SOUNDTRACKS contains songs Can recorded for various film soundtracks. As Can rose to prominence in the '70s in Germany, keyboardist and co-founder Irmin Schmidt sought film-related projects for the band. SOUNDTRACKS collects exclusive material culled from Can's cinematic contributions. The album features vocals from both original vocalist Malcolm Mooney and from his mid-period replacement, Kenji "Damo" Suzuki, making it unique in Can's discography. And, with such crowd-pleasers as "She Brings the Rain" and the titanic "Mother Sky," SOUNDTRACKS remains another testament to Can's genius. Suzuki's moaning, half-mad vocals and a slow-motion arc of Michael Karoli's splendidly psychedelic guitar work dominate "Deadlock." Suzuki croons through one of Can's most luscious melodies on "Tango Whiskeyman," another glistening Karoli workout that also showcases the matchless rhythmic duo of Holger Czukay (bass) and Jaki Liebezeit (drums). Mooney delivers a memorable mood swing with the gut-wrenching funk of "Soul Desert" and "She Brings the Rain," a coffeehouse-quiet charmer. But it is "Mother Sky," the incomparable, 14:30 acid rock colossus with the swaying, trance-inducing Suzuki mumble, Karoli fireworks, seething Schmidt psychedelics, and brain-bending Czukay/Liebezeit groove, that is SOUNTRACKS' towering achievement.
