Captain Beefheart - The Legendary A&M Sessions (EP) (1966)

Captain Beefheart - The Legendary A&M Sessions (EP) (1966)

rock, blues, avantgarde | 1cd | eac-flac-cue-log-cover | 115MB

EDSEL

Allmusic:
Before gaining a cult with his avant-garde excursions in the late '60s, Captain Beefheart wielded a much more traditional sort of blues-rock. That's not to say that these two obscure mid-'60s A&M singles (packaged together on this five-song EP, which adds a previously unreleased track from the same era) aren't well worth hearing. The Captain's Howlin' Wolf-like growl led a tough outfit that ranked among the best early American blues-rock groups, and among the few that could reasonably emulate the Rolling Stones' toughness. Produced, unbelievably enough, by future Bread leader David Gates, this reissue includes their regional hit cover of Bo Diddley's "Diddy Wah Diddy." The best track, though, is "Moonchild," their shameless derivation of Howlin' Wolf's "Smokestack Lightning." Featuring wailing harmonica, stomping riffs and adventurous, quasi-psychedelic production, it was actually written by Gates himself. To think that the same man was also responsible for "If" and "Baby I'm A-Want You" blows the mind.

Tracks
-1. "Diddy Wah Diddy" (Willie Dixon, Ellas McDaniel) – 2:28
-2. "Who Do You Think You're Fooling?" – 2:10
-3. "Moonchild" (David Gates) – 2:30
-4. "Frying Pan" – 2:05
-5. "Here I Am I Always Am" – 2:33

Personnel
* Don van Vliet (Captain Beefheart) – vocals, harmonica
* Doug Moon – guitar
* Richard Hepner – guitar
* Jerry Handley – bass
* Alex St. Clair Snouffer – drums (track 1–4)
* PG Blakely – drums (track 5)

sample & buy: Legendary a&M Sessions