Customer Reviews

Tago Mago

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

There's not an easy way to describe the music found on _Tago Mago_, but here's a slight stab at it: Imagine a proto-Radiohead (the vocalist reminds one of Thom Yorke at times) with tasteful psychedelic/jam elements *slightly* reminiscent of Cream, The Grateful Dead, The Yardbirds and others of that pantheon - added with an ambient aesthetic foreshadowing some of the ambient/dance music that became large some decades later (this was released in 1971.)

This is just a taste of what you'll find on this album, added with many other elements. A track by track overview:

"Paperhouse"--A 7 1/2 minute psychedelic workout featuring some tasteful guitar noodling, an addictive rhythm and some sensual vocals from (then) Oriental singer named Kenji 'Damo' Suzuki. I just love that sensual accent. The first day I got this, I listened to this track alone 23 consecutive times (non-stop), which came out to over 2 1/2 hours. It can get very addictive (as well as the rest of the album.)

"Mushroom"--A proto-ambient/dance number. To be honest, some of these tracks could mislead you from believing this came out in 1971, because they don't sound too dated.

"Oh Yeah"--Another ambient number. This time, with some bluesy licks and some eerie keyboard textures. Once again, the underlying funky, tasteful rhythms can become very addictive.

"Halleluwah"--A mid-tempo number which manages to keep the same rhythm for 1,107 seconds (with the exception of a quiet break somewhere in the middle) without sounding like it drags. By the way, the time limit--1,107 seconds--is 18:27 folks, if you were confused by the "seconds" sentence. Once again (sorry if I sound repetitive), the grooves & rhythms, the guitar/bass interaction and the vocals are so tasty, they can get addictive.

Now, the second half (or second disc, if you own the vinyl) is where it gets VERY challenging and inaccessible - depending on your point of view. These next few tracks are intense, relentless and uncompromising excercises in experimentation.

"Aumgn"--If you pay close attention, you'll notice the opening for "Paperhouse" is the way this track begins - and elaborates more on what was left behind in favor of the duration of the aforementioned track. Listen to this in the dark, with eyes closed and scare the daylights out of yourself. Listening to this is probably even scarier than most of those cheesy horror flicks. Ominous, slithering keyboard textures, creepy vocal atmospherics and some disturbing, relentless percussion & drumming can be found, which gives this track an aura of exorcism (I'm not joking.)

"Peking O."--Sounds like a prototype (along with Frank Zappa & The Mothers Of Invention) for the type of thing Mr. Bungle does. This track features moments that will scare you, warp your mind, and make you laugh out loud. Underneath all the demented vocal shoutings (some sped-up) and ultra-bizarre, abrupt switches in dynamics, is an unlikely amalgamation of ambient, reggae, ragtime and fusion.

"Bring Me Coffee Or Tea"--Probably not as inaccessible or wild as the previous two tracks. This time, it's a slow, meditative number featuring some haunting chords, tasteful instrumentation and some exotic percussion that reminds one of the type of instrumentation King Crimson would revel in during their 1973-1974 period. This also probably sounds the most like a prototype for Radiohead.

To prevent (further?) embarrassment, I'm going to end this review, because there isn't much more I can say, except that this album is EXCELLENT. I don't consider myself someone who uses big terms very often, but, if there's a new discovery that deserves such big praise - this would definitely come to mind. Recommended to adventurous music listeners, as well as those progressive rock fans that want a little more than Yes, Genesis, ELP, King Crimson stuff (and I'm not degrading these bands, as I love them all as well.)

This album literally changed my life and my views about music when I first heard it about 10 years ago.

I have no words to adequately describe this colossal masterwork, because I've always been so close to it. Many times over the years I've woken up in the middle of the night with "Mushroom" or "Oh Yeah" playing in my head, invading my dreams. I love ALL Can, but Tago Mago is the one that connects with me on such a personal level, it's almost part of my being.

Not to mention the fact that "Augmn" scares the s**t out of my wife. She will not be in the same room with me while it's playing (which is fairly often).

This re-mastered edition sounds AMAZING, far far better than it has ever sounded on previous CD pressings.

