CAN-OUTTAKE EDITION-COMPLETE DEMO OUTTAKE REHEARSAL COLLECTION, 4xCDR, 2005 (RECORDED: 1968-1977), GERMANY

There's no need for backstory or explanation about this seminal Krautrock crew in these quarters, I expect. This four disc boot is a variable compendium of the incandescent and the not-ready-for-primetime (but then you'd expect that from rehearsal and soundcheck audio, no?). Anyone who's ever wondered what that post-Damo one-off trial run with Tim Hardin as vocalist sounded like need speculate no further (he appears on the track "Rehearsal"), though the results are as stillborn as you might expect and a low point of the set. 25 minutes of 1968 recordings set the stage here, with "Upduff's Birth" offering a fascinating window into the development of the musical portion of "Mother Upduff". With a group of magi as lofty as Can, even impromptu extemporizations have a real inherent fascination and those into the myth will find much to savor here. Disc two's 70+ minutes of Damo-era jams are a highlight of the set and lovely things to behold; especially the latter, a deadly 36 minute version of a two minute throwaway cut from "Unlimited Edition". Disc three is an equal eye opener: 59 minutes of otherwise unobtainable collaborations with Japanese avant chanteuse Phew; her wild, whacked and often Damo-like exhortations being overdubbed onto pre-existing recordings, if I'm interpreting the scant liner notes correctly. Whatever the case, this is a real gift for those who can't get enough of Phew's amazing collaborations with Can members over the years; the disc capping with an album length slab of desolate abstact weirdity, it's freaked out and frostbitten tone lending it a sound like some lost Vanity Records release from the early 80's. For 1975, it's intensely startling work. The 1975-77 period covered by disc 4 (in some ways, my favorite era, but then I'm the sort of loony that maintains that they peaked with "Out Of Reach", so what the hell do I know?) is unfortunately frequently pretty ropey sound quality wise, though the audio quality improves significantly for the latter half of the disc; the liquidy sizzle that's so much a part of why this era of Can is unimpeachable for moi coming across with ferocious vividness on the tracks, "Spree" and "Chairside Thumper".

Get disc 1 pt. 1 Here

Get disc 1 pt. 2 Here

Get disc 2 pt. 1 Here

Get disc 2 pt. 2 Here

Get disc 3 pt. 1 Here

Get disc 3 pt. 2 Here

Get disc 4 pt. 1 Here

Get disc 4 pt. 2 Here