Legendary a&M Sessions [Import]

Captain Beefheart | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 10, 1998)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Edsel Records UK
• ASIN: B000006XF6
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #31,002 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Diddy Wah Diddy

2. Who Do You Think You're Fooling?

3. Moonchild

4. Frying Pan

5. Here I Am I Always Am

Editorial Reviews

Before Safe As Milk and prior to the San Francisco Dance Concert boom of 1966, Beefheart and his early Magic Band recorded several sides for the fledging A&M Records of Los Angeles. Produced by David Gates.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Short but Sweet, September 25, 1999

By 

J. B Brent (Oak Ridge, Tennessee USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Legendary a&M Sessions (Audio CD)

The entire album is less than 12 minutes long, but these 5 songs are true classics. "Diddy Wah Diddy" and "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" were on A&M single # 794. "Moonchild" and "Frying Pan" appeared on single # 818, while the fifth track was previously unreleased, although a promo 45 is supposed to exist. These 45s came out in the mid-60s, but the album wasn't released on vinyl until 1984 (A&M 12510). The original 45s are rare collectors items, so it's great to get these tunes on CD. Buy this one, definitely.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Beef starts here..., February 21, 2005

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Legendary a&M Sessions (Audio CD)

This CD contains the first ever "official" release of "Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band" (later changed to "Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band") and Don Van Vliet's first official song release, "Who Do You Think You're Fooling". What an entrance. All of the songs, except maybe "Moonchild", showcase the skills of the early Beefheart: his amazing gravel-textured engine-roaring vocals that sound like a voice singing through fire; the skippy rock rhythms and catchy twangy guitar riffs; and the first stirrings of Van Vliet's ultimate lyrical direction.

The first four songs were released in 1966 on two separate 45 rpm singles after the band grabbed a deal with the then neophyte label A&M. The first of these, a cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy", is an unappreciated rock and blues masterpiece. The imposing fuzz bass adds a touch of psychedelia to the mix, but the song feels more like blues rock than "Incense and Peppermints". Its Van Vliet composed B-Side, "Who Do You Think You're Fooling", feels like the Beefheart to come. The same can be said for "Frying Pan", another Van Vliet composition, with its skippy and catchy melodies. Strangely, "Frying Pan" served as B-Side to the less inspired "Moonchild" written by David Gates, who produced the A&M sessions and later fronted the group Bread. The song sounds like a blatant attempt at a 1960s hit. Complete with mysterious lyrics that don't add up to much and gratuitous reverb-drenched vocals. It's by no means terrible, but it lacks the energy of the other songs on the CD. The final song "Here I Am I Always Am" was lost for decades in a vault and first released with this collection (originally on a vinyl EP in 1984). It's one of the CD's best songs. The plucky guitars presage the future, and it's hopelessly catchy and addicting. Also, listen closely to the lyrics: a few Beefheartisms lurk there.

Though the 1966 singles spawned no hits, they did vibrate the cochleas of one John Peel, then working in California. Peel managed to get "Diddy Wah Ditty" on rotation, but sales didn't follow. Not long after "Moonchild" flopped, The Magic Band and A&M split.

This is a great collection of songs, and a great start to an amazing recording career that didn't end until Van Vliet's self-imposed musical exile in 1982. As this CD proves, he came in as he went out: with a huge bang.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars horrific my #*$, August 21, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Legendary a&M Sessions (Audio CD)

How anyone could call this album by the Captain horrific is beyond me. OK, so maybe it isn't Trout Mask or Doc at the Radar Station but those recordings are in a class by themselves. Here you don't hear the blues sung any better,at least not by any other white man. The Captain's voice is unbelievable. We're talking absolute power. Goosebumps. Chills, up and down your spine. You can hear the influence of the great blues singer, Son House all over the place. And how about that bass guitar. Can it get any deeper. Don't hesitate to buy the CD just because it only has five songs totally twelve minutes. You will not be disappointed.