Search - Captain Beefheart :: I'm Going to Do What I Wanna Do: Live at Father's

Energy packed set of incredible Beefheart...

ewomack | MN USA | 04/29/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

""I'm going to do what I wanna do", Don Van Vliet says while playfully scolding the audience at My Father's Place in NY, 1978 as they bellow song requests. The fans more or less ignore this proclamation and Van Vliet, with his usual uncompromising vigilance, in turn ignores their requests during the rest of the show. The crowd didn't seem to mind.



Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band never released an official live album during their tenure as rock's most unique band. This CD set, then, becomes a rare treasure for Beefheart fans. It completely lacks the mediocre sound of most bootlegs. Not only that, the band put on an incredible performance. Van Vliet's voice clearly rises above the mix. The instrumentation nearly has the separation of a studio release (with only a few exceptions - "Suction Prints" sadly suffers from some obtrusive horns). The band bursts and drips with electric energy on every song. The crowd responds in kind.



The crowd happily witnessed a revived Beefheart. Recorded the same year that "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" was released, the setlist completely ignores Beefheart's two previous albums (arguably his worst, and recorded with the group now referred to as the "Tragic Band"). Every other album, except "Spotlight Kid" and "Mirror Man", gets represented. The band admirably pulls off difficult material from "Troutmask Replica" and "Lick My Decals Off, Baby". Not only that, the reworked classic songs get revitalized by horns and larger arrangements. 1978 saw a huge Beefheart comeback. The enthusiasm is captured here.



One noteworthy event on this disc occurs during the brilliant a capella "Well". Van Vliet suddenly stops and shouts "Cut it out, man! This is not in 4/4 time! Some things are sacred!" Ravenous Beefheart fans will easily find this CD set sacred.



Unfortunately (and annoyingly), Rhino only produced 5,000 copies of this set in 2000. It has inevitably been harder and harder to find (supposedly an Italian release exists out there that sadly cuts 2-3 songs to fit the set onto 1 CD, but this might be a bootleg). Online auctions are one possible source. Hopefully someone will re-release this set in the future with wider distribution in mind. Beefheart fans should not miss this one."

Best live beefheart

Jonothan Blanton | 05/18/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"great band. great show. this is an excellent recording of the magic band. fowler's trombone steals many moments during this show, but the entire band is playing really well. i got this one down at my local record shop for about forty bucks, but it's a limited edition, non-bootleg live Beefheart (though i have seen a bootleg of the same show. if you can find it cheaper, i would get it because it's some of the best playing of anybody circa 1978."

Perfect

Jonothan Blanton | America | 02/21/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The sound quality is clear as a bell, and equal if not better then a studio album.



The quality of the show is just as good, just about every song beating its original version with passion and soul to a T. The band seems to find a groove even in the weirdest material from the Trout Mask Replica album.



Excellent.



Highly, highly, reccomended. The commentary alone is priceless."