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Jun 14, 2022 Web Exclusive By Matthew Berlyant

Soundtracks (from 1970) has always been a bit of an odd duck in the CAN catalog. For starters, it’s the only album of theirs to feature both original singer Malcolm Mooney and his replacement Damo Suzuki, who would lend his vocals to their most well-renowned efforts, particularly 1971’s Tago Mago (their second “proper” album and a double at that and also the release that followed this one in their discography) and 1972’s Ege Bamyasi, both considered their best work by many. As such, it isn’t a “proper” album per se in terms of it being a follow-up to 1969’s Monster Movie (see our recent review here).

Most of side one is comprised of music from the 1970 Roland Klick film Deadlock. By this point, Suzuki had taken over lead vocals and the sound had progressed more towards what they would do later in the ’70s. In fact, “Tango Whiskeyman,” “Don’t Turn the Light On, Leave Me Alone,” and “Deadlock” could easily be Tago Mago outtakes. Thus, it could be surmised that these recordings bridge the gap between their earlier and later work.

The clear highlight of this collection, however, is side two opener “Mother Sky,” a 14 and a half minute monster in the vein of “You Doo Right” from Monster Movie or later side-long jams like “Hallelujah” from Tago Mago, with Suzuki doing his trademark shrieking and guitarist Michael Karoli going above and beyond as well. That said, side two also features “She Brings the Rain,” a mellow psychedelic almost sunshine pop track (at least by their standards) that is also one of only two songs here to feature Mooney on vocals and thus represent his last recorded work with the band. It was used in the 1970 Jerzy Skolimowski film Deep End.

It should also be noted that this “clear purple” edition is the first colored vinyl reissue of Soundtracks, following up on the 2014 reissue on Spoon. (www.spoonrecords.com)

Author rating: 7.5/10