicians to follow. The second disc is heavy on the soft, with passages of free time music, mixed with ambient sounds and studio clips. It's very interesting to hear some of the ideas presented here, but the state it's in, the music doesn't lend itself to enjoyable repeat listens, as it's a bit more difficult to get around. Overall though, Can crushed it here. The passion for experimentation is felt in spades, and for the most part, this album is a trip worth taking.
Really great prog rock. If you would of given this to me in my 20s I would of been obsessed. 4/5 sometimes I like the weird but you can get to fucking weird sometimes too and they went there which made it a 4. Definitely checking out all their other stuff though.
Loved the first four tracks! Then it turned kind of soundscapey which felt unnecessary. Will probz do a lil more checking out of this band.
I've never listened to Can, but I love the experimental nature of this album. It's definite 70s arsed 70s, but man, the whiplash that some of the songs have - like Peking O - are awesome. I liked this way more than I thought I would.
One of the greatest albums of all time, with Can being one of the greatest bands of all time. Their music is sensational, the way that everyone plays their heart out.
Some of the second half gets a bit tiring but it's a really unique album and a great mix of incredibly tight grooves and absolute chaos
This is my first experience with band Can, apparently a prominent example of the quirky Krautrock genre. Never giving it much thought, I identify this genre with band Kraftwerk, probably just making the connection by similar names and German-based roots? I never paid any attention to this band either, so Tago Mago was my first try, approaching it with a clean sheet. And what a journey that was! Combining Krautrock with more traditional psychedelic rock made wonders on the opening track "Paperhouse". This song's energy came straight from the core - drum work. I imagine, that you could rotate everyone else from the band with a different, random musicians, and the song would still be as attractive and incredibly atmospheric. Energy of the beat, together with climactic bridges, was amplified by a funky and at times aggressive bass line and erratic, but original keyboard. Guitar and vocals by Mr. Suzuki lifted the song into another dimension, although from a distance, guitarist, singer and the rest of the band seem to be at a completely different wavelength. And yet, it works very well! First part of the album is consistent with this song, the tempo is high, flow is amazing, but by the records midpoint, we are slowly descending into madness, which in this case means total abstract and avant-garde regions of music. The momentum of the album so far gives you enough energy and necessary context to enjoy the second half. But for a neutral fan, that wants to 'check out this groovy band from 70s' by listening to, for example, "Peking O" then he is well on the way to dissapointment. It makes me think of myself, how many times did I choose a wrong track to listen to the band for the first time? Easy to make that mistake with a band like Can. In summary, if this album would be a real psychedelic trip, then after first euphoric experience, we would get real close to overdose by the end. But the trip is well worth it.
When I read about this, I thought, Oh-oh, what is krautrock? But it was pretty good it's just like normal rock, but it's German. With some bits in Japanese. And backwards.
Can; make interesting, experimental jazz infused esoteric noodles. Can’t; make easy listening dinner party music!
Could be the soundtrack to an old-school gangster film. Not sure what's going on in Peking O.
Starts off cool. Really likes the drums throughout. Wasn't a big fan of the more out there stuff later on in the album. First half is really cool 2nd half is so so
Too much of a good thing? Not enough great? 75 mins of prog noodling with flashes of brilliance makes this a 3.5.
German band. Apparently German rock is called "krautrock" lol. This album is really weird and experimental. It influenced a lot of people and has a super unique sound. It was recorded in a castle. In a couple trakcs you can hear things like children yelling or dogs barking. These were accidents during recording and they just kept them in
enjoyed the first handful of tracks much more than i thought i would. You can definitely see the influence of this sound in post OK Computer Radiohead. The latter songs however were just noise.
niceish music but slightly weird and all a bit of the same. songs were too long as well - they managed to turn a 7 song album into a 1 hour album somehow
This is my first time listening to this band. A few of the songs have to much noodleling for my taste but I love those big jams!
found myself slowly getting into this after dreading it. indulgent, but, given it was '71 who wasn't. 2.5
I really wanted to like this. I have wanted to like this before. I am aware and understand its influence. But, it's just not for me. Too much unintelligible mumbling. Too much experimental improvisation. 3 stars because I see how for 1971, it's ahead of its time.
With the band in full artistic flower and Damo Suzuki's sometimes moody, sometimes frenetic speak/sing/shrieking in full effect, Can released not merely one of the best Krautrock albums of all time, but one of the best albums ever, period.
C'est peut-être trop expérimental à mon goût mais ya pas à chier ça s'écoute bien, c'est plutôt agréable il y a le piano de Lost Somebody (de ATCQ) !! C'est entre 3 et 4
I enjoyed the sort of psychedelic-funk vibe it had. Didn’t like it enough to add to my library, but I did enjoy it.
New band, new music. "Halleluhwah" might be my favorite track because of the funk groove from the bass and drums early in the song. "Halleluhwah" as a stand out favorite is interesting because the track takes up one whole side of this double album. "Peking O" is an example of a track that I'm not sure what to do with. The track starts out with hints of a latin swing that turns into a bit of jibberish, on off into some other experiment before it's over. There were some elements of the album that I did not like, but most of it was okay.
