Future Days 1973 Album

Can

Now Can completely switches gears – Future Days is, for all intents and purposes, the big, relaxing, idyllic comedown from the manic trip which was kicked off by Tago Mago three albums ago. It is a rather strange contrast – the same group which spent extended amounts of time repetitively grinding you to the edge of senility are now gently sifting your ears through the sands of some faraway vacation spot, or something similar. There are only four – count ‘em – four tracks here, Damo’s vocals have been relegated to second division status at this point, and even the main instrumental players take somewhat of a backseat to the general atmosphere of the overall theme in play. Only on “Bel Air”, the massive but still somehow light and airy 20-minute track which ends the album, do we get hints of the old, classic Can tension at work, and even then, it is more like the song simply ends up dissolving into thin air, only to regenerate itself and begin again on its’ original theme. I have to say, the older I get the more static this album becomes for me, but you have to give them credit here – it is a radically different sound, even though upon re-listening it is not as appealing as I thought it would be.