Captain Beefheart - Amsterdam 1974

Captain Beefheart (aka Don Van Vliet) and The Magic Band had a rather tumultuous relationship at times, and in early 1974 he found himself touring with a new set of musicians.

Don Van Vliet's music attracted a devoted following and his influence on fellow musicians, particularly those of the punk and New Wave movements, has been described as incalculable. He stopped touring and recording in the early 1980's to concentrate on painting.

This is Captain Beefheart nonetheless in characteristic form back live at The Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, on the 22nd June 1974.

Source: FM Broadcast

Sound Quality: Very good stereo mp3@320kbps

Genre: Experimental rock, psychedelic rock, blues-rock, avant garde, protopunk.

Set: Full set

Set List:

1. Mighty Crazy - Be Your Dog.
2. Sweet Georgia Brown.
3. This Is The Day.
4. Abba Zaba.
5. Peaches.
6. Who'll Be The Next One ? and Yer Gonna Need Somebody On Yer bond.

Links: Semi Official Fan Site HERE.

Comments: In 1974, immediately after the recording of Unconditionally Guaranteed, an album which continued the trend towards a more commercial sound heard on several of the Clear Spot tracks, The Magic Band, which had by then coalesced around the core of Art Tripp III, Alex St. Clair, Bill Harkleroad and Rockette Morton, decided they could no longer work with Don Van Vliet, who was by all accounts a severe taskmaster. They left to form Mallard.

Don Van Vliet quickly formed a new Magic Band of musicians who had no experience with his music and in fact had never heard it. Having no knowledge of the previous Magic Band style they simply improvised what they thought would go with each song, played much slicker versions that have been described as "bar band" versions of Beefheart's songs. A negative review described this incarnation of the Magic Band as the "Tragic Band," a term that has sadly stuck over the years.

Reloaded - 09/06/2015 - download link in comments.