Comments for Can, Soon Over Babaluma

Some of my friends love it, but I don't especially dig this one. It's too overtly "difficult" and willfully abstract for me. The 5 tracks are, in turn, stabs at reggae/dub, vocal cabaret, latin jazz, soul, and abstract instrumentalism. Usually cited as an influence on Byrne/Eno but I personally don't hear it.

It has a certain 'nuclear disco' coldness to it, reflected in the original silverfoil LP wrapping.

When I bought this CD I spent two days trying to figure out whether I should bring it back or not. It ended up in return and refund, and - probably I made a mistake. The album does not hit your the way say, Peel Session or Tago Mago do, probably because of extensive sound experiment in the second part of the album. Going over the tracks: "Dizzy Dizzy" has in itself some rarely encountered elegance, it is not "constructed" bit-wise (as 90% of modern music is), but it is a product of almost divine revelation. "Come Sta..." is not worse anyway, the style is different a bit but it is a masterpiece as well. "Splash" reminded me of McLaughlin's album "Where Fortune Smiles", the perseption of this song depends on your mood. "Chain Reaction" seemed to me a little boring and the effect this song probably affectsd my perseption of "Quantum Physics". I think you should probably try this album before you bue it (unless you decide to have it just because the first two cuts).

I feel that this album, even with Damo gone, is every bit as good as "Future Days". I see this one as Can''s last truly great album of new material before the strive to have a hit set in. A great album to relax to.

Can's last great masterpiece of new material before they switched to multi-track recording and in turn less interesting music. Recorded without Suzuki, it has a different sound than the previous albums which featured electronic treatments of standard instruments, this one features more of Irmin Schmidt's synths, but very sparingly and tastefully. This is also the first time since Tago Mago you really hear Michael Karoli's violin ability shine, and it does add a rather nice element to the music. Every minute of this underrated and often neglected Can album is a very tasty treat and essential to your Can collection.