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Baker's Dozen

Experimentalism Wrapped Around Pop: Barry Adamson's Favourite LPs
Julian Marszalek , April 19th, 2017 10:12

Post punk polymath Barry Adamson guides Julian Marszalek around his favourite albums, from Baker's Staples like Iggy Pop and can to the Wu-Tang Clan, Ornette Coleman and Micachu. Photo by Jone Reed

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Can – Landed
It's one of those albums where, in terms of production, there's something transcendental about the average rock song. As soon as I put this record on the opening groove, swing and guitar sound and the weirdness of 'Full Moon On The Highway' is just extraordinary. The way that it lopes along, and the way that the snare doesn't have any snares on, and it's all rolling along nicely and then it goes into what you'd conventionally call a chorus. And then it explodes into this other weirdness.

It think that for a young mind, at the time – and I can remember being in Manchester in a small room in a street called Mayfield Road and John McGeogh lived upstairs and we'd play albums all day – this one was one of those that was never off once it got on the turntable.

I believe that this one of Can's more poppier records – their earlier stuff was much more out there - and I must admit that I love experimentalism wrapped around pop and wrapped around catchiness and wrapped around things that you can remember but still with that avant-garde approach, if you like.

So even when 'Hunters And Collectors' starts, it still has that strange sort of noslagia-like Germanicness about it. It roams into psychedelia as well and those elements combined make it one of those records that, if I was flicking through someone else's collection and this came up, then I'd pull it out, stick it on the turntable and whack it up.