Captain Beefheart - The Spotlight Kid Outtakes (2023)

FINALLY, ALL THE UNRELEASED RARITIES IN ONE PLACE Following the experimental and challenging Trout Mask Replica in 1969, and its 1970 follow-up Lick My Decals Off, Baby , Captain Beefheart released The Spotlight Kid, the first album credited solely to himself with no mention of his Magic Band - despite the core members being equally involved as on previous records . Generally accepted as Beefheart s most accessible release to date, the compositions were solidly founded in the blues but also used instruments such as marimba and jingle bells that are not typical of that genre. Sessions took place in the fall of 1971, and in the period leading up to the recording the band lived communally, first at a compound near Ben Lomond, California, and then in northern California near Trinidad. The situation saw a return to the physical violence and psychological manipulation that had taken place during the band's previous communal residence while composing and rehearsing Trout Mask Replica. During the sessions a huge array of material was recoded including full songs never used on the finished album, and numerous versions of many of the tracks. While some of these were used up on subsequent Beefheart albums, and others have appeared on compilations and re-issues, this collection finally brings together in one place the previously unreleased outtakes from Spotlight Kid, to make for a fascinating CD which illustrate perfectly the sessions that produced what, for many, still ranks among the Good Captain s finest work.