By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

Native & Silencers ZigZag Wanderer 1995 French CD Duos Taratata on Barclay 529509-2 A compilation album of material played on the French TV show ‘Taratata’. It looks like bands were encouraged to play together hence the ‘duos’ part of the album title. The song is actually listed as ‘Zig Zag’. Native is a French soul and funk band, they are two French black sisters Laura and Chris Mayne and The Silencers is a Scottish rock band. This was recorded on February 15th, 1995 and broadcast on March 24th, 1995 on French second channel. You can see a video of this on www.mytaratata.com Thanks to Daniel Mercurin for extra information about this one. NectarineRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

Mark Lanegan Band Clear Spot 2003 US CDEP Here Comes That Weird Chill (Methamphetamine Blues, Extras & Oddities) on Beggars Banquet Records Ex-Screaming Trees and Queens Of The Stone Age frontman, Mark Lanegan has put his own band together. Originally intended as a single from the album this release has grown into an 8 track EP of session out-takes that includes a version of ‘Clear Spot’. Thanks to Dave Crunelle for telling me about this one. Andrew Lange Sure Nuff ‘n’ Yes I Do 2008 live (unreleased) Andrew Lange does a fine energetic one-man-band version, playing guitar, bass drum, snare drum and high-hat. It’s on Youtube if you want to take a look.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

Jesse Hackett Dropout Boogie 2016 Various Artists : Extraordinary Renditions on Deek Recordings Released as part of an oddball various artists covers compilation this is the only Beefheart cover. Jesse Hackett is a London based musician who was a member of Gorillaz. His version of Dropout Boogie is an amusing electronica take on the song with an added sample from Don. As far as I know this song has only had an online release. There are a couple of versions of Youtube. You can hear just the audio of the song here: However, it’s best listened to whilst watching the very inventive and comical videoRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

Terry Edwards & The Scapegoats Ice Cream For Crow 2000 UK 7″ Ice Cream For Crow/ Tailgating on Damaged Goods Records DAMGOOD146 2000 UK CD Large Door on Damaged Goods Records DG148 Saxophone player honks his way through ‘Ice Cream For Crow’ in a sort of punk/rockabilly style on a limited edition (500 copies) yellow vinyl. Manically good fun.   Erase Errata Clear Spot date? German 7″ vinyl on Tomlab TOM U/103 Erik 4-A & Friends Frying Pan (instrumental) 2001 US CD Hold The Vocals. A tribute to the instrumental hits of the 50s 60s 70s on Go-Kustom Records GKR008-2 An interesting album this one but I can’t help thinking thatRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

The 012 Blabber ‘n’ Smoke 1981 UK tape White Patterns On Her Dress on Funky Weird Tapes FW001 19?? UK vinyl Various Artists : We Couldn’t Agree On A Title on ICR001 Funky Weird produced a series of deliberately lo-fi (before the term was used) cheaply recorded tracks and released them on cassette only. This is probably the first cover version of Blabber ‘n’ Smoke attempted. It’s not bad considering the guitars and drums are being played in what seems to be an attempt at out of tune punk version of the ‘Trout Mask’ sound. The compilation album is of artists who recorded at London’s Street Level studio. Thanks to Arild Stromsvag forRead More →

By:
On:
In: Blog, Magic Band people, Victor Hayden
With: 1 Comment

“That’s right, The Mascara Snake!” The Radar Station was saddened to hear that Victor Hayden (aka The Mascara Snake) had died on 7th December 2018. His death was announced by Pamela Des Barres on her Facebook page. She had known Victor since high school and called him her ‘soulmate’. In recent years she had acted as agent for his artwork. However, she gave no details about the cause of his death but Steve Brewster contacted us to tell us the tragic news that Victor had been hit by a van ten days ago and never recovered. Victor was Don Van Vliet’s cousin. During the lateRead More →

