Delay 1968

Last updated • 3 min readFrom Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia
Delay 1968
Can-Delay 1968 (album cover).jpg
Compilation album by
Can
Released1981
Recorded1968–1969
Genre
Length35:48
Label Spoon Records
Producer Can
Can chronology
Can
(1979)
Delay 1968
(1981)
Rite Time
(1989)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [2]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Delay 1968 is a compilation album by the German experimental rock band Can released in 1981. It comprises previously unreleased work recorded for Can's rejected debut album, Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom, recorded with the singer Malcolm Mooney. [4]

Contents

Background

Can offered Prepared to Meet Thy Phoon to several record company, but the album wasn't picked up. Parts of Delay 1968 circulated in bootleg form for several years under the title Unopened, and included other tracks recorded during the same sessions that would later surface in various forms on other albums. [5] [6]

Can recorded the song "Thief" in the summer of 1969 during their stay in Zurich. The band visited Zurich after receiving an invitation to orchestrate a live score for Prometheus Bound play staged in Schauspielhaus Zürich theater, and recorded "Thief" in theater's cellar room "with awful acoustics". Rob Young, Can's biographer, commented that the song "Thief" expressed Can at their "most gravitas-laden" with the subject matter "riffing directly off the scenography of Prometheus Bound", referencing "the hanging man", "the Jesus man … cursed to the holy ground" and "trying to fly". "Thief" was used in the comedy thriller Kuckucksei im Gangsternest, directed by Franz-Josef Spieker and released at the end of the year. [7]

The song "Uphill", sometimes called "Moving Slowly Going Uphill", was live recorded during the open doors event at the Schloss Nörvenich in August 1969. Can were invited to set up a performance in the Schloss' entrance hall, where Malcolm Mooney "became distracted, hypnotised even, by the constant flow of visitors up and down the central staircase", tirelessly repeating the words "Moving Slowly Going Uphill". According to Can legend, he recited the phrase "Upstairs … downstairs … upstairs … downstairs …" over and over, speaking it obsessively "until he became locked into a mania of repetition" and didn't stop when the group took a break. [8]

"Little Star of Bethlehem" is one of the first recordings with inserted overdub parts of the entire band. When German producer Conny Planck listened to the recordings in the early 80s, he got excited saying: "As long as Can playes 'Soul' they are unbeatable". [9]

Reception and legacy

The Rolling Stone Album Guide included a review of Delay 1968, writing that the album is "so good it's hard to believe it stayed in the can for another 13 years". The most "raucous and insistent record, with Karoli riffing harder than he ever would again, and Mooney's hoarse, off-key cries suiting its avant-garage vibe." [3]

Jason Ankeny of AllMusic had a mixed reception, saying Delay 1968 is "nowhere near as intricate or assured as the group's later work". However, he liked "the visceral energy" of "Uphill" and "Butterfly". [1]

Brian Eno made a remix of "PNOOM" for 1997 Can tribute album Sacrilege , with substantial use of loops. Eno was disappointed with his effort, saying the loops "destroyed the delicate balance you always kept between the mechanical and the human". [10]

Radiohead covered "Thief" in live performances in the early 2000s. [11]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Mooney

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Butterfly"8:20
2."Pnoom"0:26
3."Nineteen Century Man"4:26
4."Thief"5:03
Side two
No.TitleLength
5."Man Named Joe"3:54
6."Uphill"6:41
7."Little Star of Bethlehem"7:09
Total length:35:48

Personnel

Original recording

Delay 1968

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Can (band)</span> German experimental rock band

Can were a German experimental rock band formed in Cologne in 1968 by Holger Czukay, Irmin Schmidt (keyboards), Michael Karoli (guitar), and Jaki Liebezeit (drums). They featured several vocalists, including the American Malcolm Mooney (1968–70) and the Japanese Damo Suzuki (1970–73). They have been hailed as pioneers of the German krautrock scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Holger Czukay</span> German musician

Holger Schüring, known professionally as Holger Czukay, was a German musician best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde", Czukay was also notable for having created early important examples of ambient music, for having explored "world music" well before the term was coined, and for having been a pioneer of sampling.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Irmin Schmidt</span> German keyboardist and composer (born 1937)

Irmin Schmidt is a German keyboardist and composer, best known as a founding member of the band Can and composer of numerous film scores.

Michael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist, and sound-mixer. He was a founding member of the krautrock band Can.

<i>Monster Movie</i> (Can album) 1969 studio album by Can

Monster Movie is the debut studio album by German rock band Can, released in August 1969 by Music Factory and Liberty Records.

<i>Tago Mago</i> 1971 album by Can

Tago Mago is the second studio album by the German krautrock band Can, originally released as a double LP in August 1971 on United Artists Records. It was the band's first full studio album to feature vocalist Damo Suzuki after the departure of Malcolm Mooney the year prior, though Suzuki had been featured on most tracks on the 1970 compilation album Soundtracks. The was recorded at the Can Studio in the Schloss Nörvenich, a medieval castle near Cologne.

David C. Johnson was an American composer, flautist, and performer of live electronic music.

<i>Landed</i> (album) 1975 studio album by Can

Landed is the sixth studio album by the German krautrock band Can.

