LIVE IN KEELE 1977

This is not quite a double live album--it's three sides long, with the fourth side being embossed with artwork and not playable (on this planet, at least). But oh, what is contained on these three sides...I've always thought Can's studio magic quickly waned as soon as they started multitracking rather than ping-ponging between two stereo decks. But their live performances improved once Rosco Gee took over bass duties and Holger Czukay shifted over to short wave receivers, telegraph keys, and goodness knows what else in the found sound department. This three-sided document is a testament to that fact.The music here is alive and bubbling, with the band at its absolute peak. Yes, it's a shame these shows weren't properly recorded with an expensive 24 track mobile studio truck (a la Zappa) but these cassette source recordings cleaned up surprisingly well and sound great given their limitations. Overseen by Irmin Schmidt, this entire series of live Can shows is worth owning and studying. And this is one of my favorites of them all. Highly recommended!