Tago Mago

Mild start but a long sounding album. 1hr 7 minutes over seven tracks. Are you mad! One was 16 minutes long with intense moaning/ screaming. Generally thought didn’t hate the music, definitely a background listen rather than vibes

This was a 4/5 before the c-side. The 2nd and 3rd-to-last tracks are ultimately pointless and annoying to me, and don't fit with the flow of the album. Because they are so not good, it gets a lot less good score. 2.75/5

Started off strong but then fe off.

From excellent to bad noise!

This is groovy and a little cool. Never heard before.

Interesting, cinematic and atmospheric - maybe a couple of overlong tracks could’ve been done without but then again they might grow on one I guess. I know the cult like status Can have but I’m afraid I’m new to them on an album scale so cannot judge them on that level

Track 4 is 18 minutes and 31 seconds. That is more than 4 minutes LONGER than Rapper's Delight. But also, it is awesome. Because Track 4 exhausted the band, Track 5 is only 17 minutes and 31 seconds.

A polarizing double LP, and one suspects that is intentional. It is bookended by excellent funk tracks, but the entire center of the project is taken up by feverish and at times incoherent instrumentation. I would call it more prog rock than krautrock on this particular project. As another reviewer put it, the long tracks sound like the inner turmoil of a trip gone bad; perhaps the "Mushroom" Damo sings of is one that has twisted the psyche of the day tripper into something resembling a horror soundtrack. Food for thought.

Experimental

Not my fave Can album but great none the less. Has some more 'challenging' tracks but nothing beats that Can drum groove.

Dark and mysterious

What a huge, weird album! Enjoyed large parts of it, and then there were huge stretches where it felt a little off the rails. Overall I can see (hear?) why this record might have been so influential, Can covers every imaginable angle of rock on this thing. Feels like I've only just begun my Can era.

Paperhouse // Mushroom //

3/5

Psychedelic and out there. Will revisit.

Early jam psych

Pretty hard time sticking with it. Precursor to Doom Metal, which is a vibe but not active listening

Wait, this is some high music. I don't hate it, but definitely hits the background music feel for me. Some really cool experimental moments.

Interesting to listen to. Some very cool parts. Standout songs: halleluhwah peking o

Vaya vaya, este es el tipo de discos que espero encontrar acá: una locura salida de Alemania que me hace pensar que la música sí puede ser una droga.

Good opening two tracks then went too weird

Paperhouse - Good track. Elements of Red Hot Chili Peppers & Foals, can see how this inspired bands Mushroom - Mushroom head mushroom head Oh Yeah - Sounds like it belongs on OK Computer. Good drum beats Halleluwah - Groovy baby Augmn - What the hell You should win a t-shirt if you make it through all 17 minutes of this Peking O - Sounds like year 7 music when you and your mates mess about on the keyboards Bring Me Coffee or Tea - Thank god it’s over

Can? More like Can’t.

Some fun/interesting tracks as well as some that are just chaos and noise.

I liked this up until the 17 minute track of groaning.. maybe it was cool at the time but man that was a pain to listen to.

Well, that was some weird shit.

ugh, hippies

Parts of this I quite enjoyed, but then large parts really quite annoyed me. I don't get the long songs with weird noises and sounds at all. A shame because there were bits that were good, but it wound me up! 2.5

Kraut kan vara okej i lagom stora doser. Här blir det lite för mycket av det goda.

wtf... Started with me interested, some nice grooves, but hell, does it loose me towards the end... If you want an Album Like a long, drugged jam Session, this is for you, but if you're looking for songs, go somewhere else... Dropped by 2 ratings towards the end for me...

Interesting songs, but not for a playlist. Some good, mostly shit

You can hear the influence, but my god does it become unlistenable by track 5.

I was vibing until I fell off the proverbial vibe cliff. I can appreciate that they REALLY went for it, but just cant bring myself to enjoy it. Album cover is very fitting, 5 star.

Another hard one to rate. There were certainly times that were too experimental for me and I hated it, but at the same time could see myself getting into it.. guess I should have gotten high before listening. Middle of the road but rating down as I dont see listening again

This album is bonkers, but I kind of enjoyed it. Track 4, 'Halleluhwah' and Track 7 'Bring Me Coffee or Tea' was 4 or 5 star worthy--a little psychedelic, certainly abstract, and good progressive development. The rest of the album fluctuates between 1-2.75 territory for me. Track 6, 'Peking O' sounds like perhaps what Throbbing Gristle was trying to emulate later in "D.O.A. the Third and Final Report of Throbbing Gristle" except that Tago Mago actually loosely meet some of the characteristics of what defines the word "music."

Interesting, but I am unlikely to return.

a product of its time. not my fav but still enjoyed listening 4/10

I didn't mind the first song but wtf was Peking O. - 3/10

Aumgn was awful. The rest was alright but not great, and it got worse throughout the album. People really will put any word in front of “rock” and call it a genre. 3.5/10

3/10 - It was not great to start and was significantly worse to end. Pappa's gotta eat is all I got to say.

No.

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.

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.

When even the book describes this as a "musical endurance test," it's not a good sign. Nor was the anecdote any their first gig with the lead singer causing people to flee the venue en masse. The longer I listened, the lower my rating got.

Unlistenable in places, pretty good at others

Got weird, and not in a good way.

1.4/rounding down Only giving the .4 because the first couple songs had potential. I got more weary of listening as this album dragged on. I was so very happy YouTube didn't have access to one of the songs.

Tago Mago is mostly an infuriating mess of noise. Just because you “Can” doesn’t mean you should.

Because zero isn’t an option

Yet anothet struggle out of 1001

Never again

Nope :'l

A big nope on this one.

NO

Wow, not for me. An odd combination of all the things wrong with 60s and 70s rock / prog rock

Feels like they were taking all the drugs. A few songs start off well, but go off the rails as they drag on.

The first half was a bit dull and repetitive but was okay in the background. Second half was abysmal, all semblance of some sort of songwriting approach was abandoned and it descend into random noises. Not in an interesting way though, almost impressive how pedestrian they made it all sound. Can't think of a single redeeming feature.

This is terrible. I’m down for experimentation, but it was several hours of straight experimentation with no reprieve. I don’t see why it has such critical acclaim. Different doesn’t equal good.

did not care for that at all

Meh. Not a fan

What the hell is this?

I won’t say it’s complete rubbish; I’m sure somebody somewhere could find some redeeming aspect or quality, or sort out what makes this particular release significant enough to merit inclusion on this list…but that’s not me…no hooks, no melodies, nothing about the arrangements…stack this against Neu! and it is definitely worse than second best

This does not sound at all like an album from 1971, so props to them for being ahead of their time. That said, this is largely not my cup of tea. I kinda liked some stuff at the beginning of the album, but then the back half turned into "let's make weird noises (for a long-ass time) and call it art." 2.5 for the first half of the album, but a 1 overall. Not sure how one could enjoy this album in its entirety while sober.

Pretentious and unbearable 2/10

Ég var bæði feginn og hryggur yfir því hvað platan var löng. Þótt þetta byrjaði vel þá varð platan fljótt ömurleg og svo voru lögin og platan löng þannig að ég þurfti að þola ömurlegheitin lengi. Sem betur fer var hún svo löng að ég þurfti að taka hádegismat í millitíðinni og þá fengu eyrun hvíld.

Not only am I in my brother's weird friend's basement, he is pretending to be a ghost for 17 minutes!

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.

I think the whole album was played in reverse on accident.

No

Essential.

Absolutely essential. You don't need to like this, but you do need a listen to it.

Flow state. 9+ / 10

They are one of the most interesting bands ever. Each individual band member has a cool background, recording it in a castle in Germany, how they would play for hours and then hand splice the best parts into songs, Damo Suzuki. The biography about the band All Gates Open I highly recommend. The first disc is just perfect. The music seems to jump out of the recording at you. Perfect mix of experimental yet fun to listen to. The back experimental half of course has taken more listens to appreciate. But it almost creates a well where every time I listen I can find a new element to enjoy. It’s so influential to so many of my favorite bands and it’s still never been replicated. It doesn’t sound of its time or any time. 36th perfect album, 1086 albums in. Rating: 5.0

I loved this. Yes they get jammy but it is so listenable and they really get into a grove. Listened a few times and they clearly influenced my favorite band OhSees/OCS/Thee Oh Sees. So far a head of its time it is hard to imagine what hearing this back in 1971 must have been like.

