I voted for Tago Mago, but Ege and Future are really part of what I regard as a trilogy of their best work and I can't really choose one over the other two.
I almost feel that Monster Movie is a different band. I don't like to compare them. Movie is a very singular album. A psychologically exposed and raw album. My favourite is Father Cannot Yell.
The Malcom Mooney stuff is a bit rougher, but one can hear the seeds of what the band was going to do in those tracks. The Lost Tapes set was, for me, a revelation for the early era. Some incredible stuff on there.
Tough call for me between Monster Movie and Tago Mago, but going with Monster Movie due to the strength of Father Cannot Yell and You Do Right
Can't believe I missed this thread and since the OP missed this cover on page one, I'll cast my vote in the most emphatic manner possible. I love the whole Damo period the most, plus Babaluma, but Ege Bamyasi is where it all comes together for me. "Pinch" is a potent brew of Miles inflected mutant funk. I would have been happy to get a full album side of this track and they often stretched it out live. "One More Night" is another all time favorite, a hypnotic nocturnal groove that sinks its hooks in ever so subtly. We get some more concise, accessible tracks (by Can standards at least, including their smash hit in Germany, "Spoon") that still pack a punch, but it does leave me wanting more (and more and more). I did put together an alternate Ege mix, featuring a lot of that material from The Lost Tapes and other rarities. I know that some of those remix pieces aren't "canon" exactly, but they work pretty well, offering us an intriguing alternate view. Special mention must be made of the "great lost Can album" in my estimation, the Peel Sessions. It's too bad this stuff is out of print because it's essential listening for Can fans. As with many of the best BBC sessions, we get the vigor of a live performance with a bit of studio sheen.
Soundtracks gets my vote, although I love the entire run of official albums and studio/live boots from 1968 to 1974 - but the run of tunes from Don't Turn the Light on, Leave Me Alone-Soul Desert-Mother Sky-She Brings the Rain just slays me every time I listen to it And another shout for The Lost Tapes; most bands archival sets contain tunes that are already out there on boots, but this 3 CD set fro memory contains very little if any material that was already available, and the quality was still very high IMO - nice booklet as well
Good to see Soundtracks getting some love, as there's a lot of primo Can to be found there. One great additional track that theoretically could have been included here was "Graublau" featured on disc one of The Lost Tapes, one of the sets highlights, IMO. From Time online of all places: "Back in 1969, the German art-rock quartet Can recorded the score for the forgotten movie Ein großer graublauer Vogel. More than 40 years later, the band has edited it into a scalding 17-minute garage-rock suite, with the late Michael Karoli’s psychedelic guitar and Irmin Schmidt’s organ riffing battling for space against waves of shortwave-radio noise. It’s an incandescent, relentless piece and a useful reminder that extraordinary music from decades ago may be sitting unheard in an archive somewhere." Also, the Unlimited Edition collection featured some good quality outtakes as well. They were extraordinarily prolific back in those days, full of ideas.
I voted for Tago, mainly because it was the first one I heard and is just so "out there" compared to some of the others. I would say the output from Monster Movie through Future Days is absolutely essential.
Tago Mago. I don't understand how some would split it up, placing sides 1&2 at the top and sides 3&4 lower. Sometimes I pick a side, but I more often listen to it all the way through. Side 3&4 are an essential part of Tango Mago and equal to sides 1&2. Here's my personal map of The Can
Ege Bamyasi - the Jaki Liebzeit album. Love what he does throughout. But Tago Mago and Future Days are not far behind and could be my favorite on any given day. And I agree about the Peel Sessions. It's one of their best. One more thing: The Limited Edition sets are worthy of mention as well, especially the first one.
So does Monster Movie from that era. Amazing stuff! Am I right in that Malcolm Mooney had to leave the band on his doctor's advice because of the intense nature of their music and the effect it had on his psyche? I understand drugs must have played a role in it (probably), but.... wow!