Album of the Day

“I realized that I had to give them something to hang their hat on, so I started working more of a beat into the music,” explained Captain Beefheart of the more listener-friendly approach taken on THE SPOTLIGHT KID. Though the 1972 set reached #131 on the Billboard chart (the artist’s best-ever showing), its bluesy jamming and wild humor remain gloriously off-the-wall on such cuts as “Grow Fins,” “Alice in Blunderland” and “I'm Gonna Booglarize You Baby.” It’s the only album credited to the Captain alone, but Magic Band stalwarts Zoot Horn Rollo, Rockette Morton, Ed Marimba and Drumbo are here in full force. Beefheart was born Don Van Vliet on this day in 1941, so we’ll shine the spotlight once more on THE SPOTLIGHT KID.