"Tago Mago" is IT. The pinnacle. It's something beyond music, indeed beyond anything I've ever heard in terms of scope and innovation.

WHOA.

That was my initial reaction to this album when I jumped on the Can bandwagon a year or so ago. These Krautrockers both obliterated the old molds while creating a bunch more from scratch. EVERY track on this, their third album and second with the immortal vocalist Damo Suzuki, sounds like it singlehandedly pioneered some form of modern music. Blues jamming, electronica, ambient, funk, jazz/fusion idioms, classical/minimalist elements remiscient of Stockhausen (whom Can were students of), rock, it's all here and more.

This stuff is epic and not structured for radio listening. The shortest track Mushroom is about 4 minutes long, and the rest is all 6 minutes or longer, topping out at 18+ for Halleluhwah. It never gets boring, though... it all lies in the precision of drummer Jaki Liebeszeit and bassist Holger Czukay's endless grooves, lots of clever tape manipulation similar to Miles' fusion productions, and a cornucopia of wild instrumentation. And of course, Damo himself, who basically tosses the idea of conventional "verse-chorus-verse" or even intelligible lyrics out the window and goes from sensual crooning to scary chants to totally insane Boredoms-esque vocal anarchy. This guy is the closest thing I can think of to a Mike Patton prototype--highest praise indeed. Too bad he left the band only two albums after this, legend has it to become a Jehovah's Witness (!).

The first half is fairly easy to digest, though still pretty far removed from the majority of '70s music. Paperhouse and Mushroom are Can classics, both heavy on the funky rhythms and Damo's vocals reaching points of near-lucidity. Oh Yeah is a psychedelic, ambient, though still highly funky tune with some cool use of backwards tape.

The second record (this was a double LP) delves into sheer experimental madness. Aumgn is one of the scariest things I've ever listened to--17 minutes of eerie chants, pounding percussion, and horror-movie keyboards. Acid tripping is NOT recommended for this one. Peking-O is just psychotic--scary yet hilarious vocal cut-ups and schizo instrumentation abound, almost like a proto-Mr. Bungle/Fantomas/Naked City. The closer Bring Me Coffee Or Tea returns to the comparatively mellow vibe of the first half, with an influx of exotic percussion and a strong New Age/world music flavor.

Whereas Ege Bamyasi may be a bit more focused and concise, and Future Days more accessible and beautiful, this is Can at their absolute peak of sonic adventurism and is the one record I'd reccommend above all their others. Prepare to have half your collection rendered obsolete.

This double LP was perhaps one of the most advanced, and forward thinking creations of its day. It remains that way even now, due to the timeless coming together of influences, and cultural perspectives. First off, you have two strong personalities in this band, Czukay and Schmidt, who are the bass and keyboard players. Both were classically trained, and studied under Stockhausen. Even though this was Can's third offical LP (or fourth, if you count "DELAY" as the first LP, and you should), it was the first LP where the new singer, DAMO SUZUKI, completely dominates. With this Japanese world traveler, and wildman, Can had entered into what most people feel to be their best period, and with this album, their best work. Some of the songs are a whole LP side long, like "Halleluwah", or "Aumgn". But never are they tedious. The drummer, Jaki Liebeszeit, is like a drum machine with his incredible precision. Damo Suzuki has been very influencial, singing his spontaneous lyrics comprised of a minimalist, surreal mix of Japanese, English and German. This lead Mark E. Smith of THE FALL to write a song, "I AM DAMO SUZUKI", as an homage. Their sound is all over the arty end of the British punk/new wave scene. Even a recent pop band named themselves SUZUKI MOONIE, after the two CAN singers. As for trying to discribe the music, no one can. I can guarentee you however, after you hear a song like MUSHROOMHEAD, it lives with you forever. Hearing the CD, it's almost impossible to think that this was recorded in 1971, on a two track machine, mostly live, with some overdubs. It could have been recorded in 1979, 1988, 1997 or tomorrow. Their bass player was the tape engineer, and the band produced the LP themselves, in their famous INNER SPACE studio. Having their own studio afforded the band endless hours of experimentation, which is how masterpeices are created, through time and endless patience. I had thought myself musically very literate, but after I heard some of CAN's music, I ended up buying every CD they ever released, and all the solo material the bandmembers produced on their own. If I were to compair this music to anything else, I might say in some ways WHITE LIGHT era VELVET UNDERGROUND, but with much more musicality, and a broader pallette of sound colors, melodic lines from around the world, and the formal connections with Stockhausen, as opposed to the Velvet Underground's formal connections with the FLUXUS movement, and LaMonte Young. Perhaps if the VU had stayed together, with NICO, JOHN CALE, MOE and Sterling and Lou, and added more ethnomusicology to their sound, they would have evolved like this. These are the types of musicians who could jam on a single song for hours, and always remain inventive, even revolutionary. Their concerts from this time, were more like happenings, and multimedia art events. So, if you want to hear the true predecessor to the best work of THE FALL, WIRE, BAUHAUS, PERE UBU and PUBLIC IMAGE LTD, go here. Neophytes to the band, might be better served with the excellent 2CD collection "CAN ANTHOLOGY... 20 years". Many of these songs from TAGO MAGO appear there in edited form. Also, a wider perspective on the band's entire catalouge can be sampled that way. Some of their work is easier to digest than others. However, don't wait to discover this band like I did. These new remasters are a great reason to take the sonic plunge.

