Monster Movie (album)

Monster Movie
Studio album by Can
Released	August 1969
Recorded	July 1969 at Schloss Nörvenich, Germany
Genre	Krautrock
Length	38:05
Label	United Artists/Sound Factory
Producer	Can
Can chronology
Monster Movie (1969) Soundtracks (1970)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Pitchfork Media	(8.7/10)[2]
Stylus Magazine	(A)[3]

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.^[4] 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.

Track listing

Side one
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Father Cannot Yell"	7:06
2.	"Mary, Mary So Contrary"	6:21
3.	"Outside My Door"	4:11

Side two
No.	Title	Length
4.	"Yoo Doo Right"	20:27
Total length:		38:05

Personnel

• Irmin Schmidt – keyboards
• Jaki Liebezeit – drums
• Holger Czukay – bass
• Michael Karoli – guitar
• Malcolm Mooney – vocals

References

1. ^ Ankeny, Jason. "Can: Monster Movie > Review" at Allmusic. Retrieved 1 November 2011.
2. ^ Leone, Dominique (10 November 2004). "Can: Monster Movie". http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/reviews/albums/11698-monster-moviesoundtrackstago-magoege-bamyasi/#review-album-1262. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
3. ^ Southall, Nick (7 January 2005). "Can: Monster Movie / Soundtracks". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/reviews/can/monster-movie-soundtracks.htm. Retrieved 1 November 2011. 
4. ^ Czukay, Holger (May 1997). "Short History of the Can - Discography". Perfect Sound Forever. furious.com. http://www.furious.com/perfect/hysterie2.html. Retrieved 1 November 2011.