Customer Reviews

Soon Over Babaluma (Reis)

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the continuum of great Can albums, Soon certainly falls short in the wake of Future Days, the pinnacle of the band's association with the sensational singer Damo Suzuki. That said, the album is still firing on all cylinders. The creativity and synergy that the band possessed, right up to the half baked but somewhat satisfying Landed,is still something to behold. The ambient stutter and cosmic drift of Future Days is combined with ethnic flavors and a decidely jazzy approach. The discordant but melodic sawing of guitarist Michael Karoli on violin is a prominent feature on the swinging Dizzy Dizzy, the piano driven dark whimsy of Come sta, La Lune, and the latin inflected Splash. The album climaxes in the intense wash of Chain Reaction and Quantum Physics where Irmin Schmidt's keyboards and Jaki Liebezeit's drums layout a sound that presages techno with its incredible sense of syncopation. That it blends perfectly with the bluesy but not blues feel of the verses is nothing to be underestimated either. Fans of Suzuki and previous singer Mooney's fevered vocal deliveries may find complaint with the mannered restraint of Karoli and Schmidt's stabs at lyricism. Personally, I think they acquit themselves nicely by doing their own thing and not overdoing it. Besides with the sparseness of their appearance on this concise but facinating album, it in no way detracts from the musical invention. Perhaps not the place to start...For a good retrospective, start with Cannibalism 1 or the aforementioned masterpiece Future Days. If you want to see the band at its most shambolic try Ege Bumyasi or Tago Mago.Whatever you do,avoid the uneven Flow Motion and the abysmal Out of Reach as starting points.Start early and return back often. This band is a classic outfit with many successful outings. Without a doubt the best band that more people should hear.

This album has many of the elements that made Can's previous work with Damo Suzuki so amazing. Jaki Leibezeit's layered and funky drumming matched with Holger Czukay's metronomic bass playing is always the star of any good Can album. "Soon over Babaluma" marks the stepping out of Michael Karoli and Irmin Schmidt as sort of the "front men" of the band. With the loss of Damo Suzuki, Karoli and Schmidt take on the vocal duties. The vocals are the the low point of the album, but they are used in a very restrained and minimal way as to not draw attention away from the music. The music on "Soon over Babaluma" remains as stunning as on any of Can's previous efforts. The only thing seemingly missing is that, on albums such as "Tago Mago", "Ege Bamyasi", and "Future Days", Can creates a sound completely of their own. "Soon over Babaluma" is the sound of a band displaying their influences. There is the reggae vibe (dizzy dizzy), the jazz vibe (splash), the funk vibe (chain reaction), etc. This is the first Can album in which one can really see where the band is coming from. Although not as completely original as the Damo era albums, "Soon" is still worth having for anyone who is into Can.

This album is the first after the departure of their Japanese vocalist, Damo Suzuki, with whom Can did what was probably their best work in the previous three albums. But sustained by the momentum from these, "Soon Over Babaluma" is still a brilliant work. Now with an emerging 'poppy' feel, Can continues their explorations on tracks such as 'Chain Reaction/Quantum Physics', a side-long two-parter in which a long, groovy, trancy jam suddenly descends into a dark yet ecstatic ambient drone-work. The first half also includes an amazing Latin-inflected workout in 'Splash', and the eerie 'Come Sta, La Luna'. Equal in stature to "Future Days", I think, and likewise a good starting-point for the novice Can explorer.

Following 1973's brilliant Future Days, Damo Suzuki left Can to become a Jehavah's Witness and guitarist Karoli and keyboardist Schmidt took over what vocals there were.

On "Soon Over Babaluma", Can showed that they had not suffered from the loss of Suzuki. Indeed, the soft, yet intense sound of that album is carried even further here. The opening track, "Dizzy Dizzy" may seem a little humorous in its lyrical tone, but Karoli's quiet, almost spoken, voice is actually an excellent complement to the band's evolving sound. The funky groove shows the band moving into territory not seen even on Future Days. The other track sang by Karoli, the eleven-minute epic "Chain Reaction" is even better. Can move toward "ambient" rhythms long before any other band and because they are not over-relying on synthesisers, they are able to capture this sound in an organic way that never allows any instrumentalist to dominate.

"Come Sta, La Luna", sang by Schmidt, has a deeply mystical tone with its keyboard sound reminiscent of a church organ and Schmidt's voice resembling a religious chant in the chorus and a child's voice in the verses. Karoli's guitar, when it comes in, was both dense and passionate. It was all done, though, with such passion as to be remarkably memorable, whilst the closer "Quantum Physics" is a really beautiful, cryptic piece described by "The Rough Guide" as a "vapour trail". "Splash", though attractive initially, does not have the quality of the other four pieces because the focus on keyboards and woodwinds veers rather close to late Soft Machine. Nonetheless, this is not enough to deny that Can were one of the most innovative and unique bands of the 1970s or that their rediscovery in the past fifteen years is a boon for music lovers in general. "Soon Over Babaluma" shows them at close to the height of their powers and is recommended for all music lovers.

After Future Days was released, Damo Suzuki left and became a member of the Jehovah's Witness (who his wife he just married belonged to). This left the four core Can members, Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Irmin Schmidt, and Jaki Liebezeit to continue on without the benefit of a lead singer. Vocals duties now to Karoli and Schmidt, but much of it more emphasizes the instrumental side of the band.

