Wednesday, 19 September 2012

LINK: Captain Beefheart Greek review

http://www.grande-rock.com/reviews/captain_beefheart_his_magic_band_-_lost_broadcasts


Capt. Beefheart & his Magic Band
The Lost Broadcasts
Gonzo Multimedia
2012
Music was moving in weird paths back in the late 60s/early 70s. Blame it on the LSD and in general, the “free” drugs of that era, blame it on the freedom people were enjoying, the mystification & lack of restrictions the artists/musicians had, the creativity/imagination of all the arts and specially of the music… you can actually go anywhere from there… so these are some reasons why this era will always be considered as a bizarre & odd one.

Captain Beefheart belongs to that specific era. Influenced by another great personality/musician of that time, the weird and remarkable Frank Zappa, he did form his own music vehicle under the name of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, and presented his avant-garde, blues, rock, experimental, psychedelic and jazz music. Captain Beefheart also had the chance to work with Zappa, as he produced “Trout Mask Replica” and they both released “Bongo Fury” in 1975.

During his European tour in 1972, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band stopped off at the Beat Club studios in Bremen, Germany to film a session for later transmission. The band’s line-up was: Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) on vocals, harp; Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) on guitar and bass, Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad) on guitar, Orejon (Roy Estrada) on bass, Ed Marimba (Art Tripp) on drums, and Winged Eel Fingerling (Elliot Ingber) on guitar. Weirdly enough out of the four songs that were filmed that day only one track has ever been broadcast.

Now after almost 40 years, the UK label Gonzo MultiMedia, finally released these momentous Beat Club sessions on DVD. This video has not been seen in over 4 decades and here you have the complete sessions from April 12, 1972… and all the takes they did for some songs as well. This DVDcontains the whole material filmed during the band’s live sessions at the Beat Club studios. Should you feel nostalgic for that era & for its “weird/psycho-like” music, then you’ll have a nice time watching it.

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