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There is a fine line between Avant Gard off beat brilliance and just a bit shit. This album has moments of both, but if no way coherent enough to be considered classic.

Yeah I have no idea what I just listened to

This one to me was mostly just a noisy mess but not in an interesting way. It felt very incoherent to me Standouts Cool in the Pool 2/5

Innovation doesn’t necessarily mean great pop music.

There are good bits every now and then, but the vocals and occasional sample spam kills the album. I am pleading with tears in my eyes for ambient-like artists to not ruin their interesting soundscapes with vocals. It has happened way too many times on this list.

Recently while on a pleasant afternoon drive, I passed a Tesla in self driving mode. As I glanced over, I saw that the gentleman behind the wheel had both of his feet propped on the dash on either side of his steering wheel, as though undergoing an OBGYN examination. He also had his finger literally knuckle deep in his nose. As I beheld this spectacle, feelings arose in me that would later be replicated by this album.

The artist's name is vaguely familiar but I'm not recognizing anything else. So I'm basically going into this blind. This is just weird. And I've been known to enjoy some weird music, but I don't think I enjoy this. One nice thing I can say about this: it really sounds ahead of its time. I'm glad I listened to this, but I don't think I need to hear it again.

Elvis Costello was made in a lab for me to love and yet he has just never done it for me. Listening this time I disliked this album less than others but he is just so bland. I can’t understand the hype.

Just b-movies.

Необычная, арт-хаусная музыка. Ознакомиться еще норм, так слушать - не мое 5/10

Weird, funky, African rhythms fused with art rock and spoken word. What’s not to like

some much variety for just 4 long songs

Phenomenal

Bad

Meh

Я не большой поклонник группы Can и поэтому сходу не понял кто этот человек. Послушаю что он еще записал, этот альбом-то всего ничего, четыре композиции. (7)-2-7

Man, definitely a doozy of a record. Opener, "Cool In The Pool", somehow feel like 40 completely different ideas haphazardly wrapped up into one mess of a track. Wasn't sure what to expect of "Oh Lord, Give Us More Money" after that, but surprisingly had me invested, at least until about the three and a half minute mark where we were back to messy avant-garde nonsense. By the end of the second track, I felt like I had heard enough and moved on with my life...

Like a few of the German albums on this list, I feel like I have a culture gap that prevents me from truly enjoying it. That said, I thought it was really well done. 'Cool in the Pool' was very interesting and random at times, while 'Persian Love' was pretty. Not overly cohesive, but gets a few points for experimenting. Rating: 6/10 (Decent) Favorite Song: Persian Love

Musically the album is moderately interesting, when it goes Tangerine Dream/Vangelis-ish. But my god, his Augustus Gloop-ass vocals are annoying. Track 1 is garbage. The rest are so-so.

Pop, Rock, 1979 -> 2

Quite enjoyed - a bit concept album type feel. Not something I’d rave about, but decent listen

(sorta) funky krautrock. abt as surreal as that sounds. super cool and fun

Super interesting album, this is why I like the list. Doesn't surprise me to learn that he was a member or Can. I love that this list has recurring characters that enable you to piece some parts of music history together. Each of these tracks are completely unique in their own right and I did enjoy this album. The absolute bizarreness of Hollywood Symphony won me over. Favourites: Hollywood Symphony

Not a massive fan of a lot of instrumentals. Felt just a bit bland and got lost tbh. Found it hard to find anything exceptional from it.

Can man Holger Czukay doesn't always hit the mark with his first record since leaving his former. The funky "Cool In The Pool" gets things off to a commendable start. It isn't too different from the funkier side of Can, but features more sampling. The sampling is this is considered rather innovative as it was in the infancy when this album released. Czukay's voice does feel rather off-putting and it can damper the mood that the ambient parts of this album tries to creates. I give this album credit for trying something different, but there is not enough for me to revisit this any time soon.

on the alternative side....

I would not have listened to this back in 1979 (Talking Heads, yes; this, no). I really did not have an ear for whatever kind of doodling electronica from which this was expelled. And so many different artists have improved on these technologies/style that really this is kind of barbaric. So, afterwards I can say this sucked then and it suck even more now. Bully for the doing it before others; unfortunately, it has been done better and more melodically infinitely smoother. Not gonna lie, this sucked. 2 "a midge better than ABBA/ELO" stars.

