Captain Beefheart - The Mirror Man Sessions

There are times when a set of recordings begs not only to be remastered and reissued, but restored according to the artist's original intent. Mirror Man Sessions is an unqualified success of this sort. It's a resequenced approximation of the planned, half-live-in-the-studio/half-studio double album It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper, which Beefheart and band started on several months after the release of their debut, Safe as Milk. Most importantly, the disc includes many of the songs off the botched Strictly Personal album (the tapes of which were maliciously slathered with heavy echo and phasing effects by producer Bob Krasnow, without Beefheart's approval) in blissful clarity. The sound throughout is vibrant, with all the sparks of the dual-guitar interplay and massive slide sound that would typify the Magic Band in years to come. The album has far fewer tempo changes than Milk or the records that follow it; the band for the most part digs deep blues-based grooves and stays within their confines. But there are lengthy, monochromatic stomp-trance workouts, such as "Tarotplane" and "Gimme Dat Harp Boy," which stretch out and explore John French's jagged drumming, the guitarists' uniquely deft, pan-tonal playing, and Beefheart's harp playing, gruff vocal style, and impressionistic lyrics. Note: Seven more tracks from this session are included on the reissue of Safe as Milk. --Mike McGonigal Amazon.com essential recording

TAKE YOU FOR A RIDE IN MY TAROTPLANE

EVERYBODY WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH THE MUSIC OF CAPTAIN BEEFHEART KNOWS THE LEGEND OF THESE RECORDINGS, HOW THEY WERE MADE AFTER "SAFE AS MILK", BUT NOT RELEASED AT THE TIME, UNTIL AFTER C.B. LEFT THE RECORD LABEL (BUDDAH), AND HOW THE OTHER RECORDINGS FROM THIS SESSION ENDED UP ON THE ALBUM "STRICTLY PERSONAL", MASSIVELY OVERDUBBED AND RUINED. THIS IS CLASSIC BEEFHEART STUFF, WITH GRUFF VOCALS, POETIC AD-LIBBING, TWIN GUITARS, FREE FORM JAZZ, AND SWAMP BLUES ALL THROWN IN TO THE MIX. EVERYTHING YOU WOULD WANT IN A GREAT CAPTAIN BEEFHEART ALBUM. May 11, 2008

fandom nearing fetishism

For lovers of Beefheart (I'm one of them) there's no comparison, the several incarnations of DVV and the magic band are beyond repproach and without peer. I find that my musician friends bond faster to the introduction of the unadorned "jams" that this album includes. I say unadorned only because the "adorned" ones appear (some of them) On strictly personal.
This record is a lot like listening to Beefheart in a garage rehearsing (at least for the first several pieces - meant as live in studio tracks.

The heavy blues based "live" jams are a bit harder to swallow for non-musicians and people who are accustomed only to meticulously produced studio music. One girlfriend said "uhg that bass line is killin' me" after Tarot Plane was going for a while.
It's not the best place to start your Beefheart interest (try Spotlight kid/ Clear spot, or Safe As Milk - or BOTH)

From my perspective the more real the guitars and drums sound - the better. I prefer my music as close to live and "realistic" as it can get (being an old punk and garage rocker). Prettying up the takes in studio is a kind of make-up that I don't think bands should indulge in too much.
and the captain is one of those folks who believes less is better... or he did, back when he was the Captain.
Famously, being upset over the post production add ons to Strictly Personal.

Enjoy!

August 16, 2006

A reconstruction of the "lost" Beefheart album...

Captain Beefheart (who now only responds to Don Van Vliet) and (at the time) His Magic Band (later changed to "The Magic Band") were coming off of a very tepid success in 1967. Their first release, "Safe As Milk", didn't attract much attention, and Van Vliet very much wanted to expand his musical horizons. After Ry Cooder left the band, a new Magic Band was formed and they entered the studio to record the "Mirror Man Sessions".

