It's a shame that it's taken 35 years for this truly astonishing LP to get the sort of recognition that it has deserved. At a recent Mojo Awards ceremony Holger Czukay and Irmin Schmidt said that the album was now selling more than it ever did in the past, helped no doubt by this quite extraordinary remastered release.

Tago Mago is put simply, a freeform adventure into uncharted sonic territory, and put next to some of the more established LPs of the 70's it is essentially a behemoth of an album that leaves them in the shadows, both in textural diversity and the sheer range of emotional weight behind it. This is the point that the band, to all intense purposes, abandoned the anchor of rock and went onto become a truly unique band. If there's any vestiges of traditional forms left, they are extinguished by the time "Oh Yeah" and "Halleluhwah" come into view. The LP is a tricky affair, helped no doubt by the awkwardness of "Peking O" and "Aumgnm", but that shouldn't put potential listeners off.

Just gonna chime in and say this album is indeed ridiculous. All the songs have this hazy, drugged-out, mystical quality to them that I don't think anyone else (including Can themselves) has ever successfully replicated. Friends of mine who dig 70s jammy rock even like the more "normal" tracks on here. In terms of style, it's all over the place, but even the "weird" parts (i.e. the tongue-in-cheek bad acid trip sounds of "Peking O") are still interesting, and the album is frequently mindblowing. One listen to "Oh Yeah" or "Halleluwah" and your brain will try to leap out of its skull. Awesome stuff.

a tue masterpiece - this even freaked me as a teen . "Paperhouse" is just wonderful and i do not understand that it wasn't sampled for some smash hit . i guess i will have to do it (lol) . "mushroom" is excellent as well . side 3's "Halleluwah" is 18 minutes of dancefloor-madnesss ,organs with distortions, synthies and heavy drum machines ( analog of course ) - when this was played in underground clubs in the early seventies the dancefloor went bananas and you couldn't get me off it , no matter what . "Peking O" is just that = too much : sounds like a drug-overload . i never understood this tune . the japanese guy complaining couple minutes before the "music" starts . man this is deep , deeper it won't get . CAN's masterpiece- Mark E. Smith's fave ? Why not - The FALL are indeed an outstanding group - anyone know the SLATES 10" with "Leave The Capitol etc." on Rough Trade ? That is my favourite album from The Fall. but i do not know all 98LP's he released since then ;-)...