1) What are this albums' strengths?
-For being 74 minutes long, it never becomes tedious or boring to the point where you want to move on to hit the skip button and pause and finish it later.
2) What are its weaknessess?
-Maybe it's because I haven't "listened" to it in about a year, but it sounds much more dated than I remember, even compared to their first album
Monster Movie.
3) How does it compare to the artist's other work?
- Almost every opinion I've heard says this is their favorite Can album. Personally, I prefer
Monster Movie, their debut. It has a faster pace and more of a tribal feel... almost in ways like their "German" counterparts, the Monks.
4) Favourite songs?
-The album is very consistent, but 'Halleluhwah' stands above the rest. I'm guessing because it has the most resemblance with the material on
Monster Movie.
5) What feelings did this album evoke?
-Mostly confusion, chaos, with a glaze of sanity all over.
6) How does this album fit into your regular rotation?
-Not too much. I have a thing about having to listen to albums all the way through. And at 74 minutes long, finding that uninterrupted time does not come easy.
7) What stood out to you about this album's themes, musically/lyrically?
- Found myself not really interpreting the lyrics, but hearing how the sound fit with the music. And on that level, it works very well.
8) If you've had any noteworthy experiences with this album, what have they been?
-It was the first album I listened to on an airplane.
9) What do you know about this album's creation? Any interesting facts or anecdotes?
-I can't remember the name of the origina; lead singer on
Monster Movie, but he had a nervous breakdown and left the band. The guy that replaced him sang on
Tago Mago, sounds like he's having nervous breakdown.
10) How does this album represent the chosen theme?
-It was released in 1971... so pretty well.
11) How does this album compare to other albums nominated for this theme?
-If they were released in 1971, it's a shame it wasn't a 9-way tie.
12) How does this album compare to others in its genre?
-This is like Krautrock's jazzier avant-garde side. Imagine a kind of hybrid between Faust and Soft Machine.
Tago Mago is pretty much that.
13) Can you recommend similar albums to this?
-I think this shares a lot in common, actually, with Soft Machine's
Third.
14) What does this album's artwork say about it? Is it well paired with the music?
-I imagined that orange-alien-man-thing with a speaker in it's mouth playing this album... so yeah.