Come on, you guys know that Captain Beefheart's Unconditionally Guaranteed is a really good record

Skot from my readings of rock literature many do not like this album!

The most reviled album of Captain Beefheart's entire career, 1974's ironically titled Unconditionally Guaranteed unfortunately largely deserves its negative reputation. Recorded in the U.K. as the first album of Captain Beefheart's contract with Virgin Records, it's also the last album that features any members of the Trout Mask Replica-era band, notably guitarists Zoot Horn Rollo and Alex St. Clair, plus former Mothers of Invention percussionist Art Tripp. Rather like Van Morrison's later album, A Period of Transition, Unconditionally Guaranteed is clearly a deliberate attempt by the Captain to restrain his more peculiar tendencies in search of a wider audience. As might be expected, the wider audience didn't show up, and his longtime fans were put off by the album's more commercial facets. It's not an entirely useless album, as the tunes do have some of the blues-rock punch that's at the root of Beefheart's work, and the lyrics, mostly declarations of love for his wife, Jan Van Vliet, who receives co-writing credit with producer Andy DiMartino on all ten tracks, seem heartfelt enough. The problem is that DiMartino's production and arrangements are flaccid and dull, and Beefheart (purposely) sings as if he's half asleep throughout. Even Captain Beefheart himself disowns this record.

a nervous jj cale! ya got me curious, edd. i don't know why i haven't picked it up by now. actually, i think i do know. i don't see it that much. when i'm in the mood for jj cale, i play 6 in a row. he iz like candy to me.

I quite liked "Magic Be" though.

Tell you what, when fopp opens, I'll get one and report back. Fopp. The place where you can buy an album without risking too much.

Altogether, cherrypicking the best songs from the two '74 Mercurys woulda resulted in a "sellout" album nearly as effortlessly enjoyable as Clear Spot, altho with much worse sound quality. (Again: Who the fuck was Andy DiMartino?)

What made me say that about J.J. Cale, Scott, is that Beef covers "Same Old Blues" on "Bluejeans." Good cover, too. Of course, Van Vliet could've been Dr. John for people too stoned to be nervous, or something, or Sly Stone...for people who are just stoned...I dunno.

Haven't heard that Fast n' Bulbous thing yet - I've been on an "Original Bat Chain Puller" kick lately!

Sorry but that was actually the week-before last's rumour.

John French scotched this in a recent interview, saying that when the band returned from a European tour, they were surprised to discover that the album had been pressed; and basically confirming that what Don told Oui Magazine (published in their July 1973 edition) is (for once) basically true:

"God! I even named Blue Thumb Records. Bob Krasnow, who became president of Blue Thumb after leaving Buddah, didn't. I did! All right, I'm over in England. We mixed the album Strictly Personal before we left on tour. Krasnow had produced, I produced, and Alex St. Clair helped with the production. Now, while we were gone, Bob Krasnow went in and remixed the album. We get back from Europe and my cousin, the Mascara Snake, who later played clarinet on Trout Mask Replica, walks in the door with this album. I ask 'what's this?'. I'd just gotten back and he'd had my car, a big old Jaguar that he'd take out and run around like you would a greyhound. So he hands me the album, and there's the album cover I did with the stamps and manila envelope. Everything just as I did it. So I put the album on and, my God, it's not the same album! He had put psychedelic Bromo-Seltzer all over the tapes we'd made - you know, phasing, whooooosh. The music - there are diamonds in the rough tinder there, but it sounds like some kid's got a hold of a Mona Lisa. A mean little kid. All of a sudden I find this album a shambles with psychedelic Bromo-Seltzer all over it. I didn't know what to do. That's when the group broke up. The other people, who didn't want to do so much of an art statement, said 'Forget it, we've had enough'. I just said 'Man, I agree with you'. What could I say? He's gonna make me commercial! Now, maybe he had good intentions, but I still haven't gotten any money for the album."

It is also apparently true however that Don didn't seem to raise any major objections to the production until it subsequently started being badly-received elsewhere....

IIRC from our previous dicussions Mark, you really need to get Doc At The Radar Station, Safe As Milk, Clear Spot, The Spotlight Kid, Shiny Beast and Ice Cream For Crow before you worry about Unconditionally Guaranteed.

Not to mention Unknown Pleasures, Closer and Raindogs of course.

I'd rather get the less good stuff out of the way. Then, I can say, "Hey I could use a good new Beefheart album" at some point in the future.

Also, I have Safe As Milk, Clear Spot, The Spotlight Kid, and Shiny Beast already (Alice loves Bat Chain Puller, the track).

Fopp did have "Uncond", but it was £7, so maybe next week.

Yep...which is why I more or less recanted in my last post there, Stew!

(Oui Magazine!? Jesus Christ.)