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Recording details Date – 1978 Studio – Automatt, San Francisco Producer – Don Van Vliet, Pete Johnson Engineer – Glen Kolotkin, Jeffrey Norman Musicians Don Van Vliet – vocals, harmonica, sax Jeff Moris Tepper – guitar Richard Redus – guitar, bass, accordion Eric Drew Feldman – bass, piano, synthesiser Bruce Fowler – trombone, air bass Robert Arthur Williams – drums Art Tripp – marimba, percussion See Leach’s Listings for a thorough guide to who did what on Shiny Beast, compiled for the Radar Station by Jasper Leach. Track list The Floppy Boot Stomp Tropical Hot Dog Night Ice Rose Harry Irene You Know You’re A Man BatRead More →

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It has been a week now since the cd landed on my mat. It has been in my cd-player ever since. Even now – at work – I find it playing in my head. I had never heard these recordings prior to this edition. I don’t really download, didn’t buy the bootlegs and, although tempted by the wicked Ozit, decided not to line their pockets – mostly because of fear of incurring the wrath of the good people of the Fireparty. It’s such a shame that this didn’t come out when it was intended to. It would have meant room for moving on to otherRead More →

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Track list Bat Chain Puller Seam Crooked Sam Harry Irene 81 Poop Hatch Flavor Bud Living Brick Bats Floppy Boot Stomp Ah Carrot Is As Close As Ah Rabbit Gets To Ah Diamond Owed T’Alex Odd Jobs Human Totem Pole (The 1000th And 10th Day Of The Human Totem Pole) Apes Ma Bonus tracks Bat Chain Puller (alternate mix) Candle Mambo Hobo-Ism Publicity blurb It turns out that The Dust DOES Blow Forward ‘n The Dust DOES Blow Back. As Don would say “That’s incredible.” Incredible that we get to release this directly from the Vault to you. This, being the Original and Definitive IssueRead More →

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In: Bluejeans And Moonbeams
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Recording details: Date – late 1974 Studio – Stronghold Sound Recorders, Hollywood Producer – Andy DiMartino Engineer – Gregg Ladangi Musicians: Don Van Vliet – vocals, harmonica Dean Smith – guitar Ira Ingber – bass Bob West – bass (Observatory Crest only) Michael Smotherman – keyboards, backing vocals Mark Gibbons – keyboards Gene Pello – drums Jimmy Caravan – keyboards, star machine Ty Grimes – percussion This album is dedicated to Denny Rosencrantz (who is he?) The front cover is a painting by Don’s cousin Victor Hayden (aka The Mascara Snake) Track list Party Of Special Things To Do (Don Vliet / Elliot Ingber) 3.12Read More →

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CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: “Bluejeans & Moonbeams” Party Of Special Things To Do; Same Old Blues; Observatory Crest; Pompadour Swamp; Captain’s Holiday; Rock ‘n’ Roll’s Evil Doll; Further Than We’ve Gone; Twist Ah Luck; Bluejeans And Moonbeams. (Virgin V2023). Producer Andy Di Mantino. Musicians; No details available. IN MANY ways Beefheart has become the victim of his own achievements. I’m thinking most specifically of “Trout Mask Replica,” of course, and the almost visionary status with which Beefheart was endowed by critics who saw that album (with no little justification) as being crucial to the development and extension of rock. It was certainly an important album, though itsRead More →

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1974 UK Original on Virgin V2023 1974 US Original on Mercury SRM 1-1018 1974 French release on Virgin XBLY 840.057 Disributed by C.P.F. Barclay 1974 Dutch (and Benelux countries) release on Ariola Eurodisc Benelux B.V. / Virgin 88 473 IT 1974 New Zealand release on Mercury 6338 548 1975 Yugoslavian release on RTB Records PGP RTB ‎– LP 5534, Virgin ‎– V-2023 1982 UK Re-issue on Virgin OVED 19 1987 UK Re-issue on Virgin OVED 19 198X UK CD on Virgin CDV 2023 1990 US CD on Caroline CAR1631 – rebadged UK CDV 2023 2000 UK Re-issue on audiophile vinyl by Past & Present Records Limited edition –Read More →

