Clear Spot to Bat Chain Puller he lived in Northern California by the coast, but he had to move back to the desert in a trailer around the time of Bat Chain and John French helped Jan and Don make the move. Maybe post Ice Cream for Crow and his career as a painter he was able to move back to the coast?
I think so. That's where he passed away, up north, in Trinidad. The NYTimes obit says he and his wife moved up there in 1982. Don Van Vliet, Rock’s Captain Beefheart, Dies at 69 The Legacy web memorial Don "Captain Beefheart" Van Vliet Obituary on Legacy.com
Cool, I don't think I've heard the rehearsals before. Without doing a direct A/B it's hard for me to say if they're better than the official Shiny Beast release or not. But they are definitely good! I would so love to see a Sun Zoom Spark-styled box covering this period in full. The three final albums and a disc of rehearsals and the original Bat Chain Puller.
I agree. I do feel I should be a little cautious with my judgments --- since I've known and loved the Shiny Beast, Doc and Ice Cream albums for so long -- that it could simply be the novelty of hearing different (and the original!) versions after all these years that pulls me towards the original Bat Chain Puller album more. Also, the mastering on Bat Chain is better. While I honestly haven't done an in depth comparison between the versions to officially make a call -- I've probably spent enough time with the Bat Chain Puller album to say in general I lean more towards it. The title track and "Brick Bats" are divine. The playing is leaner and passionate. "Totem Pole" is amazing. Everything is awesome. This is one of the reasons why I say I'm cautious. One of the things that made Shiny Beast unique was the lighter sound and feel. I don't know if it was the bright album cover, or "Tropical Hot Dog" night or that trombone (who uses a trombone in rock!!! lol!!) -- or all these things combined -- but I've always felt some of the appeal of Shiny Beast was this perceived levity and buoyancy. That was something missing for me from the Mercury albums -- and even the Spot albums somewhat. That mischievous spark. That joy of knowing he was making something no one else was even capable of considering. And with the final two albums, they were so taught and bitter and wiry. I love them and can see more of that playfulness in them now -- but with Shiny Beast, there was a clear return of that a old fart at play that made it such an easy listen.
Wow, this string of albums from 78/76 to 82 is certainly one of the great ‘second acts’! I personally prefer the sound and sequencing of the original Bat Chain Puller over Shiny Beast, and I think Don’s vocals are stronger on the former. Having said that, I’m glad we finally have both, and I think the overall aesthetic of Shiny Beast is an important part of that and subsequent albums’ impact moving forward. I think of this as Don’s “noir” period. The video for Ice Cream for Crow captures the overall vibe well. The black and white images, the desert at night, the fedora..
Yes - the issue of Don's vocals starts to rear its head on Shiny Beast. Exhibit one - Tropical Hot Dog Night. Don is at the upper end of his vocal range shouting more than singing. While this vocal delivery is pretty much limited to that one song, it becomes his vocal style on all of Doc at the Radar Station. His vocals were definitely in better shape on the original Bat Chain Puller. Is this his MS showing itself, the ravages of smoking and age, or a bizarre artistic choice?
I don't really know, of course, but my guess is that his vocal changes were mostly a combination of both causes 2 and 3, that is smoking, age, and choice (not really bizarre, IMO - Don was always more of a "declaimer" than a conventional singer, and he always pushed his instrument hard.) That hysterical kind of vocal delivery was always part of his style. It's no wonder that it showed eventual signs of stress. I've known a couple of people with MS, and vocal deterioration wasn't a primary symptom. They weren't singers, though, and they never stressed themselves in that way, and MS symptoms vary wildly.
I sometimes wonder about Jan, what her life is like, what it was like when Don was alive. I wish she’d write a memoir. God, she was such a babe.
I've dealt with a couple of singers with MS, and it seems to me that the main problem was volume and projection, not tonality or range.