By:
On:
In: Strictly Personal
With: 3 Comments

Ever since Don started complaining about the ‘bromo seltzer’ that had been added to the Strictly Personal album fans have wondered what it would have sounded like without Bob Krasnow’s pyschedelicized production. Surely the pristine untreated master tapes were tucked away in storage somewhere people thought. Not so. Gary Marker said that it was highly unlikely because Krasnow had used the master copy for all the phasing etc. he had added to the album’s sound which meant the original raw recording of the band was lost. Over the years various collections of alternate versions of many of the Strictly Personal songs have turned up andRead More →

By:
On:
In: Strictly Personal
With: 0 Comments

IT #41, 4 – 17 October 1968 From John Peel’s ‘Perfumed Garden’ column in the legendary sixties ‘hippy’ newspaper IT (International Times). This review of Strictly Personal takes up half of the column space and appears to be based on an acetate version given to him by Beefheart himself – this would have been during the band’s tour of the UK in July 1968.  Other bands mentioned by Peel after this review included Duster Bennett, MC5, Principal Edwards Magic Theatre, The Liverpool Scene, Bridget St John and Brian Jones. The autumnal air is heavy with promise – a new Beefheart LP is on the way.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Strictly Personal
With: 6 Comments

The front cover of Strictly Personal was, at the time, quite unusual although it didn’t really hint at the strangeness that lay within those vinyl grooves. However, if you opened up the gatefold sleeve you were confronted head-on with the weirdness that was Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band even if he did say himself that “I may be hungry but I sure ain’t weird”. This certainly wasn’t your usual band photo call, no cheesy smiles, no macho posturing and no dodgy hairdos. Have you ever wondered who was who in that iconic photograph by Guy Webster? Well, we can tell you. Thanks to JerryRead More →

By:
On:
In: Music info, Strictly Personal
With: 6 Comments

The late Gary Marker, a jazz and session bassist at the time, was a close associate of Don Van Vliet during the 1960s. He produced some demos for the band, as well as early versions of some of the Safe As Milk songs. He also played bass on Moonlight  on Vermont and Veteran’s Day Poppy on Trout Mask Replica. Gary often graced the online forums devoted to chat about Beefheart where he responded to questions and comments freely and extravagantly in his own inimitable way. Here are some of his posts concerning the Strictly Personal album. In 2001 Gary was asked about the lines “Cheese inRead More →

By:
On:
In: Trout Mask Replica
With: 6 Comments

This release, Vault Package #36, by Jack White’s Third Man Records has caused a bit of a buzz amongst fans not least because of the way it had to be pre-ordered on subscription via the label’s website and at $60 it was not cheap. Understandably the cost put many people off but plenty more battled with the website and signed up for it. Third Man Records blurb: In full partnership with the Zappa Family Trust and to celebrate the relaunch of the seminal Bizarre label imprint, Third Man Records is proud to announce its 36th Vault package focused squarely on Captain Beefheart and the MagicRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

(Over The Edge Radio Show & Cassette Only Release) Radio Voices Series Volume Three Ammunition Press (distributed by Beat Books, Berkeley, California) 1995 Contents of Booklet Jack Lantern Eyelid (poem) A Metabiography of Don Van Vliet, Hair Pie, Bake One Doctor Dark Corner (North) BeefQuest (quiz) Doctor Dark’s Penances for Wrong or Right Answers A Metabiography of Don Van Vliet, Hair Pie, Bake Two Doctor Dark Corner (South) Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band (poem) Doctor Dark Corner (East) Beef Art (Crosley Bendix and Doctor Sigmund Void discussion) New Work (poem) A Metabiography of Don Van Vliet, Hair Pie, Bake Three The D.T.’s (poem) SourceRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 0 Comments

