Four disc boxset
Rarities through the years – live show recordings, rehearsals, alternate mixes, demos, out-takes. Tracks never before on CD
Song list
Disc 1
“Lick My Decals Off, Baby” Instrumental Out-takes
1. Lick My Decals Off, Baby
2. Doctor Dark
3. I Love You Big Dummy
4. Bellerin’ Plain
5. Woe Is Uh Me Bop
6. Japan In A Dishpan (Take 1)
7. Big Toe #25
8. Petrified Forest
9. The Buggy Boogie-Woogie
10. The Big Dig (The Smithsonian Institution Blues)
11. Space Age Couple
12. Clouds Are Full Of Wine
13. Flash Gordon’s Ape
14. Japan In A Dishpan (Take 2)
15. Japan In A Dishpan (Take 4)
16. Japan In A Dishpan (Bass & Drums)
17. Flash Gordon’s Ape #1
18. Flash Gordon’s Ape #2.
Disc 2
“Shiny Beast” Basic Tracks. Studio sessions – The Automatt, San Francisco CA, June 6 – August 27 1978
1. Tropical Hot Dog Night (Version 1)
2. Run Paint, Run Run
3. You Know You’re A Man
4. When I See Mummy (Version 1)
5. Candle Mambo
6. Floppy Boot Stomp
7. Brickbats
8. Bat Chain Puller
9. Owed T’Alex
10. Love Lies
11. When I See Mummy (Version 2)
12. Tropical Hot Dog Night (Version 2).
Disc 3
Cowtown Ballroom, Kansas City MO, April 22 1974
1. Mirror Man
2. Upon The My-Oh-My
3. Crazy Little Things
4. Full Moon Hot Sun
5. Sugar Bowl
6. This Is The Day
7. Keep On Rubbing
8. Be Your Dog
9. Sweet Georgia Brown
10. Abba Zaba
11. Peaches
12. Sam With The Scalp Showing Flat Top (May, 1975)
13. Grow Fins (1977).
Disc 4
Europhia Tavern, Portland OR January 18, 1981
1. Nowaday’s A Woman’s Gotta Hit A Man
2. Abba Zaba
3. Hot Head
4. Don And The Crowd
5. Ashtray Heart
6. Don Talks
7. Dirty Blue Gene
8. Best Batch Yet / Intros (Cut)
9. Intros / Safe As Milk
10. Don Talks Some More
11. A Carrot Is As Close As A Rabbit Gets To A Diamond
12. One Red Rose That I Mean
13. Tuning / Don
14. Doctor Dark
15. Crowd Chatter
16. Bat Chain Puller
17. My Human Gets Me Blues
18. Sugar ‘N’ Spikes
19. Tuning / Sheriff Of Hong Kong
20. Kandy Korn
21. Suction Prints
22. Big Eyed Beans From Venus
Radar Station Overview
Volume two follows the pattern of volume one. It’s packaged in the same way but with different cover and label photos. The eight page booklet continues the history of the band up to Don’s death in 2010.
In a similar way to volume one this set compiles some Beefheart rarities that have either been available before or are generally available on the net if you know where to look. It’s all good stuff and certainly worth having in your collection if you don’t already have them.
The Decals backing tracks are just fabulous allowing you to hear the fantastic playing of the Magic Band before Don’s vocals or sax-skronking have been added. Ideal for those Beefheart karaoke nights!
Similarly the Shiny Beast basic tracks allow you to singalong with the best backing band on the planet. These tracks have recently been circulating along with twelve other alternate versions/outtakes from this session which sadly haven’t made their way onto here.
Disc three is the Captain Hook bootleg of the 1974 Cowtown show complete with its two extra tracks – one from the 1975 Bongo Fury tour and the other from a 1977 show. Well recorded show but it is the Tragic Band …
The final disc is a better live show taken from the excellent 1981 tour where the Magic Band were turning out note perfect versions every night. I believe this Euphoria show has been released as a limited bootleg called ‘Doctor Dark’ but I’ve not seen a copy and can’t confirm it. (Can you help?)
Both volumes of this Whirlpool release are well presented but they have the look and feel of a homemade job. The printing of the cover and booklet is obviously not done on high quality paper or printer. However it seems to be the work of a Beefheart fan .. or fans
Releases:
2011 Japan(?) on the Marshall label
Help us
If anyone is able to complete or update any of the information above, then please do get in touch.