21st Century - Holger Czukay

Advantages: Great potential
Disadvantages: Very much a debut album

...The Tourists were a power pop outfit whose brightest moment was the Dusty Springfield cover, I Only Wanna Be With You, which made number 5 in 1979. After they split up, their driving and creative force, Dave Stewart and Annie Lennox formed a new partnerships with the Eurythmics, which took a very different approach to the Tourists. They recorded some demos with DAF drummer Robert Gorl, and ex-Can members Jackie Liebezeit and Holger Czukay in Conny Plank’s studio in Cologne. The demos were taken up by RCA and provided the material for the first album In The Garden in 1981. Blondie drummer Clem Burke fleshed out the sound and the LP displayed a wide range of styles, from passionate pop to avant garde electronics. The uptempo feel of the music was often undercut by Annie’s moody, aching lyrics and powerful vocals, as in the track... Read review

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Advantages: It's emphasized loss of time and space
Disadvantages: Head hurts after listening more than 77 times

...(or was it? hmm...). You know, when the guy drives the car at night after he killed 4 people. Holger Czukay, Jah Wobble and Laki Liebezeit - FULL CIRCLE ladies and gentlemen! (can you hear the applause in your head?)... Read review

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Advantages: Groundbreaking, influential, awe-inspiring
Disadvantages: None

...Can are one of those bands who get name-dropped by all sorts of trendy bands but who remain generally unknown to the public at large. They have a sizeable cult following, however, and most devotees rate this (or its successor, Ege Bamyasi) as their best. Can were: Michael Karoli (RIP) - guitar; Holger Czukay - bass; Irmin Schmidt - keyboards and Jaki Liebzeit - drums. Their most important collaborators were two singers: Malcolm Mooney on their earliest recordings and later Damo Suzuki. Tago-Mago is the first Can album to feature Suzuki only on vocals (Soundtracks features contributions from both Mooney and Suzuki) and he immediately makes his presence felt. The band's sound is here moving away from its earlier dabblings in Velvet Underground territory into something stranger and wilder. Paperhouse starts off gently, allowing you... Read review

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