Find out who has recorded which of Don’s songs through this list arranged by the song title. If you prefer you can return to the list arranged by artist   25th Century Quaker  –  Matthew Lewis _________________________ A carrot is as close  –  Black Gang Brokeback Sam Coomes Fast ‘n’ Bulbous The Fourfathers Benjamin Horrendous Henry Kaiser Eli Litwin Gary Lucas Meridian Arts Ensemble Rosa Ensemble & Hans Dagelet Swedish Tribute Band _________________________ Abba Zaba  –  Azalia Snail Big Eyed Beans From Venus Built To Spill Fast ‘n’ Bulbous John French Lisa Kelly Oms en serie Radio I Ching SF Rock Project Voices of AfricaRead More →

By:
On:
In: Related releases
With: 2 Comments

Find out who has recorded which of Don’s songs through this list arranged by the artist’s name. If you prefer you can return to the list arranged by song title   The 012  –  Blabber ‘n’ Smoke The 180 Gs  –  Complete Trout Mask Replica album  25 Suaves  –  Dachau Blues A Warm Palindrome  –  Orange Claw Hammer The Android Trio  –  Steal Softly Thru Snow April Fools Cover Show  –  Dropout Boogie I’m Glad Sure Nuff ‘n’ Yes I Do Yellow Brick Road Zig Zag Wanderer The Aqua Velva Men  –  Grow Fins Nel Aspinal  –  Sugar ‘n’ Spikes Azalia Snail  –  Abba Zaba BabyRead More →

By:
On:
In: 1977.11.19 Paris
With: 0 Comments

On the 19 November 1977 Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band played a gig, Fete du P.S.U, at Le Nouvel Hippodrome, in Paris. This was a two-day music festival in aid of the French National Socialist Party. An audience of about 10,000 under a big top! Other acts included Buffy St Marie, David Allen’s Gong, Tim Blake’s Crystal Machine, Tania Maria and the Mike Westbrook Orchestra. The Hippodrome de Pantin, Le Nouvel Hippodrome, was a permanent circus located in the Parc de la Villette, near the Porte de Pantin metro station in the north-east of Paris. This was the only performance by the band in UKRead More →

By:
On:
In: Blog, Related releases, Tributes
With: 0 Comments

featuring Nona Hendryx and Gary Lucas interpreting a selection of Beefheart favourites   Sun Zoom Spark My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do I’m Glad The Smithsonian Institute Blues (or The Big Dig) Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles Suction Prints Sugar ‘N Spikes When Big Joan Sets Up Too Much Time When It Blows Its Stacks Tropical Hot Dog Night Publicity blurb: … a comprehensive overview of the man also known as Don Van Vliet’s towering legacy, re-imagined and infused with new blood by vocalist extraordinaire Nona Hendryx and avant-guitar legend Gary Lucas. The World ofRead More →

By:
On:
In: Blog, Related releases, Tributes
With: 0 Comments

A Giraffe is Listening to the Radio is a collection of Beefheart songs recorded in rehearsal and performance during 1979 and 1980. Side A Electricity Moonlight on Vermont Doctor Dark The Spotlight Kid Nowaday’s a Woman’s Gotta Hit a Man Side B Owed T’Alex Clear Spot Grow Fins Lick My Decals Off, Baby Steal Softly Thru Snow Abba Zabba   Review Men & Volts recordings of Beefheart songs have become almost the stuff of legend, we knew they were out there but no one seemed to have heard them. Some cassettes and later some CDRs were made available discreetly but not released on a label.Read More →

By:
On:
In: Blog, John French, Magic Band members, Tributes
With: 3 Comments

Around July 2017 John French was invited to take part in the Austin Corn Lovers Fiesta in October to celebrate the music of Captain Beefheart with a collection of local musicians. This was an exciting opportunity for John to not only perform in the US but also to present some of Don’s songs with an extended band, horns, back-up singers and even a concert level theremin player! The Radar Station was unable to attend the show but we know someone who did and he has sent us this review of the event. Review by Patrick Grant Threadgill’s is a bar/restaurant/music venue in Austin, Texas havingRead More →