Music (Live 1971-1977)

This was originally released as part of the Can box and draws from the collection of live tapes that fan Andy Hall collected, the same stash that has yielded archival releases like Live in Stuttgart and Live In Brighton. The live bootlegs are a real new world for Can enthusiasts, as little of it sounds like anything on the studio records. The opener, “Jynx,” is an instrumental jam from 1975, sixteen minutes of the band airing it out, Jaki very much at peak intensity. The version of “Dizzy Dizzy” from the same year (different show) is spare and brutal, contained and vivid. The version of “Vernal Equinox” here is fabulously freaked out and fractured. (I’m not sure how they decided to use that title for this track, beyond a tiny melody snippet.) “Colchester Finale” is thirty-seven minutes from 1972 with Damo freaking the hell out—you can imagine! Completely nuts.