The Official Captain Beefheart Thread

Lisnaholic · 09-30-2018, 07:09 AM

Thanks for posting that Jeff Cotton interview, ehname. I dipped into the first 10 mins and hope to listen to it all later, as the guitar work of Antenae Jimmy Semens is one of my favourite elements of those early Beefheart albums.

To answer your question about Unconditionally Guaranteed: for me, it was a big disappointment when I bought it, but I did grow to have some affection for about half the tracks: New Electric Ride and Lazy Music in particular. Bottom line for me is that UG could've been a decent album if they could've swapped some of the weaker tracks with the even more limited best bits of Bluejeans&Moonbeams.

I used to have Mallard's self-titled, but never played it much: Winged Tuskadero was pretty good but the other tracks suffered from the absence of the Captain, imo. Even the guitar instrumentals seemed to be toned down from the intensity I was hoping for after those TMR ones. As for In a Different Climate , I haven't heard it yet, but might give it a go on your rec.

As for Mu, it was Anteater who introduced me to them when I was a humble newbie here. Perhaps you'll be interested in this old discussion thread, ehname:-

https://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psy...mu-1971-a.html

rostasi · 09-30-2018, 09:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ehname

What do you guys think of these albums? Mallard (1975), and In a different climate (1976)
I kind of liked them. The second slightly more than the first.
Slightly skewed dad-rock kind of americana-ish feel to it, not very similar to the Magic Band.

I like both of those albums a lot. When I got them as promos from Virgin back in the day,
I was kinda surprised that I'd actually like that style of playing - and I didn't try, in any way,
to compare them to Beefheart, so that kinda provided a clean(ish) slate.
I played them a lot on the radio and got good responses.

ehname · 09-30-2018, 10:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rostasi

I like both of those albums a lot. When I got them as promos from Virgin back in the day,
I was kinda surprised that I'd actually like that style of playing - and I didn't try, in any way,
to compare them to Beefheart, so that kinda provided a clean(ish) slate.
I played them a lot on the radio and got good responses.

Yeah I think they'd win on not to be compared with Magic Band. I listened to it again, and damn that's some awesome musicianship on particularly the second one, with not only technical skill but also enough style and feel to it that even I can stand that awefully sleek production it has. But, well, I tend to go that direction nowadays it seems, becoming old or whatever it is about...

~~MicShazam~~ · 09-30-2018, 11:13 AM

I was browsing Spotify this evening and decided to maybe listen to the Captain's albums from the start of his career up to and including Trout Mask Replica. Oddly, TMR isn't here? I know I can just find it on Youtube, but what the ****?

It seems all of the prior albums are there (?), but his most famous album is absent. Some label technicality probably. It usually is. This is one of the reasons why music streaming isn't perfect. I've actually got many albums on CD that are neither on Youtube or on Spotify. And god knows I don't exactly have the most obscure tastes, so this says something about how riddled with holes the current streaming situation is.

Anyway, I'll just fill in the blanks with Youtube if I decide to actually listen to all this music, but I did need to blink and look twice when I couldn't find TMR.

Immediate update: What??? I searched for the album name and it comes up under the name "Gerben Smiths"? Whaaaat?!

**Frownland** · 09-30-2018, 01:14 PM

It's because of copyright restrictions. I hear they get it in the UK.

~~MicShazam~~ · 09-30-2018, 01:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

It's because of copyright restrictions. I hear they get it in the UK.

I don't understand how the whole album can still be posted on Spotify. It doesn't work like Youtube. Don't you have to be accepted as the de facto "owner" of an album for it to post on Spotify? And yet, this random dude has the album up on the platform. I honestly don't get quite what is going on.

GD · 10-02-2018, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MicShazam

I don't understand how the whole album can still be posted on Spotify. It doesn't work like Youtube. Don't you have to be accepted as the de facto "owner" of an album for it to post on Spotify? And yet, this random dude has the album up on the platform. I honestly don't get quite what is going on.

I think that's a playlist m8

~~MicShazam~~ · 10-03-2018, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gigantic Debaser

I think that's a playlist m8

But the way it looks when I search, the album is neither under the artist Captain Beefheart or under Captain Beefheart and his Magic band. But it's there somehow, since people can put it on a playlist? Actually, I just realized what's going on. The playlist is apparently assembled from a variety of compilations, making for an approximation of the actual album. How he got the cover artwork to appear when you search for Trout Mask Replica, I don't know.

Either way, it seems the album isn't on there officially.

GD · 10-03-2018, 09:56 AM

^you can add a custom cover image to any playlist, so I reckon that's what he did. Also, that playlist is full of unplayable songs for me for which the album is actually listed as TMR, but those won't show for you unless you activate the "show unplayable tracks in playlists" setting or w/e

**Frownland** · 10-03-2018, 09:57 AM

Ja you can use files from your computer that aren't on Spotify on your playlists.

09-30-2018, 07:09 AM	#291 (permalink)
Lisnaholic ...here to hear... Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: He lives on Love Street Posts: 4,444	Thanks for posting that Jeff Cotton interview, ehname. I dipped into the first 10 mins and hope to listen to it all later, as the guitar work of Antenae Jimmy Semens is one of my favourite elements of those early Beefheart albums. To answer your question about Unconditionally Guaranteed: for me, it was a big disappointment when I bought it, but I did grow to have some affection for about half the tracks: New Electric Ride and Lazy Music in particular. Bottom line for me is that UG could've been a decent album if they could've swapped some of the weaker tracks with the even more limited best bits of Bluejeans&Moonbeams. I used to have Mallard's self-titled, but never played it much: Winged Tuskadero was pretty good but the other tracks suffered from the absence of the Captain, imo. Even the guitar instrumentals seemed to be toned down from the intensity I was hoping for after those TMR ones. As for In a Different Climate , I haven't heard it yet, but might give it a go on your rec. As for Mu, it was Anteater who introduced me to them when I was a humble newbie here. Perhaps you'll be interested in this old discussion thread, ehname:- https://www.musicbanter.com/prog-psy...mu-1971-a.html __________________ "Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

09-30-2018, 01:14 PM	#295 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	It's because of copyright restrictions. I hear they get it in the UK. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

10-03-2018, 09:56 AM	#299 (permalink)
GD ???pp? ??snW Join Date: Nov 2013 Location: NO Posts: 686	^you can add a custom cover image to any playlist, so I reckon that's what he did. Also, that playlist is full of unplayable songs for me for which the album is actually listed as TMR, but those won't show for you unless you activate the "show unplayable tracks in playlists" setting or w/e __________________ lasty\|rate-y music-y

10-03-2018, 09:57 AM	#300 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Ja you can use files from your computer that aren't on Spotify on your playlists. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

09-30-2018, 11:13 AM	#294 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,634	I was browsing Spotify this evening and decided to maybe listen to the Captain's albums from the start of his career up to and including Trout Mask Replica. Oddly, TMR isn't here? I know I can just find it on Youtube, but what the ****? It seems all of the prior albums are there (?), but his most famous album is absent. Some label technicality probably. It usually is. This is one of the reasons why music streaming isn't perfect. I've actually got many albums on CD that are neither on Youtube or on Spotify. And god knows I don't exactly have the most obscure tastes, so this says something about how riddled with holes the current streaming situation is. Anyway, I'll just fill in the blanks with Youtube if I decide to actually listen to all this music, but I did need to blink and look twice when I couldn't find TMR. Immediate update: What??? I searched for the album name and it comes up under the name "Gerben Smiths"? Whaaaat?!