| Good News for Beefheart Fans!; Original 'Bat Chain Puller' album to be released | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 8 2012, 05:57 PM (350 Views) | |
| rumbaba | Jan 8 2012, 05:57 PM Post #1 |
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http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2011/dec/21/lost-captain-beefheart-album-bat-chain-puller Don's 1976 album 'Bat chain puller' will be officially released on what would have been his 71st birthday (15th January) after being shelved due to a legal dispute between the producer Frank Zappa and his manager Herb Cohen. some tracks were re-recorded and released on other albums but the original, Zappa produced album should be a classic. Here is some unofficial stuff from the album: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAc4i4MByiY Here's a live version of the title track http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17cr_WVdWmo Edited by rumbaba, Jan 8 2012, 06:27 PM.
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| caissier | Jan 8 2012, 06:35 PM Post #2 |
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Captain Beefheart always seems to have a strange appeal. I don't know why I like what he does. Something to do with the incantation aspect with other bits feeding in to give a pleasing effect. Frank Zappa is similar. Once I get the the thing I really like it ..... as though it works deep into the mind somehow ..... ????????? |
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| rumbaba | Jan 8 2012, 08:27 PM Post #3 |
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It's not the easiest of stuff, Caissier. An aquired taste, but once you get the taste.......
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| May-Cee | Jan 9 2012, 01:34 PM Post #4 |
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I've come across the name Herb Cohen a lot in the last few days; I'm reading "Waits On Waits" - and he was Tom's manager as well in the early days. (Waits spent his first couple of years opening for Zappa.) Incidentally, Waits claims it was well into the 80s before he ever heard Beefheart, through his wife. Not sure I believe that. "Swordfishtrombones" (my fave) has Beefheart's fingerprints all over it; and "16 Shells From a Thirty-Ought-Six" could be straight off "Trout Mask". |
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| May-Cee | Jan 9 2012, 02:06 PM Post #5 |
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PS: Although I like the spoken-word "Orange Claw Hammer", I prefer the full-band version I have on an NME compilation. Both versions could also be said to mirror different phases in Waits's career also. |
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| rumbaba | Jan 10 2012, 04:32 PM Post #6 |
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I didn't know Tom Waits had recorded 'Orange Claw Hammer'. I am reading 'Freak Out' by Pauline Butcher, an English secretary who went to work for Frank Zappa in Los Angeles. It gives an interesting perspective on all these people, like Herb Cohen and the other stars and freaks who hung out with Zappa. |
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| chris crossing | Jan 11 2012, 12:33 PM Post #7 |
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Wonderful stuff, thanks rum! I've been a fan of the Captain since the early Seventies. Saw Dweezil live in Brighton last month (Zappa Plays Zappa tour) and he was sensational, and chatty afterwards. Will look out for the 'Freak Out' book.
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| May-Cee | Jan 11 2012, 12:50 PM Post #8 |
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Nope, Waits didn't do "Orange...", Rum; that was my awkward phrasing, sorry. I was referring to both Beefheart versions. Then, as an afterthought, I was musing about how Waits has also veered back and forth between spoken-word and full-on band. (I wouldn't mind hearing him have a go at it!) |
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| rumbaba | Jan 13 2012, 10:27 PM Post #9 |
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I had a ticket to see The Mothers in Glasgow on the ill fated 'smoke on the water tour'. First, they lose all their equipment in a fire in Switzerland, then some dickhead throws Frank into the orchestra pit at the Rainbow Theatre in London. I only ever saw him live on the 'Zoot Allures' tour (in Edinbugh at the Playhouse). I only saw the Captain on the 'Tragic Band' tour in Edinburgh (when he was promoting those crap albums he did on the Virgin label). It wasn't bad, there was a lot of old stuff but it wasn't the Magic Band. |
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| Hugh Mosby-Joaquin | Jan 14 2012, 12:03 AM Post #10 |
