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Yessirry, here is Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band, and I’m reviewing their 1972 effort Clear Spot for my first review of the year and decade. Released September 11, 1972 on Warner Bros, the album, produced by the great Ted Templeman of Doobie Brothers/Carly Simon/Van Halen fame, continues the blues rock of The Spotlight Kid. On this album, bassist Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) moves over to guitar alongside Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleford), while Art Tripp/Ed Marimba/Ted Cactus/Billybob Noodlehead performs the drum kit. Rounding out the band on bass is Oréjon, who you might know better as Roy Ralph Moleman Guacamole Guadalupe She Did Not Look Fourteen Hidalgo Estrada.

This was probably my third or fourth Beefheart record. I already knew Trout, I knew Decals, I knew Safe As Milk, and since Ted Templeman was involved and two of the Mothers were involved, I was definitely intrigued by the album on paper. How did it fare? Well…..

1. “Low Yo Yo Stuff” (Don Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ak1EJhMUBk

We open the record with an ode to sex. Or masturbation. Or whatever, I appreciate odes to masturbation and sex.

We open with this sexy, slinky riff on the right channel by Mr Zoot Horn Rollo, before a guitar appears on the left channel as performed by Mr Rockette Morton. While Harkleford’s guitar gives this smooth, seductive feel, Boston’s has a bite to it, giving a more aggressive feel to the guitar melodies. A perfect example of the “weaving” technique that Keith Richards has often talked about, with the two players’ parts blending together to create a seamless line.

Mixed in with the slinky riffage, we have the jerky rhythms of Tripp and Estrada, with Milt Holland(?)’s marimba sprinkled. Tripp offers a very offbeat feel, a sort of wobble to speak, which creates the necessary tension within the track, while Holland’s percussion accents the track. Tying it all together is Estrada’s bass, which is almost subliminal in its execution, propping up the track while rarely calling attention to itself.

Finally, you have the eccentric delivery of Beefheart himself. The subject matter is hardly original, but Van Vliet’s delivery of the material, both lyrically and vocally, gives a surrealistic take, alternating in agony, ecstasy, and sedation.

I’m down with doing the Low Yo Yo Stuff, so let’s move to the next track!

2. “Nowadays A Woman’s Gotta Hit A Man” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=M3ja9PWAR_I

Here we are at Track Two, which opens up with a military march of sorts by Art before the song proper begins.

Here, you can really hear the influence Beefheart’s guys would have on alternative and punk in later years. The riffage reminds me of The Minutemen in particular, especially since I know they were fanatical about Beefheart. And the horns work great on here, never intrusive and they compliment the song (God knows horns in rock can be a somewhat dicey affair).

I also want to mention the lyrics here. They’re fairly basic by Beefheart standards, but they do crack me up. Men really can be aloof sometimes, and yeah, it does seem like women have to beat us over the head to get our attention.

God I love this song.

3. “Too Much Time” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=-Msq1Js3mcY

Beefheart goes Stax, yeah baby! Listening to this reminds me of what a great, even soulful voice Beefheart had, which you tend to forget with all the avant garde insanity he’s known for. By far one of the finest white blues singers I’ve ever heard.

We get some sweet little licks from Boston, colored by the horns and percussion. To me, this always seemed like a song that could have done well on AM radio or on Classic Rock. Then again, radio people probably saw “Captain Beefheart” and put it in quarantine. And that’s a shame, but again, people follow labels all of that and so they write things off as a result.

Well fuck the decals! This is a great soul rock tune, so exquisite in its craft and execution.

4. “Circumstances” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pa4uT1aNTVM

“Circumstances”, this is a dirty, stinky blues number.

Let’s give it up for The Good Captain on that harp, which he plays like nobody’s business. The band plays some nice swampy blues, real primal and vicious while twisted into Beefheart-styled surrealism. I notice a faint synth sound while wearing headphones, and the way the guitar swirls, it’s like you’ve been given some pure moonshine.

