Future Days is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock group Can, released on 1 August 1973 by United Artists. It was the group's final album to feature vocalist Damo Suzuki, who subsequently left the band to become a Jehovah's Witness,[3] and explores a more atmospheric sound than their previous releases.[4]
| Future Days | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 1 August 1973 | |||
| Recorded | 1973 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 41:04 | |||
| Label | United Artists | |||
| Producer | Can | |||
| Can chronology | ||||
| ||||
Content edit
Music edit
On Future Days, Can emphasises the ambient elements they had explored on previous albums, dispensing largely with traditional rock song structures and instead "creating hazy, expansive soundscapes dominated by percolating rhythms and evocative layers of keys".[1] PopMatters wrote that "Future Days is driven by a coastal breeze, exuding a more pleasant, relaxed mood than anything the band had previously recorded."[5]
Artwork edit
The album cover features the Greek letter Psi in the middle and the I Ching hexagram dǐng below the title. The surrounding graphics are based on the Jugendstil art style.
Some versions of the vinyl album have a slightly different cover in which the graphics are not embossed, or in which the lightly reflective gold tint is replaced by a flat yellow instead. These differences are also present on the CD releases.
Reception edit
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |  [1] |
| Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [6] |
| Far Out |  [7] |
| The Great Rock Discography | 7/10[8] |
| Pitchfork | 8.8/10[9] |
| Q |  [10] |
| Spin Alternative Record Guide | 9/10[11] |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [12] |
| Tom Hull | B+[13] |
From contemporary reviews, Ian MacDonald of NME praised the album, opining it was "an immaculate piece of work, the best German rock record so far, apart from Faust", and concluded that it was "sheer good music and is perfectly easy for anyone with a pair of ears attached to their heads to get into and thoroughly enjoy. Forget the krautrock tag. Forget how you're supposed to react."[14] Ray Fox-Cumming of Disc gave the album a negative review, declaring the album "attempts nothing that hasn't already been done, often to death, before" while finding "some of it is quite pretty, the music is well-played, nicely spaced and unscrambled, but even after half a dozen hearings I still found most of it went in one ear and straight out the other."[15] NME ranked it the 11th best album of the year in 1974.[16]
From retrospective reviews, AllMusic's Anthony Tognazzini called it "fiercely progressive, calming, complex, intense, and beautiful all at once" and "one of Can's most fully realized and lasting achievements." He also praised Suzuki's vocal performances - described as "all minimal texture and shading" - as being his "most inspired", and praised the track "Bel Air" as "a gloriously expansive piece of music that progresses almost imperceptibly, ending abruptly after exactly 20 minutes."[1]
Legacy edit
| Publications/Sources | Accolades | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Uncut | "200 Greatest Albums of All Time" | 2016 | 121[17] |
| Rolling Stone | "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time" | 2015 | 8[18] |
| Tom Moon | "1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die" | 2008 | -[19] |
| GQ | "The 100 Coolest Albums in the World Right Now!" | 2005 | 70[20] |
| Pitchfork | "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s" | 2004 | 56[21] |
| Stylus | "Top 101-200 Albums of All Time" | 2004 | 160[22] |
| Mojo | "The 100 Greatest Albums Ever Made" | 1995 | 62[23] |
Track listing edit
All tracks are written by Can (Holger Czukay, Michael Karoli, Jaki Liebezeit, Irmin Schmidt and Damo Suzuki).
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Future Days" | 9:34 |
| 2. | "Spray" | 8:28 |
| 3. | "Moonshake" | 3:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Bel Air" (also known as "Spare a Light"[a]) | 20:00 |
| Total length: | 41:04 | |
Personnel edit
- Can
- Holger Czukay – bass guitar, double bass
- Michael Karoli – electric guitar, violin
- Jaki Liebezeit – drums, percussion
- Irmin Schmidt – Farfisa organ and electric piano, electronics[24]
- Damo Suzuki – vocals, percussion
Footnotes edit
- ^ The United Artists 1973 UK release of the LP (UAS 29505) shows track 1 of Side B as "Bel Air" on the LP sleeve, and "Spare a Light" on the vinyl label.
References edit
- ^ a b c d e Ankeny, Jason. "Can: Future Days > Review" at AllMusic. Retrieved 2 November 2011.
- ^ "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone.
- ^ Wray, Daniel Dylan (31 October 2022). "'Having limits is boring': experimental survivor Damo Suzuki on Can, cancer and krautrock". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
- ^ Can at AllMusic
- ^ "For the Sake of Future Days: Can's Second Golden Era". PopMatters. 5 August 2005. Retrieved 20 July 2017.
- ^ Larkin, Colin (2011). "Can". Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th ed.). Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857125958.
- ^ Ferrier, Aimee (23 June 2023). "Can - 'Future Days' album review". Far Out. Retrieved 21 February 2024.
- ^ Martin C. Strong (1998). The Great Rock Discography (1st ed.). Canongate Books. ISBN 978-0-86241-827-4.
- ^ Leone, Dominique (12 July 2005). "Can: Future Days". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved 6 October 2020.
- ^ "Radiohead Press Clipping - the King of Limbs album review Q Magazine". 2011.
- ^ Weisbard, Eric; Marks, Craig, eds. (1995). "Minutemen". Spin Alternative Record Guide (1st ed.). New York: Vintage Books. ISBN 0-679-75574-8.
- ^ Nathan Brackett; Christian David Hoard (2004). The new Rolling Stone album guide. New York: Simon & Schuster. p. 134. ISBN 978-0-7432-0169-8.
- ^ Tom Hull. "Grade List: can". Tom Hull - on the web. Retrieved 4 September 2020.
- ^ MacDonald 1974.
- ^ Fox-Cumming 1974.
- ^ "Rocklist.net...NME End Of Year Lists 1974." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "Rocklist.net..Rocklist.net... Uncut Lists ." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "50 Greatest Prog Rock Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 17 June 2015. Retrieved 31 August 2015.
- ^ "Rocklist.net...Steve Parker...Tom Moon 1000." www.rocklistmusic.co.uk. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "GQ - 100 coolest albums (2006)". www.muzieklijstjes.nl. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s – Page 5". pitchfork.com. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ "Top 101-200 Favourite Albums Ever : The Stylus Magazine List - Article - Stylus Magazine". stylusmagazine.com. Retrieved 2020-11-26.
- ^ Stephen, Gordon (August 1995). "Rocklist.net...Mojo Lists..." Mojo. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
- ^ Doyle, Tom (July 2012). "Finding The Lost Can Tapes: Jono Padmore, Irmin Schmidt & Daniel Miller". Sound on Sound. Retrieved 2024-02-19.
Sources edit
- Fox-Cumming, Ray (16 February 1974). "Can: Future Days (United Artists UAS 29505, £2.25)". Disc. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via Rock's Backpages.
- MacDonald, Ian (26 January 1974). "Can: Future Days (United Artists)". NME. Retrieved 18 January 2021 – via Rock's Backpages.