Customer Reviews

London 1974

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Weeks before Captain Beefheart's Magic Band had quit on him (or been fired). To salvage an upcoming UK tour a group of session musicians were brought together to fill in. Of course they weren't used to the complex material the Magic Band had been playing for years so Beefheart it's assumed opted for a straightforward blues-rock approach.

Judged on its own terms the resulting live album is a success. The musicians weren't slouches, they were professional session players and journeyman and delivered good upfront blues-rock with the two guitarists contributing some surprisingly good riffs throughout. Listen to Dean Smith's guitar on 'This is the Day' or to the interplay between he and Fuzzy Fuscaldo on the opening 'Mirror Man', they can certainly deliver the goods.

It's an unfairly maligned album (the Tragic Band), not up to Magic Band standards but very enjoyable nonetheless. Frankly it puts many if not most live cds by blues-rock bands who've played for years to shame. The band plays within its strenghts, Beefheart seems to be enjoying himself and so does the audience.

Listen to it without comparing it to the Magic Band and it stands up as a good listen I think. So think toe-tapping on the front porch with a shot of good bourbon and you'll enjoy it.

As a lifelong Beefheart fan (I was at this concert, as well as a number of others including Bickershaw) I was intrigued by the huge diversity of opinion on this from people who are all clearly devoted Beefheart aficionados.

My take, having just played it, is that it's important in several ways: one as a historical document from an era which is widely regarded as not one of the Captain's finest; two as one of the best quality unofficial releases I've heard; three as an album with some of Beefheart's songs which don't get much of an airing; and four as, actually, a rather good piece of music.

As you'll hear, the audience at the show are shouting for more at the end of the gig, and there are several good reasons why. The band members ARE very competent and interpret the Captain's songs rather well, have had little chance to practice before the show. The Captain is in fine voice. And the songs are good.

Yes, they could have been better - the real Magic Band at their best would blow your socks off and this band never achieves the same levels of energy and intensity. But it still compares well with most bands then or since.

And yet, there's something a little wistful about it. Perhaps because it's not full on. Perhaps because the band aren't completely familiar with either the Captain's oeuvre or each other or what is expected of them. Or perhaps it's something in Beefheart's voice.

Nevertheless it's still good enough to rate 4 stars for me, and I think it's a worth addition to the Beefheart canon.

Mirror Man is a different version of the classic and is very good. Many of the songs here sound like pop, my girlfriend even liked This is the Day before I told her who it was. She doesn't like the Captain, she likes breezy 70's music. If you are a die hard Beefheart fan you might as well get this but a newcomer should choose another.

If your like me, and will buy anything Don Van Vliet touched, BUY THIS CD! The sound quality is XLNT, Beef is in fine form, and he's playing behind a group of competent, professional Musicians. My four Star rating is because it's a little short.

Just days before this tour began, the (real) "Magic Band" quit and were replaced by a bunch of studio session musicians who never heard Captain Beefheart before... and boy does it show! Other than the voice, you would think you were listening to a different band all together... that's because you are. This would be better billed as "Captain Beefheart and The Last Minute Replacement Band"! Add to this the fact that this tour took place between the infamous "Unconditionally Guaranteed" and "Bluejeans and Moonbeams" albums and features music from that time period... dreary stuff, especially considering how good the Captain was (and would be again)... but not in 1974!

Last week I decided that I would devote my in-car listening to the Magic Captain. Starting off in chronological order of release with Safe as Milk I progressed with some considerable satisfaction to Clear Spot.

I should make my position clear. I love this man's voice and his music and have done since my school days when I was introduced by my two friends, Dave Prosser and Mike Kirby, the first a Beefheart afficionado while the second a Frank Zappa devotee. My school days were long ago before Van Morrison moved to America.

Anyway, when I came to this album I was deeply saddened. Having seen Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band finally perform at the wonderful but wet Bickershaw Festival in the North West of England in 1972 and been suitably impressed I bought but quickly resold Unconditionally Guaranteed not too long a time later. Bluejeans and whatever went the same way and when the next tour came around from whence this album is drawn I was devastated to hear these sort of performances.

The bad news about this album is the band. From the point of view of yer average rock band these guys are not too bad...if you want them to play Status Quo "tunes". They are a competent standard blues/rock type of band. In the view of this fan, they do not even begin to measure up to a true Magic Band. Now it is often said by some that Beefheart is a bit of a con and that many of us are somewhat delusional when we talk of his genius and how his music is awful but the truth of the matter is that when you listen closely to the music you can clearly discern the patterns within. In order to play tht music the musicians themselves must be more than just competent, they must have the talent and virtuosity that these guys clearly do not have.

The one good thing about this album is the sound of the Beefheart voice. I was struck at the outset when the first strains of music are heart leading into a severley curtailed Mirror man that the Captain Beefheart of old seems a little restrained and timid. The songs are clearly delineated and structeured into a standard rock form with the ubiquitous riffs, steel and solo guitars strewn throughout while the singing is clearly more restrained if not melodic. Not that anything is particularly wrong with that. The sun zoom spark is clearly missing.

As far as I am concerned the Captain could sing about toilet paper for all I care and I would love it. Howver, here it is only that restrained and rather restricted voice that we hear and not the wide diversity of singinging grunts growls and hoops that we have become accustomed too while also being exposed to that famous vocal range.

One reviewer called Spotlight Kid/Clear Spot the most accessible of Beefhearts work. I fundamentally disagree with that reviewer as this little trinity of Unconditionally/Live in London/Bluejeans is the more accessible.

This album is for completists only. I may represent the absolute nadir of Beefhearts career but as albums go it is still way ahead of many others.

This is a superb album from the Captain from an underrated era. And to square off any write-offs that might occur...

Trout Mask Replica is an album the Captain made that was an artistic statement. It is, to this day, an absolutely genius piece of music that is likely to never be forgotten, combining poetry with nearly unlistenable music that deems no real time signature or groove that lasted too long (though on the I'm Gunna Do What I Wanna Do live album the Trout Mask material does somehow fall into a toe-tapping groove, particularly on Moonlight On Vermont.)

With that said, this is one absolutely fantastic live album filled with passion and soul. The horns crank out wild solos, the harp blows out wild wind, the vocals are perfect, and the rest of the band is in top form. If you enjoy the Captain's music and also have an appreciation for what might be considered more conventional music such as Eric Clapton, you'll love this album.

In short, these songs deem a more conventional structure but are deliverecd with all the artistic madness and passion you'd expect from the Captain. "This Is The Day," the albums only real ballad, is beautiful and with an outstanding harp solo and that signature Beefheart vocalization...you immediatly realize its miles and miles away from going soft. And if thats not enough, then the fact that the next song is a wildly melodic fest of horn blowing and passion, only to be topped by the jaw-dropping closer, Peaches, shows that this is an excellent document not to be lost by negative criticizm from people expecting another Trout Mask.

Not the album to buy for good Beefheart. This one is interesting only as a document of the low point of his musical career.