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PECULIAR CHAP, Captain Beefheart. Ever since the full-frontal attack of “Trout Mask Replica” – still my favourite of all his works, whatever he says – he seems to have been moving towards what we professional euphemists tend to refer to as a ‘more accessible’ kind of music. In other words, – he’s been coming in from the unique, arresting stance he’d struck on “Trout Mask” to a position closer to the mainstreams of rock. That does not imply criticism. for with albums like “Lick My Decals Off. Baby”, “The Spotlight Kid” and to a lesser extent as far as I’m concerned “Clear Spot”. He broughtRead More →

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1974 US Original on Mercury SRM-1-709 White Label Promo has PROMOTIONAL COPY NOTE FOR SALE on label – inner sleeve advertises other PHONOGRAM INC. releases – cover normal. 1974 US Original on Mercury SRM-1-709 1974 UK Original on Virgin V2015 Colour ‘Two virgins’ label. 1974 Italy on Virgin VIL12015 ‘Black/white ‘two virgins’ label. Made and distributed by Dishi Ricordi S.p.a. 1974 Dutch (Ariola Euro Pressing) on Virgin 87 840 IT Black/white ‘two virgins’ label. 1974 French release on Virgin 840.032 (V-2015) 1974 Swedish release on Virgin V2015 Colour ‘two virgins’ label – cover has SIB truck TUMBA logo. 1974(?) New Zealand release on Mercury 6338Read More →

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Past & Present records have released a series of re-issues of the Magic Band’s last five albums, beginning on 17th January 2000. Bluejeans & Moonbeams Ice Cream For Crow Shiny Beast Unconditionally Guaranteed Doc at the Radar Station Press release Past & Present Records are proud to offer this classic period of Captain Beefheart’s recording career 1974-82, on 180 gram virgin vinyl. A real collector’s item, re-pressed with all the original sleeve and label artwork, each sleeve will have a protective outer cover and will carry the Past & Present logo on it. There will only be 1000 of each title available for a veryRead More →

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Recording details: Date – spring 1974 Studio – Hollywood Sound, Los Angeles Producer – Andy DiMartino Engineer – John Guess, Jim Callon Musicians: Don Van Vliet – vocals, harmonica Bill Harkleroad – guitar Alex St Clair Snouffer – guitar Mark Boston – bass Art Tripp – drums Mark Marcellino – keyboards Andy DiMartino – guitar Del Simmons – sax, flute Track list Upon The My O My Sugar Bowl New Electric Ride Magic Be Happy Love Song Full Moon Hot Sun I Got Love On My Mind This is the Day Lazy Music Peaches Album overview from Graham Johnston This album isn’t one that IRead More →

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In: Clear Spot
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1972 UK Original on Reprise K54007 Clear plastic sleeve with black on white printed insert. 19?? UK Re-package on Reprise K54007 Normal printed sleeve 1972 German Original on Reprise REP54007 White Label Trade Sample with “Unverkäufl” (not for sale) “Warenprobe ohne Wert” (sample without value) “Echantillon gratuit” (free sample in French) on centre label – in clear plastic sleeve with Clear Spot – w/insert sheet printed in England standard issue – clear plastic sleeve 1972 US Original on Reprise MS-2115 White Label Promo with PROMOTION NOT FOR SALE printed on centre label and over stamped -> N.T.I. standard issue – clear plastic sleeve 1972 USRead More →

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WHILE nobody questions his status as one of rock’s great originals, Captain Beefheart’s madcap variations on the blues are an acquired taste. Armed with a voice like Howlin ‘ Wolf, a band he claimed to have taught himself and an imagination that just went thataway, Beefheart did not set out to be easy listening. The unhinged adventurousness of his 1969 masterwork, Trout Mask Replica, appeals mainly to critics and students of musical weirdness. More approachable and ultimately more satisfying is the album he recorded three years later with a new producer. Ted Templeman, whose clients included Van Morrison and the Doobie Brothers, was drafted inRead More →