Once again, the band did something yet different again, not repeating themselves. Ege Bamyasi was not Tago Mago Part II, Future Days was not Ege Bamyasi Part II. Likewise Soon Over Babaluma was not Future Days Part II. Apparently Irmin Schmidt started to acquire some synthesizers (at least it sounds like it to my ears) as well as even a real piano, which I thought was wecomed additions to the Can sound. "Dizzy Dizzy" has the pulsing repetitive sound, while "Come Sta, La Luna" is a real odd one with spoken voices, some Italian and Spanish influences. Next is "Dizzy", which is the band's exploration in to fusion, with Michael Karoli giving some extended violin solos, while Irmin Schmidt gives us some interesting keyboard work. "Chain Reaction" has an almost techno-like feel, but has some great guitar solos and is quite intense throught, it doesn't let up! Then comes "Quantum Physics", which is a much more experimental piece, with Jaki Liebezeit experimenting in percussion, before the band goes in to ambient territory, some of it actually bordering on New Age. Soon Over Babaluma was their last album for United Artists, and is regarded by some as their last essential album, or viewed by others as their first sign of decline, but I hadn't notice the decline here. The only post-Babaluma album I have is Saw Delight, which finds the band exploring disco, but while not bad, is rather uneven (but supposedly nowhere as bad as their following, Out of Reach). Soon Over Babaluma shows that Can kept delivering the goods even if Damo is now gone. Great stuff and highly recommended.

I doubt my own objectivity. I first heard 'Future Days' and 'Tago Mago' in 1974. I first heard 'Babaluma' when I bought the CD, around 1994, and I was disappointed. I remembered a critic who wrote that if you liked 'Future Days', you'd enjoy this one. It hasn't been true for me. I find much of what was side one soulless. But that's because I came to this album so late. The latin rhythms of tracks #2 and #3 were probably ground-breaking at the time, but today they sound hackneyed.

The loss of Damo Suzuki to the Jehovah's Witnesses seemed to have upset the balance of the band. Convinced that their music requires vocals, both Schmidt and Karoli come on as substitutes only to score own goals. Gone is the wild spontaneity.

For me, 'Quantum Physics' is the best track. Czukay dapples fascinating bass patterns across this extended piece. As ever, Jaki Liebezeit finds interesting things to hit. (Describing his percussive depth as mere 'drums' seems a understatement.)

As ever with reviews of prog-rock music, you need to decide whether each reviewer was there at the time of its release, able to appreciate its context and emotional impact on the musical and social scene of the time. For someone who was there at the time, it is virtually impossible to appreciate what this music sounds like to new ears.

Strangely, the music this album most reminds me of is Roxy Music's 'For Your Pleasure' -- the rhythm of 'Dizzy Dizzy' isn't too far from that of 'The Bogus Man' -- or even Eno's 'Here Come the Warm Jets'.

If you like this album, then you're in for a real treat as you work your way backwards through the Can catalogue. For many, the previous album, 'Future Days', was the pinnacle of achievement by what was arguably the best rock group in the world.

If you got two die hard Can fans together, you could have some debate, maybe even a cool kick fight. Some, like me, perfer the avant direction Can invented in with Damo on albums like Tago Mago and Ege Bamyasi. Others think the more funky, world music direction they took after Damo split is Can at their best.

You can't find a key to subjectivity, but you also can't deny the amazing work on this album. Either free of or having lost their edgier avant-gaurd leanings, Can moved to an exotic, percussive world music, which took exotica from every possible cornor, and applied it to their one-chord shells, which they inserted a universe of sound.

To me, Can's palate actually retracted here--they did not have a singer as strong as Damo, who used his voice like a free-jazz horn--and you miss some of the lefth field detours the band took, such as on Ege's "Soup," or the sound haunted howls on the second half of Tago.

But for refinement, foucus, and the ability to take stricter forms and stuff them to the brim with amazing sounds and abundent surprises, you can't do much better than this.

First released in 1974, as this was the band's follow-up to their gem 'Future Days' (see my review). For some reason, when I ultimately discovered Can something like ten years ago, this title was one I completely over looked. Can's first lp without a lead vocalist, as Damo Suzuki exited the Can ranks - thus leaving the crooning chores to guitarist Michael Karoli and keyboardist Irmin Schmidt. Vocals on this effort aren't bad. Most of you are likely well familiar with "Dizzy Dizzy" but there are some tracks on 'Soon Over Babaluma' I'm hearing for maybe the very first time. Didn't mind the somewhat jazzy "Splash" but I thought the eleven-minute "Chain Reaction" that seems to blend together with "Quantum Physics" were what made this CD reissue worth purchasing. Maybe not Can's best, but still considered a good pick.

Many claim that tago mago is the best can album. It might be true, but I personally prefer this one, since I find it not only as innovative as tago mago but also more accessible. A title that is as irresistible as come sta, la luna could have been a huge hit, whereas chain reaction, with its hypnotizing rythm and construction already foretells later evolutions of electronic music. To cut a long story short, this album is a classic that any real music lover should buy.

The great Homer Simpson once said the following:

"What's with these new bands, everyone knows rock attained perfection in 1974. It's a scientific fact."

Proof: this sublime schnitt of classic krautrock here. Check it out and stick with it awhile--believe me I think you'll start to see with your ears what I mean. "BOY CAN SEE WITH HIS EARS" screamed a favourite headline I read one time in a National Enquirer but moving quickly along: from the insanely catchy Dizzy Dizzy to the spare momentum of Quantum Physics this record is pure wang dang doodle in Can form. Incidentally, in another Simpsons episode Homer sez of his recent promotion that "it's all thanks to yes-I-cannabis" which I naturally toke oops entschuldigen sie bitte! I mean take as yet another concealed endorsement of these boffo Bosch bandoleros. My only criticism of Soon Over Babaluma is that it's over way too soon but hey that's what the auto-repeat button is for, nicht wahr?