I went to school in England in ‘67-‘68, and discovered
the John Peel show on the BBC on Sunday afternoons. I figured I
had pretty good taste at the time, with my favorite groups being
the Who, Beatles, Kinks, Cream, Doors, Love, Jimi, et al. And oh
yes, don't let me forget the greatest, baddest of all, the true
Mother of all Bands, the STONES!
So, one Sunday after finishing my studies and knocking
off a few righteous hits of some really potent, pungent black Afghani,
I turned on the radio..
JESUS CHRIST! What the f*** is this??? I screamed
out loud. What it was, of course, was The Captain. Safe as Milk,
to be exact. I think the first tracks I heard were Abba Zabba and
Yellow Brick Road. I'd never heard anything like it, and it changed
my life forever. I couldn't believe the complexity of the arrangements,
and the tightness and controlled fury of it all. If rock bands could
be used in war, I'd send this one out first to scare, scatter and
completely disorganize the enemy. I liked psychedelic music well
enough, but what I REALLY liked was hard, savage, fast and loud
rock, and The Captain and his Magic Band combined all of these elements
perfectly.
In the spring of ‘68, I went down to Mother Earth
in London to see the group. I was even more astonished by their
music when I saw them live. That they could play that stuff so well
on stage was incredible. I remember them kind of standing in a line
on the tiny stage, with the drummer behind. The Captain, Rockette
Morton, Zoot Horn Rollo... I think they were all there, but I didn't
know their names at the time. Antennae Jimmy Semens was wearing
an ordinary dress over his Levis, looking kind of sheepish. Just
watching them play was hilarious. They were the weirdest band yet,
without seeming to try to be that way. The shows at Middle Earth
started around midnight and went until dawn, and it seemed like
the Captain played for hours. It was one of the most astounding
events I'd ever witnessed. My girlfriend was completely freaked
out by it all, and halfway thru the set burst into tears and had
to leave. She knew that I had to stay to see the whole show, and
to this day I still thank her for letting me.
Needless to say, I have just about all the stuff The
Captain ever did. I saw him twice more over the years, in Long Beach
in ‘72 and in Chicago in ‘80 or ‘81. They were all great shows,
but the first was definitely the best.