Bat Chain Puller … at last, at last!

This has already been mentioned in a previous post but I think it deserves one of its own…

Yes, the Zappa Family Trust have finally decided to release the often bootlegged Original Bat Chain Puller from their Vault only 36 years after it was recorded.

For the past 18 months Gail Zappa has been saying it was going to get a release. However, here at the Radar Station we’ve been wary of reporting it until it we were certain. But it does now look like it’s actually going to happen … it was announced on the anniversary of Don’s death and will be released on his birthday next year, 15 January.

Not only do we get the complete album but there are three bonus tracks – a different mix of Bat Chain Puller, a version of Candle Mambo plus the brilliant improv between Don and Denny Walley, Hoboism.

There will also be liner notes by John French and Denny Walley.

An essential purchase!

17 Comments

  1. Well, it’s about time. The boots have been walking around for awhile. I hope the booklet is great.

  2. Waoh! Been waiting for thsi for years.

    Do we know if it will be widely available? Limited edition etc.?

  3. Sent the order in despite Gail’s sparkling and witty comments. I have the high quality boot but not “Hoboism”.

  4. @nulsh … this doesn’t appear to be a limited edition. No mention of it anywhere. It should start trickling through to the usual outlets I think. For the UK I know that G&S Music will be stocking it

  5. Does anyone knows if these image is actually the cover of the album?… asks Anonymous.
    I don’t know for certain what the lexically challenged Zappa widow has arranged for BCP’s sleeve but if Hammersmith, Feeding The Monkeys and Carnegie Hall are anything to go by then it looks like we’re in for another ‘five minutes with a glue stick and some felt pens’ job! Shame if such an eagerly awaited artefact is palmed off on the public in this state.
    (Still,ever the optimist, at least it’s not ‘Comic Sans’!)

  6. The cover doesn’t bother me. Anything less than Don art is unsuitable and in absence of that this polar opposite fits the bill perfectly. beepee

  7. I will definitely buy this. I would buy two, and give one as a gift, but it is not suitable for anybody on my list, unless it would be my 15 year old second cousin (or something like that). She is musically-inclined. Exposure to the Captain at that age could change your life, if you were awake enough to hear it. (I didn’t hear Trout Mask until I was in college.) In any event, I make it a point to throw money at people when they officially release excellent boots, even if I already have them. Preserving the legacies of artists like the Captain matters, and official releases help a lot with that.

  8. A “new” official Beefheart release. I can’t believe it. So excited right now.

  9. …just FYI, this has been bumped back to a February 13 ship-date. Would have been nice if they had told us sooner than two days before the previous ship-date: I was getting excited! Oh, Zappa team!

  10. It’s now Feb 15th and STILL no album. Fast and bulbous? Tense and nervous more like.

  11. Ive had confirmation Sat 25/2 that my copies have been SHIPPED already! Lets hope eh?

  12. Just got my copy of Bat Chain Puller & it’s wonderful. I don’t like the cover. It’s not like any Beefheart album cover. And, no vinyl available. I’ve had the bootleg for years & this blows it away. The 3 bonus cuts are great too!
    Bat Chain Puller alt. Mix doesn’t sound much different from the version on this cd.
    Candle Mambo is great but I like the one on Shiny Beast better.
    Hoboism is better then the one on the bootleg of the same name.
    The cover is the only thing I have a problem with. It’s tacky. I hope they eventually release a Lp on colored vinyl for us fanatics! I say BUY!

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