Really like the funkiness of much of this album. Seems to meet into Halloween music later on. The story of this band and album is more interesting than the actual listening experience for me.
Un disc de pura creativitat i experimentació ben entesa. És clar que requereix vàries escoltes i no és una obra mestra, però situant-lo en contexte dins l'època i dins un génere del qual van sobresortir tant, guanya en pes i significació
Quite different, especially considering this album is 50 years old. Much as it's not something I will come back to again, it definitely captured my attention at times, and I would imagine when it was first released how unusual and intriguing it must have been.
Got Radiohead vibes from the first few songs! The end was not as good lol a lot of random screaming which was off putting.
This album is what I think of when I hear the word groovy. I love the sounds, unsure what the words are, but that's cool
The first half was a little lackluster and basic experimental rock, but the second half shined a little brighter and got into much weirder stuff.
This album is much more interesting than I thought when I got it on this list. Maybe too much longer or too much stranger to being a real good album, but it's for this kind of thing that this list exists, right? I'll probably listen to it again someday in the future...maybe with more preparation, I'll be able to understand its strangeness and enjoy it.
Un album appréciable même si j'ai eu énormément de mal à profiter de cette écoute étant donnée la très mauvaise qualité des pelouses, et donc du spectacle.
3/23/2022 Today's Album: "Tago Mago" by CAN - This album started off blowing my socks off. The opener Paperhouse gives me everything I want in a musical work. There's lush production, great instrument performances, a fantastic groove, and psychedelic elements. It is 7 and a half minutes of head bobbing goodness and I highly recommend giving it a listen. The second song Mushroom is a little more experimental and trippy and I am not a huge fan of the vocals, but the bass is absolutely beautiful sounding since they bring it so forward in the mix. The third song Oh Yeah kind of sucks, with 2 minutes of reversed vocals and the rest of the song having relatively whiny vocals throughout. However, the instrumentation of the track sounds pretty groovy still with a lot of awesome solos and it is over before it overstays it's welcome. The track Halleluhwah is an 18 minute track filled with a variety of different, but fantastic grooves that showcase some fantastic soloing as well as just some great background playing from the bass and drums. It really shines in the middle section and it kept my attention very well despite the length. Aumgn is a 17 minute long noise rock piece, and although I usually like that sort of thing, it's just not worth sitting through strange drone sounds for that long. The next track Perking O does the same thing for 11 and a half minutes. I am not upset with artists being experimental and trying to recreate Revolution 9 by the Beatles, but when it is so apparently weird just for weirdness sake with no inherit meaning, it just doesn't merit wasting so much time on what could have been such a great record. The closer Bring Me Coffee or Tea is a fast paced and decently performed track that brings the album to a really exciting close, but it just doesn't sit right after what was pretty abrasive noise rock. Overall, when they shut the fuck up and play their instruments, it sounds absolutely magical and really pleasing to my tastes, but whenever the vocals are prominent or they try these lengthy experimental tracks, I just feel very underwhelmed and unimpressed. Score: 7/10 Great potential squandered with abrasive filler. Highlights: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah, Bring Me Coffee or Tea
enfin j'ai réussit à passer au travers de cet album. La deuxième partie est assez intense, j'ai bien aimé la fin mais l'écoute n'est pas facile par moment. c'Est très éclaté et un peu de lecture ma fait aimé l'album plus que si je le prennais hors context. En bout de ligne, c'est un album que j'ai été surpris à aimer, car je m'Attendais au pire après les 5 premières minutes. 3.75
Mielenkiintoista, tosin loppua kohden vähän liian häröilevää settiä. Alkupäässä kyl toimivaa psykedeelistä rockia.
Apparently this is the seminal CAN album and definitely enjoyed a good section of it but the experimental stuff got a bit jarring after a while. Totally didn't dislike it though and would listen again
Blandat too much och sjukt groovy. Halleluhwah var hur bra som helst, Peking O var för mycket.
Mad. Absolutely mad. There is so much going on that is absolutely bonkers. I think this'll need another couple of listens at least to properly appreciate, but I think it might be a bit too out there for me. Starts really well, but the descent into madness of the two 17 minute songs is a bit much. I think someone mentioned they have some slightly more accessible stuff? Well up for that, 3/5 for this though, just about. Definitely want to try some slightly less intimidating krautrock though.
The play counts on spotify tell the story clearly enough. The album is like a wild trip, equal parts euphoric and terrifying, and definitely not for everyone. The first four tracks of this album are a collection of meandering jam sessions, that bring together rock instrumentation with a touch of funk and an overall psychedelic air. It's a great set of tracks to have playing in the background or bopping in your headphones while you're focusing. I especially enjoy how the track 'Halleluhwah' ebbs and flows through it's permutations, the rhythm section holding to a core while the rest of the band dances all around it. And then you come to tracks 5 and 6, and the wheels just fall off... for 29 minutes! I can't really understand why anyone would bother to commit these sorts of noise jams to a recording, and in the case of this album it really spoils what was a fantastic start. The album sort of crawls back to where it started, with 'Bring Me Coffee or Tea', but I suspect that most listeners don't know that because they threw in the towel somewhere in the middle of 'Peking O'.
