These, though, will be delighted, because in a sense, this doesn’t plays as a box set but, more fitting, like very precise representation of Beefheart’s career: Full of bursts of energy and brilliance, full of holes and frustration – but extremely rewarding for those that listen closely.

You (and any independent consultants acting on your behalf) must satisfy yourself about the accuracy of any description of a Lot.From the formative years of a pre low-register Beefheart in the 1966 demo of "Obeah Man" on the opening track of CD 1, to the instrumental complexities of the Gary Lucas rendering of "Flavor Bud Living" on the closing track 23, CD 5, this excellently produced and presented box set should enable every keen collector to join up an awful lot of dots in the magical musical journey of the obscure genius that is Captain Beefheart. The second disc contains alternate and live versions of songs from the “Safe as Milk” and “Strictly Personal” era, along with an 11 minute version of “Rollin and Tumblin” (which helps to show that Vliet could have made a monumental straight blues album, if he had wanted to, but he never did). The closest to a Best Of collection as we are likely to see, this career-spanning set corrals rare tracks from a variety of sources (band members' personal archives, live tracks, demos, worktapes, radio spots) along with over 30 minutes of Enhanced CD footage of live performances, 112 pages of text and never-before-published photos, the complete Trout Mask Replica house sessions, and John 'Drumbo' French's "colorful" history of the band.

Although it was their third released album, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band arrived with 1969’s sprawling Trout Mask Replica.

A special vinyl edition was also released on Table Of The Elements containing 6 LPs, a a poster and a 24 page libretto. The final disc is the most variable, with one especially shining moment which would make the whole set worthwhile alone: Orange Claw Hammer from 1975 sung completely straight with Frank Zappa playing acoustic guitar. After joining this forum in 2007 and lurking here under the radar for a couple years prior I decided to join up and contribute what I could but learn a lot more from the members here of this forum. We normally act as an agent only and will not have any responsibility for default by you or the Seller (unless we are the Seller of the Lot). But hey, at least you get to witness how the conversation with the kids who just moved here from Reseda ended up on the album.

Information about Beefheart was hard to find back in those days with only the public or College libraries being the only source for me to find anything about Beefheart/Magic Band. A promotional 'taster' CD was issued in the run up to this release, which has 'Beef [Revenant logo] Heart' on the spine.Captain Beefheart likened making music to going to the bathroom – it’s not something he wants to look back on. These Terms of Sale and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including any non-contractual claims or disputes) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and the parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English courts. Sometimes I think the key to Beefheart is to let the music come forth, see it as capturing something, like a painting. And with a suitcase like that to lug around, no wonder Don Van Vliet put out his 12th and final album in 1982, before retiring to the high desert or coastal mountains or wherever to paint his broad-stroke nature abstractions and fade away.