"Don't Let Anthing Get Between Us!"--

my favorite Captain Beefheart - Clear Spot

"Big Eyed Beans From Venus. At last.

THAT slide intro. THOSE rasped blues vocals that the Captain seemingly pulls up from his feet. "Distant Cousins -- there's a limited supply!" The rhythm climbs in steadily under the riff with a stereo split of guitars and some fantastic staccato drum rolls. For the next minute or so you're just getting used to how good it sounds when the break hits you and what happens next is the highlight of not just Clear Spot, but CB & The Magic Band's entire recordings.

"Mr. Zoot Horn Rollo, hit that long leaning note and let it float". The sound of Zoot's guitar is just a mind-blowing heavenly buzz.

The Magic Band crash back with a heavy metal bragger that'll have your head banging and feet tapping.

A real power & energy gets conveyed while Beefheart delivers Freudian lyrics about wallets & purses.

I know I'm labouring a point, but even though this is heavy rock stuff, no one could compose or deliver it as uniquely. I mean, for starters there's the drum roll (ta,ta,ta,ta,ta,ta) that lifts "Big Eyed beans.." onto an even higher level. Violin style guitar is a strangely delicate but effective backing as CB's howls about being "on the right track." and "No SNAFU." Perfect. The whole section finishes with an earnest, electrifying cry of "Check these out! Don't Let Anything Get Between Us!", more fantastic drumming from Marimba and a chorus that is one of the finest recorded moments in rock.

And what d'ya know, but then we're back to the start with a slightly different rhythm. A gradual build up gets it back to fever pitch before the Captain's pay off line with a gruff cry of "Big Eyee---ed Beans From Veee-nus" and Zoots last long, floating note. Astounding!"