Got completely lost in it. Good running music. Love the experimentation and fuck what everyone thinks. Record label: What language is this in? Can: Yes

shit this might be the best new discovery for me so far. starts off so funky, almost danceable and slowly drags you down into dreary ambient madness, the manic drums and echolalia, then tucks you in with another nice groovy track. the double album curse has been broken (but likely to return, at least until we get to the wall or songs in the key of life). easy 5

who the fuck samples these drums? was it ciccone youth?

Load of hippy Germans making a right racket. 5 st]ars.

359/1001. Listening tot his album in the car with my parents reminds me, that there is music out there which they could have been listening as young adults, but that never happenwd and never will happen. For this thought alone, it deserves either a 1 or a 5. For me, a natural five.

Fantastic album, loved every minute from Paperhouse to Bring Me Coffee or Tea - even Aumgn, but the reason I am going out to buy this is Halleluwah! Wow.

Yes we Can.

Together with early Kraftwerk and Neu! CAN belongs absolutely to the pioneers of electronic music. I think they laid a foundation for the later (better) EDM genres like house and techno.

Simply one of the greatest Avant-Garde albums ever made. You can actually listen to it and not get bored

5/5. Tago Mago by the influential Krautrock band Can is probably one of the least accessible albums on this generator and its reception is likely quite divisive on here if I had to guess. But I love this album. For the sake of this review, the seven tracks here can easily be split into two halves. The first half (which encompasses the first four tracks) is very groove-based and jammy, where the drums really feel like the main character of the music. Especially on the 18 minute highlight of the album “Halleluwah” which has this locked in groove that slowly builds in intensity in its first 6 or so minutes before dropping out and then building up again. It’s the second half of the album however (the final three tracks) where I imagine this album really loses a lot of people. As the music from this point on kinda just abandons structure entirely. It begins to feel like the musical equivalent of a bad acid trip. Whether that be the noisy drone of “Aumgn” or the atonal keyboards of “Peking O.” And these are for sure not songs that I’ll put on at public events or that I listen to in isolation from the album regularly, but they are still fascinating and sonically engrossing experiments from a band that was pushing the limits of what rock at the time could sound like. One of those albums where I can completely understand how someone would despise it, but I personally find myself completely on-board with its uncompromising vision every time I listen to it.

mi amoré. mi adoré.

Wow, what an album! This is the genre-defining krautrock album, but it also has elements of prog rock that was just beginning to take root at the time like the rapid tempo changes on “Oh Yeah”. This album was way ahead of its time and while it was never replicated, one can easily hear the influence on bands who were later influenced like PIL, Sonic Youth, Radiohead and many others. Yes, it is intrinsically challenging to hear a band flip everything that traditionally defines music on its head, but that is also what makes it so damn interesting. Textures replace melody. Lyrics defined by intonation rather than words. All this is within a psychedelic wrapping that envelops the listener within different, sometimes uncomfortable, moods. This album is an artistic masterpiece. Like much modern art, it will not resonate with everyone. However, those who accept the challenge will likely be rewarded with a deeper appreciation on each subsequent listen. At least that is what happened to me.

Es una delicia de album muy buen sonido

Can's masterpiece. I guess it's really two albums, with the second obviously more experimental, and less accessible, than the first, but both are great. Even listening now it sounds like the future, so god knows what it was like in '71.

Incredible, groundbreaking, yet-to-be-matched, outstanding. I don't think any adjectives I can use will make this album justice. This is the sound of the right group of people coming together and achieving their potential. Everything here sounds pristine: the grooves, the song progressions, Damo Suzuki's ecletic performance. There's even little hooks here and there, even this is clearly not an accessible record. I can definitely understand this isn't for everyone, and I agree some of the more experimental moments like "Peking O" can be a bit much, but I'd say anyone with a taste for psychedelia will get something out of this album with songs such as "Mushroom", and through that entrypoint a whole new musical world awaits. Truly a must-listen. Key tracks: Mushroom Oh Yeah Halleluhwah

Heck yeah, it's the fellas. Halleluhwah is the greater use of the Funky Drummer beat of all time. It's OK to not enjoy Augmn and still accept that this album fucks and fucks hard.

Sprawling and trippy - it's held together by the mesmerizing motorik drumming and steady bass grooves which form a base for the rest of the sounds to float around, go nuts, explore, lose it, find it, settle down, freak out, and float on. Just an amazing album to put on and get lost in the sauce.

Sounds ahead of its time and for its time at the same time

Among the best Kosmische albums. Pure joy.

The best krautrock songs of al time on the first disc, then a psychedelic trip that will change your life on the second disc. This album is everything

This album saved my life.

Essential kraut/psych rock album that can only live in our wildest dreams, because it's almost impossible that it exists. Anyway, 5 stars.

Damn, post rock in 1970

opens soooo strong and gets a bit loopy by the end but i love this album... always been one for the books

5 estrellas porque no merece tener 2.8

My only regret is not finding out about Can sooner

This album reminds me of a jam session I had with my friend, Alex Perez. I think music like this can only really be created if you’re with a group of people that you really trust and admire the drumming and vocals, in particular are phenomenal, and there’s some moments on this album that had me double and triple checking the release date. There’s just no way that this shit came out before dark side of the moon. Truly inspiring and I will find it hard not to think less of people that don’t feel something strong and deep when listening to this album, especially the second half and especially Aumgn and Peking O. Listen on a long drive

It’s one of the best Can records. And Can is one of the best bands. Do I have to say more?

holy fuck, this is going to be one of my favourite 70s releases!! so much ideas and inspiration here

CAN is awesome but, this didn’t need to be a double album. The first four tracks make an epic album by themselves. The last three tracks are unsettling and I can see why people don’t like them. Still, five stars on the first four tracks.

Experimental noisy genius.

love them

Kraut rock glory. Experimental, bizarre, landmark.

++*: Mushroom, Oh Yeah, Aumgn ++: Paperhouse, Halleluhwah, Peking O, Bring Me Coffee or Tea 10/10

All the edge Pink Floyd never had Favourite Songs: Paperhouse, Mushroom, Oh Yeah, Halleluhwah, Bring Me Coffee or Tea. Least Favourite Songs: Peking O.

Good stuff

Do you like avant-garde music? If so, you'll probably like this album. If not, that's fine too. It's not everyone's cup of tea. As someone who likes experimental music, I loved this. This is krautrock at its finest. 5/5

Love this album, always have, hopefully always will.

the album as a whole, but especially Peking O, made me feel as if I lived in an alternate universe while simultaneously making me feel seen and understood when reflecting about how I feel living in our given society today, really awesome and cool and fun stuff 👍

Classic album and honestly probably the first one I’ve had in a few weeks that I would agree is a must listen. This I album is a great intro into Krautrock, which is such a vital genre for almost anything that came after it besides maybe country and top 40 (I am including hip-hop and disco as being influenced by Krautrock). I so felt hope that this stands as a jumping off point for a few people into other artists from this genre such as NEU!, Ashra Tempel, Faust, Cluster/Kluster, etc.

Classic masterpiece, no-brainer 5 stars. The perfect blend of popular music and experimentation. And Damo Suzuki is one of the most original (craziest) vocalists ever...

Tago Mago is the greatest krautrock album ever recorded. It's Can's "magik record" as Aleister Crowley was an influence on the double album likely a bigger influence than anyone else. It's a heady mix of psychedelic rock, experimental rock, funk, musique concrète, electronic music and God knows what else but it works beautifully - Tago Mago is not only brilliant but absolutely sounds like nothing else ever recorded and released on a major label. I could go on and on with all the names of all the artists Tago Mago has influenced but I don't feel like writing out endless names and then still not be complete. If you have an even passing interest in avant garde music, you need to hear Tago Mago preferably on headphones with no distractions.

This album, in my opinion, us a great example of Kraut Rock.

Yes, this is the stuff.

Это было невероятно авангардно, весело и психоделично. Отличный опыт прослушивания этого альбома, но думаю второй раз я бы его не стал слушать

Can is just so fucking sick. Very glad this project has brought them to my attention. And I got their two albums on the list back to back! What are the odds. I will say, I don't ever need to hear Aumgn again though. Not sure which album I enjoyed more (possibly Future Days - more listens required), but one of them deserves a 5 so I'll give it here.

