1. The Floppy Boot Stomp
2. Tropical Hot Dog Night
3. Ice Rose
4. Harry Irene
5. You Know You're A Man
6. Bat Chain Puller
7. When I See Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy
8. Owed T' Alex
9. Candle Mambo
10. Love Lies
11. Suction Prints
12. Apes-Ma

Justin Sherill:

This album seems to be an intermediate step between the accessibility of Clear Spot and the discordance of Doc At The Radar Station. A good step coming from either album.

Graham Johnston:

Some of Beefheart's finest songs are contained on this stuning album. I've heard Owed T'Alex a million times, but it still sets my spine a-tingling on every listen. Tropical Hot Dog Night is a wonderfully strange 'good-timey' tune - stick it on whenever you're going to a party and you'll have much more fun. Of his excellent three final albums, this is by far my favourite. Every side of Beefheart you could ever want to hear is on Shiny Beast.

Paper bag illustration from the back of the CD and record:

• Takes Up Cudgel Against Catatonia from October 1978's Wax Magazine.
• Wild Magic from January 1979's Feature magazine.
• Shiny Beast from 26th January 1979 edition of Down Beat.

• 1978 US Original on Warner Bros BSK-3256
  • PROMOTIONAL COPY NOT FOR SALE in circular logo stamped in gold on front cover - normal record although appears to have different matrix - plain paper inner standard issue.
    
    
• 1978 US 8 Track on Warner Bros. Scan kindly sent to me by Malcolm Riviera who runs the 8 Track Heaven website.

• 1980 UK Original on Virgin V2149
  
  
• 1981(?) Australian Original on Virgin V2149 by CBS Records Australia Ltd. (CBS MX 194968/9) - White Label Promo with This record is manufactured for the purpose of promotion only. It remains the property of CBS Records Australia Limited and is not for sale printed on centre label and stamped in gold on cover. Inner sleeve has lyrics, drawing and photos of band and Copyright control 1981 at lower right.
  
  
• 1985 UK Re-issue on Virgin OVED 68
  
  
• 198X UK CD on Virgin CDV 2149
  
  
• 1991 US CD on BIZARRE/STRAIGHT R2 70365 - Distributed by Rhino Records - Picture Disc CD (Beefheart art) - lyrics - with US "long box'
  
  
• 1993 Japanese CD on Warner Music Japan WPCP5741 - with Japanese liner notes by YUASA Manabu.



• 2000 UK Re-issue on audiophile vinyl by Past & Present Records.



• 2006 UK on Virgin/EMI CDVR2149
  A well remastered release with excellent new sleevenotes by Mike Barnes. Pity they didn't include the lyrics like the original vinyl. Of the five remastered Virgin albums this one has benefited most. I always thought the album sounded a bit muffled but here it's much brighter and has more presence ... definitely worth upgrading your copy.
  
  Early copies of the sleeve of this remaster carried a curious error ... writing credits for 'Tropical Hot Dog Night' were given to a 'Michael Brook'. This is, of course, wrong and should ahve been corrected in later printings.