Description This is Can's greatest LP, a combination of singles and freakouts ; quite extraordinary even today. Ege Bamyası is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock band Can which was originally released as an LP in 1972 by United Artists. The album contains the single "Spoon", which charted in the Top 10 in Germany, largely because of its use as the theme of a German TV thriller series called "Das Messer" (The Knife). The success of the single allowed Can to move to a better studio in which they recorded Ege Bamyası. Ege Bamyası was remastered as a hybridSACD in 2004 which includes a booklet with commentary on the album by former Melody Maker journalist David Stubbs, as well as previously unreleased photos of the band.The cover artwork, in addition to being a pun on the band's name (as it depicts a can labeled "CAN"), reflects several of the band members' continued interest in traditional music;[1] "Ege Bamyası" means "Aegean Okra" in Turkish. The album has received much critical acclaim since its release and has been cited as an influence by various artists. Several artists have played cover versions of songs from Ege Bamyası. Remix versions of several tracks by various artists are included on the album Sacrilege.Contents [hide] 1 Production2 Reception and influence3 Track listing4 Personnel4.1 Production5 References6 External linksProduction[edit]With the commercial success of their hit single "Spoon" (which reached #6 on the German charts[2] and sold 300,000 copies), Can was able to hire a large ex-cinema which they used as a part-working, part-living space. However, things nearly didn't work out as guitarist Michael Karoli recalled that the sessions were "frustrated by keyboardist Irmin Schmidt and vocalist Damo Suzuki's playing chess obsessively day in, day out"[1] and that "completing recording became a frantic process, with some tracks having to be recorded practically in real time and the single 'Spoon' added to make up for a shortfall in material."[1]Ege Bamyası was recorded by Czukay in the Inner Space studio at Weilerswist, a town near Cologne.[3] It was originally released in 1972 by United Artists. In September 2004, the album, along with the majority of Can's discography, was remastered and released as a hybrid SACD.[4] The re-release includes a booklet with commentary on the album by David Stubbs, as well as previously unreleased photos of the band.Reception and influence[edit]Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllmusic[5]Pitchfork Media(9.8/10.0)[6]Stylus MagazineA[7]Piero Scaruffi(7/10)[8]Ege Bamyası has received considerable critical acclaim since its release. Pitchfork Media featured the record at #19 on its "Top 100 Albums of the 1970s".[9] British music weekly Melody Maker wrote: "Can are without doubt the most talented and most consistent experimental rock band in Europe, England included."[10] The success of the song "Spoon" and sales from this album inspired Can to throw a free concert in an attempt to reach a wider audience. The Can Free Concert was filmed by Martin Schäfer, Robbie Müller and Egon Mann for director Peter Przygodda at the Cologne Sporthalle on 3 February 1972 and is included on the Can DVD.[11]Various artists have cited Ege Bamyasi as an influence. Stephen Malkmus of Pavement has been quoted as saying "I played Can's Ege Bamyası album every night before I went to sleep for about three years."[12] Thurston Moore of Sonic Youthrecalls, "I found Ege Bamyası in the 49-cent bin at Woolworth's. I didn’t see anything written about Can, I didn’t know anything about them except this okra can on the cover, which seemed completely bizarre. I finally picked that record up, and I completely wore it out. It was so alluring. Something about it made Can seem to be playing outside of rock 'n' roll. It was unlike anything else I was hearing at the time."[13]There have been cover versions of songs from Ege Bamyası by various artists. "I'm So Green" was covered by Beck and was submitted for a planned Can tribute album produced by the Dust Brothers. Kanye West sampled from "Sing Swan Song" for his song "Drunk and Hot Girls" on the album Graduation, and derives many of the song's lyrics from Damo Suzuki's vocals. Remix versions of several Ege Bamyası songs are included on the album Sacrilege. Minneapolis based hip hop artist I Self Devine sampled from "Vitamin C" for the song "Overthrow" on his 2005 release, "Self Destruction". Kleptones have incorporated "Vitamin C" into their mix Hectic City 7 – May Daze.[1] "Vitamin C" can also be heard in Pedro Almodóvar's movie Broken Embraces. Joe Frank used "One More Night" as the score for "The Road To Calvary" from Somewhere Out There.For the album´s 40th Anniversary, Stephen Malkmus played the album in its entirety on December 1, 2012 at WEEK-END Festival in Cologne, Germany.[14] A recording of this performance was released as a limited-edition live album on Record Store Day 2013.Track listing[edit]All songs written and composed by Karoli, Czukay, Liebezeit, Schmidt and Suzuki. Side oneNo.TitleLength1."Pinch" 9:282."Sing Swan Song" 4:493."One More Night" 5:35Side twoNo.TitleLength4."Vitamin C" 3:345."Soup" 10:256."I'm So Green" 3:037."Spoon" 3:03Total length:39:57Personnel[edit]Holger Czukay – bass, engineering, editingMichael Karoli – guitarJaki Liebezeit – drumsIrmin Schmidt – keyboards