Can were at the vanguard of the Krautrock movement in the 1970’s. They pioneered a hypnotic, groove-oriented blend of electronic sounds and textures that continues to inspire younger players to this day. I’ve read that Can songs evolved in the studio from group improvisations and Live In Stuttgart 1975 gives an exciting peek into that process. There are no “hits” in this set. The tracks are labeled One to Five in German and capture the band making up glorious sounds on the fly. The pieces are anchored by Jaki Liebzeit’s economical but inventive drumming and Holgar Czukay’s bass playing. The melodies emerge from Michael Karoli’s guitar inventions and Irmin Schmidt’s out of this world keyboard sounds. The first moments of “eins” sound like the Dead tuning up, searching for a groove. Once they find it, there is no looking back. The set builds in intensity, going through Germanic boogie to space jams that would make Sun Ra smile. Live In Stuttgart 1975 takes you to a different place than the studio albums, and that’s exciting
