Elly Roberts reviews
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band:
6 simultaneous re-releases
Distributed by
EMI Catalogue
- Released: August 2006
- Album titles and ratings at the bottom of this review
Only one of these titles, Ice Cream For Crow, charted in the UK charts in 1982 (no.90) and it’s pretty easy to see why.
Don Van Vliet aka Captain Beefheart has always been a cult figure
rather than a commercial success in the UK, though it’s thought that his
subsequent influence on Punk and New Wave was ‘incalculable’. That is open
to question.
A simultaneous release of the above albums is guaranteed to bring the
spotlight once again on the 1982 ‘retired’ troubadour. Nowadays preferring
to paint at his Mojave Desert home (making few public appearances possibly
due to his reported multiple sclerosis), Beefheart, who had a rotating choice
of musicians under the banner of The Magic Band (which one-time included
Ry Cooder) was a singer and capable harmonica player, along with some
adventurous sax playing, described as ‘untrained free jazz’.
These albums span eight years of eclectic music, few accessible and some
down right weird and annoyingly grating. Ultimately, it was his grand
experimentation that would prove to be his commercial downfall, though he has
to be credited for not selling-out. In a nutshell, he’s an acquired taste.
Disc 1, has some effective alt-blues like Sugar Bowl, through to the
mellower Magic Be, the harmonica fuelled Full Moon Hot Sun
and country rocker Peaches. Highlights of Bluejeans and Moonbeams
range from the divinely simplistic Observatory Crest, dripping with
pedal steel sojourns, to the floaty mid-paced Further Than We‘we Gone.
Closer, Bluejeans and Moonbeams, is a graceful synth-driven gem.
Third disc Shiny Beast opens with a cacophonous blast – The Floppy
Boot Stomp, endorsing his outrageous experimentation along with turgid
Ice Rose and You Know You’re A Man. Bat Chain Puller and
Owed T’Alex are nothing short of musical disasters, with the exception
of slow-stomper Harry Irene, without doubt the Captain’s best song ever.
Spoken word Apes-Ma beggars belief.
Doc At The Radar Station and Ice Cream For Crow sound like a
man who’s totally lost the plot, containing mostly bizarre musak.
The live album recorded at Drury Lane in ’74 is hardly a thrilling experience,
with Peaches proving the only highlight.
The six albums included are :
Review & concert pics copyright © Elly Roberts, 2004-2010.
