***Captain Beefheart***

[Д.Д.]

It actually seems to have gone OOP recently. My Reprise CD sounds just fine to me, so I think I will skip.

[7/4]

They were planning this...bastards!

[mjzee]

Captain Beefheart Live 1968 - Dusty Groove

[mjzee]

Trout Mask arrived today from the ZFT. I compared one track (Moonlight On Vermont) to the Reprise CD, and the new release sounds much more vivid and punchy. On another, Ella Guru, the bass just whacks you upside the head! Listening now to Hair Pie: Bake 1, and the clarity is stunning. The packaging is very similar to the Reprise CD. Gail added a note: "The years in storage in Warners were not kind to Trout Mask Replica. The masters seriously suffer from oxide loss, primarily at the head of each of the four master reels. Fortunately, FZ had Dick Kunc make "safeties." These actually sound better than the Originals and are in excellent condition but alas, incomplete. This edition of Trout Mask Replica is from the ZFT Vault protection copies, transferred at 96K 24B, except for Frownland and Hair Pie: Bake 2 which are from the original damaged master tapes transferred to direct stream digital at UMRK." That must mean ZFT is in possession of the Reprise tapes, clearly resolving any question of copyright ownership. On the intriguing side, the new release clocks in at 78:54, while the Reprise CD totaled 79:05; why the difference? Finally, the ZFT disc wouldn't play in my Marantz CD deck; I had to make a disc copy using Toast. I hope Gail doesn't sue me for making a copy!

(edited to correct typo)

Edited January 15, 2014 by mjzee

[7/4]

All the positive reviews are making this sound very attractive!

[Head Man]

Will this become available through "normal" outlets at some time in the future? It doesn't seem to be showing up at Amazon at the moment.

[mjzee]

I do think that's a shame. Reprise never let it go out of print and it was widely available, which meant people could be exposed to it (witness all the befuddled reviews on Amazon). Now, who's gonna know to go to the ZFT website?

[7/4]

Happy Birthday Don Van Vliet.

[mjzee]

Release date January 21:

[7/4]

I'll have to get this. The Magic Band is well trained.

[mjzee]

Release date February 3:

[Д.Д.]

Release date January 21:

Listened to it on Spotify (https://play.spotify.com/album/4SWVa1MvrkRL8JMY9f9IZo) - it's really good.

[mjzee]

Spotlight Kid/Decals era rehearsal tape.

Beefheart at Ungano's, 1/26/71. My first Beefheart show; I was 15.

Edited July 12, 2014 by mjzee

[mjzee]

Release date November 11:

In the legendary Captain Beefheart discography, attention usually focuses on the carefully wrought, experimental music heard on Trout Mask Replica. As a consequence, the three stellar albums recorded soon after Lick My Decals Off, Baby, The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot are often overlooked.

Rhino intends to change that with a four-disc collection that revisits the albums Captain Beefheart (aka Don Van Vliet) recorded with the Magic Band in the early Seventies. It includes all three albums, which have been remastered for the first time, as well as an entire disc featuring 14 previously unissued outtakes from that era.

[mjzee]

PopMarket has the box today for $44.99 (CD) or $74.99 (LP).

[mjzee]

I'm still on the fence about buying this. I already have Decals (on vinyl) and that twofer CD of Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot. I'd like to hear it to see if there's a great aural improvement. And what I'd REALLY like is a remixed Spotlight Kid: they need to bring the band up in the mix and Beefheart's vocals better integrated with the band. There is something seriously wrong with the way Beefheart mixed that album.

[7/4]

• Big to do on FB about this one.
• John French unhappy about band members not getting paid anything from box sales.
• Fans calling for a boycott.

[7/4]

I'm really only interested in the extra disk. I have the albums on CD.

[mjzee]

Anyone heard of this?

Robert Christgau likes it: https://noisey.vice.com/en_us/article/437gjg/robert-christgau-on-a-brilliant-beefheart-trip-and-some-early-stones-standouts

[Д.Д.]

Some excellent Beefhert-influenced music: Henry Kaiser, Paul Plimley, Lukas Ligeti, Weasel Walter "The Starbreak Splatterlight": https://open.spotify.com/album/2FFfsdcvGaNEWVaeNckvpg    

Edited December 16, 2019 by Д.Д.

[Buddha the Magnificent]

Meanwhile, circa 1968-69, in Atlanta GA, the Col. begins his mad career.  Saw HGB several times in the late 60s-early 70s, and caught them just before the end when they opened for Mahavishnu Orchestra around 1972.  Bruce later formed various various jam bands including ARU and The Codetalkers.