Captain Beefheart Discography

Bootlegs

The Spotlight Kid Outtakes

Song List

Pompadour Sessions
Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles: May 1971

  1. I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby Jam (Take 1)
  2. I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby Jam (Take 2)
  3. Pompadour I (Take 1)
  4. Pompadour I (Take 2)
  5. Pompadour II (Take 1)
  6. Pompadour II (Take 2)
  7. Pompadour II (Take 3)
  8. Pompadour II (Take 4)
  9. Pompadour II (Take 5)

The Spotlight Kid Outtakes Songs
Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles: May - September 1971

  1. Funeral Hill #1
  2. Drink Paint Run Run
  3. Seam Crooked Sam #1
  4. Dirty Blue Gene #1
  5. Kiss Me My Love
  6. Alice In Blunderland
  7. Clear Spot
  8. Low Yo Yo Stuff
  9. Seam Crooked Sam #2
  10. Funeral Hill #2

The Spotlight Kid Instrumental Sketches
Record Plant Studios, Los Angeles: May - September 1971

  1. Semi-Multicoloured Caucasian
  2. Dual & Abdul
  3. Open Pins
  4. Ballerino
  5. Best Batch Yet #1
  6. Suzy Murder Wrist
  7. Obenso Cinco
  8. The Witch Doctor Life
  9. Little Scratch #2
  10. Flaming Autograph
  11. Love Grip
  12. No Flower Shall Grow
  13. Best Batch Yet #2
  14. Your Love Brought Me To Life (Take 1)
  15. Your Love Brought Me To Life (Take 2)
  16. That little Girl
  17. Campfires

Sun Zoom Spark Session
Early 1972 (mono)

  1. Intro
  2. Sun Zoom Spark #1
  3. Scratch My Back
  4. Blues Medley: Down In The Bottom; Key to The Highway; Grandpa Don't Love Grandma No More
  5. Sun Zoom Spark #2

Brown Star Sessions
Amiga Studios, Sherman Oaks, North Hollywood: Summer 1972

  1. Sun Zoom Spark #3
  2. Funeral Hill #3
  3. Harry Irene
  4. Little Scratch #2
  5. Dirty Blue Gene #2

Radar Station Overview

At last all the outtakes from the productive 1971 and 1972 years have been gathered together in one place. Many of these songs and instrumentals have turned up on bootlegs over the years, and a couple have even been released legitimately but this is the first time they have been made available on one, albeit expensive, release. There are 5 disc and 3 disc versions.

These outtakes, rescued from the Warner Reprise vaults, have circulated amongst collectors for many years in varying sound quality. But now we have good to excellent versions of all of them - these could only be bettered if the original tapes were dusted off and released (which is pretty unlikely!).

What we have here are some glimpses into how some songs came about through lengthy jams by the Magic Band. Familiar riffs can be heard here before they were spotted by Don to be reworked and developed into a song we all now know and love. Some of the instrumentals are completed backing tracks that will now forever await Don's vocal magic, some seem to be repetitive riffs, simple ideas, that don't really go anywhere, others are the early versions of songs that would turn up several years later on Shiny Beast, Doc At The Radar Station or Ice Cream For Crow.

There is a glossy insert which gives all the recording detail and track listing (which is all correct amazingly for a boot!) plus a short paragraph of text. If I have one complaint it's that the text is too small ... it's a struggle for us older fans to read.

Overall, this is an incredible and fascinating collection. Highly recommended for any fan.

Releases

  • 2005 US 5CD on Hiwatt [no number]
  • 2005 US 3CD on Hiwatt [no number]

Help us

If anyone is able to complete or update any of the information above, then please do get in touch.

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