Record Reviews

ARTHUR BROWN ~ BROWN, BLACK & BLUE LEMON 148 (Barcode: 5013929774827) ~ UK ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1980 Released: 2009 This rare album by British maverick Arthur BrownFind albums by this artist with ex-Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist / Mothers Of InventionFind albums by this artist and Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist / Magic BandFind albums by this artist drummer Jimmy Carl BlackFind albums by this artist, documents the period when Brown spent a few years in the US (mostly Austin, Texas) in the early 1980s. After meeting Black in Austin the two decided to record an album with local Austin musicians, which was dedicated to early Rhythm And Blues material, re-vamped for the occasion. Superbly executed by all the musicians involved, with Brown´s vocal abilities at their full glory, the album is a true lost and forgotten gem, which surely deserves to be re-discovered. It shows not only the deep roots of Rock but also the versatility and resourcefulness of Brown as a musician. Originally released on LP in 1988 (eight years after it was recorded) and out of circulation for many years, this is the album´s first CD release, making it available (and affordable) to a much wider circle of Brown´s fans.

Updated: 08/05/2023Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ BLUEJEANS & MOONBEAMS VIRGIN 365515 (Barcode: 094636551524) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1974 Released: 2006 Following the release of Unconditionally GuaranteedFind albums with this title, Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist and the Magic BandFind albums by this artist were about to start a European tour, but as a result of the commercial failure of the album (and other personal problems between Vliet and the band members) the Magic Band fell apart shortly before the tour was about to start. Vliet haphazardly put together a new version of the Magic Band, which made the tour (see the Live London ’74 album) and later recorded this album. The music again displays a more “commercial” approach, but the album was received coldly by critics and fans alike, which caused Vliet to withdraw from the music scene for a few years with the decision not try to make “commercial” music again. Mind you, “commercial” when referred to Vliet’s output, takes quite a different meaning than in most cases. In retrospect this is still a classic album, which lost nothing of it’s magic in the passing of time. Vliet’s brilliant vocal interpretations and superb songwriting are apparent and this is definitely a must have for all his numerous fans.

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ DOC AT THE RADAR STATION (REMASTERED EDITION) VIRGIN 365513 (Barcode: 094636551326) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1980 Released: 2006 When the legal mess between record labels, which prevented any of his album to be released for almost six years, was finally over with the release of Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)Find albums with this title in 1980, Don VlietFind albums by this artist immediately started work on a new album, which was completed and released later in the same year. Doc At The Radar Station was Vliet’s ultimate statement and generally considered his best work of the (third) last period of his career. It is stylistically much harsher and harder than its brilliant predecessor, closely reminiscent to the early works, but definitely much richer musically. The almost industrial sound blends perfectly with the bizarre lyrics and Vliet’s expressive vocalizations. Considering the fact that by the time this music was recorded, the world was sinking deep into sludge of musical mediocrity and muck, Vliet’s star shines even brighter. Definitely a timeless classic, which hopefully will be discovered by the young generation of music lovers, as well as re-discovered by some old-timers.

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ ICE CREAM FOR CROW VIRGIN 365514 (Barcode: 094636551425) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1982 Released: 2006 Sadly and unexpectedly, this album was to be Vliet’s swan song. Recorded with (yet again) new line-up of the Magic Band, it was to a large extent a closing of a circle by this visionary artist, as he re-visits here many of his earliest musical ides going way back to the 1960’s, which somehow remained omitted from earlier albums. Stylistically it is closest to his early recordings as well, with the same atmosphere of tension and frequent changes of mood and tempo. Vliet throws the lyrics at the listener with harsh rapid fire, more often in spoken form than singing. Of course the magic is all there, even when the music becomes aggressive, metallic and dissonant. Obviously influenced by the punk movement (although he himself was an inspiration to many of the movement’s pioneers – another circle closing), Vliet incorporates the punkish alienation and vehemence superbly, spicing it with brilliant overlays of complex outlandish musical threads, creating a collage of rare intensity and expressiveness. This album requires some digestion, but eventually it remains standing as an icon of the era and the last obelisk of Vliet’s colonnade. After this album was recorded, Vliet disconnected himself from the world of music, dedicating all of his time to painting, living in total seclusion, and eventually tragically fell victim to multiple sclerosis.

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ LIVE LONDON `74 VIRGIN 368577 (Barcode: 094636857725) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1974 Released: 2006 Although Vliet and his Magic Band left us a sizeable legacy of recorded material, they never released a live album, which is quite strange in many ways. This album was recorded during the European tour, which followed Vliet’s signing with Virgin and the release of the Unconditionally Guaranteed album. As his band fell apart shortly after the recording of the album, Vliet had to put together a new version of the band just before the tour started and rehearse with them both the new material from the album they were promoting, as well as some old favorites – an almost impossible task considering the complexity of the material and the lack of time. Nevertheless, as we can hear here, the results were brilliant, as always, with everything he ever attempted. The concert captured here presents Vliet and the band at top form and the music flows beautifully from start to finish. Earlier version of this recording appeared on CD in semi-bootleg versions, but never in full and never as brilliantly sounding as this one. A must! (Just for the sake of historic perspective, the band who used to open the shows for Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band on this tour were no other than Henry Cow, who also signed with Virgin at that time)