I wasn't into this until the final fifteen minute track which I quite enjoyed. Clearly it was pretty groundbreaking in terms of use of sampling and use of found sound. I liked this for about a 1/3 of the time, not sure if given a few more listens I'd appreciate the other three tracks more.

These are the reasons I've enjoyed the 1001 albums. To find out about pioneering musicians, who started electronic / avant garde movements before Kraftwerk were even on the scene. Pushing the boundaries of enjoyable at time, but I liked that. Especially persian love.

No sé q tienen muchos discos de esta lista con arrancar bien, o por lo menos normal y después ponerse muyy raros. No me gustó ni lo escucharía.

Interesting album. Doesn't mean its good, but it is full of an eclectic mix of instruments and melodies. Worth a quick listen once, as I'm sure it was probably influential and ahead of its time. Don't know whether I'll give it a second go though. 2/5

Kuka ikinä Holger Czukay onkaan niin taiteensa ja minun käsitykseni musiikista eivät kohtaa. Albumin kuunteleminen sai kyseenalaistamaan tämän albumilistan läpikuuntelemisen mielekkyyttä. 1/5

Wacky and funky. These guys had a lot of fun, and I really liked it.

Wow, two weirdo euro experimental jams in a row. Absolutely crazy and reminds me (more than it should?) of The Bonzo Dog Band... but if you can not immediately parody this in your mind, some of this can be crazily enjoyable! For a little while anyway......... not sure anyone can or should sit happily though fifteen-minute wackadoo jams? Well, I guess I should speak only for myself. I don't personally enjoy too many fifteen-minute wackadoo jams.

Que rareza es esto?

I love a good 4-song LP. This was a great listen full of interesting sounds and meandering passages. They do sound like soundtracks to a movie all in their own little world.

Super mærkeligt. i like it

Cool...... in da pool........

what the hell is going on? also yeah if this album was just instrumental it would be ten times better :(

must've been watching some neil breen when makin this

day 21 of not rolling Aja by Steely Dan idk who this is for but it isn't me

weird but i like it

Ehhhhh

Nah, man, I don't care if it "pioneered sampling," there is nothing exciting or interesting about these songs. I did not enjoy dude's corny whisper-singing.

This was pretty crazy! But not as crazy as Can, like I was hoping. But still enjoyed it very much. *Fav tracks: Cool In the Pool*

Like… so weird but I kinda dig it!

Bit of an odd duck, but I thought it was good. I did listen twice and I think I was really starting to understand it the second time around.

Love that Holger was always taking musical risks whether in solo work or with CAN. It doesn’t always land, but it’s always innovative and different.

Mostly enjoyable but I wouldn't call this good music.

And I will never click play again... random vocal chops kinda ruined the experience

I think I could go up on this in time but for now I’ll put it right in the middle.

Okay. This was a hell of a thing. Not sure exactly what kind of thing, but was a hell of one. Interesting as all get out, not sure I ever need to hear it again tho.

a mi me ha gustado es rarete

Very uneven but I liked it alright.

Holger Czukay, the former Can bassist, takes fragments of live funk, musical and non musical samples, and early electronic instruments, and compiles a meandering, improvisatory collage which is celebratory and delicate. Sure, it's self-indulgent but there's a sense of joy and groove throughout. It's music about dance music - this is not for the dancefloor. I'd heard enjoyed "Cool In The Pool" before, a daft avant-funk classic in which Czukay's clipped German accent offering to get cool in the pool sounds ridiculous and analytical rather than sleazy. The deconstructed funk jam of "Oh Lord, Give Us More Money" also has some lovely Duran Duran-esque guitar on it - but it's like looking at it under the microscope, shorn of context. Drummer Jaki Liebezeit is in a restrained mood, playing gentle understated grooves rather than the familiar motoric drive of the earlier Can records. Musically he's more inventive than ever (what is going on with the hihats in "Hollywood Symphony" - are those quintuplet quavers?!) and it pulls the disparate elements together as fragments of songs come and go. Perhaps the highlight of the album is "Persian Love", which weaves a song around the eastern vocal sample, first as an ambient soundscape, then later easing into a gentle groove with Congolese guitar. You can see the joins, and compared to later world music fusion it's a bit clunky, but the joy shines through.

