Customer Reviews

Mirror Man Sessions

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I got a little bored with the music I knew, I got my encyclopaedia of pop music to see if there were some reviews about bands I did not know that sounded promising. Well, the review about Beefheart surely sounded promising, so I went to a record store and bought the first Beefheart title I saw (without listening to it); Mirror Man. When arrived at home the deception, it sounded awful. I put the album away and forgot about it. A couple of months later, when I read through my encyclopaedia once more I came to the Beefheart section again and was painfully remembered about my wasted money. But somehow I still could not understand why a band with such reviews did not at least do something to me. So I wiped the dust of the album and listened to it again....and again...and again. And just like an aspirin, it took some time before it started to work, but then it really did what it had to do. It really inspired me and it appeared that this was the best music I had ever laid my ears onto. Once infected, I bought everything I could obtain and apart from the zillion bootlegs there are I have every available album. Still, Mirror Man is my all time favourite, especially the song Kandy Korn, which is so hypnotic that you can listen to it for hours and hours and every time the song ends it almost hurts. It does not bore, since the music is rather complex there is something new in it any time you listen to it. It never bores. Beefheart never bores. I read a lot of reviews on the Beefheart albums on the net and opinions differ a lot on what is the most interesting album. Mirror Man is in general not seen as his best and although it's my favourite I can understand why other people think differently. Maybe it's because I started getting to know Beefheart with this album, it might have been Trout Mask Replica, although I think the aspirin would have needed some more time then. Beefheart made a lot of different sounding music throughout his musical career (although recognisable always, even if it was only because of his voice), but since the man is so extremely talented (not only when it comes to music) there is something interesting in all of his albums. It's a shame that this was recognised by so few and that he ended his musical career in the early eighties.

I have two copies of the original LP yet never truly embraced the record. I always felt that the product was incomplete. Strictly Personal served as a surrogate for years. Despite the fact that The Captain distanced himself from the record ( he felt it was over produced ) I happen to love that record. Well, this reissue of the original sessions is a joy. It has the original material as well as most of S.P. and " Moody Liz " not found elsewhere. There is a real sense of a live performance or at least live in the studio. The songs ring with the urgency and the confidence of a band breaking barriers. The drums and guitars in Kandy Korn go to heights rarely heard. The Captain wails, grumbles and mocks while asking us to "Trust Us" assuring all its " Safe as Milk " and he may be hungry but he sure aint weird! Frankly, he was weird and scary talented. That is why we love him and the music he made. For a fan or a newbie, this is one album that begs to be in your collection.

The captain correctly surmised that having blown his chance to be popular by missing Monterey, he would have to strike with an artistic double lp, like his friend Frank. That strategy later proved successful, but what ever he originally imagined for It Comes in a Plain Brown Wrapper was condensed into the excellent, but tardy Strictly Personal. There were a number of sessions, including the loose jams presented here, well prior to those eventually used. Can it be assumed that these "live" tracks were meant for release? I don't know, but they're an absolute groove. Kandy Korn would be reprised and Mirror Man greatly revised into something more synthetic and less authentic mid-sixties country blues. 25th Century Quaker is an utter delight of humor and Appalachia.

The CD includes a few early session studio cuts, a couple familiar, a couple not, but all very worthy (and originally found on the "Hungry" disc along with others now added to Safe as Milk). This is truly a package of orphans, but holds up as well as anything in his catalogue, and is highly recommended.

The Captain's finest blues recording,the slick "Mirror Man" was recorded in LA,most likely in 1968,unlike the notes say (this does not sound like the band that pulled off "Diddy Wah Diddy"). I thought this was awful after hearing sound clips and the timing were drastic,the first song be 19 minutes,the second 9,3rd 10 and the last 15 and a half. I listen to it over and over and I got to like it. It's an excellent recording. The sound quality is failing,but it puts that 'blues' trademark in there. Friends,you get more than what you pay for. I could listen to Tarotplane over and over.

Not much is certain about "Mirror Man." The recording dates have been listed as anywhere between 1965 and 1968 with the latter probably being the more likely. The album only has 4 songs, but each packed with some of the unique characteristics of this landmark band. Wih production far superior to "Strictly Personal", the band's unfinished second album, and predecessor to this one, you can catch some of the greatness that would appear shortly after on "Trout Mask Replica" as well as similar instrumentation and production. If you're a fan of Captain Beefheart's growly voice or his harmonica and soprano sax playing, you'll like this album, as guitar solos are limited. This album is GREAT for driving, as the songs do tend to get somewhat monotonous. Musicians will also appreciate what appears to be large amounts of supreme improvisation from all the members. This act being a complete no-no in most of the Captain's work. But a listener with only limited interest or new fan may be better off with some of his "easier listening" albums such as "Clear Spot," or "(Shiny Beast) Bat Chain Puller." Overall, if you can tolerate the prolonged cuts or are a fan of "jamming" music, this is a good album.