Truth be told, the Captain’s language isn’t quite so foreign, it’s ultimately Delta blues when you get down to it. Even on Trout, the avant garde Mount Olympus, even that has some pure Delta in its DNA. And once I noticed it, the album started to slowly piece together. And the blues music is what Beefheart and Frank first bonded over when they first met in high school, which then explains, at least in part, why Bongo Fury went the direction it did. Which reminds me, I really gotta do a Bongo Fury review.

Well that is “Circumstances”, now we proceed to…..

5. “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XJ2kSmbxEUw

…. “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains”, a little love number.

It’s so simple (by Beefheart standards), but man, it says so much with so little. I want to give Dr Tripp (and that’s not a joke, he really is a doctor, a chiropractor to be specific). While it’s hardly rocket science what he’s doing on here, it’s so exquisitely executed, great feel for the instrument. Then you put Estrada’s bass, again, very in-the-pocket, it’s very McCartney-esque (you bet your bitch ass I said it). And then you have Zoot Horn and Rockette delivering some sweet licks. And to give the track some glow, we have Milt Holland’s marimba work.

Beefheart gives a very straight, simple yet passionate declaration of love, he is determined to find his love once again and doesn’t care what it takes. And he won’t rest easy until the two of them can hold each other. This isn’t even my favorite ballad on here but it’s still the bee’s knees.

6. “Sun Zoom Spark” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=qiXrxVoSQDI

Now we flip the vinyl over and kick off Side Two with “Sun Zoom Spark”.

Mark/Rockette kicks things into gear with a manic riff before the rest of the band comes charging, the cowbell delivered with aggression while the Captain wrangles his voice into a frenzy. Bill/Zoot Horn gives us some sizzling slide work, and man, I love the cowbell here. I didn’t do it for my first review, which was a Blue Oyster Cult review, but I’ll go ahead and do it here….

It has such an explosive spontaneity that makes it a fantastic way to open Side Two, and that feeling of spontaneity is what I almost always look for. Even with Zappa and Beefheart, both of whom were meticulous in how the music was prepared. Of course, improvisation was a big part of Zappa’s work, and Beefheart was very earthly in his approach to songwriting, he just went from the gut.

7. “Clear Spot” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=RqYfmfEqi20

Here we go with the title track! This begins with hazy rhythm guitar by Zoot Horn before we get a buzzing synth. Beefheart delivers a swampy vocal to the track, taking us back to the lakes of Louisiana as Zoot Horn and Rockette weave throughout the track, Zoot Horn projecting a sense of burnout as Rockette projects a certain mania, as though we are entering delirium while taking in the intense heat. Art delivers a simple but effective performance, very primal feel to the track.

This is another song that reminds me a little of the Feat, particularly early Feat, that sort of swampy, surreal stuff they did on the first three albums. That makes sense giving the presence of Roy and Ted Templeman, who had done Sailin Shoes early on, and the Feat often played with Beefheart And The Magic Band early on.

Like a good chunk of Beefheart, this was a bit of a grower, but I really love the song now and think it’s a perfect choice for the title track.

8. “Crazy Little Thing” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=6okRBg3dxj0

“Crazy Little Thing”, featuring The Blackberries on background vocals.

The track has such a laidback groove, with Zoot Horn and Rockette delivering some superb guitar work, Tripp and Estrada are locked in to a tee, and that’s without mentioning the sultry vocals of The Blackberries. Don Van Vliet howls of lust throughout the track, with pure awe at this little firecracker of a woman. And to top it off, we get a cool solo from Zoot Horn.

I love this song, so let’s hit the next track.

9. “Long Neck Bottles” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hRjl7Bvnkzw

Nice, we reach “Long Neck Bottles”!

