Steal Softly Thru Snow: issue by issue

[wp_quote]”He was born in the Desert, became the Zig Zag Child, sold out on the My-O-My, returned with a vengeance as a Hot Head Jazz Punk and now is the Old Fart. Yes, he’s big, he’s bad, he’s beautiful …. he’s Beefheart!! … but sadly he’s not back so how can we have a Fanzine? Pass. SSTS will now skilfully avoid the problem, in this and possibly all future issues, by just dealing with Beefheart’s worldwide memorabilia.”[/wp_quote]

The above foreword appeared on the first page of every issue.

A closer look at all the issues

Issue #8: Love Over Gold

Published January 2000
60 pages
Compiled & edited by Paul

  • Full information about Grow Fins and the Buddha reissues of Safe As Milk and The Mirror Man Sessions.
  • Pete Mulvey’s interviews with those at Virgin responsible for UG & BJ&MB.
  • Tour reviews from the era.
  • Full discography for all releases of UG & BJ&MB.
  • Bill Gibbons interview with Don Van Vliet from 1974.
  • Steve Froy’s round-up of Beefheart-related activity on the Internet.
  • Four new bootleg reviews.
  • News about WC Bamberger’s Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh book and Irwin Chusid’s Songs In The Key Of Z.
  • An interview with Don Aldridge (Magic Band associate in the early days) by Steve Froy.
  • 1974 chronology.
  • News of all the recent and forthcoming vinyl re-issues.
  • + many other tidbits of gossip, news, sightings, releases, etc etc.

View scans of Issue #8

Issue #7: Singing for Women

Published November 1998
72 pages
Compiled & edited by Paul

  • Clear Spot discography and working chronology
  • Where’s the beef / outtakes
  • The tenderised Beefheart of Clear Spot (Circular 1972/11)
  • Clear Spot promo booket
  • Golden Birdies cartoon
  • Clear Spot by Pete Mulvey
  • CD box set from Revenant
  • John French – solo concert and drum clinic May 1996
  • John French – Drumbo’s new soloCD
  • 1972 french Clear Spot original lp
  • Record Collector “Beef art” special
  • Bill Harkleroad’s Lunar Notes book
  • BBC’s “The Artist formerly known as” documentary

View scans of Issue #7

Issue #6: Blowin’ the Stacks

Published April 1996
Compiled by Paul & Colin

  • Tribute to the late Gerry Pratt
  • Discography and chronology for the Spotlight Kid album
  • Pete Mulvey’s trawl through the Spotlight Kid outtakes and listing of unreleased studio sessions
  • Interview with Rick Snyder by homepagereplica’s Justin Sherrill
  • Text of 1983 Vanity Fair interview with Don
  • A personal view of Spotlight Kid by Steve Froy
  • Theo Tieman’s translation of the interview with Don by Dutch magazine Aloha in 1972
  • Assorted bootleg cd reviews and other latest releases
  • Anton Corbijn’s Some Yo Yo Stuff video

View scans of Issue #6

Issue #5: Marimba Magic

Published March 1995
72 pages
Compiled & edited by Gerry

  • Discography and chronology for Lick My Decals Off Baby album
  • 1971 piece by Ben Edmonds from Circus magazine
  • Decals 16 track tape recording sheets sent by Henry Kaiser
  • Text from Warner Bros newsletter, Circular, giving details on the Decals TV commercial
  • Report on the Stand Up To Be Discontinued exhibition in Brighton
  • Bumper set of pages of What’s shaking in Vlietland
  • Reviews of various bootleg cd releases
  • Special insert with Beefheart crossword

View scans of Issue #5

Issue #4: Old Fart At Play

Published September 1994
72 pages
Compiled & edited by Gerry

  • Trout Mask Replica discography and chronology
  • Frank Zappa on Trout Mask Replica in ’69
  • Henry Kaiser on Trout Mask Replica
  • Hot Rats discography
  • An old fart at play” – Paul S. Brown on Beefheart on film
  • Mallard bootleg
  • Lost episodes of the Trout Mask Rehearsals by Colin Webb
  • 1970 French Pachuco Cadaver / Wild Live 7″ single
  • Letter from John French about Mojo #2 article
  • Trout Mask Replica – The Captain must be mad (Zigzag magazine)
  • More roots of Captain Beefheart
  • The “Trout” team
  • Fred Frith on ‘Dali’s Car’
  • The 2 Trout Mask Replica photo shoots
  • Amougies Festival, Oct ’69 (interview with Frank Zappa)
  • “It’s the blimp, it’s the blimp” (Zappa interview from Guitar Player ’93)
  • Meatball Fulton interview, July 1969
  • Bill Harkleroad telephone interview by John Ellis, January 1994
  • John Peel in conversation with Rhodri Marsden, early ’92
  • Friends magazine article, December 1969

View scans of Issue #4

Issue #3: Plain Brown Wrapper

Published March 1994
56 pages
Compiled & edited by Gerry

  • Beefheart at the Beeb – the 1968 BBC Beefheart recordings
  • Sgt. Beefheart’s Lonely Personals Band by John Ellis
  • Refusal of leave to land report – 24 Jan 1968
  • Autumn ’67 to ’68 discography
  • The Strictly Machinations by Colin Webb
  • Stand up to be discontinued
  • Strictly Personal: meet the band
  • Gig reviews
  • Captain Beefheart – the May 1968 tour by Jean Scrivener

View scans of Issue #3

Issue #2: Delta Fusion

Published September 1993
56 pages
Compiled & edited by Gerry

  • John Peel in conversation with Rhodri Marsden, early ’92
  • Safe as Milk discography
  • The Rising Sons
  • Ry Cooder interviews ’70/71, ’76, ’83 and ’92
  • Captain Beefheart – Safe as Milk” by Colin Webb
  • The 1966 10 page Great Gnome biography
  • The two-year-shift problem
  • Chronology up to November ’67
  • The roots of Captain Beefheart?” by Stuart Troutman

View scans of Issue #2

Issue #1: A&M Days

Published March 1993
28 pages
Compiled & edited by Gerry

  • A&M discography
  • John Peel
  • Avalon ’66 bootleg
  • UK news
  • Captain Beefheart – A&M by Colin Webb
  • The 1984 A&M press kit

View scans of Issue #1

2 Comments

  1. Thanks for putting these up, Steve. I know how much work it is, after starting to do it myself all those years ago.

    I have all of Gerry’s issues, but Paul wouldn’t send his to me. So I’ll try to find time to catch up with those.

    A different world!

    1. I remember talking to you about this many many years ago …

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