Can

This album is a dynamic document of late-period CAN.

Recorded in March 1977, the core line up of Irmin Schmidt, Jaki Liebezeit, Michael Karoli, and Holger Czukay is augmented by the addition of Rosko Gee (Traffic) on bass. Gee’s recent addition to the line-up meant that Holger Czukay was freed up from bass duties to perform “waveform radio and spec. sounds”, manifesting here as otherworldly sounds, samples and what one reviewer of a later show described as “moontalk to a white continental telephone.”

1977 was a difficult period for CAN; their recently released eighth studio album, 'Saw Delight', had been badly received and although posterity has been kinder to the album, the reviews on release were savage. Journalist, broadcaster and author Jennifer Lucy Allan’s meticulous research of the time, place and context of the performance on the accompanying sleeve notes led her to declare of the album: “On paper, unremarkable. In practice, a precious hunk of sonic material.” Before going on to remind us that “The heads know – forums and published books alike agree – that ‘76-’77 is the best of the Can live years (Keele included). A couple of the tracks from this show have been included on fan-made “best of” live bootlegs over the years. And wow, are they right”.