Phew - S/T (1981) [SAA Album Club discussion thread]

[clutnuckle]

I thought it was just as good as every other track (bar "Signal" which we've already pointed out is ace), albeit just in a completely different medium. Works well in the context of the album, which is the only way I really listen to albums these days.

[Mrd00d]

The top three tracks from the album, for me, were Fragment, Mapping, and P-Adic, in that order.

I wasn't really prepared for Japanese vocals at all, so I was none too thrilled originally. But it's not the first time. And they grew on me...

Here's one cool thing you may or may not notice. Track 1 is called Closed and the last track is called Circuit.

Play Circuit, and then Closed, and you'll hear why. You may have figured out, the first track picks up right where the last track ends. Closed Circuit.

The vocals on Signal... well ... remind me of Primus' My Name Is Mud. Especially since Les Claypool redid it in Spanish for his South American tour. It flows in the same manner, I feel.

Dream, Doze, and Aqua were my least favorite pieces, but I feel like Aqua has redeeming qualities I'm just still missing.

Overall I'm pretty pleased with this album in that my first impression was ... the opposite.
I could listen to it again...

[bob.]

i found Doze to be one of the more interesting track....and although i did enjoy Dream....i can see all of your points

[Sneer]

I stumbled upon this album about a year ago when I was in the midst of a "download everything related to Can" frenzy. It's pretty great. Signal was on heavy rotation for a long while.

[Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra]

As somebody who adores Can, are you guys sure you're not over-exaggerating this album a little due to their involvement?

[dankrsta]

^Well, in my case no. I have a soft spot for pretty much everything that has anything to do with post-punk, no wave and minimal synth. Kraut-rock aspect is just a bonus.

Originally Posted by Mrd00d

Here's one cool thing you may or may not notice. Track 1 is called Closed and the last track is called Circuit.

Play Circuit, and then Closed, and you'll hear why. You may have figured out, the first track picks up right where the last track ends. Closed Circuit.

Oh yeah, definitely! I did mention in my post that these two round the album nicely

[Sneer]

Originally Posted by Skaligojurah

As somebody who adores Can, are you guys sure you're not over-exaggerating this album a little due to their involvement?

Not at all. I think some of Can's work is awful, namely their later stuff. But they do bring something to this album. Ultimately, though, you have to judge every individual album on it's own merits - and this one is great in my opinion.

[clutnuckle]

Originally Posted by Skaligojurah

As somebody who adores Can, are you guys sure you're not over-exaggerating this album a little due to their involvement?

From what I've seen from other places, more people seem to arbitrarily dislike this album because of Can's involvement than arbitrarily praise it. Something about their krautrock heroes getting involved elsewhere doesn't sit well with them.

Sure, Can is one of my favorite krautrock acts, but just because they bring their greatness here, doesn't mean I feel swayed to award them bonus points on things other than the actual merit of the songs.

[Engine]

Originally Posted by Skaligojurah

As somebody who adores Can, are you guys sure you're not over-exaggerating this album a little due to their involvement?

As someone who is a lot less krautrock savvy than others here, I don't even really listen to Can so .. no, Can has nothing to do with any of my comments.

[Ska Lagos Jew Sun Ra]

Hmmm... I can't figure out what you're all seeing in this. It's not bad, I still don't get anything particular in it. Ah well, maybe next one.