Eight minutes into Aumgn I thought this is getting a 4, its too weird and experimental - even if it is an interesting listen. But then, in the gloomy gray morning light, I went for my morning walk and saw Halloween decorations and ghosts blowing in the wind. I looked to the sky with its fast moving, low, dark clouds and shining through a bright half moon in its center; then to the trees and birds moving at fast forward speed motion and realized I was just in the wrong setting before. 5/5

Alors, aujourd'hui on attaque une nouvelle étape de notre chemin de croix musical, et mon dieu quelle étape. On ne va pas se mentir, il y a des albums dans cette foutue liste qui se présentent comme des montagnes, des monolithes intimidants, auréolés d'une réputation si écrasante qu'on hésite à appuyer sur "play". On a peur de ne pas "comprendre", de passer à côté, d'être le seul con qui n'entend pas le génie. "Tago Mago" de Can fait partie de cette catégorie, c'est un peu l'Everest du Krautrock, le boss de fin de niveau du rock expérimental. On me l'a vendu comme un monstre, une créature sonore aux multiples facettes, et pour une fois, la publicité n'était pas mensongère. Je vais être franc : la première écoute de "Tago Mago" est une épreuve physique. C'est un peu comme se prendre un bus en pleine face, mais un bus conduit par un shaman sous acide qui aurait remplacé le klaxon par un solo de batterie de dix-huit minutes. On en ressort sonné, perplexe, le cerveau en bouillie, avec une seule question qui tourne en boucle : "Mais qu'est-ce que je viens d'écouter, bordel ?". Ce n'est pas un disque, c'est un putain de rite de passage, une cérémonie d'initiation qui sépare les amateurs de pop bien peignée des explorateurs de l'extrême. "Tago Mago" c'est une soupe primordiale, un magma sonore en fusion où les genres copulent dans une orgie chaotique et fascinante. Ce disque a été enregistré dans un château près de Cologne, et quand tu écoutes la folie furieuse de "Peking O" ou le délire free-jazz tribal de "Aumgn", tu imagines sans peine les fantômes des barons allemands en train de se taper la tête contre les murs en pierre. Le pilier de ce chaos organisé, ce qui empêche l'édifice de s'effondrer sur lui-même, c'est sans conteste la section rythmique la plus monstrueuse de l'histoire du rock. Holger Czukay à la basse et Jaki Liebezeit à la batterie ne jouent pas de la musique, ils la sculptent et ils martèlent, hypnotisent, répètent des motifs jusqu'à la transe. Liebezeit, ce type était une machine, un métronome humain avec une âme de sorcier vaudou. Il pouvait tenir un rythme pendant vingt minutes sans jamais flancher, te faisant perdre toute notion du temps et de l'espace. C'est la base, le socle sur lequel le reste du groupe peut partir en vrille totale. Et Dieu sait qu'ils ne s'en privent pas. Et puis, il y a la voix ou plutôt, le cri, le grognement, le murmure. Damo Suzuki, ce Japonais errant qu'ils ont littéralement trouvé dans la rue. Le mec ne chante pas, il canalise des esprits. Il utilise sa voix comme un instrument percussif, un saxophone dément, un râle sorti des entrailles de la terre. Et sur un morceau comme l'interminable et génial "Halleluwah", il y a des moments où l'on jurerait entendre Shaun Ryder des Happy Mondays. Cette même diction pâteuse et chamanique, ce phrasé qui se fout des conventions, cette façon de transformer les mots en un mantra rythmique. C'est troublant et on se demande si le jeune Ryder n'a pas usé la galette de Can jusqu'à la corde dans sa chambre de Manchester, bien des années plus tard. Mais c'est là qu'on touche au cœur du réacteur "Tago Mago" : son influence. Putain, son influence... C'est simple, une bonne partie de ce que j'ai adoré depuis mon adolescence est contenue en germe dans ce double album. Le post-punk ? Écoutez la basse de Czukay, répétitive, angoissante. Le post-rock ? Ces longues montées en puissance, ces explosions soniques, cette façon de construire des paysages sonores plutôt que des chansons... Le rock indé ? Ce mélange de mélodie et de bruitisme total, cette liberté formelle... tout est déjà là. Ce disque est un dictionnaire, une encyclopédie des possibles. Chaque groupe qui a voulu, à un moment ou à un autre, sortir des sentiers battus du couplet-refrain a, consciemment ou non, une dette envers "Tago Mago". Il a ouvert des portes que personne ne soupçonnait même l'existence. Il a montré qu'on pouvait être à la fois primal et intellectuel, dansant et terrifiant, structuré et complètement défoncé. À mon époque de disquaire indé, on aurait classé ça dans le bac "inclassable", ou "musique de drogués", ou probablement "import allemand à la pochette bizarre". Et on aurait eu raison sur les trois points. C'est un disque qui demande un effort car il ne se donne pas facilement... Il faut le mériter, l'apprivoiser. Mais une fois que tu es dedans, une fois que tu as accepté de te laisser porter par son courant démentiel, l'expérience est unique. Alors oui, 5 sur 5 sans l'ombre d'une hésitation. C'est plus qu'un album, c'est une clé, une clé qui ouvre l'esprit à une autre conception de la musique. Un monolithe noir planté au beau milieu de l'histoire du rock, qui continue, cinquante ans plus tard, de fasciner et d'influencer tous ceux qui osent s'en approcher. Si vous ne devez écouter qu'un seul album de Krautrock, ce serait mentir que de ne pas dire celui-ci. Mais attention, le voyage risque de vous changer à jamais.

one of the best albums ever made

Yurp its a banger

The reviewer would like to thank Google Translation for helping them write in German. Danke, Google. ich liebe dich. oh Scheiße. Jetzt kommt es. Ich weiß nicht, wie lange ich darauf gewartet habe und was ich davon halte. Aber ich versuche, es zu schätzen, weil es so einflussreich ist. Ich habe ein paar Freunde, die Krautrock mögen … und ich persönlich bin wirklich begeistert davon. und ich kann nicht beschreiben, wie großartig es klingt ... was für ein experimentelles Album. Das Album ist sehr rhythmuslastig, Schlagzeug und Bass halten immer weiter den Groove aufrecht, als würden die Räder eines Zuges klirrende Geräusche machen, während Gitarre, Gesang, Keyboard und so weiter lange Zeit improvisieren. Die Texte sind oft in einem wirklich klassischen Unsinn im Stil von „Alice im Wunderland“ geschrieben, mit vielen klassischen experimentellen Klanglandschaften, wie Tonbandschleifen, die hier und da eingestreut sind. Es hat diese besondere Schwingung, die manche Leute anspricht, aber aufgrund der experimentellen Natur von Krautrock vielleicht nicht für die breite Öffentlichkeit attraktiv ist. Ich will nicht anmaßend sein, aber ich mag das wirklich. Abgesehen von „Aumgn“. war dieses beschissene Lied die längsten 17 Minuten und 32 Sekunden meines Lebens. fünf auf meiner fünfstufigen Album-Bewertungsskala (original text: oh shit. here it comes. im not sure how long i have waited for this and what i think of this. but im trying to appriciate this because how influencial this is. i have some friends who like krautrock... and personally im really excited about this. and i can't describe how awesome it sounds... what an experimental album. the album is really rhythm heavy with the drum and the bass going on and on maintaining the groove like the train's wheel making clanking noises while the guitar and the vocal and the keyboard and stuff improvises on it for a lengthy time period with the lyrics often written in really classic, "Alice in Wonderland" style nonsense, with a lot of classical experimental soundscapes, like tape loops, thrown in here and there. it has this type of special vibration that has some appeal to certain people but might not be appealing to the general public, due to the experimental nature of krautrock. im not being pretentious but i really like this. apart from aumgn. that shit is the longest 17 minutes and 32 seconds of my life. five stars out of five on my album rating scale) 5/5

Great album, best album by Can, needs to be played loud in a darkened room😂

Funk psychedelic to the core.

KINO!!

How did I miss this.

So many haters dislike this masterpiece? Very influential that not many know about. I like jam music so this is clearly up my alley.

oh wow! Didn't expect to be completely submersed in this completely unknown band but here we are!

This record still sound singular all these years later. Not a wasted note is right. Truly almost flawless.

perfection

Introspective, psychedelic, uber-krauty. My favourite Can album.

I'm going to take this as a reward from the universe for tolerating the entirety of the last album I got here, a damn double album from Bob Dylan. Here I am rewarded with a fantastic double album from Can to cleanse the palette! This might be my favorite Can album, or at least probably is the one I've listened to the most. Of course with Can, you get drumming far ahead of its time and the the frequent mantra-like repetition of Damo's vocals, in front of driving and upbeat instrumental parts, all very much welcomed and enjoyed by me. Lots of cool experimentation on this one as well, and I find myself sort of in a trance when getting into albums like this. Maybe it helps that the more experimental portions of the album come after you're able to get cozy with more structured songs, but I don't think even the weirdest parts ever really turned me off. I do understand how someone who doesn't ever listen to experimental or avant garde would be really turned off by a chunk of this album, but thankfully that isn't me! Really I'd probably call this a 4.5 star album, but I think I'm okay with rounding up and calling it a 5 star. There are a couple other Can albums I think are worthy of inclusion on this list, so here is to hoping they pop up sometime later on!