First off, I love this band and this album is a top of the stack essential... the positive reviews here are a simple hint. With that being said, the last three songs here are not my personal favorites in the Can universe. They explore dissonant realms that I feel conjure paranoid elements, anxiety and unease. However I admire the band for accomplishing this. I do not rule these later tracks in a negative light just because I find them unfriendly. This is art that can cause un-ease as well as astonishment... not an easy feat!

Tago Mago is a collective showcase of razor sharp musical chops and fearless, brazen creativity. It feels like the stream of conscious work of musical virtuossos unafraid to fail. The music is encouraging, spontaneous and inspirational. "Halleluhwah" is almost 15 minutes long and never loses it's captivating lock on the listener. It boasts an infectiously simple "building block" bass line that would kill a dime-a-dozen reggae song in the wrong hands... instead it soars. I can't tell you how many times I've repeated this track. The whole album is extremely artistic, including the mesmerizing cover art. Rhythm here is heard like no other. The drumming is brilliant. The vocals are cosmic and funky and alive, among the many adjectives that spring to mind.

...just a great album. Yes, you've stumbled upon something amazing. Buy it already!

I'm glad to read so many accurate and inspired reviews of this album because I feel it's extremely important to understand how absolutely incredible Tago Mago is. I've heard thousands of albums in my lifetime, and I can honestly say that nothing exists in the same universe as Tago Mago does, not even other Can albums!
If ever the saying, "a band is only as good as its drummer" were accurate never has it been more so than in the case of Can. Amidst all of the rhythmic surrealism and four-dimensional experimentation that accosts your eardrums, Jaki Liebezeit is there reminding you of why Can is such an addictive affair. He plays the drums like a machine, never losing time or gravity, performing as a human metronome with the soul of Gene Krupa. He's such a huge part of those first five Can albums, and his presence is felt more on Tago Mago than any other time.
There is not a single moment where you aren't gracefully sliding into sonic dreamscapes, contemplating how the future of music came and went in early 1971. It's as if the inner workings of Tago Mago were excavated, put on display and buried forever, never to be found or bested again. Yes, this album is THAT good.
To pick a stand out track would be futile as this album flows in such a feverish and luscious manner that it all seems to sprout from the same seed anyway. From the tantric hypnotism of "Oh Yeah" to the repetitive transcendence that is "Halleluwah" which is welcomed by the sheer archaic audacity of "Augmn", this LP only grows leaner and stronger, never gathering moss, and always inviting galaxies to revel in its all encompassing other-worldliness.