Right here, I hear a lot of Little Feat and the sort of surrealist blues that Lowell was doing at the time, like “Cold, Cold, Cold” Or “Hamburger Midnight”. I know the Feat played quite a few shows with Beefheart and The Magic Band early on and were fans of Beefheart, and it’s very noticeable when comparing those tracks to this album.

Art gives this marching beat that seems rather bent, while Roy walks all over the bass. The way Roy plays, he’s almost crawling through the house of Beefheart, while Rockette’s rhythm guitar and the horns engage in slash-and-burn as Zoot Horn slithers through what is left of the fields. Beyond the Feat, I hear quite a bit of Sticky Fingers and Exile in this track, because there’s that very hazy, dazed vibe to the track. But while I worship Mick, he’s not Beefheart vocally. Beefheart and Gregg Allman are the best blues singers among white rockstars, they mean it and feel it through their very core.

10. “Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=MRlWbzdmJQA

Probably the most famous song off this album, it’s the second ballad off the album.

Wow…just…wow. A beautifully crafted song with some of Van Vliet’s most poignant lyrics. And Beefheart could write some amazing ballads, so that’s saying quite a bit. Even with its fairly straightforward structure, there’s still some nice little instrumental colors like the sleigh bells and Zoot Horn on the mandolin, which puts me on a little canoe on the rivers of Italy or France. And man, how awesome was it when The Big Lebowski used this track? I know Jeff Bridges is a Beefheart fan, particularly when he paid tribute to Beefheart on SNL after Beefheart died, so who knows if he suggested it or if the Coen Brothers picked it. But who cares, it’s exposure for the good Captain’s music, and this right here is a song that should be heard by many.

11. “Big Eyed Beans From Venus” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=XF177Aj59C8

Let’s have some big eyed beans from Venus. We start with some dirty little country licks by Zoot Horn locked in with some raunchy rhythm by Rockette. Backing all this up is some very unorthodox pocket fills by Art Tripp as Beefheart delivers some very surreal words in the way only he could. This is a track that really reminds me of Safe As Milk or even Strictly Personnel with its strange, psychedelic feel to it while retaining the swampy blues of the album.

And of course, we get Mr Zoot Horn Rollo letting that long lunar note. Even though Beefheart is the star and Drumbo gets most of the credit-and Drumbo was an important part of the Magic Band-Zoot Horn did so much to shape the Beefheart sound, as did Antannae Jimmy and Rockette. His guitar, wirey and angled, perfectly matched Beefheart’s unorthodox sensibility, and even later members built off of what he and Antannae started on Trout. Zoot Horn Rollo rules, and anybody who thinks he doesn’t is wrong. Though they have the right to their incorrect opinion. And we must respect their opinions.

Anyway, it’s a Beefheart classic for good reason, but the album isn’t quite over yet.

12. “Golden Birdies” (Van Vliet):

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Bgorr4OUPGE

Closing out the album is a little poem by Beefheart, intertwined by a rhythm guitar-styled bass by Rockette Morton (who runs on magic beans) as shown in this performance on German television. It’s a weird ass track, and I love it, a great way to end this album.

OVE RALL THOUGHTS

And that is Captain Beefheart And The Magic Band’s Clear Spot. To me, this is the perfect example of making a more accessible record without losing the spirit of the artist in question. While you have the polish of Ted Templeman’s production and the slightly more conventional song structures (by Beefheart standards), it’s still as perfectly quirky and surreal as you’d expect a Beefheart record to be. The arrangements are still dense and colorful, the band tighter than a nun’s ass, and Zoot Horn Rollo’s lead work is just perfect. Beefheart himself delivers some of the finest vocals he ever did, switching from his frantic fire and brimstone sermons to the most heartfelt croons he can conjur up. It may not be quite as freaky and challenging as Trout and Decals, but it remains uniquely Beefheart and is just a great record in general, and what I typically point to (along with Safe As Milk) for someone trying to get into Beefheart before they work their way towards Trout.

Until then, here’s to everybody and may you have a badass 2020!