Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band – Clear Spot

Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band: Clear Spot

Album #162 - October 1972

Episode date - November 3, 2021

The Alternative Top 40
    0:00
    0:00

    Not many people had high expectations for this record. On paper, the project sounded like a horrible idea.

    For Captain Beefheart fans, the thought of him working with Ted Templeman and Donn Landee, the team best known for producing the Doobie Brothers, sounded like treason. For people who appreciated The Doobie Brothers, there was no way they could wrap their heads around a freak like Beefheart. This was clear example of putting insects on your ice cream, and everybody predicted toxic results.

    Beefheart’s previous release, “The Spotlight Kid,” more or less betrayed its title, as it plainly showed Beefheart abandoning the wildly eclectic nature of “Trout Mask Replica,” sounding instead like somebody who longed to be accepted by the masses, to become ‘The Spotlight Kid’. It was pretty awful. On the heels of an album that screamed ‘sell-out’, it’s understandable that nobody, except for the principals, had any expectations at all for “Clear Spot,” – commercial or artistic - and it sold even worse than its predecessor.

    That is really too bad, if not criminal. Don Van Vliet (Beefheart) sounds positively inspired throughout this record, with clever songs and genuinely thoughtful lyrics. Songs veer from clever and amusing (“Nowadays a Woman’s Gotta Hit a Man”, “Long Neck Bottles”) to clever and moving (“My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains”, “Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles”), and the Magic Band is stunningly perfect throughout, even while playing ‘conventional’ music.

    This could be heard as proof that the guys really were brilliant players – a fact that alluded unimaginative listeners on “Trout Mask Replica’. That album deliberately went against the grain and rubbed a lot of people the wrong way, while attracting a cult fanbase. “Clear Spot” followed the grain and even buffed the rough edges to a delicate sheen. It is an artistically brilliant record, but a horrible move from a commercial perspective, as all parties shunned it.

    It wasn’t until a decade or so later that the core fans began to catch on to the brilliance contained here. Somewhere along the line, a few people began to recognize that Beefheart did not have to abrasive in order to be appreciated. The brilliance of this album is that it features weird titles like “Sun Zoom Spark” and “Big Eyed Beans from Venus,” yet makes them sound more than just palatable. “Clear Spot” is still grossly underrated, as it cannot even be purchased digitally except as a ‘two-fer’, attached like an appendage to its predecessor. That’s a shame, but at least it’s available, and if you give it an honest chance, you might discover that it grows on you, too.

    Featured tracks:

    Low Yo Yo Stuff

    Nowadays a Woman’s Gotta Hit a Man

    Too Much Time

    Circumstances

    My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains

    Sun Zoom Spark

    Clear Spot

    Crazy Little Thing

    Long Neck Bottles

    Her Eyes Are a Blue Million Miles

    Big Eyed Beans From Venus

    Golden Birdies

    October 1972 - Billboard Charted #191

     

     

     

    Related Shows

    Jorge Ben: A Tabula de Esmeralda

    Jorge Ben: A Tabula de Esmeralda

    Album #194 - June 1974

      0:00
      0:00
       Ry Cooder: Paradise and Lunch

      Ry Cooder: Paradise and Lunch

      Album #193 - May 1974

        0:00
        0:00
        10cc  Sheet Music

        10cc: Sheet Music

        Album #192 - May 1974

          0:00
          0:00
          I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight  - Richard and Linda Thompson

          Richard and Linda Thompson: I Want To See The Bright Lights Tonight

          Album #191 - April 1974

            0:00
            0:00
            Willie Nelson: Phases and Stages

            Willie Nelson: Phases and Stages

            Album #190 - March 1974

              0:00
              0:00
              Radio City Big Star

              Big Star: Radio City

              Album #189 - February 1974

                0:00
                0:00
                Brian Eno: Hear Comes the Warm Jets

                Brian Eno: Hear Comes the Warm Jets

                Album #188 - July 1974

                  0:00
                  0:00
                  Lou Reed: Rock ‘n' Roll Animal

                  Lou Reed: Rock ‘n' Roll Animal

                  Album #187 - February 1974

                    0:00
                    0:00
                    Gram Parsons Grievous Angel

                    Gram Parsons: Grievous Angel

                    Album #186 - January 1974

                      0:00
                      0:00
                      Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand the Rain

                      Ann Peebles: I Can't Stand the Rain

                      Album #185 - January 1974

                        0:00
                        0:00

                        Roxy Music: Stranded

                        Album #184 - November 1973

                          0:00
                          0:00
                          The Wailers - Burnin'

                          The Wailers: Burnin'

                          Album #183 - October 1973

                            0:00
                            0:00