I can appreciate this as well made; clever and interesting music. But i can’t imagine ever wanting to listen to it other than as quirky background music. No soul, no groove, no balls. 5/10

I'm not entirely sure why this is here, but alright. It's an OK krautrock album that features a lot of electronic experimentation and very few vocals. It lacks the grooviness of Can, making it worse in comparison in my opinion. However, it's not completely terrible and is actually pretty interesting at points, so it gets points for not being another Britpop album.

Might be useful for sampling, but not very memorable

In the review of Duck Rock, I said there was no need for that record on the list, when My Life in the Bush of Ghosts had already got there and did it with "more depth and less smirk." Well, it turns out someone got there before Byrne and Eno too. Czukay is smirking all the while, however, as only a German born in 1938 can. I don't know that this is better than My Life in the Bush of Ghost for sample-laden meandering, but it is less worthy. Which is a positive. I think it is better than Duck Rock, although I can't say it is really any smarter or less irritating. Although vastly different in many regards, my reaction is similar to my reaction to Czukay's other project that we've listened to here, Can. While I find it hard to focus on the thing for its entire span, when I do occasionally tune in, I enjoy what I hear: it's cheeky, silly, and groovy. But nobody expects you to enjoy it from start to finish. I suppose, if one just randomly taping sounds off the radio, then the record will have the quality of radio - or, at least, in this case, one of those stations that isn't all the hits all the time. 2 There is too much farting around here. Too much bass grooving, too many arbitrary lines being picked out on the guitar or the keyboard, and too much taping the radio. It could have done with much more of Holger‘s voice and lyrics - the only memorable things present. 1.5/5

interesting first song very party like

3/10 Muy raro. Es como la música turca, no me copo nada

*1979. German electronica. *Experimental and disjointed, but not terrible. *Just when you're finding a sound you enjoy, it suddenly changes, like a DJ who won't just let the audience enjoy a song for a few minutes. *Some really pretty instruments in Persian Love (although the vocals detract), and then the next song is like a spooky Halloween track... *Totally fine background music. It's interesting enough for active listening, but it's just all over the place. RATING - 6/10

Good

A journey into the insane mind of this man... Not sure if I would ever listen to any of this again, but I had a decent enough time

Some really really cool moments here, I think this one might grow on me. Just a few too many dry spots but that’s what happens when you’re just experimenting and going for it like this guy is!

Bear with me; but this album is kind of like that person that thinks they're charming and cute enough to you that they think they don't need to ask when they do something like take your fries, take a sip from your drink, bum a cigarette from your pack, crash at your place, touch your stuff and invade your personal space all the while you don't really your relationship to be close enough where they're allowed to do that, and you're not really sure you want to give them the chance to get close because of that personality trait? Since this album is kind of like that. It's cute and charming at times, but from a first listen it's not enough to win me over through the weird bits when it's taking my damn french fries without asking.

Let's get cool in za pool, ja I actually kind of hated this at first but it grew on me.

Weird in the best way.

This was weird, quirky and fun

Who wants to get cool in the pool?

First listen

Very much an album of its time, lots of things about this scream 1970s - especially Cool in the Pool, which is so of its time it hurts. Once again prickles my dislike for excessively long tracks, the whole thing doesn't outstay its welcome but I didn't particularly enjoy my time with it. Not sure it really deserves to endure.

Another interesting and unique album, not as listenable though as the Penguin Cafe stuff, but definitely as unusual.

I got nothing from this album. No enjoyment, no mental stimulation (maybe the first song a little bit), just a desire for it to end and for me to move on with my day.