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ SAFE AS MILK (EXPANDED EDITION) REV-OLA 271 (Barcode: 5013929457126) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1967 Released: 2009 Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist (born Don VlietFind albums by this artist and later adopted the name Van VlietFind albums by this artist) was one of America’s most enigmatic and groundbreaking Rock personalities. His ability to mix Jazz, Blues, contemporary Classical and Rock made him a unique figure and a true innovator. He met and befriended Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist and the two cooperated in many ways (making movies, music and business together). Vliet was active on and off the music scene for about 20 years (between the late 1960’s and late 1980’s), with long periods of inactivity in between. His back-up group, called The Magic BandFind albums by this artist, changed personnel frequently, but always included top-notch players based in different musical genres like Blues, Jazz or Rock. He left a sizable legacy of superb music, which can now be appreciated with a much better perspective than at the time of its release. This, his debut album, is a wonderful mixture of Blues, Psychedelia and Garage Rock, but Vliet’s unique voice and songwriting make them fascinating enough to last for posterity and become classics. Over time this album became an all-time relic of the era and whole volumes were written about it, so there´s no need really to add much more here – simply grab it if you don´t have it already, as your record collection will never be complete without it!

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ SHINY BEAST (BAT CHAIN PULLER) VIRGIN 365517 (Barcode: 094636551722) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1978 Released: 2006 Following the release of Bluejeans & Moonbeams and the lack of success of his last two albums, Vliet joined forces with his old buddy Frank Zappa, becoming a guest vocalist with Mothers of Invention during their 1975 tour (as captured on the live Bongo Fury album). He then borrowed some of Zappa’s players to revamp his Magic Band. In 1976 he and his group recorded an album of completely new material, called Bat Chain Puller, which was stylistically much closer to his earlier works. Unfortunately that album was never released as a result of legal battles between his record label (Virgin) and a new record label (Warner Bros.) he tried to sign with. Soon after the studio tapes leaked to the bootleg industry, which flooded the market with illegal copies of the album, making Vliet quite unhappy. To resolve this mess Vliet recorded in 1978 a new version of the album (using a different line-up of the Magic Band), this time called Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) for Warner Bros., who tried to release it the same year, but alas again it was legally bulldozed by Virgin. Fortunately Virgin eventually released the album in 1980 (after a settlement with Warner Bros. was reached). Musically the album is a triumphant return to Vliet’s idiosyncratic, magical mix of originality and genius (rivaled only by his friend Zappa and often quite similar to his music). The album also featured Vliet’s original paintings used for the cover art, revealing his other (apart from music) artistic vocation. This is a masterpiece of rock music and a timeless classic.

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ THE MIRROR MAN SESSIONS BUDDHA 69174 (Barcode: 743216917426) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1967 Released: 1999 This music, recorded in late 1967 just a few months after Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist and his Magic BandFind albums by this artist recorded their debut album "Safe As MilkFind albums with this title", was intended for a double LP release, but as it often happened in the troubled biography of the Captain, it was not to be so. The music, partly unfinished, was rejected at the time by the record label and then partly released as the "Mirror ManFind albums with this title" album four years later, including only four of the tracks recorded at this session. This album collects nine of the tracks recorded at that session and the rest of them can be found as bonus tracks of the expanded reissue of "Safe As Milk". The music is of course brilliant, revolutionary and outrageous, nothing less one might expect from the Captain. An absolute must companion to the debut album.

CD 1 Remastered Bonus Tracks Recommend To A Friend

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART / MAGIC BAND ~ UNCONDITIONALLY GUARANTEED VIRGIN 365511 (Barcode: 094636551128) ~ USA ~ Classic Rock Recorded: 1973 Released: 2006 Captain BeefheartFind albums by this artist (born Don VlietFind albums by this artist and later adopted the name Van VlietFind albums by this artist) was one of America’s most enigmatic and groundbreaking Rock personalities. His ability to mix jazz, blues, contemporary classical and rock made him a unique figure and a true innovator. He met and befriended Frank ZappaFind albums by this artist and the two cooperated in many ways (making movies, music and business together). Vliet was active on and off the music scene for about 20 years (between the late 1960’s and late 1980’s), with long periods of inactivity in between. His back-up group, called The Magic BandFind albums by this artist, changed personnel frequently, but always included top-notch players based in different musical genres like blues, jazz or rock. He left a sizable legacy of superb music, which can now be appreciated with a much better perspective than at the time of its release. This album marks a relavtively short “commercial” period of Vliet’s output, after a series of almost Avant-Garde albums, starting with his debut Safe As MilkFind albums with this title from 1967. The songs are much closer to the blues and rock tradition, but Vliet’s unique voice and songwriting make them fascinating enough to last for posterity and become classics.

Updated: 12/04/2019Posted:

CD 1 Remastered Recommend To A Friend