Consequence’s Dissected takes a holistic look at an artist or band’s discography, a director’s catalog, or some other critical pop-culture collection. It’s exact science by way of a few beers. This time, we’re revisiting krautrock trailblazers Can in all of their avant glory.
From a certain vantage point, Can’s genius almost seems accidental. The krautrock band formed with no real direction in mind, stumbled upon their most revered vocalist by chance as he was busking on the streets of Munich, and recorded some of their most legendary work as a last-minute Hail Mary after spending too much time prior to their deadline playing chess. And yet, that vocalist, the one-of-a-kind Damo Suzuki; that record, Ege Bamyasi; and the rest of their impressive catalog would all ultimately contribute to Can becoming one of the most essential rock bands to come out of the ’70s.
Of course, Can’s brilliance was not an accident at all. Before the founding members ever conceived of forming a rock group, they were already well-trained and well-accomplished. Keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and bassist/multi-instrumentalist Holger Czukay both had extensive classical training, including stints studying under the experimental composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. In most other universes, they probably had long careers in the world of contemporary classical music, but a 1965 trip to New York City taken by Schmidt forked their future. It was then that the artist discovered the avant garde outsiders of rock music, acts like the Velvet Underground, Frank Zappa, and Jimi Hendrix. Upon returning, Schmidt and Czukay recruited free-jazz drummer Jaki Liebezeit and guitarist Michael Karoli, ultimately setting out to make something guitar music hadn’t seen before.
Well, the mad lads did it. While there might be a couple of misses in their 11-album discography, Can’s best work isn’t merely high-quality rock music, it’s some of the most boundary-pushing jamming ever put to tape. From the avant-freak-outs of their early material to their iconic three-LP run with the late Suzuki to the genre-hopping of their post-Suzuki era, there are few rock scenes that don’t trace at least some influence back to Can.
The list of artists who have cited them as an inspiration is almost too staggering to compile. Everyone from David Bowie to Radiohead, James Murphy to Mark E. Smith, Talking Heads to Joy Division, and Sonic Youth to Oasis has given the band their flowers. Basically, anyone who’s ever picked up a guitar and thought, “I kind of want to get a little weird with it,” has almost certainly gone through a Can phase.
So, whether you are just starting your Can phase or are already a certified Canner and just want to see how wrong we are, we humbly present the definitive ranking of every Can album. — Jonah Krueger
