Future Days

Last updated
Future Days
Can - Future Days.jpg
Studio album by
Can
Released1 August 1973
Recorded1973
Genre
Length41:04
Label United Artists
Producer Can
Can chronology
Ege Bamyasi
(1972)
Future Days
(1973)
Soon Over Babaluma
(1974)

Future Days is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock group Can, released on 1 August 1973 by United Artists. It was the group's final album to feature vocalist Damo Suzuki, who subsequently left the band to become a Jehovah's Witness, and explores a more atmospheric sound than their previous releases. [3] [4]

Contents

Content

Music

Future Days emphasises the ambient elements that Can had explored on previous albums, dispensing largely with traditional rock song structures and instead "creating hazy, expansive soundscapes dominated by percolating rhythms and evocative layers of keys". [1] PopMatters wrote that "Future Days is driven by a coastal breeze, exuding a more pleasant, relaxed mood than anything the band had previously recorded." [5]

Artwork

The album cover features the Greek letter Psi in the middle and the I Ching hexagram dǐng below the title. The surrounding graphics are based on the Jugendstil art style.[ citation needed ]

Some versions of the vinyl album have a slightly different cover in which the graphics are not embossed, or in which their lightly reflective gold tint is replaced by a flat yellow. These differences are also present on the CD releases.[ citation needed ]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [1]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svg [6]
Far Out Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svg [7]
The Great Rock Discography 7/10 [8]
Pitchfork 8.8/10 [9]
Q Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 9/10 [11]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [12]
Tom Hull B+ [13]

Ian MacDonald of NME praised Future Days, calling it "an immaculate piece of work" and "the best German rock record so far, apart from Faust ". [14] Ray Fox-Cumming of Disc gave the album a negative review, stating that "even after half a dozen hearings I still found most of it went in one ear and straight out the other." [15] NME subsequently ranked it the 11th best album of 1974. [16]

In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Anthony Tognazzini called it "fiercely progressive, calming, complex, intense, and beautiful all at once" and "one of Can's most fully realized and lasting achievements." He singled out Suzuki's vocals ("all minimal texture and shading") and the track "Bel Air" ("a gloriously expansive piece of music") for praise. [1]

Legacy

Accolades for Future Days
Publications/SourcesAccoladesYearRank
Uncut "200 Greatest Albums of All Time"2016121 [17]
Rolling Stone "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time"20158 [18]
Tom Moon "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die"2008- [19]
GQ "The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now!"200570 [20]
Pitchfork "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s"200456 [21]
Stylus "Top 101-200 Albums of All Time"2004160 [22]
Mojo "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made"199562 [23]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Can (Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt and Damo Suzuki).

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Future Days"9:34
2."Spray"8:28
3."Moonshake"3:02
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."Bel Air" (also known as "Spare a Light" [lower-alpha 1] )20:00
Total length:41:04

Personnel

Can

Footnotes

  1. The United Artists 1973 UK release of the LP (UAS 29505) shows track 1 of Side B as "Bel Air" on the LP sleeve, and "Spare a Light" on the vinyl label.

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Sources