Reputations are rarely built on bullshit. Can's standing as the best and most influential of all experimental rock bands is not only fully justified but, if anything, an under-representation of just how raw, rewarding and plainly exciting they really were (that a gang of German music theorists were the first white group to assimilate properly the space and syncopation of jazz, funk and African music, and fuse it with a European-classical melodic sense, is just one of those odd ironies that so enrich and ameliorate all our lives). Anthology is not a definitive compilation; such things are hard to assemble when a group's greatest tracks all clear the 20-minute mark. Rather, it rounds up a few representative recordings (some of which are sadly edited) and mixes them with oddities and rarities to form a rough, random sampler of a colossal canon. And, for all the cribbing of Can's style and approach, Anthology is filled with atmospheres and modes of expression that have never been heard since--a condemnation of contemporary rock's stunted desire, but mostly a testament to just how ambitious and accomplished Can really were. --Taylor Parkes
Review by Keith Farley
For listeners daunted by Can's long and winding discography, Anthology 1968-1993 presents short-form highlights like "Spoon," "Future Days," "Moonshake," "She Brings the Rain," and 25 others. Yes, the albums are better places to hear all of these tracks, and there's a typically Cannish disregard for chronology or narrative (i.e., don't hope for liner notes), but this double-disc set is an excellent introduction to the band's 25-year career.
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