Despite its length this album is kick ass, super interesting and odd songs, I fucking love it

Een album dat je niet snel vergeet. Je stapt er vrij aangenaam in, maar voor de onbekende luisteraar val je al gauw in het diepe Can-gat met de twee keer achttien minuut durende Halleluwah en Aumgn, de tweede nog ontoegankelijker dan de eerste. Maar het punt van dit album is niet om lastige muziek te maken, er zit geen pretentie achter. Voor mij voelt het alsof er grenzen opgezocht werden. De heren, allemaal klassiek getrainde muzikanten (en Damo), die probeerden de norm te doorbreken en zoals bleek met intens dagenlange opnamesessies hun gevoelens de vrije loop lieten gaan. Voor mij ging er met dit album een wereld van muziek open. Dat heb ik wel eens eerder gezegd in een review, maar bij deze meen ik het echt. Toen ik het voor het eerst luisterde, zo’n acht jaar geleden, is Oh Yeah misschien mijn favoriete nummer aller tijden geworden. Dat ik er nog steeds zo warm voor loopt zegt genoeg. Damo, fascinerend persoon, leerde mij dat het ook gewoon een vibe kan zijn. Het hoeft niet te begrijpen te zijn, het kan gewoon ‘zijn’. Dit album heeft mij voor zo veel nieuwe muziek opengesteld, en sinds het ontdekken ervan heb ik ook zo veel artiesten gehoord waar ik tegenop kijk die dit album als inspiratie hebben. Voor de mainstream zal dit altijd onbekend blijven, wat misschien ook niet zo erg is.

GREAT ALBUM AHEAD OF ITS TIME WITH THE EXPERIMENTATION

musica rock psichedelica sperimentale, alcune delle ultime tracce molto particolare. do 5 stelle per tenerne traccia e rivisitarlo anche se sarei più da 4

Tago Mago is a fitting name for this behemoth of a record. Can were fast becoming their own private island full of mystery and intrigue; a vast landscape of endless wonder. All that was needed was the piece of the puzzle that fit to make everything go together and for the German born band members of the group (Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Holger Czukay and Michael Karoli) the inclusion of Japanese nomad Damo Suzuki, after the departure of American vocalist Malcolm Mooney, was the piece that fitted. Tago Mago is the volcanic eruption that, despite its immediate impact upon German and other European circles, wouldn't be truly felt for decades to come. At least the last twenty-five or thirty years or so of rock adjacent music that is worth its salt can be traced back to this album. Yet, when it came down to Can, it was just the tip of the iceberg. This ain't Krautrock, this is otherworldly.

Neat

I'm cool enough to appreciate a little musique concrete now and then, but typically I feel that a little goes a long way. However, I quite adored this. The rocking to weirding ratio is perfectly appropriate. I feel that I could keep listening to this for years and keep finding new stuff in it.

It's one of the most influential albums ever, and the most famous Krautrock album. It is a bit crazy to think that it was released almost 55 years ago, it must have been mindblowing back in 1971. It's a fusion of experimental, psych rock, music concréte, jazz, funk - it's cool, funky, sometimes confusing, but it keeps my interest throughout which I love (and this is why I love experimental music so much). I can also hear the Eastern influences (by Suzuki) and how it influenced later artists and bands. For its influence and importance alone it deserves a 5.

I am unbelievably at a 5. You have to fully accept what this album is going for to appreciate it – that means you have to fully buy in, you have to fully commit, and you have to fully accept that this is music clinging onto a thread of sanity that will unravel over the course of 73 minutes, taking you on a ride that, for better or for worse, will sort of discomfort & challenge the very notion of what “music” is. For my money’s worth, this is a masterclass in sound design, atmosphere & feel – for 1971 in particular, this is far, far beyond anything I’ve ever heard from the decade, and it may genuinely be revolutionary. It’s certainly one of the most experimental & avant-garde albums we’ve gotten so far, and while I’m no stranger to “experimental”, it’s very rare for the quality of the album to match the sort of audacity and boldness of what it’s trying to do – Kollaps got a 3 from me, Trout Mask Replica got a 3, & Locust Abortion Technician got a 3 – all solid enough albums, if only for how bold they are & well they execute their vision, but this album executes it in a way that leaves space to fully appreciate just how wild everything is. It’s a trip, yes, but it’s a trip that has just enough space between listener & artist to allow the vision to become clear as you’re listening, and sort of have a better aha moment than could ever have happened on those other three albums. As far as the “music” itself goes, it’s harsh, it’s gritty, it’s certainly a bit throat-y at times, but it’s always anchored by the saving grace of consistent percussion – a tiny little lifeline to hold onto that resembles the normalcy of music, and perhaps the only sane normal thread of this protagonist’s ongoing anxiety-induced mental breakdown, performed and executed brilliantly by production work that feels years before its time – there are elements of 90s grunge rock, some weird electronica, vaguely jazzy tones, and oddly, sort of an anti “Kid-A” vibe, where the total non-ambience sort of loops around into a cacophony of sound that feels coherent despite itself. Yes, the vocal work & lyrical content make barely any sense, but at some point, they really don’t need to – the transition from good 70s rock to “I have no idea what the fuck is going on” happens rather fast, but still kind of slowly naturally comes out of nowhere. Trust me, I understand why this has an average of 2.79 (still, hilariously, higher than Britney Spears’ album) – it is NOT easy to enjoy this if you don’t fully buy into it, and even if you do buy into it, there will be moments where repetition & a sort of fatigue comes in, especially because this is a 73 minute album. It is, however, meant for one continuous experience, and it’s certainly a nighttime-y sort of album, to allow for its harsher and more horror-adjacent elements to really shine. I had a few moments where I just went into a pitch black room for 2 or 3 minutes just to really let a few tracks fully encapsulate my ears (looking specifically at “Aumgn” though), and it worked like a motherfucker. Insanely harsh percussion that feels like a sort of sacrificial ceremony happening, before dogs eventually come in and bark at you out of nowhere in a pitch black room? That’ll get the anxiety rolling. So, yeah, it’s a 5 for me. Again, you HAVE to buy into what the album is going for, and it is a one-shot, no skip experience, but it’s a journey worth taking – if you let yourself settle in and go along with the ride, the soundscape alone will conjure up images that tap into the creative spirit in a way that not many of these “experimental” albums have done before. It is harsh, and occasionally annoyingly loud, but I think those are compromises that had to be made to really sell the experience of the album. It could very well be revolutionary, or I could just be gassing up an overblown pretentious mediocre album that could be perceived as art if you squint at it for long enough. That’ll be for any subsequent listens to decide, but I really think this is gonna hold up well for me. I fully bought in, and I really enjoyed it, hence the 5.

I agree with the guy that said this fucks.

Coincidentally I listened to this album in full yesterday before being assigned it, and again today. I have listened to Ege Bamyasi and Future Days front-to-back a lot more than this one, owing partly to it being a double album, and partly to Aumgn and Peking O being a little too far out for me. I have played Halleluhwah on its own many times though. I thought at times that I had "got" those songs listening to them just now, but they still elude me, I think. I'll still give it five stars though.

* Gotta be a "5". Why do I love Can but not Radiohead?

Классно, очень классно, но оооочень затянуто. 5/5

This slaps. Got those great grooves and rhythms you can listen to for days. Thankfully the best track keeps going for 18 minutes.

While not my favorite Can album (that honor would go to Future Days), this is definitely Can's most ambitious and most adventurous album, especially given how much of the second half is this very odd and kinda creepy sound collage and musique concrete. My favorite song of the bunch is the side long "Halleluwah," which is just one of the funkiest things this group ever did. Overall, amazing album. Definitely worth checking out. Mid 9

this is going to sound pretentious of me but i think people really don’t get this and think that augmn and peking o are supposed to be taken 100% seriously. i feel like a lot of people expect it to have some kind of deeper meaning bc it’s avant-garde, but i feel like that’s missing the point. it feels like an early equivalent of shitposting in music form, and it’s awesome. though the highlights here are the first four tracks, which are all perfect, particularly paperhouse and halleluwah, just endlessly replayable jams

I have loved this album for a long time, but must admit I can't help but skip over some songs...

