SONG OF THE DAY Can – Halleluwah

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Originally spanning over a whopping 18 minutes and 28 seconds, Halleluwah is a rhythmic delight released by Can in 1971. 

Featuring on their Tago Mago album, the track initially took up a whole side of a LP and with its vast array of improvised guitars, keyboards and tape editing, the song also boasted a hypnotically pounding monster trance beat!  This rhythmic feast is one of the reasons the song became so well known and for the 18 minute version, drummer Jaki Liebezeit loops an impressive tribal percussive mesmerising beat.  In 1997 Primal Scream sampled the drum part for their 1997 single Kowalski and later A Tribe Called Quest sampled a piano segment for their song Lost Somebody!

A much shorter/edited version of the song also appeared as the B-side to the band’s 1971 single Turtles Have Short Legs and another  shortened version later saw release on Can’s compilation album Cannibalism.  ..and, just one more random fact about the song before I sign off:  The original U.K. pressing of Tago Mago misprinted the song’s title as Hallelujah both on the LP’s centre label and on the back flap of the album jacket! Check it out above..