CAPTAIN BEYOND

I was wondering what I myself had written about this stand-out record and I found that I never actually wrote a review about the Captain Beyond debut. A shame, because in the beginning it was one of my great inspirations for my own band (along with May Blitz, Budgie and others).

For legal reasons the songwriting of the album was contributed to singer Rod Evens (ex-Deep Purple) and the excellent drummer Bobby Caldwell (ex-Johny Winter). Guitar player Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt (ex-Iron Butterfly) who obviously wrote a lot of riffs here wasn't mentioned as co-writer because of legal issues. Lee Dorman (also ex-Iron Butterfly) plays bass.

This is actually one of the few progressive rock records that actually rocks! It has power, ingenuity, the wild vibe and yet has that obscure collectible feel to it. Furthermore, the hard rock elements are firmly rooted in American rock - not British at all. It is actually quite strange why this record didn't receive more appraisal at its time. Perhaps the record was to intelligent for rock listeners and too energetic/punchy for progressive rock listeners. Perhaps because of the overly progressive songtitels and not so catchy lyrics. I would have to press myself to remember the lyrics of one single refrain now I think of it. It matters not. The endless stream of original riffs and rhythms, sometimes in odd signatures, without loosing the wild Hendrix feel is a real winner here. Furthermore one can find musical elements that clearly resemble stoner rock that would appear in the nineties. Together with some eclectic prog (metal King Crimson comes to mind) and some space-rock moments this is a complete eclectic work of art that fails to fit in any category.

My only complaint being the production - which lacks a clear low end (bass) - this is an almost perfect record. Exciting and innovative. Five stars. Must have if you like hard rock, heavy prog, heavy psych and seventies progressive gems in general.

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