The material from these sessions subsequently languished in Buddha Record's vaults from 1967 to 1971. Most likely the fledgling label found the material uncompromisingly uncommercial (especially compared to the relatively more accessible "Safe As Milk"). So they sat on it until "Captain Beefheart" began to attract a following in the early 1970s. They then chose to release a single record with four long avant-garde blues magnum opuses (the first four tracks on this CD). For some reason they also claimed that the sessions dated from 1965 (this mistake even made it onto the early CD pressings of "Mirror Man").

Van Vliet's original vision for a follow-up to "Safe As Milk" comprised a double album entitled "It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper". He also wanted to turn the experimentation up a notch. One record was the "live" record (which ended up being recorded in the studio), and made up of the four long blues numbers. In these adventurous numbers Van Vliet plays off-key on a shenai (legend claims that Ornette Coleman gave this Indian reed instrument to him), sings through guitar pickups, experiments with cutting the power to the microphone off an on while singing, and howls highly poetic and ad-libbed lyrics. The second album, the "studio" album, would have likely resembled "Strictly Personal" (the actual follow-up to "Safe As Milk", released in 1968 on Blue Thumb Records). Songs recorded for Buddha that subsequently made it onto the next album include: "Trust Us", "Beatle Bones N' Smokin' Stones", "On Tomorrow", "Safe As Milk", and "Gimmee Dat Harp Boy" (truncated versions of "Mirror Man" and "Kandy Korn" also made it). In addition, the band recorded "Moody Liz", "Korn Ring Finger", "Big Black Baby Shoes", "Flower Pot", and "Dirty Blue Gene". Truly, they had enough material for a double album. But Buddha stopped the project in its tracks and refused to release the tapes of the sessions to the band. So the band found another label and the rest remains (overly-flanged and processed) history.

This CD, and the reissue of "Safe As Milk", finally allow all of the material recorded for Buddha in 1967-1968 to see the light of day. Here are most of the unprocessed and unflanged "Strictly Personal" songs (Blue Thumb released the follow-up with a heavy layer of processing). Here they come alive. Hearing these versions will heighten the experience of listening to "Strictly Personal" (and allow fans a glimpse of just how much greater the album could've been). Plus, the remastering of the original songs from 1971's "Mirror Man" sound great. The band really moved forward with these sessions. Not only that, harbingers of "Trout Mask Replica" peek out here and there. The rhythms become more angular and unpredictable. The notes bend and disharmonize with more fury. And the Captain's voice begins to take on the tone and agressiveness that later became his trademark (in defiance of those at the time who wanted him to "just sing the blues" and make boatloads of money). These sessions highlight Van Vliet's integration of free jazz and rock and showcase the band's amazing developments and innovations that still influence popular music today. An absolute must for any Beefheart fan. August 21, 2005

Took me over a year...but then...

Firstly, to see that at the time of me writing this review that this remarkable album has only been reviewed 14 times is ridiculous. Utterlly ridiculous. I remember about a year ago buying this album on a whim through being a large Zappa fan - I was not impressed. However over the course of the year I began liking it more and more and now I think it's a masterpiece. This album is probably not the best place to start if you're new to Beefheart, I'd recommend Safe As Milk for that as it's more accessible. However if you're feeling adventurous and want to hear something completely different from literally ANYTHING you have heard before musically - check it out - it's fantastic. The opening track 'Taroplane' is a mouthful and at first seems repetative and simple. After repeated listenings it opens up for the listener, and then you'll see it as a wonderful delta blues, avant-garde, hard rock, folk, art rock diddy. I'm having a little trouble writting a review for this album, or any Beefheart album for that matter because it's so hard to describe the music. basically, my advice is that if you're reading this you already have an interest in Beefheart - so check his music out. In my opinion it's absolutely amazing and he remains one of my favorite musicians of all time. June 7, 2005

You're gonna need somebody on your bond.

This album is excellent music to drive to on a long trip. The bonus tracks are outstanding. June 14, 2004

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