Experimental, psychedelic, mostly light and nonabrasive while still being pretty heavy for the time. The extended jams might not be for everyone, especially since some parts are not musical at all or are atmospheric and ambient, but I think they go well with other activities like driving or working. This is not gonna be the album for someone looking for catchy singles.

I love krautrock and while I know Can, I haven't really gone deep into their stuff. I do however recognize several tracks from this album, for example I love the bumbling groove of Halleluwah. I listened to half of this album with other people at the office, some only tolerated it for a little while and found it annoying pretty fast. I find the minor changes and tweaks to repetition of the songs interesting and enjoyable. Is this still considered experimental today, I don't know nor care. They did experiment the hell out of this record, I mean it's not totally atonal, but it also has bits that are. It is a genre defining album for all I know.

INFLUENTIAL

Can made a very skilled version of psychedelic, experimental rock. They created their songs through extended improvisation sessions, and the result is interesting, rich, exploring songs. Tago Mago is the second studio album from the band, and is regarded as the band's best work. The band, and this album in particular, influenced generations of musicians. This album ranges from groove-based jam band rock to fairly odd experimentation. All of these songs could part of the recording of a modern, improv-based jam band. Some of the experimental material wanders toward self-indulgence, but it staying interesting throughout. Much of the later part of the album could be the "drums & space" sequences from Grateful Dead shows, which the band started doing seven years after the release of this album.

This is #day77 of my #1001albumsyoumusthearbeforeyoudie challenge, and... how many cans can a canner can, if a canner can can cans? Well, a canner can can as many cans as a canner can, if a canner can can cans! To me, Tago Mago is the embodiment of what music sometimes should be: a statement, an experiment. This album is more than music. A sound play, a sound performance? Either way, it's shamanistic, funky, and jazzy. Face it, Putting "Aumgn" on a record in 1971 deserves a fucking credit. This piece may well scare the shit out of you. One other fun observation: those reverse-taped vocals at the beginning of "Oh Yeah" sound like a precursor to the language of A Man From Another Place in Twin Peaks. If this "was an attempt in achieving a mystery musical world from light to darkness and return", sleep well, the mission is accomplished. But then, I'm not sure where I am now after listening to it. In the words of Special Agent Cooper, what year is this? Of course, it's a 5 out of 5. Looking forward to #day78.

Classic Can album, just as practically all their earlier work. So in my memory, there was no doubt that this was a 5-star album. Initially I could not connect with the two lengthy experimental tracks and wanted to give 4 stars, but kept listening to the album over andn over, and in the end changed my mind.

Absolute brilliant album. Band is still ahead of time.

Awesome early psychedelia

A Masterpiece in experimental Krautrock. Put this on a permanent loop all day. My mind has expanded since I listened to this btw.

There aren't many of those in here, all-time favourites that I have feelings for, albums that I would use to describe my personality with and wear as a t-shirt, but this is one of them. And - I had not listened to the whole thing in quite a while - as much as I had to realize how much more I had filed "Tago-Mago" under the beauty of "Paperhouse" and the hypnotic groove of "Oh Yeah" than the 𝘍𝘢𝘳 𝘖𝘶𝘵! experiments of Aumgn and Peking O, well, those count, too. Stellar.

This album was released over 50 years ago, but it sounds like it could have come out yesterday. It’s so ahead of its time. Agree with the reviewers who said it “sounds only like itself, like no-one before or after" and that it’s "shamanic avant-funk." A wild and crazy trip.

Glorious. 10/10 top quality wackiness. I will be returning to this zany madness again voluntarily and merrily. It started and I was a little miffed it sounded conventional... then... it got weird and I was happy.

Begins as rather ho-hum before unfolding into an epic journey of sound. A tour-de-force!

I loved this. Never really listened to Can but I'm totally going to be playing this a lot more.

It's some kind of wild coincidence that I bought this album less than a week ago and now here I am reviewing it. For anyone who finds this album interesting, I'd recommend checking out the series on Can that the No Dogs In Space Podcast did, since I provides a LOT of interesting background to these songs. This band and the things they do make zero sense and yet it fucking works perfectly. The drumming is the absolute key to this band, even though ever member is great in their own right. The songs just keep driving and driving with the drums pulling them forward. The lyrics make no sense are and frequently inaudible and are perfect. The guitars are searing. There's a bass player not getting in anyone's way. This album fucking fucks I wish the cover art was better, but at least I like the fonts that they used 5/5

Cologne band Can was at the forefront of an exciting new genre in the very late '60s that moved away from the traditional song structures of rock music in America. It eventually came to be know as Krautrock (a slang on the genre's country of origin), becoming prominent for its experimentation in repetition, ambiance, and hypnotic psychedelic influences. Tago Mago is, arguably, the best representation of Krautrock. You get two experiences with Tago Mago, because it's a double LP, you see. The first LP is the finest krautrock imaginable, and you kinda have to let yourself drift off and enjoy the whole thing in one go. It's probably a 5-star album if we only count side A and B, because it's basically unmatched vibes that only Neu! come close to. Side A and B is a strange, slightly scary, collection of sounds that can barely be described as music. I imagined this is a filter for a lot of people who would have otherwise enjoyed Tago Mago and Can, which is a shame! You have to understand that there was not much incentive to experiment back in the '60s because studio time and equipment was, obviously, expensive. It was art collector Christoph Vohwinkel who allowed Can to live and record in a Cologne castle over three months, where they were encouraged to indulge in the avant-garde. This was limited only by their two-track recorder, so a lot of what you hear on sides C and D are recorded live off the floor. It's weird and unsettling and I think it adds to the appeal of the album which is uncompromising art. You don't get to claim music as an artform without Tago Mago or Can. You have to engage with it on some level like with Duchamp's Fountain, or you fail to appreciate what makes it art at all. Masterful.

it's just the best

What a phenomenal record! Whether it's the groovy rock parts of the first four songs or the experimental sounds of 'Aumgn' and 'Peking O,' it's all equally interesting. It's a progressive rock epic that keeps me engaged from start to finish. I understand that some people have issues with the Second Vinyl of this record, especially with 'Aumgn,' but I'd like to take a moment to defend that song. In 'Aumgn,' I hear the layers of sound that I would later hear on the first Laibach albums. It gives off a feeling of transgression. This song, with its incredible soundscapes, moves from tense anxiety at the start to a rhythmic drumming at the end that feels like an anti-authority poem set to music. Absolutely incredible.

Yesss this

good 70s music, feels like LSD

A little too experimental/improvisational for my taste, but I actually liked it for its originality.

Это 5 из 5 просто из чистого уважения. Это музыка, которая сломала стену и совок. Это музыка, из которой родились мои любимые группы. Это музыка, которая спустя пятьдесят с лишним лет звучит очень странно и как будто бы из другой вселенной, как бы клишированно это не звучало. Лучшая песня - Halleluwah.

What's the difference between the Velvet Underground and the Grateful Dead? Taste and Smell. Reductive, I know. So what happens if take the percussive harsh of the VU, add some Bay Area psychedelia and invite the Bitches Brew rhythm section. The short answer is a weird plasma lager. Served in a Can, naturally. The best head music should challenge perceived reality. Good time vibes make for a nice time at a summertime lake at dusk, but the best should always be a "what the fuck?!?" proposition, assaulting the quotidian. It should scare in uncanny beauty/ugly. It is a trip, after all. This scary shit. There is so much disorientating jamming here, none of it wanky, all of it wiggy. Clatter clatter electric jazz rama lama, Stockhausen as Miles heard it, perhaps. "Paperhouse" and "Mushroom" head lay a whole world out, caustic, unhinged whisper to scream Damo in full banshee savant over whoozy drones with soaring guitar lines. • ; "Oh Yeah" is a mutant motorik silver machine, relentless, and backwards vocals, maybe like the engine room of a wormholed ship. "Halluwah" is the centerpiece, a nearly twenty minutes funk workout that suggests an avant-German blaxploitation, part VU, part Gong and part Funkadelic "Wars of Armageddon". Dance the Revelation. Plus, Damo sounds like he's saying "Searching for my Lochnar", which is pretty great. The renewal, as it were is the transcendent prayer after, "Augmn", pure space deities chorus, asking, then answering "What if Syd Barrett made Atom Heart?". "Peking O" is pure psychedelibabble, a poem set to tape loops, dramatically read and totally riveting. The denouement, "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" is a nice, woozy bit a disquietude, perhaps the most conventionally "psychedelic" song of the record. The Deadheads would like it; it's a bit like something from "Anthem of the Sun". Deadheads love the goodtime vibes. Velvetheads like confrontational vibes. Me, I like mostly the latter and some of the former. But being a total creep, I enjoy feeling unsettled. Just. Like.This.