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Call me Mr cynical, but is this not (another) attempt of the Zappa children ripping of the Captain, by making money on what they and their dad stole or acquired from his estate? Don Vliet was no business-man, whereas Frank Zappa was a shrewd business-cookie as well as a fine guitarist, and there were many legal wrangles holding back the release of much of The Captain's music, upon which Zappa seemed to have a stranglehold. However, I would be interested to hear this recording; 'Owed t' Alex' is a favourite piece of musical poetry, and 'Floppy Boot Stomp' is a great take on that traditional tale of the man who has a fiddle-duet/duel with the devil. But will this be any better than the (hard-to-beat) originally-released recordings? We shall see, thanks for the news. The 15th, eh? That's Sunday; what ought a Beefheart enthusiast do to remember Don on that day? Hope for a cardboard-cut-out sundown? Take a poot up to Carson City? I might manage Leeds.... Anyway, I bought the 'Trout Mask Replica' LP when it came out, first LP I bought and I've still got it. And I don't tire of it, sure'nuff... |
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| rumbaba | Jan 14 2012, 10:33 AM Post #11 |
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I'll be practising my guitar in front of a bush (see 10 commandments thread)
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| rumbaba | Jan 14 2012, 05:54 PM Post #12 |
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Hugh, do you know why LMDOB isn't available on CD? New vinyl copies are available on Amazon from £12 to upwards of £150 and MP3 download is available but I have been trying for years to get it on CD (a proper, remastered version) but no chance ![]() When I see a record shop in any foreign country I am visiting I go in to check if they have Trout Mask Replica and they always do
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| Hugh Mosby-Joaquin | Jan 14 2012, 06:32 PM Post #13 |
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You are right; I think any CD of 'Decals' is a forgery. I remember looking a while back, but had forgotten about it, until you just made mention. I see that one reviewer on Amazon now warns of this. Could it be that the rights to it are in the Zappa vaults too? I do have the LP; I did copy it to CD myself once. And, yes, 'Trout Mask Replica' is available worldwide. In fact I bought my CD of it in Tel Aviv, now I come to think of it. |
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| rumbaba | Jan 14 2012, 09:49 PM Post #14 |
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Some years back, when I was working in Budapest on a particularly stressful bank merger project, I spent more than a month listening to 'Trout Mask Replica' (every day on my way to and from work on a 'Walkman' - remember those? - and in my hotel room at night on my little portable sound system); nothing else, only Trout Mask Replica and I was reading C.P. Snow's 'Strangers and brothers' series of novels to get to sleep. 12 hour working days, Long Island ice teas in Martinez, Captain Beefheart and C.P. Snow. Happy days! |
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| rumbaba | Jan 16 2012, 09:31 PM Post #15 |
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Bat Chain Puller (Dust Sucker) seems to have been put back to 13 February now I just ordered 'Lick my decals off baby' on vinyl for £15 (new). I could have had it for £13 the other day . Some people are selling it for £150 - madness!
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| rumbaba | Jan 31 2012, 01:17 PM Post #16 |
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My copy of LMDOB has arrived (so my wife tells me). I can't wait to get home tonight and put the vinyl on the turntable. Haven't done that in a very long time.
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| Schrodinger's Cat | Jan 31 2012, 01:55 PM Post #17 |
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Nothing beats Trout Mask Replica IMO. I saw the Magic Band play in 1968. They started their set at c 2am and there were very few of us there. |
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| rumbaba | Jan 31 2012, 02:20 PM Post #18 |
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Lucky you , I never got to see him at his peak with the Magic Band: where did you see them SC? I have 'Dust Sucker' (The original Bat Chain Puller tapes) on order, that's CD not vinyl though. |
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| Hugh Mosby-Joaquin | Feb 1 2012, 04:17 PM Post #19 |
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I sadly never saw him live. The one time I might have, I had a very bad cold. (It was possibly in Liverpool, at the time of 'The Spotlight Kid', I guess,) A great regret in my life. Incidentally, I have a rather good bootleg tape of 'Captain Beefheart's 40th Birthday Party', (15th Jan, 1981) but several years back I found that it has been released on CD, which I also have. It's possibly a bootleg itself, although I'm sure I bought it from a 'proper' shop. But looking at it just now, I realise it has a fake bar-code upon it. It seems to have been produced by an outfit called 'Musically Tuned'. Have any other Beefheart enthusiasts come across this? It's quite good fun (I wish I had been there!) and The Cap sounds a bit spaced out at times; but then it was his birthday. He gets the names of the Magic Band members muddled up a bit, if I remember. I'll have to play it again. Long time no play... Edited by Hugh Mosby-Joaquin, Feb 1 2012, 07:15 PM.
