Now Available: Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band

In November of last year, just in the nick of time, we made the year of Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band fans by releasing Sun, Zoom, Spark: 1970 to 1972, a limited edition set which featured the good Captain's three albums from that period of time, along with a bonus disc featuring 14 previously unissued outtakes from that era. We weren't kidding about that whole “limited edition” thing, but if you've been grumbling because you still really wanted to pick up the albums, then grumble no more, because all three of those albums are now available independently. Of course, you still have to get a copy of the set to obtain the bonus disc, but you can't win 'em all, you know?

Here are those three albums, just in case you can't quite recall their titles:

Lick My Decals Off, Baby: originally released in 1970 on Frank Zappa's Straight Records, there are those who belligerently claim that this album is better than Trout Mask Replica, but you people can fight that battle amongst yourselves.

The Spotlight Kid: Yes, purists, we know, the Magic Band isn't actually credited - it's only attributed to Captain Beefheart by himself - but there's still an incarnation of the Band backing him. Is this the most accessible album in the Captain's catalog? And if so, does that really mean anything, given that it's still in no way what you'd call mainstream?

Clear Spot: Actually, maybe this is the most accessible album in the Captain's catalog. Looking back, it's still hard to comprehend that he was ever produced by the guy who twiddled the knobs for Van Halen (Ted Templeman), but at the same time, it also makes you appreciate just how outside the mainstream Templeman's '60s pop band, Harpers Bizarre, really were.