My second CAN album I've ever listened from this list makes me love Krautrock and want more. Now I will admit, CAN's other album 'Future Days' is more up my alley thank Tago Mago, but this one is still great. The layers of audible sounds that blend in and out in a pre-digital era had me from the beginning. 4.5/5

Yes this is great album

Legendary record, the groove on Halleluwah is neverending!

Ooooh boy, I love weird indie rock stuff and THIS is weird indie rock stuff. Love it.

Really cool!

This album comes from deep within the soul of music.

This is my shit! Highly recommended! The drums on this are just outstanding, super heavy and just driving, they are a force! The whole band just blends together perfectly, 20 minute plus songs you wish were longer, just perfect!

The two long form experimental tracks are not essential and a rather difficult listen, but everything else is brilliant

Really cool. I liked it a lot

Here is an indisputably great album, though sticking the 2 long, noisy drone songs back to back near the end is a strange choice. Still a fantastic record that sounds as fresh today as it was in the 70s.

Super

It gives me immense pleasure to imagine someone in their 40s/50s starting this challenge hoping to find some hidden gems and rediscover classics by Fleetwood Mac and The Beatles etc. Then being sat at a desk job with headphones on being subjected to the middle of Peking O. Hilarious stuff.

An absolutely psychedelic experience. its really hard to explain how this album makes me feel. it makes me feel warm and gooey and sticky while also managing to be a bit silly at times. insane vibes. maybe skip the second half "bonus tracks" on the first listen. the musical equivalent of cottonmouth

i thought this was a 90s album by the cover. imagine my surprise when i heard a bunch of hippies hipping around. love it! there are some pretty groovy tunes here, like a less polished version of those parts in the long ass floyd songs where gilmour explodes out on guitar screams. anyway, what a great fucking album, and i had never heard of it.

Epic is the word.

Jea tää vaan paranee vuosi vuodelta. Funkkaava eka puolisko on ihan huikea ja oon vihdoin lämmennyt jälkipuoliskollekin. Harvoin niin kokeellisesta tykkään, mutta tässä tuntuu kaikki klikkaavan.

OMG I just realised that the Fall song "I am Damo Suzuki" (which I knew was about the Can singer) musically quotes this album's "Oh Yeah". For those not liking Aumgn; you have to push through it and surrender. Once you come out the other side, it's great. This album passes my "listened to it twice in a row" test, five stars from me.

This feels like an entirely new frontier for rock music, kicked loose of blues root and classical pretension alike. In composition it probably falls somewhere on the jazz spectrum, but sounds nothing like it. One of the most mysterious, questing albums I've had the pleasure to experience. It sounds baffling and fantastic. Bear this bad boy in mind next time we're subject to four-chord crotch-rawk churn.

Piru kova! Loppua kohde vähä ehkä heikkeni, mut pirun kova

The first two tracks, "Paperhouse" and "Mushroom", are essential prog rock listening, but the rest of the album is really enjoyable too.

This one is a little tricky. It may not have made for the best road trip music, but it was certainly interesting. Firstly, I saw the year 2011 on the album description and thought it was from then. When I realized it was from 1971, that changed a lot of how I regarded it. I had completely believed this was much more contemporary, rather than something so innovative from half a century ago. In listening to the first half, the review in my head stated that my favorite thing about this were the rhythms and percussion. Absolutely awesome all through that point. Then we got to "Aumgn," and no more of that. My co-listener asked if it was the soundtrack to a very artistic haunted house, and we began to build the mental images as we went through, including a casino room. In any case, because it blew my mind so many times, I had to revisit this one, and I just found it to be fantastic.

Chilling and wibing hyvää musiikkia miellyttävää kuunnella taas

Banger. This is the best shit. It’s a ten Fave track: Oh Yeah

5.0 + 7 songs, 7 scenarios: - Paperhouse: Hippie dance party, Summer of '69, San Francisco. Oil projectors casting swirly colors on the wall. LSD. "Far out, maaaan." - Mushroom: Late night after-party bike ride across the Manhattan bridge. - Oh Yeah: The night my dog Benson devoured half a 7-layer chocolate cake and we were bombing down the highway to get him to the animal hospital. - Halleluhwah: Lost in a house of mirrors at the state fair, tripping balls. - Aumgn: Torture chamber. - Peking O: 3 am at the library studying for an econ exam I will likely fail. - Bring Me Coffee Or Tea: Laying in bed with a raging hangover, trying to figure out how I'm going to navigate a packed day of to-do's.

The first Can album I discovered and it BLEW ME AWAY. Made my day seeing this pop up this morning. Banger factory.

Absolutely essential krautrock masterpiece.

I was there, in 1968. I was there at the very first Can show. But the kids, are coming up from behind. This group was their own brand of songwriting that got weird long before the days of bedroom rock and lofi. It doesn’t really matter what I rate this album, because that’s missing the point. Can doesn’t give a shit about what I think or what you think. But 5 stars because Can fuckin rules.

I CAN and WILL give this deranged krautrock classic an EASY 5.

Paperhouse and Oh Yeah so good. Just such good fun psych freakouts

Can fan here. Biased vote incoming, feel free to dock me a star, but can I say this isn't my favorite Can album and yet also tell you it's utterly fantastic and maybe their most influential? Groovy, spacey, squawky and skronky—you can't put a lid on Tago Mago. The music spills out in all the right ways.

Starts out so tight, but totally goes off the rails towards the end. Gets top marks though for being so, so far ahead of its time.

10/10 wow, so glad I’m listening to more of Can’s stuff they’re an extremely talented band

The downfall of many a piece of experimental music is whatever the performers are trying to make it. Most of the music on Tago Mago lacks a clear telos: It can only be itself, and there's no striving to ruin the rumination. What's curious is that by all accounts, Aumgn should ruin the record. It spends too many minutes lacking not only an end but also the sense of urgency which propelled the rhythms of the other songs. Drumbeats appear but promise no impact, until the last handful of minutes somehow pull the song out of the muck and save it. Peking O is another curiosity, its drive disappearing into a frantic affect. All that means that the double LP registers as slightly underworthy as far as pure runtime goes, too much plain old ambient. But also the kind of weird that gets under your skin as well as your ears.

Bits of this album are exceptional. Some bits are irritating. Halleluwah is great. Fifteen minutes of bonkers rhythm that just sucks you in. Peking O is annoying. Overall, I love Can. So this is getting the full five stars.

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!

Krautrock is lovely

One of my all-time favorite albums. "Halleluhwah" alone earns them a spot in heaven, an I'm extremely into the rest of it

How am I supposed to listen to this seminal record and not give it 5 stars? It's loud, messy, rough, in your face, and proud of it. Lots of your favorite bands "sound" can be traced right back to this. An undisputable classic

If I took a hit of acid and put on Aumgn there is no telling where I would end up. 5/5

Uhh, yeah, I’m thinking it’s a classic

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.

Perfect album.

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

This was insane, and I loved it.

Sounds very funny to me

One of the most unique, influential, trailblazing albums. Caused an anxiety attack. 5/5

The highlight of a career of highlights.

An incredible album. Mind blowing stuff.

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

Brilliant. Probably not one I'll play all the way through consistently but the first half will definitely go into rotation.

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.

see previous review

well done avant garde album. Want to listen some more.

One of the best.

Ok

What a weird sensation my head bobbing but I'm not actively causing this. Like breathing it's just happening. This is transcendent. In a castle, new Japanese vocalist. Album art on point. Not pointless long form improv, feels very tight and focused. I wonder if Miles every listened to this, or if they listened to Miles. The last two tracks ventured off somewhere above the stratosphere and the ionosphere, brother, into parts unknown. A little turned off since the first 75% of the album had deep groves and great direction. Improv needs to stretch, maybe I was on the wrong drugs at the time. 4 for me.

I'm a fan of progressive rock, including this period of insanity which Pink Floyd participated in before 1973. I'll add this to my collection, but without a couple songs like Pekig O that in some sections seem like a mockery of music. 4/5

Geiler vibe

pure weird goodness. at times intense, in all the right ways. some songs felt like a real trip. to some, but certainly not many ears, Tago Mago might be beyond enjoyable, and that arguably makes it even better. a solid experimental album to me.

