I was reading about Monster Movie

no never have heard it, though have often wondered about it... (when i first heard this story, the edit was actually down from a 12-hour improvisation (6-hours sounds a bit more reasonable though)).

so far as i know it's never been available - i guess until mp3 files came along, there was no sensible way to release it. also, if i remember rightly, the technology and storage techniques used by the mighty can at the time mean that the original tapes have either been spliced and diced during the editing or have probably corroded in their cans (bah!). it's a shame as (so far as i know) there were hours and hours of improvisations across the band's history which have been lost for all time (sob!).

I think Holger liked to spin things somewhat regarding how actual 'songs' came about. Early Can was all about a way of working. They would bash away for hours in the seclusion of their own place, they would swop instruments, they would commit everything to 2 reel to reel taperecorders. They preferred the term instant composition to improvisation because they gravitated to rhythmic forms. Holger was the one who shaped the raw stuff and so YDR is probably culled from hours and hours of tape. I recommend the The Can Book for an insight into how Can worked. About the time of Soon Over Babaluma their way of working and personnel changed, as well as technology. Holger became less involved and so the usual quality control was missing. The reason you won't hear the extended version of YDR is because of the quality control aspect.