"Tago Mago" begins as the most peaceful of dreams only to gradually descend into a long hellish nightmare. This and the closer are the only songs where the guitar takes the more traditional rock guitar lead as the rest of the album is built around the machine like drumming of Jaki Liebeszeit, giving the group a percussion/groove based sound. "Paperhouse" floats on gentle guitar chimes and soothing calm vocals only to flutter and crash land into the lurching death dances of "Mushroomhead" and "Oh Yeah." The former being a nihilistic cry of dillusionment and accpetance in the face of nuclear destruction as Damo chants,"I saw Mushroomhead, I was born and I was dead." before erupting into tortured screams during what could sort of be called the chorus. After the sound of an exploding bomb, "Oh Yeah" emerges from the rubble as a ghostly hypnotic trance of a groove gradually finding it's way out of the fog and becoming more warm in the process. Making up the entire B side of the first album, the near twenty minute "Halleluhwah" sounds like an "End of the World" party. Based around an addictive funky groove the song jams through a variety of moods with an improvising Damo freely rambling, shouting, and singing all over the place.

The seemingly endless "Augmn" opens much like "Paperhouse" but instead of floating in the clouds, eerie and unsettling fractured keyboard melodies, sounds, and vocal chants haunt the listener. Things inevitably turn violent as drums resembling machine gun and rifle fire are added to the mix while dying screams fill the distance suggesting images of war and possible genocide. Where as "Augmn" drones, "Peking O" is a dynamic blast of ever evolving insanity. The opening vocals sound like some sort of demonic prophet calling from a misty abyss before train like effects carry the song into a beyond creepy passage that resembles an evil reagge nursery ryhme. The dread builds and builds into an eruptive climax of demented keyboards, jackhammer drums, and crazed hyper active screams of gibberish transform the song into some sort of twisted, freak out cartoon. The song closes with all hell breaking loose while a proto-industrial drum groove dances like a voodo witch dotor on the verge of raising a demon. The more naive would have a hard time beliving this came from the early 70s. Best described by another reviewer as a hangover the quiently urgent "Bring Me..." feels like waking up after a long nightmare and struggling to make sense of it.

I've always been a fan of weird music. I'm a devotee to Mr. Bungle, Frank Zappa & The Mothers, Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band, Butthole Sufers, Pere Ubu, Edgard Varese, The Residents, Renaldo & The Loaf, Sonic Youth, John Cage, Snakefinger, Kraftwerk, John Zorn, Faust, etc. etc. and CAN is one of the best. The first track I heard from this album was "Mushroom" which, at times sounds like Kurt Cobain. The first time I heard it I knew I had to have it. I then went on to play the record,and it makes your balls go straight into your abdomen. At the time when I first heard this, there really were hardly any artists that had the guts to put something out like this! Damo Suzuki and Can's live shows were extreme. They had a juggling butler, while the band spun out the most mezmerizing powerful music ever. There was so much energy that sometimes concert-goers would vomit and faint. Can is a group who hardly ever wrote songs to paper. They preffered improvised jamming, and when they were in the studio, they would record many tapes, cut them up, and randomly put them together. Damo also would not write lyrics down, he'd come up with them on the spot.
This particular recording is mind-bending, beautiful, hypnotizing, funny, scary, and all of the above. It's very schizophrenic. The album opens with "Paperhouse", which is a bit more accessible sounding to most untrained ears. Towards the end of the track it becomes a frantic psychedelic workout, leading directly into "Mushroom", a tight rocking track led mainly by Damo's vocals. As usual the drumming is attention grabbing. The sound of the drums, as well as the sense of timing Jaki has is unbelievable. Emmediatley after the track, an explosion is heard leading into trippy "Oh Yeah". The song's vocals are backwards, the keyboard has a ascending/descending feel. The drummer is on fire. The bass riff is tight, in a way a song of it's own. The guitar licks towards the end sound like Jimmy Page on acid. Next is "Halleluwah" clocking in at an odd 18 minutes and 33 seconds.It's a funky jam with pounding drums. Not much to be said about this track, it's more simplistic than the other tracks, but equally as great. Next on here is "Aumgn", which sounds like a John Cage soundscape, or something from a Renaldo & The Loaf record. It's a good 17 minutes of dogs barking, low hums, insane percussion, and the keyboardist is heavily experimenting with sound here. Next is a track that I play real loud for the neighbors to hear. It's "Peking O" which starts off sounding pretty much like the meaty part of "Aumgn", then at about 5 minutes into it, Damo is obviously tripping on acid. He screams mad gibberish, at one point it sounds like he's screaming "AHHH!!! IT'S GONNA KILL ME!!!!!!!AHHHHH!!!!!I'M GONNA KILL YOU!!!!!!" wonderful stuff.
Once that insanity is over the Radiohead like "Bring Me Coffee Or Tea" begins. A Beautiful piece that is perfect for ending this mad record. I've heard alot of reviewers say this album is like a dream. I agree. It starts off kind of dozily and then it gets a little more adventourous, then a little weird, then really scary, then once "Bring Me Coffee OR Tea" starts, it's like you've woken up thinking "What did I just dream?"
It's an experience like taking to much Niquil and then going to sleep and having 7 odd dreams. The more you listen, the better it gets. Ahead of it's time? It still is...nothing sounds like this. It's music for the future by the past. It's an impressive piece. You never get tired of it because with every listen, you hear something you didn't hear before.
5/5. Wonderful.