Genius artistic voices way ahead of their time....but I kinda....don't care

The question with Can isn't "what the hell is this?" but "when the hell is this?" This music could have been made anytime between 1965 and next week. A great example of what Velvet Underground could have been if they stayed off the heroin and actually put some effort into being better musicians.

Big fan of Tago Mago. Halleluwah is a trip in and of itself and should be on the list of 1001 songs everyone should hear before they die. There were a few different renditions of Can but this first iteration with Damo Suzuki at the helm is easily the best. The drums are absolutely enthralling; he's like a damn machine back there. Krautrock is so great and so interesting to me. Gonna need to find a good book on it sometime soon

Mesmerizing. I need to listen to more krautrock. I've listened to a good chunk of CAN and some Faust but I do encounter the issue when I strike out deeper into the genre that I just want to listen to Can again. And can you blame me? Tago Mago is great. The first half of the album lulls you deeper into the listen before the back half just super charges you with repetitive freakout stuff designed to expand your mind or set you running for the hi-fi's OFF button. You can always pick up new noises no matter how many times you listen.

The first half of this record is nearly a masterpiece. Really interesting soundscapes that I feel were massively influential on some of my favorite artists, with echoes of bands like Radiohead and Godspeed. I didn't hate the second half by any means, but certainly not songs I'll put on regularly.

The first four tracks are 5/5. The last three tracks are not.

Really interesting. I'm not generally a fan of the experimental and jam-style experimentation, but something about this clicked with me. The rhythms and guitar mix was well done. 4

I love this band. We listened to Ege Bamyasi earlier and it was great. That album was 7 songs and 40 minutes long. This one is 7 songs 73 minutes. I wish this was more in the 40 minute range.

A trip for sure and a good one, very intresting listen. Hope for more like this. It felt like a true story that not a lot of albums can portrait for me.

This may be the strangest record on this list, which is saying a lot. The first four songs would be the strangest songs on any other record, but on Tago Mago, they are the regular ones. These songs are really interesting and fun to listen to. They are the kind of songs you have to pay attention to the whole way through though. They take you on a journey, and you need to follow the journey every step of the way, otherwise you'll get lost. But what a magical journey it is. That is until all semblance of sanity dissolves during the last two minutes of Halleluwah, which up to that point was a rather normal track. The following half hour I tried to follow, but sadly I got lost in the insanity ridden poisonous swamp of Tago Mago. Maybe it's good that it doesn't make sense, because if it did, it would probably mean I myself have descended into insanity. Then, the last song is just normal again? Like waking up from a strange trip, the titular song is what I then would say: Bring me Coffee or Tea. Overall a strange, but wonderful experience. Will I ever listen to it again? Perhaps if I ever have a free day to smoke copious amounds of weed and see if this time I make it through the swamp. Until then, I'll leave this experience where it belongs, my memory. 8/10.

Now this is a fun surprise, prog-rock from the 70s. Just psychedelic enough to get weird. Yet still built on the early rock stuff firmly rooted in blues. Is what I thought before I reached Aumgn. That song and Peking O probably should be their own album because what a trip that was, it felt like it utterly refused to be comprehensible or even make sense. Like they decided they needed to make Dadaist music, and yet I cannot hate it.

This is definitely pretentious nonsense, to a degree; the B-side has two lengthy sound collage pieces designed to be disliked. And yet the front half of this record is just so magnificent; transcendent, another-plane-of-existence stuff. I greatly prefer Future Days, and even Ege Bamyası, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't think this was brilliant. Can's original vocalist, Malcolm Mooney, now lives in Calgary. I interviewed him for the student newspaper at age 19. What tangled webs we weave.

I love weird shit. Would it be a stronger album if it ended at the halfway mark? Probably. The second half is rough, but I still found things to enjoy within it. Did not care for the vocals at all and would have been fine if this were fully instrumental. Reminded me of Herbie Hancock, but not as good as Herbie Hancock. Favorite Track - Halleluhwah Least Favorite Track - Peking O ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

One of the most influential German bands alongside Neu! and Kraftwerk. I attended their induction in the German Echo Hall of Fame by the Red Hot Chili Peppers.

Mega weird, but I like it

Rating: 4.9/5 Short Review: Primal, hypnotic, and completely untethered. Feels less like songs and more like a band discovering consciousness in real time. Chaotic, repetitive, immersive… and weirdly transcendent. Favorite Track: “Halleluhwah.” Just an unbelievable groove. It keeps going until your brain stops resisting and fully gives in.

8.5/10

I know it was an innovative album for it's time. It sounds like it!

So cool

This felt like finding the precursor to Tool, Swans and Xiu Xiu all in a day. Excellent album.

I'm running about 5 albums behind so I put this on in the car, no idea who or what they are/were, the genre or the date. A totally blind listen. The first of the double albums is psychedelic, trippy indie Madchester. 'Halleluhwah' which takes up the whole of side 2 is a straight rip off of Stone Roses with a Shaun Ryder impression to boot. But wait...this was recorded in 1971?! This is YEARS ahead of its time. Tell me neither Shaun or the Roses never heard this and I'll tell you you're a liar. The second album is totally different. More a random science experiment. Eno-esque (so still ahead of its time - just 5 years rather than 25!) A little less relatable that the first album but I liked it nonetheless. TLDR; This is 2 albums in one package. Album 1 : 5* Album 2 : 3*

Drugs much? Lol

Une fois dedans c’est très bien

Overlong but very interesting. They have better records (more concise)

I've known of this album for eons but for some reason, this is my first time listening to it! And what a delight it was! Groovy and a little psychedelic, even the longer songs don't feel dragged out. Now it's off to Discogs to get a copy on vinyl!

Ever since I rediscovered Krautrock, the band CAN has been a household name for me. I’ve heard some amazing tracks by them. Their music was extraordinary back then, and it still is today. Rarely have I heard anything so innovative that still deserves to be listened to today. Yet there’s also a lot of music on this album that makes you wonder what strange substances were consumed before or during the recording. Some of it was just too harsh for me; perhaps this is also a clue to the drugs that were used. 4/5

So funky and psych. Can is one of those bands that when I first learned about them, I was instantly hooked from their creative harmonies and sounds. The compositions are unique, curious and engaging. It’s a type of music that I love hearing because it displays the potentials of music production, and it sounds great! Big ups to this record.

Very experimental but I really enjoyed it. Especially the first half

This is so fucking weird and insane and I love it. The first half of this album is actually pretty catchy, funky, and relatively easy to listen to. In the second half, though, this album goes completely off the rails with "Peking O." being the prime example, with the singer just blabbering nonsense over these weird rhythms and noises. It got a good laugh out of me just because of the absurdity of that track. With "Bring Me Coffee or Tea" the album closes off "normal", similar sounding to the songs on the first half. I am not really sure how much I will return to this, but this was such a fun and interesting listen that it deserves a high score. It was also so cool to hear how this record influenced many of the artists that I love today; really, for 1971, this album is so ahead of its time.

I really enjoyed most of this album, the driving beats and the irreverent lyrics were unique and interesting. The songs Aumgm and Peking O towards the end of the album were long and pretty far out there that they were kind of a slog to listen to, but the rest of the album I thought was great.

Solid kraut rock album, but for my money I will always be a Faust man.

É absolutamente impressionante para os anos 70. Só consigo imaginar o que as pessoas sentiram ouvindo a faixa Aumgn.

As a Can-Stan (my No.1 German/Japanese Axis Band) would love to go 5 here but it does drop off a bit of a cliff after Halleluhwah. However that and Oh Yeah are one of my fav 25 min stints of any album and one I often hit up. Jaki's kinetic, motorik beats on these two are incredible as are Damo's vocals. Love that Oh Yeah has verses with back maskin vocals as well as English and Japanese but due to his often incomprehensible lyrics it's really hard to tell which is which sometimes. For some reason the delivery often reminds me of Del Toros "hand me the keys you f*cking cocksucker" in Usual Suspects. And then Halleluhwah - the way he saunters back to the mic to deliver the "Oh", Fela like in it's timing, 7.50 in is brilliant. Not only did Shaun William Ryder base his whole career off this song he then had the temerity to name one of his main EPs after it, minus the esoteric spelling. But, full credit to Ryder for spending his no doubt ill gotten gains in obscure vinyl record stores in the basement and forgotten corners of the Arndale shopping center.

Gets a 4 for the first side. The less said about the second side, the better...

Albums like this is why I'm doing this whole thing. Great find.

