I hold a stupid grudge against Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, because his death resulted in me losing a bet (I predicted that Amy Winehouse would die first, but she held out for eight more months). Morbid? Yes. Stupid? Also yes. Luckily, that grudge does not prevent me from appreciating or enjoying Captain Beefheart in all his surreal, experimental glory, so I can still get excited about Rhino Records’ plan to re-release three classic Beefheart albums, all lovingly remastered, plus an album full of previously unreleased material.
The four albums will be collected into a box set called Sun Zoom Spark, taking its name from a track on Beefheart’s Clear Spot. Spanning from 1970 to 1972, the set includes the three albums Beefheart released after the masterful Trout Mask Replica: Lick My Decals Off, Baby, The Spotlight Kid, and Clear Spot.
The previously unreleased material included on the fourth album features outtakes and alternate versions of songs like “Dirty Blue Gene” and “The Witch Doctor Life.” Listen to “When It Blows Its Stacks” off The Spotlight Kid below:
• Rhino: http://www.rhino.com
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