All the superlatives used in the other reviews here are deserved. Can were a rare form of beauty in which four virtuosos put their energies together and devoted themselves to that mysterious animal "collective improvisation", with each player maintaining focus on rhythm and rhythmic intensity. Singer Damo Suzuki tops off the proceedings with mostly delicate and subtle, and highly unusual, vocal tracks that help to take the music into unexpected places.

As other reviewers note, the second half of this moves into tape-manipulated soundscapes whereas the first half is mostly the sound of delicate, subtle, multi-layered groove. (See Miles Davis' "Bitches Brew" for the most clear predecessor). "Oh Yeah" is too beautiful for words if you ask me.

On first play of the new CD I was disappointed that this still has sonic limitations. Well, of course. It's a two-track master. On subsequent playback I came to appreciate that they pretty much did the best job possible with the 2-track source material (whereas by contrast Teo Macero was able to preserve 8-track masters for "Bitches Brew" and engineers were able to drastically upgrade the sound on the recent remaster of that through hard labor). This is all that is, and will be, and when I lay back and enjoy it it's a real treasure.

I'll keep this simple because something this complex isn't easy to explain. This IS like a movie, spoiling all the surprises in it's sound is unjust.

Paperhouse - 4/5. What else is expected? Progressive rock at it's finest and fullest extent.

Mushroom - 4/5. Dancey drumbeat and eerie atmospheric synths. Proto-dance explains it best, along with Damo's vox. Dense mood fitting into the mix of relatively harmless sounds.

Oh Yeah - 5/5. This was the first track that drew me into this album. Damo's vocals are backwards sang with a tape edit, ambient organs set a mellow atmosphere throughout and a repetitive beat closing in on you. Bluesy too.

Halleluhwah - 3.5. Most enjoy this one for it's erratic direction with its structure. Eighteen minutes of building and re-modeling of effects with a relaxing minute or two of piano jazz stuff. Weary in it's settings though, good enough if you have the patience or ears for this kind of experiment.

Augumn - 5/5. Here's where the group loses their minds with experimentation. No rhyme in it's sounds, just a puzzling mixture of unsettling noises and samples (sort of) swirling through the speakers and it just gets more intense in it's point, singer Damo moaning and humming as if he were some god in pain. Really good stuff here that is quite effective in not losing out in it's atmospheres and sound. Be ready for what's within this one.

Peking O - 5/5. If you were to stick a tape recorder in the mind of someone undergoing a psychotic episode then the results would be similar if interpreted to music. IF this can be called music. Gentle in it's beginning and then Damo goes off the deep end in the middle with babble, just incoherent childish babble. It's effective in it's purpose.

Bring Me Coffee Or Tea - 5/5. After "Oh Yeah", this closer of the album would be the next most mellow track in sound. Not without giving an impression of someone's hands shaking from caffeine intake. Organs, catchy drums and percussions. All that Can is always good for closing your trip to their psychoticism.

One of those albums that CAN'T get old with no matter how much it is played.

And quite good as a trip partner. But not sitter.