Monster Movie
Encyclopedia
Monster Movie is the debut album
by the German krautrock
band Can
, recorded and released in 1969.
After the release of their first two singles in 1968, Can produced an album that was to be their full-length debut, entitled Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom, but no record company was willing to release it. Monster Movie was Can's attempt to make a more accessible record for commercial release. Recordings of Pnoom were eventually released on LP in 1981 as part of Delay 1968
.
The cover of the album depicts the giant faceless figure of Marvel Comics'
character Galactus
, and is credited to "The Can", a name originally suggested by vocalist Malcolm Mooney
and taken on as a result of a democratic vote. Previously the band were known as "Inner Space", which later became the name of their purpose-built recording studio
. Some copies of the LP bore the subtitle "Made in a castle with better equipment".
Upon its release in 1969, the album became very influential in the development of the krautrock
genre. From the Velvet Underground-inspired "Father Cannot Yell", to the 20-minute jam
(pared down from 6 hours) "Yoo Doo Right
", Monster Movie brings together elements of psychedelic rock
, blues
, free jazz
, world music
and other styles of music in which the members of Can were steeped. With its balance of songwriting, improvisation, experimentation, and layering of sounds, the album set a standard for Can's subsequent albums in the early 1970s,
Monster Movie enjoys the distinction of being the only album released during the Can's original decade as a band on which Malcolm Mooney performed all of the vocals. Two more Mooney songs appeared on 1970's Soundtracks
album, with the majority featuring his replacement, Damo Suzuki
. 20 years after Monster Movie, Mooney would reunite with Can to record the album Rite Time
.
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
by the German krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
band Can
Can (band)
Can was an experimental rock band formed in Cologne, West Germany in 1968. Later labeled as one of the first "krautrock" groups, they transcended mainstream influences and incorporated strong minimalist and world music elements into their often psychedelic music.Can constructed their music largely...
, recorded and released in 1969.
After the release of their first two singles in 1968, Can produced an album that was to be their full-length debut, entitled Prepared to Meet Thy Pnoom, but no record company was willing to release it. Monster Movie was Can's attempt to make a more accessible record for commercial release. Recordings of Pnoom were eventually released on LP in 1981 as part of Delay 1968
Delay 1968
-Personnel:*Holger Czukay – bass*Michael Karoli – guitar*Jaki Liebezeit – drums, percussion*Irmin Schmidt – keyboards*Malcolm Mooney – vocals...
.
The cover of the album depicts the giant faceless figure of Marvel Comics'
Marvel Comics
Marvel Worldwide, Inc., commonly referred to as Marvel Comics and formerly Marvel Publishing, Inc. and Marvel Comics Group, is an American company that publishes comic books and related media...
character Galactus
Galactus
Galactus is a fictional character appearing in comic books and other publications published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist and co-plotter Jack Kirby, the character debuted in Fantastic Four #48 , the first of a three-issue story later known as "The Galactus...
, and is credited to "The Can", a name originally suggested by vocalist Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney
Malcolm Mooney is an American singer, poet, and artist, probably best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can.-Biography:Mooney began singing in high school, and was a member of an a cappella vocal group known as the Six Fifths...
and taken on as a result of a democratic vote. Previously the band were known as "Inner Space", which later became the name of their purpose-built recording studio
Recording studio
A recording studio is a facility for sound recording and mixing. Ideally both the recording and monitoring spaces are specially designed by an acoustician to achieve optimum acoustic properties...
. Some copies of the LP bore the subtitle "Made in a castle with better equipment".
Upon its release in 1969, the album became very influential in the development of the krautrock
Krautrock
Krautrock is a generic name for the experimental music scenes that appeared in Germany in the late 1960s and gained popularity throughout the 1970s, especially in Britain. The term is a result of the English-speaking world's reception of the music at the time and not a reference to any one...
genre. From the Velvet Underground-inspired "Father Cannot Yell", to the 20-minute jam
Jam session
Jam sessions are often used by musicians to develop new material, find suitable arrangements, or simply as a social gathering and communal practice session. Jam sessions may be based upon existing songs or forms, may be loosely based on an agreed chord progression or chart suggested by one...
(pared down from 6 hours) "Yoo Doo Right
Yoo Doo Right
"Yoo Doo Right" is a song on Can's 1969 debut album, Monster Movie, which had been edited down from a six-hour improvisation to a mere twenty minutes...
", Monster Movie brings together elements of psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock
Psychedelic rock is a style of rock music that is inspired or influenced by psychedelic culture and attempts to replicate and enhance the mind-altering experiences of psychedelic drugs. It emerged during the mid 1960s among folk rock and blues rock bands in United States and the United Kingdom...
, blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
, free jazz
Free jazz
Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s. Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and 1950s...
, world music
World music
World music is a term with widely varying definitions, often encompassing music which is primarily identified as another genre. This is evidenced by world music definitions such as "all of the music in the world" or "somebody else's local music"...
and other styles of music in which the members of Can were steeped. With its balance of songwriting, improvisation, experimentation, and layering of sounds, the album set a standard for Can's subsequent albums in the early 1970s,
Monster Movie enjoys the distinction of being the only album released during the Can's original decade as a band on which Malcolm Mooney performed all of the vocals. Two more Mooney songs appeared on 1970's Soundtracks
Soundtracks (Can album)
Soundtracks is a soundtrack album by the Krautrock group Can. It was first released in 1970 and consists of tracks written for various films. The album marks the departure of the band's original vocalist Malcolm Mooney, who sings on two tracks, to be replaced by new member Damo Suzuki...
album, with the majority featuring his replacement, Damo Suzuki
Damo Suzuki
, universally known as Damo Suzuki , is a singer best known for his membership in the German krautrock group Can.-Biography:As a teenager, Suzuki spent the late 1960s wandering around Europe, often busking....
. 20 years after Monster Movie, Mooney would reunite with Can to record the album Rite Time
Rite Time
Rite Time is Can's twelfth and last studio album, considered a reunion album because of the time elapsed since the band's previous album, Can, which had been released in 1979. The album consists of sessions recorded in the South of France in late 1986, edited extensively by the band over the course...
.
Track listing
Personnel
- Irmin SchmidtIrmin SchmidtIrmin Schmidt is a German keyboard player and composer, probably best known as a founding member of the band Can.-Biography:...
– keyboards - Jaki LiebezeitJaki LiebezeitJaki Liebezeit is a drummer probably best known as a founding member of Can who has been called "one of the few drummers to convincingly meld the funky and the cerebral"....
– drums - Holger CzukayHolger CzukayHolger Czukay is a German musician, probably best known as a co-founder of the krautrock group Can. Described by critic Jason Ankeny as "successfully bridg[ing] the gap between pop and the avant-garde," Czukay is also notable for creating early important examples of ambient music, for exploring...
– bass - Michael KaroliMichael KaroliMichael Karoli was a German guitarist, violinist and composer. He was a founding member of the influential krautrock band Can....
– guitar - Malcolm MooneyMalcolm MooneyMalcolm Mooney is an American singer, poet, and artist, probably best known as the original vocalist for German krautrock band Can.-Biography:Mooney began singing in high school, and was a member of an a cappella vocal group known as the Six Fifths...
– vocals