Delay 1968

Can Reviewed: Part 11/12

This music is a genre I like to call “Early Recordings-Core”. It’s like other music, but worse.

The recording here is kind of garbage. There’s a charm to lo-fi recordings, but it can also mean that a lot of the beauty of a project is taken away.

Also, the drumming on this album is the drumming played in hell. It’s too loud, it’s abrasive, and it’s way too simple. It is utterly miserable to hear the same grinding beat for six ... read more

‘Delay 1968’, a compilation of music released retrospectively in 1981, is by all accords a decent, if flawed, run-up to Can’s official 1969 debut, ‘Monster Movie’. I've listened to this record many times over the years, and extended jams like 'Butterfly' and 'Little Star of Bethlehem' just refuse to stick in the memory vault. The band is tight, Malcolm Mooney's aggressive psychosis is primed, yet beyond highlights such as 'Thief', something just doesn't quite ... read more

While Delay 1968 offers a great insight into the bands early sound, i find the album pretty mediocre. The driving kraut-jams do not really stick out to me as much as they do on their other earlier records like Monster Movie (or even some of the early tracks on Unlimited Edition) These flaws do however not stop the album for being Incredibly ahead of its time for 1968, and the standout tracks like The Thief and Butterfly would be even more fantastic if it werent not for the dry production.

Why didn't they include Thief on Monster Movie? It's easily my favorite Can song with Mooney on vocals. The rest of the album is pretty solid. Butterfly is insane and I really like Pnoom even though it's so short. The only real stinker is Man Named Joe. Feels like a Trout Mask Replica-era Beffheart song, and not in a good way