Irmin Schmidt + Inner Space Production: Kamasutra – Vollendung der Liebe

Don’t be fooled by the billing. This is a previously unreleased Can album preceding the 1969 debut record, Monster Movie. It was recorded in 1968 as the soundtrack to the German film Kamasutra – Vollendung Der Liebe (that is, “The Consummation of Love”). Unmistakably Can, it’s nonetheless a much more psychedelic sounding record than the frenetic kraut rock for which the band is now more commonly known. The tempos are slower, too, presumably because a ‘60s movie entitled Kamasutra comprises a wide variety of very long sex scenes. Sonically, it’s an album of modal guitar (and flute) explorations, prominent bass riffing, and precise hand drumming. It is by no means an astonishing record, but it does bear many hallmarks of Can’s later work and sounds extremely of its time. Standouts include the pulsating “Indisches Panorama II” and the eerie “In Orient II”. Original lead singer Malcolm Mooney sings on the concise “There Was a Man” — once more providing evidence that he was not quite so exciting as his replacement, Damo Suzuki — while Margarete Juvan lends her vocals to the mostly annoying “I’m Hiding My Nightingale”.