Willard's Wormholes

London 1974 (1993)
Sans The Magic Band, But Not Bad

Even historical revisionism can’t elevate Captain Beefheart’s bleak “commercial” period of 1974. Bluejeans & Moonbeams and Unconditionally Guaranteed – recorded without the difficult dexterity of his Magic Band – were Beefheart’s failed attempts at reaching a larger market, and are as god-awful today as they were back then. The Captain’s trials & tribs at Virgin Records are well known, but one bright moment did come from their union. In 1975, two outstanding live tracks appeared on V (look twice), an obscure 2LP Virgin sampler. “Mirror Man” and “Upon The My O My” whet the appetite for a Virgin live album that, sadly, never materialized… until Movie Play Gold released this material in 1993. Recorded on June 8th (or 9th), 1974 at Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, this 40 minute disc is from the Unconditionally Guaranteed tour. Sans the Magic Band, many have considered this for completists only. Au contraire. The sound is fantastic, the Captain is in fine form and the version of “My O My” is simply… definitive – oozing a sense of psychedelia that The Magic Band(s) rarely dignified. Beefheart’s new band (see Comments) is certainly more conventional than his famed Magic Bands of yore, but that’s not necessarily bad. What’s wrong with this show is easy to pinpoint, however. It’s the Guaranteed songs themselves (though, these live versions are more interesting than the studio originals). Make no mistake, this gig is no substitute for any featuring The Magic Band, but there are moments here that make this disc worth owning. Since expanded & re-issued as Live In London: Drury Lane ’74. Amazon.

Mirror Man
Upon The My O My
Full Moon Hot Sun
Sugar Bowl
Crazy Little Thing
This Is The Day
New Electric Ride
Abba Zaba
Peaches