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| rumbaba | Feb 1 2012, 09:37 PM Post #20 |
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I'll check out the 40th Hugh, sounds interesting. |
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| rumbaba | Feb 3 2012, 04:22 PM Post #21 |
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Still haven't taken the shrink wrap off my new Beefheart album. It looks like the original cover but there is a label that says 'manufactured by Rhino Records', so I suspect this isn't original - I hope it plays ok. I was listening to TMR today, on my way to work and it is still mightily impressive. 'Pachuco Cadaver' was always a favourite and it still 'surprises'. 'Dachau Blues' is still as powerful as I remember it, a plea to save future generations from a World War Three. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qUmdU6FEmi4 Dachau Blues Dachau blues those poor jews Dachau blues those poor jews Down in Dachau blues, down in Dachau blues Still cryin' 'bout the burnin' back in world war two One mad man six million lose Down in Dachau blues down in Dachau blues Dachau blues, Dachau blues those poor jews The world can't forget that misery 'n the young ones now beggin' the old ones please t' stop bein' madmen 'fore they have t' tell their children 'bout the burnin' back in World War Three War One was balls 'n powder 'n blood 'n snow War Two rained death 'n showers 'n skeletons Danced 'n screamin' 'n dyin' in the ovens Cough 'n smoke 'n dyin' by the dozens Down in Dachau blues Down in Dachau blues Three little children with doves on their shoulders Their eyes rolled back in ecstasy cryin' Please old man stop this misery They're countin' out the devil With two fingers on their hands Beggin' the Lord don't let the third one land On World War Three On World War Three |
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| rumbaba | Feb 4 2012, 01:48 PM Post #22 |
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LMDOB is great, I'm reconverted to vinyl!
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| Hugh Mosby-Joaquin | Feb 4 2012, 04:50 PM Post #23 |
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I've been a-looking at http://www.freewebs.com/teejo/live/81birth.html The bootleg '40th Birthday' I have is apparently one of quite a few variants, I read here. Mine has an odd cover that's always puzzled me until now. The chap pictured on the sleeve, obviously a vocalist on stage, doesn't look much like Don Van Vliet. That's 'cos it isn't. Actually it's Arthur Lee of 'Love'. his must have been the only photo the pirates had. An odd thing to do, I'd have thought, although it might have been odder if they only had a picture of Kylie Minogue. It's possibly unique in bootleggery, I'd have thought; to plonk A N Other on the cover. A Beefheart scribble would suffice... I cannot help thinking that this ExR4 MB Forum ought to have a special Captain Beefheart sub-board...... ...for all this lo yo yo stuff... |
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| Schrodinger's Cat | Feb 5 2012, 05:20 PM Post #24 |
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It was an all-night event at Southampton University - bands and musicians on all evening and most of the night, up until dawn. Many people had left by the time the Magic Band started playing (at c. 2am), and many of those who were still there probably didn't know who they were anyway, so didn't bother to come and listen. However, there were one or two Top Gear regular listeners who'd come in late especially to hear the Magic Band. I can't remember much about what songs they played - tho Electricity was definitely one of them. |
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| May-Cee | Jul 21 2012, 10:54 AM Post #25 |
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A while back I finally caught up with "Safe As Milk". (Featuring, of course, another favourite round these here parts; Ry Cooder.) It's obviously not as radical as the later stuff - not much different to other garage rock of the period - but still superb. "I'm Glad" is not unlike Zappa's pastiches of old R'n'B and Doo-Wop songs. And "Yellow Brick Road" is probably the closest he got to a "radio hit". I still prefer "Trout Mask". As I mentioned before, having been brought up on the likes of Pere Ubu and Albert Ayler, it didn't strike me as inaccessible at all. If anything, actually rather tame compared to its reputation; but my ears are attuned to atonality and weird sounds. Incidentally, when I mentioned earlier that I love the "full band" version of "Orange Claw Hammer" on an NME compilation... Listening again, it's actually just Zappa on guitar. ZAPPA: Why don't you ah - You wanna do a version of "Orange Claw Hammer" live in the studio? BEEFHEART: Ugh. And then off they go; and it's brilliant. (The sleevenotes tell me it's from "Grow Fins - Rarities (1965-1982)"; a "deluxe 5-CD package") |
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| Hugh Mosby-Joaquin | Jul 22 2012, 03:06 PM Post #26 |
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I had a copy of 'Grow Fins' a few years ago, but I must confess even as a zealous Captain Beefheart fan, I found it far too much; too many replicated out-takes and snatches of music and so forth. A very academic collection, but not a great deal of fun to listen to. It's quite a package of art in itself, though. |
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(Zappa Plays Zappa tour) and he was sensational, and chatty afterwards. Will look out for the 'Freak Out' book.

, I never got to see him at his peak with the Magic Band: where did you see them SC? I have 'Dust Sucker' (The original Bat Chain Puller tapes) on order, that's CD not vinyl though.
12:31 AM Jul 11