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“And that pantalooned duck / white goose neck / quacked, ‘Webcor, Webcor.’” Those are the last lines on Clear Spot, from a song called “Golden Birdies.” Not exactly “I Can See Clearly Now,” I know, but if you find it hard to make sense out of lyrics like that, or feel that you must, rest easy. Captain Beefheart has come out of the haze. Even though his music has always been solidly rooted in the blues, Beefheart has remained a sort of cult figure: to his followers, a supreme genius; to many others, inaccessible both musically and verbally. Starting from Delta blues, which was neverRead More →

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The continuing evolution of Beefheart’s music has been one of the most fascinating developments of contemporary rock. The Captain has seemed an introverted, almost schizophrenic figure, mirroring in his work the apparent dichotomy between the rigorous ensemble playing of the Chicago-out-of-Mississippi bluesmen and the anarchic-sounding sprung rhythms of modernists like Albert Ayler and Ornette Coleman. But the unique facet of Beefheart’s blues playing has always been his understanding of the essentially irregular metric structures of much Mississippi blues, and he has thus been able to translate the abrupt, quirky stridency of the early blues guitarists into abrupt, quirky arrangements for his Magic Band. In thisRead More →

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Recording details Date – Autumn 1972 Studio – Amigo Studios, Los Angeles Producer – Ted Templeman Engineer – Donn Landee Musicians Don Van Vliet – vocals, harmonica Bill Harkleroad – guitar Mark Boston – bass, guitar Art Tripp – drums Roy Estrada – bass Milt Holland – percussion Russ Titelman – guitar (Too Much Time only) The Blackberries – backing vocals unknown horn players Track list Low Yo Yo Stuff Nowadays a Woman’s Gotta Hit a Man Too Much Time Circumstances My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains Sun Zoom Spark Clear Spot Crazy Little Thing Long Neck Bottles Her Eyes Are ARead More →

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Recording details Date – Autumn 1971 Studio – The Record Plant, Los Angeles Producer – Don Van Vliet Engineer – Phil Schier Musicians Don Van Vliet – vocals, harmonica Bill Harkleroad – guitar Mark Boston – bass Elliot Ingber – guitar Art Tripp – drums, marimba, piano, harpsichord John French – drums Rhys Clark – drums (Glider only) Some of the musicians featured on the album were featured in individual paintings and poems on the sleeve. Track list I’m Gonna Booglarize You Baby White Jam Blabber ‘N Smoke When It Blows Its Stacks Alice in Blunderland The Spotlight Kid Click Clack Grow Fins There Ain’t NoRead More →

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1972 UK Original on Reprise K44162 With lyric sheet 1972 German Original on Reprise REP44162 High gloss cover. White Label Trade Sample with “Unverkäufl” (not for sale) “Warenprobe ohne Wert” (sample without value) “Echantillon gratuit” (free sample in French) on centre label – with lyric sheet Standard issue – with lyric sheet 1972(?) Australian Original on Reprise(?) MS 2050 by CBS Records Australia Ltd(?). (CBS MX 166199/200) White Label Sample Record with NOT FOR SALE SAMPLE RECORD Any person offering this record for sale renders himself liable to prosecution under the Copyright Act 1912-1950 printed in violet on centre label (side 1) and on backRead More →

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In: The Spotlight Kid
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More undiluted examples of Captain Beefheart’s singular genius can be heard on his “Trout Mask Replica” and “Lick My Decals Off” albums, but this pair of 1972 albums-packaged together here-are his most innately pleasurable. Had Howlin’ Wolf been raised beside the canals of Mars, he might have sounded like Beefheart (a.k.a. Don Van Vliet), who mutated the blues with Dadaist lyrics, jagged guitar lines and spasmodic rhythms that showed his disdain for what he called the “mama heartbeat” of rock music. Striking many as chaotic hippie noise, his music, for the diligent listener, mirrored nature in its complex patterns and disquieting beauty. With “The SpotlightRead More →

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Captain Beefheart is about six years ahead of his time; his early material was cut in 1965 and still sounds advanced today. The main influences on him are Delta country blues and John Coltrane’s mystical jazz. His voice has a four-octave range, which means he can peak at skyscraper high notes and comfortably descend to guttural monotones. Combined with his personality, his music and his voice will either fascinate you or send you screaming into the woods. He plays word games, sometimes getting triple meanings through puns, and his material is basically good-natured and wildly imaginative. In conversation the Captain is distant and intimate atRead More →