Great album

Exactly the kind of record I was hoping to discover with this project

4 out of 5. This album was a fun jam.

erste hälfte 70er vibes, zweite hälfte industrial alien invasion komische geräusche experimentell lsd trip

Yeah I don't know man but it was pretty cool I guess

I saw Damo Suzuki before a gig once and he was wearing a big coat and drinking Guinness, don't recall much about the gig though. This is pretty good but when I first listened to this around two decades ago I didn't get the two experimental pieces and I still think they are shit.

Hmm, my first time listening to Can. I know Radiohead loves them. Which could be a good or bad thing. But this was cool. I know you'll see this lie thrown about on many a review of many an album on this site, but in this case it's true. This does NOT sound like an album from 1971. You can tell where Radiohead, or Thom at least, were heavily influenced here. Sure many of the songs are too long and there's a lot of meandering noodling, but when it gets going it's excellent. So depending on your tolerance you'll love it hate this. I'm on the fence whether it's a three or a four. I'm not sure if the initial delight and novelty of hearing this will wear of with time, but a few of the tracks will be slapped onto my playlist and we'll see.

Long, weird, repetitive. What's not to like? 4*

Honestly I did like this, it was fun and felt cool to listen to. 4 stars

The A and B sides being so great justify the freakishness of the last two sides. 8/10

Kjenner til denne plata ganske godt fra før. Paperhouse og Halleluwah er absolutt høydepunktene på skiva og noe av det beste Can ga ut. Synd siste halvdel av plata er såpass rævva. Svak 4 siden første halvdel er så sinnsykt bra.

Enjoyable.

It was really fun re-visiiting this. Already familiar with this gem, and I know for a fact it's not the type of album that clicks with one listen; many a required to appreciate the layers of musical brilliance. On this listen, I think it's safe to say the first 4 songs are the best of the album. Banger after banger. Halleluhwah has always been my favourite, despite its length. Mushroom was good fun too. The last 3 tracks we see a dip in quality, but still worth a listen. Aumgm sounds like being inside a prayer room or holy place. Meditative and somber sounding. Almost ambient. Not for me though. Peking O....hoo boy. That one is always interesting. The first time I heard the screams in this song, I burst out laughing. Pretty funny. As a song, it has its moments but the screaming kinda ruins it, despite the entertaining aspect of it. Bring me coffee and tea is just sort of ok; fades in the background a little. Overall, cool album. I really like it, and it's a good starting place to understanding what Can is all about. Now I'm gonna get my kicks reading all the reviews from people who hated it.

Somehow they saw the future of music.

Now this is something I CAN get behind. Happy Valentine’s Day every body

This is really good. The more experimental stuff is tough to latch onto, but I'm glad I heard this. 7/10

For noen tullebukker.

Definitely feels ahead of it's time, which sounds about right for Krautrock. As others have said, track 5 feels a little out of left field. Halleluhwah is a tasty jam, then we get this spacey minimalist soundscape that grates on your eardrums for 17 minutes. In other words, my kind of bullshit.

After getting Future Days three months ago, I was surprised to get another Can album on this journey. I figured with how much I enjoyed Future Days, I would be in for a similarly good experience, even though Tago Mago came out two years prior and would likely not feature the more robust production or ambient influence of later records. Boy, was I not prepared for what transpired during my listen. Bassist Holger Czukay described Tago Mago as "an attempt in achieving a mystery musical world from light to darkness and return", and that is an apt description. The album certainly opens with the eerie avant-funk atmosphere of "Paperhouse", with ornate, fuzzed-out guitars, pounding drums, and Damo Suzuki's broken lyrics illustrating a dream of a comforting lifestyle that is out of his reach. This dream is interrupted by the horrors of the world seeping in on "Mushroom", where he sees the mushroom head that symbolizes a nuclear explosion set off, as Jaki Liebezeit's pounding drums are pushed closer to the front of the mix, the guitars wail with anticipation of the rumble of the explosion that opens "Oh Yeah". As the mushroom cloud dissipates, Damo modulates between backmasked vocals and his native Japanese tongue, trying to make sense of this apocalyptic, LSD-driven hellscape as the tape editing and instrumentation help illustrate the slow descent into madness experienced. The insanity further builds on "Halleluwah", as the monstrous instrumental jam serves as the backdrop for Damo's descent into darkness, culminating in the feeling of emptiness on "Aumgn" as Irmin Schmidt's experimentation with oscillators and Michael Karoli's violent violin-scratching signify the disorienting nature of this predicament. The full extent of the madness is made bare on "Peking O.", with some of the most outlandish tape editing on the record and Suzuki delving into outright gibberish and screaming as though he had reached the limits of rationality. Only at the end is there a return to reality on "Bring Me Coffee or Tea", where the laxed composition eases the tension built over the course of the journey. I certainly commend the band for the structure and experimentation of this album, which together tell a story of one's venture to escape from a nightmare, even if I had my limits with the avant-garde noise rock in the full-on madness moments on "Aumgn" and "Peking O." I definitely preferred the more refined experimentation on Ege Bamyasi and Future Days. But, I can't deny that Can accomplished what they set out to do on Tago Mago, and made as compelling a listen for 73 minutes. Even if I don't revisit this album as often, there is a degree of skilled musicianship and studio editing that I can recognize as influential to many later acts, and for that, I can respect this record.

Woah! Really liked this straight away. Love the groove. Yeah it's an album of two halves, half is pretty accessible funky, improvisational rock, and half is pretty experimental. It's cool though. I haven't got proper time to spend with it before the next album drops tomorrow (shame not to get this on a Friday), but I'm willing to switch the TV off, switch social media off, put my headphones on and immerse myself into something a bit weird and 'actively deeply listen' to something rather than have it on in the background. Having only listened a couple of time today, fave track so far is probably the most accessible one: Halleluhwah. But I'd like to go back to this and see if anything else captures my ears on a few more go rounds. It's a solid 4. Total number tracks: 7 Fave Track #4 Halleluhwah Others? Opening track 'Paperhouse' also cool.

I didn’t think I was going to like this, but it was surprisingly great! Musique concrete meets Stockhausen meets Miles Davis. A new and happy treat for this old man.

What a bizarre treat this turned out to be. What is in the can? Well it’s Kraut and it’s absolutely does not agree with everyone’s palate. But it sure it the spot for me. The first half, the accessible of the two halves has some really great psychedelic jamming going down before they delve into a gothic, hellish fever dream of frantic shrieks and moans. You want something truly creepy on your Halloween playlist? Just toss the 17min Aumgn on it. Yes, this album may not have a place in your day to day listening, they probably made this to trip balls to but I enjoyed it with a clear mind well enough. 4 weird stars

I never listened to Can before. (Negative reputation outpaced listening experience?) Track 1 is great, would be fine as a contemporary recording (I'd be intrigued they didn't turn up volume/distortion) - good drumming, high energy, solid structures, fascinating. So I go read Wikipedia: "... Czukay editing the band's long jams into structured songs"?!?!? The following tracks (on disc 1) are funky and interesting - jazzy, negligible clangers - were they brilliant jammers, or is it all down to brilliant editing? (But he was only editing two-track tapes!) Then, disc 2 was tougher going, but quite listenable (after a break). In fact Aumgn grew on me (over three listens). Familiar curiosity from a groundling - did they have a plan for a given track, or how 'randomly' throw stuff in? Anyway, disc 1 is 8/10, overall 7/10.

I feel like I’ll have to listen to this album at least 5 more times to understand it.

A banging 4

Another album that I probably should have listened to by now. Favorite track: Paperhouse 3.5/5

krautrock is so cool. cool ass. i don't really know whats going on but i like it. after reading the wikipedia it doesn't seem like the musicians understood it either so that makes me feel a bit better

This album is great. Probably my favorite Can album I have listened to. The second half, especially Aumgn and Peking O, feel like exercises in musical surrealism. I understood the intent and while I can’t say I really want to revisit it all that often I respect the artistry. The whole first half is fantastic though.

There is no such thing as bad Can.

An influential album the bridges jazz, rock and electronica. A hypnotic recording with some wicked funk rhythms. The start of something major for me.

Rather than a number of different songs, "Tago Mago" comprises a psychedelic and widely instrumental sound collection where more experimental parts mark the beginning and the end of each track. Although the middle parts are kind of similar (I guess they're all the same key but didn't check), to me it doesn't get boring. Overall, I'd describe Can as in the ballpark of King Crimson but without the atmosphere (which makes KC truly stand out).