Can – Tago Mago

For my money this is one of the most important and just outright mindblowing albums ever put to tape. When I first heard this album about eight years ago I wasn't quite sure what to make of it. My frame of reference at that point in time was reading about the Buzzcocks and PiL being influenced by CAN. A few years went by and I started to sort of "get" this album. Now it's an all-out obsession. The first thing that I always noticed about "Tago Mago" is that the excesses of a lot of terribly overrated bands do not exist in it's framework (or really an CAN album). The vocals just kind of add texture instead of being a main focus, the guitar is very minimal in it's attack, there's some weird electronics going on, and the rhythm section kind of works as one cohesive unit. To me, "Hallehluwah" is the centerpiece of what makes this album so good. To me it's a total jam that travels everywhere and nowhere at the same time. Amazing