Soundtracks is a 1970 compilation album by the German krautrock group Can, containing music written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, and his replacement by Damo Suzuki. "Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" features Suzuki's first recorded performance with the band.[1] Stylistically, the record also documents the group's transition to the more meditative and experimental mode of the studio albums that followed.
| Soundtracks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | September 1970 | |||
| Recorded | November 1969 – August 1970 | |||
| Studio | Schloss Nörvenich (Nörvenich, West Germany) | |||
| Genre | Krautrock | |||
| Length | 35:09 | |||
| Label | Liberty, United Artists | |||
| Producer | Can | |||
| Can chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Soundtracks | ||||
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The back cover of the album states:
"CAN SOUNDTRACKS" is the second album of THE CAN but not album no. two ... Album no. two [Tago Mago] will be released in the beginning of 1971.[2]
"She Brings the Rain", written for the 1969 film A Big Grey-Blue Bird by Thomas Schamoni, was later featured in Wim Wenders' 1994 film Lisbon Story, Oskar Roehler's 2000 film Die Unberührbare and Tran Anh Hung's 2010 film Norwegian Wood.
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [3] |
| Pitchfork | 7.6/10[4] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide |  [5] |
| Stylus Magazine | B[6] |
In a review in Stylus Magazine, Nick Southall called Soundtracks "a strange beast of a record" that "appear[s] directionless", but has some "absolutely sublime moments".[6] Dominique Leone wrote in Pitchfork that while many of the tracks on Soundtracks lack the "artistic reach" Can achieved on Monster Movie and other albums, they are not "throwaways".[4] Leone called "Mother Sky" the album's highlight, adding that it "has an intensity matching anything on the debut".[4]
In a review of Soundtracks in AllMusic, Jason Ankeny remarked: "The dichotomy between the two singers is readily apparent: Suzuki's odd, strangulated vocals fit far more comfortably into the group's increasingly intricate and subtle sound, allowing for greater variation than Mooney's stream-of-consciousness discourse."[3]
In March 2005, Q magazine placed "Mother Sky" at number 48 in its list of the "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks".[7]
Track listing edit
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Deadlock" (from the film Deadlock, 1970, dir. Roland Klick) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Suzuki | 3:27 |
| 2. | "Tango Whiskyman" (from the film Deadlock) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Suzuki | 4:04 |
| 3. | "Deadlock (Titelmusik)" (from the film Deadlock) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Suzuki | 1:40 |
| 4. | "Don't Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone" (from the film Cream – Schwabing Report, 1970, dir. Leon Capetanos) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Suzuki | 3:42 |
| 5. | "Soul Desert" (from the film The Brutes, 1970, dir. Roger Fritz) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Mooney | 3:48 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Mother Sky" (from the film Deep End, 1971, dir. Jerzy Skolimowski) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Suzuki | 14:31 |
| 2. | "She Brings the Rain" (from the film A Big Grey-Blue Bird, 1969, dir. Thomas Schamoni) | Czukay, Karoli, Liebezeit, Schmidt, Mooney | 4:04 |
| Total length: | 35:16 | ||
Personnel edit
- Can
- Holger Czukay – bass guitar, double bass
- Michael Karoli – electric guitar, violin
- Jaki Liebezeit – drums, percussion, flute
- Irmin Schmidt – keyboards, synthesizers
- Malcolm Mooney – lead vocals (5, 7)
- Damo Suzuki – lead vocals (1, 2, 4, 6), percussion
References edit
- ^ Czukay, Holger. "A Short History of the Can – Discography". Perfect Sound Forever. furious.com. Archived from the original on 30 May 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
'Don't Turn the Light on, Leave Me Alone' was Damo's first recording with CAN ever.
- ^ Liberty (1970). Soundtracks (back cover). Can. Germany. LBS 83 437 I.
- ^ a b Ankeny, Jason. "Can: Soundtracks > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ a b c Leone, Dominique (11 November 2004). "Can: Soundtracks". Pitchfork Media. Archived from the original on 12 May 2017. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ a b Southall, Nick (7 January 2005). "Can: Monster Movie / Soundtracks". Stylus Magazine. Archived from the original on 18 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ "100 Greatest Guitar Tracks Ever!". Q (#224). London: EMAP Metro. March 2005. ISSN 0955-4955. Retrieved 2 November 2011.