A good friend of mine asked if I recognised a track that was playing on the radio while we were together the other day. I thought I did, but had no idea who it was. I had to use the mighty power of Shazam® to discover the track was by Can and called Vitamin C.
Can?? Are you sure? - I was aware of the band from a dim and distant past - This deserved some extra research. It turns out that the track was originally released in 1972. Can was considered a "Krautrock" band. I find the term rather aggressive, but aside from that, I became increasingly intrigued as I listened to the track on a loop.
Musically, it sits in a semi-cosmic, jazz-influenced, hypnotic dance genre of its own. It features a repetitive, arpeggiated bass line that runs throughout with slight variations to suggest a second chord. The second chord is carried through with a jangling guitar and, later, keyboard.
The busy boy on drums is what catches the attention most and puts me in mind of an ecstasy-fuelled club scene. His kit plays very wide in the car, making this a great review track for me. I think aficionados would tell me that the drum track has been sampled by many dance acts/producers and used throughout the first 30 years of club music.
A keyboard joins the fray first at around 1:30, although it is not really featured until a keyboard solo at 2:13 where a mix of violin and flute noises combine to produce a simple harmonic theme with an eastern vibe. This would be an analogue polyphonic synthesiser, as the first fully digital keyboard made by Fairlight, did not arrive until the final knockings of the 70's or even early 80's. At this point, the drummer calms down somewhat, although his right foot remains very busy.
The track continues like this until 3:08 when a rising cacophony of keyboard and what sounds like multiple recorders brings the track to a final fade out following the final "Hey You....." by the frontman I have almost completely ignored - sorry!
The track is not particularly bass-heavy as the bass guitarist capos his bass at fret 1 (very unusual) and plays above fret 12 most of the time, but my Audison Prima APBX 8 AS did a great job of enhancing the bass that was there. Play loud for the best effect!
I have listened to the track loads of times and feel sure it will feature heavily in issue XIV of Driving Sounds Magazine. Thanks JA9!
Hope you enjoy it.
Carl
Editor