<i>Flow Motion</i> 1976 studio album by Can

Flow Motion is the seventh studio album by German rock band Can. It was released in October 1976 and features the UK hit single "I Want More".

<i>Rite Time</i> 1989 album by the German krautrock band Can

Rite Time is the eleventh and final studio album by the German krautrock band Can, released in later Summer 1989 by Mercury Records. The album features the vocals of the band's original singer, Malcolm Mooney, who had left the group in 1970 after their debut album Monster Movie. Upon the album's initial release, "In the Distance Lies the Future" only appeared on the CD version, but it was included on the 2014 vinyl reissue.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Spoon (Can song)</span> 1971 single by Can

"Spoon" is a song by krautrock group Can, recorded in 1971. It was originally released as a single with the song "Shikako Maru Ten" on the B-side. "Spoon" also appeared as the final track to the band's album Ege Bamyasi later that year.

"Mushroom" is a song by the German krautrock band Can, from their 1971 album Tago Mago. It's the shortest song on the album, lasting for 4 minutes and 8 seconds. A video was made for the track which has been shown on MTV.

Spoon Records is an independent record label founded and managed by the spouse of keyboard player Irmin Schmidt, Hildegard Schmidt, since 1979. The label, and its sister publishing operation Messer Music, are headquartered in the Luberon district of France, mostly releasing and reissuing music made by the krautrock band Can and its members. Hildegard and Irmin Schmidt's daughter Sandra Podmore has been directors of Spoon Records since 2008.

<i>Can Live Music (Live 1971–1977)</i> 1999 live album by Can

Can Live Music is a double live album by the band Can, released in 1999 and recorded in the UK and West Germany between 1972 and 1977. It was originally included in the now out-of-print Can box set, Can Box.

<i>Sacrilege</i> (album) 1997 remix album by Can

Sacrilege is a triple remix album by the krautrock band Can, released in 1997. The album was proposed by the head of the Mute Records, Daniel Miller, who remixed also participated in the project remixing a drum-and-bass version of "Oh Yeah". Sacrilege features compositions Can composed throughout their career in the 1960s-70s and remixed by "both old friends of the group and admirers from a younger generation".

<i>Unlimited Edition</i> (album) 1976 compilation album by Can

Unlimited Edition is a compilation album by the krautrock band Can, released by Harvest Records in 1976 as a double album. Beforehand, United Artists Records released Limited Edition LP in 1974, which was a limited release of 15,000 copies. Unlimited Edition is a re-release of Limited Edition, adding tracks 14–19 tracks.

<i>The Lost Tapes</i> (Can album) 2012 compilation album by Can

The Lost Tapes is a compilation album of studio outtakes and live recordings by the German experimental rock band Can, which was originally released as an LP in 2012 by Spoon Records in conjunction with Mute Records. The compilation was curated by Irmin Schmidt and Daniel Miller, compiled by Irmin Schmidt and Jono Podmore, and edited by Jono Podmore.

<i>Kamasutra: Vollendung der Liebe</i> 2009 soundtrack album by Inner Space Production (Can)

Kamasutra: Vollendung der Liebe is the soundtrack to the West German documentary film of the same name (1969), written by Innerspace Productions, an early name for the krautrock band Can, and officially released in 2009 by "Crippled Dick Hot Wax!". Initially, the film's producers commissioned only Irmin Schmidt to work on the soundtrack, finished with the contribution from Innerspace Productions.

<i>Agilok & Blubbo</i> 2009 soundtrack album by The Inner Space (Can)

Agilok & Blubbo is the soundtrack album featured in the 1969 German film of the same name. The songs on this album are the earliest recordings of the German experimental rock band The Inner Space, who would soon become known under the name Can. Years after the film had fallen into obscurity, its soundtrack was eventually licensed from Hans Wewerka's archives and released in Spain in 2009.

<i>All Gates Open</i> 2018 book by Rob Young and Irmin Schmidt

All Gates Open: The Story of Can is a book about the German experimental rock band Can, written by British writer and editor Rob Young and Can founding member Irmin Schmidt. It was published in May 2018 in the United Kingdom by Faber and Faber in two editions, a trade edition in hardback, and a handbound and autographed limited edition.

References

  1. 1 2 Delay 1968 at AllMusic
  2. Larkin, Colin (2011). "Can". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0857125958.
  3. 1 2 Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide . New York: Simon & Schuster. p.  134. ISBN   978-0-7432-0169-8.
  4. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.
  5. Semprebon, Rolf. "Unopened Can". AllMusic . Retrieved 10 January 2011.
  6. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. p. 85. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.
  7. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. pp. 99, 102. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.
  8. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. pp. 96–97. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.
  9. 1 2 "Holger Czukay's Short History of the Can". Archived from the original on 2008-04-20. Retrieved 2013-08-28.
  10. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. pp. 298–299. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.
  11. Bartleet, Larry (2016-10-04). "11 times Radiohead covered other artists' songs brilliantly". NME . Retrieved 2024-02-17.
  12. Young, Rob; Schmidt, Irmin (2018). All Gates Open: The Story of Can (e-book ed.). London: Faber and Faber. p. 58. ISBN   978-0-571-31151-4.