I will admit it took several listenings before I connected with this one. Each track is lengthy and got some it seemed to me that it took a bit of time for him to get to the groove he was looking for. So I tended to like the ends of the songs on the earlier listen, and then have to go back to appreciate it more from the start once I kind of knew where he was heading. The Can album on this list is one of my very favorite finds, so I had high hopes. This didn’t quite meet that level but the more I listen the more I enjoy this.

Yeah no

Not sure what to make out of this. The whole thing is more of a collage than an album. Sounds choppy, with songs having many different sections glued together, interrupted by weird samples and spoken word passages. That being said, it's really interesting and unique. The album has this almost schizophrenic feel to it. It's disorienting and strange, but in a way that lured me in. I'm getting glimpses of Zappa, Silver Apples, Faust and so on. Still not sure what this is but it definitely scratches the right part of my brain.

Best Track - "Persian Love"

4 songs, experimental music, confusing instrumentation and not my thing. No hits, no hooks, nothing compelling. The people around me were like "WTF are you listening to". 2 stars

Always good to come across something new (to me) and completely wild. I don’t really know when or why anyone would ever listen to this though. It scrambled my brain in a not great way. So, points for uniqueness. Points detracted for being annoying in its uniqueness.

Weird. First song was super cool

Another one that has broken me, time for another rest.

Dirge

:thumbs up:

I am an enjoyer of many things but the avant-garde isn’t one of them

It's experimental and weird but not in a totally bad way. I can't say I loved it, but it was certainly interesting.

5 or gtfo

holger's stuff is truly even weirder than his amazing work in can. this can probably sound like a complete mess. it probably is. but it is a beautiful mess. there's a direct line between czukay's solo stuff and something like the avalanches ~25 years later

Favourite Songs: Oh Lord, Give Us More Money Hollywood Symphony

Weird but not terrible. The instrumental parts were better than the singing for sure but still interesting. Not sure I would ever listen again though. 3/5

Wow, this was a revelation. Looking back at my reviews, I quite liked Can but this is a step forward for me. Will relisten.

Funky, trippy, complex, but never boring. This was a neat little trip and it was pretty short on top of that. Favorite track is Persian Love.

A mad professor’s mixtape that gets in your head after a handful of listens.

Holger Czukay’s solo record after leaving Can is some interesting shit. It goes on a little too long at times but the foundational concepts and at times funky fun are well worth a listen.3.5 stars

Una cosa rara que para mí ha sido interesante. Descubro que es uno de los fundadores del grupo Can, curiosamente el anterior álbum de la lista fue "Virgin Suicides" que precisamente me recordaba a ellos. Interesante el disco y corto. No me guardo nada, pero Persian Love y Hollywood Symphony suenan bien y en su momento debieron ser innovadoras en esa mezcla éctnica, electrónica y rock.

Notable Textzeile: And our nonsense have method Ich bin mir nicht ganz sicher ob da wirklich irgendwo Methode hinter ist. Für mich macht das gar nichts außer Fremdscham wegen der Texte und des Akzents. Verstehe dass das irgendwen interessieren könnte, daher keine 1 - aber da hätte mir nix gefehlt im Leben wenn ich nicht wüsste dass das existiert - und ohne Can wüsste vermutlich auch niemand heute um seine Existenz.

Okay, der hat bei Stockhausen studiert und hat offensichtlich Spaß mit was auch immer das hier ist. Gut für ihn. Gut für mich, dass es irgendwie mitnimmt - das Album hätte aber Musik heißen müssen, denn hier ist weit und breit kein Celluloid in Sicht

Cool in the pool? U serious? Danach wird es eher interessanter, wenn auch zu artsy für mich. Das man das mal gehört haben "muss"? Weiß nicht. Dass da aber irgendwas interessant dran ist? Definitiv. It went right past me. Mag das Sampling da drin, Weltmusikeinflüsse. Aber die eigene gepitchte Stimme. Ze German Akkcent? naaaah.

Sounds modern and different from what I know from Can, I like Persian Love a lot and Hollywood Symphony is a messy but very interesting ride

I’m a decent fan of Can and this was ok but wasn’t all there for me. One of first tracks sounded like Yoko Ono at the end. This has some rhythm and can be interesting. It’s a hard one to rate but I’ll go 2.5 but round to a 3 because I do think something is here