Fan Can

Though it was released over a decade later, the 22 tracks on CANNIBALISM II are a perfect match with the selections from the first volume. However, where that volume focused primarily on the group's earliest work, CANNIBALISM II directs its attentions to a broader range, covering tracks from 1968 to the group's first (temporary) breakup in 1978. Including obscure tracks like "Mother Upduff" (a musical recasting of the urban legend about the stolen grandmother's corpse), an excellent edit of the expansive "Animal Waves," and a fascinating remix melding "I Want More" and "And More" from 1976's FLOW MOTION, CANNIBALISM II functions as not only a convenient starting point for neophytes, but a handy collection for fans. Taken in toto, the three volumes of CANNIBALISM are as good a summation of this wide-ranging group's work as you're likely to find.

It's natural to suspect that In Concert is simply the hastily constructed live album cash-in that comes after the long-awaited reunion (2012's Anastasis was the group's first studio album in 16 years), but it's actually a sweet souvenir of the world fusion duo's return to the stage, tastefully presented and impeccably recorded. Rarely do live albums sound so luxurious and warm, but besides being a fine demo disc for high-end speakers, this chamber concert on wax offers some more comfortable, more alive versions of Anastasis' studio material, along with a quick stroll through the group's early work…

Crammed with over two hours worth of Can performing during their peak years this selection of live cuts shows just what a dazzlingly inventive outfit the German free-form pioneers could be outside of their natural studio habitat. Like many innovative groups of the 1960's and 1970's Can live were a remarkably different beast from their studio persona, many of the tracks captured on this two-disc compilation either completely unrecognisable from their original album form or simply the result of some impromptu jams between the five members…