Future Days is the fourth studio album by the German experimental rock group Can, released on 1 August 1973 by United Artists. It was the group's final album to feature vocalist Damo Suzuki, who subsequently left the band, and explores a more atmospheric sound than their previous releases.[3][4]
Future Days emphasises the ambient elements that Can had explored on previous albums, dispensing largely with traditional rock song structures and instead "creating hazy, expansive soundscapes dominated by percolating rhythms and evocative layers of keys".[1]PopMatters wrote that "Future Days is driven by a coastal breeze, exuding a more pleasant, relaxed mood than anything the band had previously recorded."[5]
Some versions of the vinyl album have a slightly different cover in which the graphics are not embossed, or in which their lightly reflective gold tint is replaced by a flat yellow. These differences are also present on the CD releases.[citation needed]
Ian MacDonald of NME praised Future Days, calling it "an immaculate piece of work" and "the best German rock record so far, apart from Faust".[14] Ray Fox-Cumming of Disc gave the album a negative review, stating that "even after half a dozen hearings I still found most of it went in one ear and straight out the other."[15]NME subsequently ranked it the 11th best album of 1974.[16]
In a retrospective review, AllMusic's Anthony Tognazzini called it "fiercely progressive, calming, complex, intense, and beautiful all at once" and "one of Can's most fully realized and lasting achievements." He singled out Suzuki's vocals ("all minimal texture and shading") and the track "Bel Air" ("a gloriously expansive piece of music") for praise.[1]
^The United Artists 1973 UK release of the LP (UAS 29505) shows track 1 of Side B as "Bel Air" on the LP sleeve, and "Spare a Light" on the vinyl label.
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