Another quid at a boot fair (from a mate who was selling a few CDs for a charity stall), and a massive bargain.
This is an odd one indeed. The sleeve claims these songs were recorded in 1965 in Los Angeles, but this seems to be an error - most believing this was part of an abandoned project from 1967, with re-recordings of two of these songs appearing on 1968's Strictly Personal.
There's four long tracks on this album, the first being Tarotplane, a long bluesy jam, replete with the good Captain on harmonica, and lyrics full of Robert Johnson back references, and despite weighing in at nineteen minutes, it doesn't get tiresome, with enough Beefheart nonsense and atonal playing to keep the listener guessing. Kandy Korn, a reference to one of the Captain's favourite sweets starts off feeling a little more orthodox, but the madness soon makes itself evident, before a long and enjoyable guitar riff.
20th Century Quaker doesn't hit the spot quite like the earlier two, as an undistinguished jam which outstays its welcome by the halfway (about five minute) mark. But normal service is resumed for Mirror Man, an extended bluesy piece, which, like Tarotplane, flows along just fine, with even a little funky feel.
This is a great album, a little snatch of a moment in time, with the Captain on top form with a version of the Magic Band who just get it.
4* - a fascinating little slice of early Beefheart at his bluesy best
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