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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent compilation of Can's later material, May 24, 2003
This has been bugging me a while, so lemme state it out front. I'm not sure whether it's the band's decision or just keeper-of-the-legacy Holger's, but Can's absolute *contempt* for neophytes can get really tiring. What do I mean? Well, the let's-reproduce-the-front-cover-but-have-an-ugly-typewritten-tracklist-with-no-liner-notes-or-photos-or-track-information approach. My copy of Canniablism 2 even has obvious, glaring mistakes (for example, one track number is "skipped," upping the track count by one) on the back cover. Is this really a way to introduce people to your music?But heck, I guess that really isn't too terribly important in the scheme of things, so mini-rant over. Cannibalism 2 purports to be an overview of Can's "post-classic-period" career, i.e. of "Soon" onwards. And, well, it kinda is. Interestingly enough, while it certainly comps from that period of albums, it *includes* cuts from archive releases; consequently, material from "Unlimited Edition" and "Delay 1968" gets lumped in here with stuff from "Saw Delight," meaning that the classic period *is* touched on, about in a roundabout way. Additionally, while Cannibalism 1 is useless to all but those with no Can to speak of (unless "special edits" excite you, all of the stuff on Cannibalism 1 is stuff one should *have anyway* at some point), this "skimming" of some of their later albums is very, very appealing, and many cuts that were simply too long winded in their album incarnations sound much more concise here. Not that the editing is universally good, as some of the snippage of the already-short Unlimited Edition tracks (they cut my favorite part out of TV Spot! Nooo!) is frankly somewhat unnecessary. And while "The Thief" is missing, you get "Connection" so I suppose that's all well and good. And heck! Despite my complaining about Can/Holger's general stinginess with regard to fan service, there are a few unique tracks here! The big two are, of course, the two "golden-era" single only tracks, Shikara Maru Ten and Turtles Have Short Legs (spelled "Turtels" on the aforementioned poorly-typewritten insert). Shikara Maru Ten reminds me very strongly of "One More Night" from Ege Bamyasi, but is fairly good in spite of that. "Turtles," though, is something else entirely, and might be worth the entire price of the collection; for golden-era Can, it's a totally uncharacteristic, bouncy bit of singalong tropicala. Think of Can doing a version of Beefheart's "Tropical Hot Dog Night," and you're thinking along the correct lines. It also functions as a delightful bit of aural black death, as it's so hilariously catchy that you will not. Ever. Un-hear. It. Verdict? A much better buy in theory than Cannibalism 1, as Can's later albums are far more hit and miss than their earlier triumphs. You also get a few unique tracks here, which makes it quite worthwhile. Once you've absorbed Monster Movie, Soundtracks, Tago, Ege, and Soon Over Babaluma, this is your next stop.
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See all 22 tracks on this disc
by Can 