I agree. She seems like a very private person, however. She obviously experienced a very different Don than the band members did but still she witnessed much of what was going on. John French speaks very highly of her in his book. Jan had a view behind the "curtain" so to speak of the real Don, rather than the Wizard of Oz projection or "Captain Beefheart" persona he presented to the press and at times to the band.
Q: What's up, Doc? A: Doc is what's up! I think we're all ready for the next fancy vinyl diehard album intro
Yes, this whole era is dominated by a starkness. Not sure how else to put it really. It's stark. Black and white, as you said. Whereas earlier Beef has an element of mischievousness (that's a hard word to say!). It has mischief. It's playful. He's often "messing with us." There's jokes rolled up in there. But this last period has some bitterness, not anger -- but just a more weight of the world upon it.
Shiny Beast is spinning as I type. Love it. Bat Chain Puller is downloading at the same time. (Memo: I must but some more 2CD jewel cases).
I agree that Shiny Beast is the "lightest" of the final three ( four including the original Bat Chain Puller). Lots of humor in Harry Irene, Tropical Hot Dog Night, "fun" songs like Candle Mambo, romantic ballads like Love Lies, and the fun high energy instrumentals. It's his most commercial album after Clear Spot IMO (not counting the commercial misfires of Unconditionally Guaranteed and B &M).
If you look carefully some of the tracks on Shiny Beast also speak to themes like lost love, estrangement, aging, death. I think this subtle undercurrent of sadness I mentioned runs through much of Don’s work, although it is often presented, perhaps as a counter-active, through humor, irony, obfuscation, etc. Agree it does become more evident as you move into Doc and the final album.
I know what you're saying but there's always been sadness and darkness in Beefheart's songs though, TMR's full of dark songs
And on we go! From Wiki; Doc at the Radar Station is the eleventh studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in August 1980 to critical acclaim. Doc at the Radar Station Studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band Released August 1980 Recorded Sound Castle Recording Studios, LA June 1980 Genre Experimental rock, blues rock Length 38:52 Label Virgin Producer Don Van Vliet Although about half of the album's songs are based on old musical ideas, Mike Barnes states that "most of the revamping work built on skeletal ideas and fragments ... would have mouldered away in the vaults had they not been exhumed and transformed into full-blown, totally convincing new material." Packaging The album cover was painted by Don Van Vliet. It was placed at number forty-nine on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers. Song info The tracks "A Carrot is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond", "Flavor Bud Living" and "Brickbats" were originally intended and recorded for the proposed album Bat Chain Puller but it wasn't released due to Frank Zappa owning the master tapes as DiscReet cofounders Herb Cohen and Zappa feuded over the production of the album, because Cohen funded the production with Zappa's royalty checks. Former drummer of the Magic Band John French plays slide guitar, guitar, marimba, bass and drums on the tracks "Ashtray Heart" and "Sheriff of Hong Kong". Reissues In 2011, 4 Men with Beards released a 180-gram version of the album that is being distributed by City Hall Records. Track listing All tracks written by Don Van Vliet. Side One 1. "Hot Head" 3:23 2. "Ashtray Heart" 3:25 3. "A Carrot is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond" 1:38 4. "Run Paint Run Run" 3:40 5. "Sue Egypt" 2:57 6. "Brickbats" 2:40 Side Two 1. "Dirty Blue Gene" 3:51 2. "Best Batch Yet" 5:02 3. "Telephone" 1:31 4. "Flavor Bud Living" 1:00 5. "Sheriff of Hong Kong" 6:34 6. "Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee" 3:11 Personnel Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) – vocals, Chinese gongs, harmonica, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet John French – slide guitar, guitar, marimba, bass, drums (on "Ashtray Heart" and "Sheriff of Hong Kong") Bruce Lambourne Fowler – trombone Jeff Moris Tepper – slide guitar, guitar, nerve guitar Eric Drew Feldman – synthesizer, bass, mellotron, grand piano, electric piano Robert Arthur Williams – drums Additional personnel Gary Lucas – guitar, French horn
