Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Clear Spot Embossed Clear Sleeve & Insert
$
70
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Description
Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Clear Spot Embossed Clear Sleeve & Insert Archival Sleeve
USA 1st press with tan Reprise label.Labeled as "Side I" & "Side II". Bagged in clear plastic sleeve with embossed "Clear Spot" logo on the flap.
This flap tucks into a clear horizontal band across the face of the wallet.
The disc is backed by a printed black on white insert. Insert is back-to-back glued white card, with radius corners at bottom, no "Clear Spot" logo printed.
Clear Spot is the seventh studio album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. It was originally released on LP in 1972 in a clear plastic sleeve.
Beefheart's third album Trout Mask Replica established him as a critically acclaimed artist, but it sold poorly. For this album Beefheart wanted more commercial success—hence his decision to work with the respected team of producer Ted Templeman and engineer Donn Landee, who created hits for the Doobie Brothers and Van Morrison. Clear Spot gathers together much of the lyrical material that Beefheart had created or formulated at the beginning of The Spotlight Kid recordings.
Bassist Roy Estrada, formerly with the Mothers of Invention and Little Feat, joined the band on this album and is credited as "Oréjon" (big ears) on the album's sleeve while noted session percussionist Milt Holland also contributed percussion. This is also the first studio album without longtime drummer John “Drumbo” French, with another former Mothers of Invention member Art Tripp (alias Ed Marimba) now serving as sole drummer.
Producer Ted Templeman was a bit of a surprising choice given his firmly mainstream production credits, with the Doobie Brothers already under his belt and Van Halen lurking in the near future. As it turned out, such a combination led to a better-working fusion than might be expected, making one wonder why in the world Clear Spot wasn't more of a commercial success than it was. The sound is great throughout, and the feeling is of the coolest bar-band in town, not to mention one that could eat all the patrons for breakfast if it felt like it. Consequently, fans of the fully all-out side of Beefheart might find the end result not up to snuff, but those less concerned with pushing back all borders all the time will enjoy his unexpected blend of everything tempered with a new accessibility. "Nowadays a Woman's Got to Hit a Man," besides having a brilliant title, shows the balance perfectly -- Van Vliet serves up his rough asides with all his expected wit and sass, while the Magic Band trade off notes here and there just so. At the same time, the track is strong blues-rock that doesn't pander, with a particularly fierce solo thanks to Zoot Horn Rollo. "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains" is a great love song, the softer arrangement saved from being too off by Beefheart's delivery. Other winners include the title track, a sharp combination of an off-kilter arrangement for a straightforward melody, the great shaggy-dog story of "Golden Birdies," and "Big Eyed Beans from Venus," a fantastically strange piece of aggression.
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