Soon Over Babaluma

Last updated
Soon Over Babaluma
Can-Soon Over Babaluma (album cover).jpg
Studio album by
Can
ReleasedNovember 1974
RecordedAugust 1974
StudioInner Space Studio, Weilerswist, near Cologne
Genre
Length38:56
Label United Artists, Spoon, Mute
Producer Can
Can chronology
Future Days
(1973)		Soon Over Babaluma
(1974)		 Landed
(1975)

Soon Over Babaluma is the fifth studio album by the rock music group Can. This is the band's first album following the departure of Damo Suzuki in 1973. The vocals are provided by guitarist Michael Karoli and keyboardist Irmin Schmidt. It is also their last album that was created using a two-track tape recorder.

Contents

It takes the ambient style of Future Days and pushes it even further at times, as on "Quantum Physics", although there are also some upbeat tracks, such as "Chain Reaction" and "Dizzy Dizzy".

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [2]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [3]
The Great Rock Discography 6/10 [4]
Pitchfork 8.9/10 [5]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [6]
Spin Alternative Record Guide 10/10 [7]
Tom Hull B [8]
The Village Voice B− [9]

American musician Dominique Leone reviewed Soon Over Babaluma for Pitchfork , writing that he "was constantly surprised at how clear everything sounded, as if the band had recorded all of this stuff in one fell swoop during an unbelievably inspired, marathon session. One of the great things about Can ... was the attention to detail and realization that the effect of each tiny moment in the course of a song can affect the momentum of the entire piece. No small miracles here: even if it's sad to think these albums represent Can's last great gasp, none of their moments have ever sounded better". [5] In his review for Allmusic, American music journalist Ned Raggett stated that "With Suzuki departed, vocal responsibilities were now split between Karoli and Schmidt. Wisely, neither try to clone Mooney or Suzuki, instead aiming for their own low-key way around things", giving the album a rating of four stars out of five. [2] Robert Christgau was less impressed in The Village Voice , comparing its "singularly European" music to a less interesting, less biting variation on Miles Davis' 1970s electric period: "It's never pompous, discernibly smart, playful, even goofy. If you give it your all you can make out a few shards of internal logic. But the light tone avoids texture, density, or pain. The jazzy pulse is innocent of swing, funk, or sex". [9] In The Rolling Stone Album Guide , Douglas Wolk said the album was "mellow and almost timid in places", with the exception of "Chain Reaction", deeming the song a precursor to 1990s techno. [6]

Track listing

All lyrics written by Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, and Irmin Schmidt, unless otherwise noted.

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Dizzy Dizzy" Duncan Fallowell (lyrics); Holger Czukay, Ulli Eichberger, Jaki Liebezeit Irmin Schmidt (music)5:40
2."Come sta, La Luna" 5:42
3."Splash" 7:45
Side B
No.TitleLength
4."Chain Reaction"11:09
5."Quantum Physics"8:31

Personnel

Can
Production

Release history

The album was first released in LP format throughout Europe in 1974 via United Artists Records, with the exclusion of Spain where it was released on Ariola Eurodisc. It was published in the U.S. the following year through United Artists. In 1989, it was first released in CD format in Europe and the U.S. on Spoon Records and Mute Records. In 2005, the album was remastered and first published in Super Audio CD format. [10]

See the table below for a more comprehensive list of the album releases. [10]
YearFormatLabelCountryNote
1974 LP United Artists (UA[S|G] 29673[1])France, Germany, UK, Yugoslavia—
Ariola Eurodisc (88723-I)Spain
1975 United Artists (UA-LA343-G)U.S.
1981 Celluloid (CEL 6610)France
1984 Spoon (SPOON 010)Germany
1989 CD Spoon (SPOON 010)Germany, Austria
1998 Mute (9065-2) / Spoon (SPOON CD[0]10)U.S.
2005 P-Vine (PCD-22206)Japan
SACD Spoon (SPOON SA 010)/(0724356329621) / Mute (9289-2)Europe, UK, U.S.Remastered
2007CDSpoon ([CD ] SPOON[CD] [0]10[ WY])Germany—
ArsNova (AN99-0320)Russia

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References

  1. ↑ Keylock, Miles (2005). "Can - Future Days". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die . London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 293.
  2. 1 2 Raggett, Ned. "Can: Soon Over Babaluma > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  3. ↑ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Can". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN   978-0857125958.
  4. ↑ Martin C. Strong (1998). The Great Rock Discography (1st ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN   978-0-86241-827-4.
  5. 1 2 Leone, Dominique (12 July 2005). "Can: Soon Over Babaluma". Pitchfork Media . Retrieved 2 November 2011.
  6. 1 2 Wolk, Douglas (2004). "Can". In Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian (eds.). The Rolling Stone Album Guide . Simon & Schuster. ISBN   0-7432-0169-8.
  7. ↑ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Can". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN   0-679-75574-8.
  8. ↑ Tom Hull. "Grade List: can". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved September 4, 2020.
  9. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (December 3, 1996). "Consumer Guide: Turkey Shoot". The Village Voice . Retrieved December 10, 2016.
  10. 1 2 Can – Soon Over Babaluma at Discogs (list of releases)
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