We’ve lost some wonderful people lately, and far too young: Benjamin Zephaniah, Olly Emanuel and Sinead O’Connor, to name but a few. Damo Suzuki ,while not as young, nevertheless leaves a sad space in our lives. The indefatigable solo artist and former Can frontman toured and recorded well into his senior years. He passed away on February 9th this year.
The Fall recorded a typically perverse and doomy tribute to him in 1985, on This Nation’s Saving Grace. With moody chords, polyphonic drumming and a nod to Can’s Vitamin C, the track celebrates Krautrock, drugs, and Suzuki’s singular place in the rock pantheon.
Mark E Smith chants in a staccato way:
“What …have you got… in that paper bag? Is it a dose of… Vitamin C- eee? Ain’t got no time for Western medicine… I am…ah…ah Damo Suzuki! ” It remains one of the strangest, wilfully opaque tributes in music ever committed to tape. I’ve got a feeling Suzuki approved. His influence on music cannot be underestimated, even now.
Hit The North 