CAPTAIN BEYOND - Lost & Found 1972-1973
Self Released (?)
OK so where do I start? Alright I bought my first copy of CAPTAIN BEYOND's debut LP back in 1975. I was born in the sixties and grew up in the seventies so with that said if you were cool and into the hard fuckin rock sounds of the seventies then you owned a copy of CAPTAIN BEYOND's debut LP. For me it was an easy buy since I loved DEEP PURPLE and was getting into the past Mark 1 line-up music which Rod Evans was part of.
One thing that has always bothered me is how modern music scribes push this meme that CAPTAIN BEYOND were an under appreciated band from the early 70s. Pardon me assholes but we the fans liked the band even to this very day. Add to that newer fans got into em from word of mouth. It was the fucked up music critics who, just like today, had their heads up their asses looking at whatever was pop iconic. Seriously not only did they thumb their noses at CAPTAIN BEYOND back then but they also hated SABBATH, GRAND FUNK and URIAH HEEP. All of whom were fan favorites who sold millions of records despite critical hatred.
CAPTAIN BEYOND were more prog influenced than hard rock. The band consisted of former Mark 1 DEEP PURPLE vocalist Rod Evans, guitarist Larry Reinhard and bassist Lee Dorman from IRON BUTTERFLY and journeyman drummer Bobby Caldwell. Basically they were supergroup of second tier status. Unfortunately the band had so many problems internally as well as with their management/label Capricorn Records that after one great album they just fizzled out. They did manage to release a second LP but I think that one sucks and their third one is something people just wanna forget (kinda like PURPLE's Come Taste The Band LP).
Lost & Found 1972-1973 is basically the demos from the first album plus one unreleased cut "Uranus Highway". Musically there's no surprises and just minor differences from the original album. Then again they're demo recordings so thats to be expected. Basically this is just for fans from the past, kinda like the posthumously released live album. My reason for even writing about this is that recently the band (?) has resurfaced and is playing shows billed as the godfathers of stoner rock.
Now there's two jokes in there. The first is that CAPTAIN BEYOND are not related to stoner rock in any way. Anyone who says otherwise is a revisionist. Secondly what is being called CAPTAIN BEYOND today is actually drummer Bobby Caldwell and some other guys playing the old songs. Frankly I think that's a fuckin joke but heh if Corky Laing can hire two guys and tour small clubs under the name MOUNTAIN then why can't Caldwell do the same. Oh well.
http://www.officialcaptainbeyond.com/
https://captainbeyond.bandcamp.com/music
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