One thought that immediately struck me about this album and lasted throughout the entire thing: despite this being from 1971, it still, today, in 2022, sounds very contemporary and modern. At first, I found this album to be pretty interesting, but by the time it got to track 5, it seemed to take even more of an avant garde turn and I wasn't really feeling it anymore.
Disco un tanto psicodélico, con instrumentación variada y que con un estilo no muy definido. Distinto de escuchar
Really really really like the first half of the album. Would have been a 4 for awesome space rock. Awesome psychedelic proto-metal that forshadowed stoner rock & metal. But 30 min of the album (Aumgn and Peking O) is way to experimental for me. I think what they were trying to do was cool, but I couldn't listen to 15 minute songs of that. So this is a 3, half a 4 and half a 2.
I personally don’t think you can truly understand psychedelic rock unless you are in the 60s tripped out on shrooms and this is playing on the record player. Listening to this while getting ready for my 9-5 job, completely sober, doesn’t really do it justice. The rhythms were sick though. My favorites: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah
So, yes, the last couple of tracks are a pretty tough listen. Overall I didn't hate this as much as I thought I might and I can hear how it influenced some of the electronic artists I enjoy.
There is so much music from the 70s I've never explored. This was pretty far out in parts
Interesting music. One of those albums that I am glad that I listened to, but I don't really think I'll be listening to it a bunch in the future. Reminds me of Silver Apples or very early Floyd.
Very very odd, strange, discordant. I "liked" one of the songs (Vitamin C) but doubt I'd ever listen to it or any of this album ever again. Interesting and creative
Aumgn and Peking O are truly terrible. In Aumgn, there was literally a ghoul moaning over ambient sounds for 10 minutes. In Peking O, someone was literally screaming at me in gibberish for 10 minutes. Hard pass. The first 3 tracks give me strong Radiohead vibes so I wasn't expecting the assault.
I couldn't really get a handle on this, it's all a bit disjointed and difficult to connect with. There are moments that I enjoyed but this album struggled to hold my attention. It's strange, it's very nearly good but there's just something, some indescribable ingredient, that is noticeably missing.
Listening to this album is like babysitting someone through the stages of a shroom/LSD trip, which is not something I care to do.
In this case, historical significance didn't translate into an enjoyable, or even interesting experience.
I like the instrumentals the first part of the album. Very funk influenced, but as the album progressed, it become grating and too experimental, bordering on random sounds mashed together in a wild mess that resulted an unpleasing sound to listen to
I understand that Tago Mago has been extremely influential on many pieces of experimental and Krautrock, but it's just not very good music in my opinion. It's confusing, loud, and annoying. I am not in the mood to drop acid to enjoy this, but it is not the worst thing I have ever heard.
I wonder if the Happy Mondays were inspired by this? The album sounds like an early prototype for Shaun Ryder's lyrics and vocal delivery. There is even a song called 'Hallluhwah'. Anyway, not quite my bag.
I get it that this is a classic and that krautrock is an evolutionary step forward in modern music, but I wasn't in the mood for meandering jams at the time of listening. I'm grateful for what it inspired downstream.
long experimental psychedelic grooves - obviously an influence on the Happy Mondays and the groovier side of Primal Scream, very much a record of its time.
Woof. I was really excited to listen to Can after hearing them referenced so heavily. Album starts out great, but holy shit I was not ready for the 17 minute ambient “experimental” clusterfuck, which the album never really recovers from.
I hated almost every single second of this. Saved from the 1 star because I still prefer it to U2 or Erikah Badu
From a historical perspective, I understand why this album is on the list and I appreciate its influences on experimental music. From a listening perspective it's awful. First half is alright while the second half goes completely off the rails, including an amazing impression of the Tasmanian devil, the ambient sound of an industrial freezer, and a couple of those infinitely rising tones. 3/10
4/10. What if Pink Floyd was really boring? Some of these longer songs could almost be video game music if you dropped the occasional lyrical sections, and if they were they'd be pretty cool. Even still, the length of this makes listening to it as an album pretty rough.
good lord, i was listening to the first half and thinking "damn this is some pretty good psychedelic rock, i wonder why the other guys rated it so poorly" and then i got to the back half and i realized. 3/10, I wish I could rate it higher because the first half is 4/5 star quality, but Aumgn and co. just make it unlistenable as an album
The first quarter of this LP slays, full of crunchy krautrock riffs on top of smooth, infectious grooves. The rest is its Achilles heel, however, as things get way too experimental and out there to support interest in the rest of a 2 hour album.
Not my kind of thing - maybe if I'm in the mood, it would be worth trying again but it's a bit too hard work.
Interesting blend of rock and out there ambient expiramentation. Cool as a museum piece. Aumgn is a deep trip down the rabbit hole. Peking-O is a bundle of trash falling on a crazy cat lady.
Oh boy more 70s psychedelic woo hoo. This one didn’t do it for me and I can’t even be bothered to fully listen to it right now as I play elden ring