Captain Beefheart discography explained
| Artist: | Captain Beefheart |
| Studio: | 13 |
| Live: | 3 |
| Compilation: | 22 |
| Singles: | 23 |
| Ep: | 1 |
The following is a list of official releases by American musician Captain Beefheart. With various line-ups of musicians called The Magic Band, Beefheart released a total of 13 studio albums recorded between 1967 and 1982, after which he left music to concentrate on a career in painting, as Don Van Vliet. His catalogue has since been augmented with extra releases including an EP and various compilations of live material, studio outtakes and greatest hits releases.
In addition to his work with the Magic Band over this period, Beefheart also collaborated with several other musicians, most notably Frank Zappa, a friend from his teenage years with whom he worked intermittently during his musical career.
Albums and EPs
Studio albums
| Year | Title | Notes | Magic Band personnel | Charts |
|---|
| US | UK[1] |
|---|
| 1967 | Safe as Milk | - Released on June 29, 1967
- Label: Buddah (US), Pye (UK)
| - John French
- Ry Cooder
- Alex St. Clair
- Jerry Handley
| - | - |
| 1968 | Strictly Personal | - Released in October 1968
- Label: Blue Thumb (US), Liberty (UK)
| - John French
- Alex St. Clair
- Jeff Cotton
- Jerry Handley
| - | - |
| 1969 | Trout Mask Replica | - Released on June 16, 1969
- Label: Straight
| - John French
- Jeff Cotton
- Bill Harkleroad
- Mark Boston
- Victor Hayden
| - | 21 |
| 1970 | Lick My Decals Off, Baby | - Released in December 1970
- Label: Straight
| - John French
- Bill Harkleroad
- Mark Boston
- Art Tripp
| 203 | 20 |
| 1971 | Mirror Man | - Released in April 1971 (recorded 1967)
- Label: Buddah
| - John French
- Alex St. Clair
- Jeff Cotton
- Jerry Handley
| - | 49 |
| 1972 | The Spotlight Kid | - Released in January 1972
- Label: Reprise
| - John French
- Bill Harkleroad
- Mark Boston
- Art Tripp
- Elliot Ingber
| 131 | 44 |
| 1972 | Clear Spot | - Released in October 1972
- Label: Reprise
| - Bill Harkleroad
- Mark Boston
- Art Tripp
- Roy Estrada
| 191 | - |
| 1974 | Unconditionally Guaranteed | - Released in April 1974
- Label: Mercury (US), Virgin (UK)
| - Bill Harkleroad
- Mark Boston
- Alex St. Clair
- Mark Marcellino
- Art Tripp
| 192 | - |
| 1974 | Bluejeans & Moonbeams | - Released in November 1974
- Label: Mercury (US), Virgin (UK)
| - Ira Ingber
- Gene Pello
- Mark Gibbons
- Michael Smotherman
- Jimmy Caravan
- Ty Grimes
- Dean Smith
| - | - |
| 1978 | Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) | - Released in October 1978
- Label: Warner (US), Virgin (UK)
| - Jeff Moris Tepper
- Bruce Lambourne Fowler
- Eric Drew Feldman
- Richard Redus
- Robert Arthur Williams
| - | - |
| 1980 | Doc at the Radar Station | - Released in August 1980
- Label: Virgin
| - John French
- Jeff Moris Tepper
- Eric Drew Feldman
- Bruce Lambourne Fowler
- Robert Arthur Williams
| 203 | - |
| 1982 | Ice Cream for Crow | - Released in September 1982
- Label: Virgin
| - Jeff Moris Tepper
- Gary Lucas
- Richard Snyder
- Cliff R. Martinez
| - | 90 |
| 2012 | Bat Chain Puller | - Recorded in 1976
- Label: Zappa
| - John French
- John Thomas
- Jeff Moris Tepper
- Denny Walley
| - | — |
|
Live albums
Compilation albums
- The Spotlight Kid / Clear Spot (1972)
- The Spotlight Kid / Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1973)
- Captain Beefheart File (1977)
- Music in Sea Minor (1983)
- Top Secret (1984)
- Safe as Milk / Mirror Man (1988)
- Abba Zaba (1988)
- Captain Beefheart at his Best (1989)
- The Best Beefheart (1990)
- Zig Zag Wanderer: The Collection (1991)
- I May Be Hungry but I Sure Ain't Weird: The Alternative Captain Beefheart (1992)
- A Carrot Is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond (1993)
- Zig Zag Wanderer: The Best of the Buddah Years (1996)
- Electricity (1998)
- (1999)
- The Mirror Man Sessions (1999)
- The Dust Blows Forward: An Anthology (1999)
- The Best of Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band (2002)
- Hot Head: Introducing Captain Beefheart (2003)
- The Buddah Years (2006)
- It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper (2008)
- Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972 (2014)
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Album |
|---|
| UK |
|---|
| 1966 | "Diddy Wah Diddy" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" | — | The Legendary A&M Sessions |
| "Moonchild" / "Frying Pan" | — |
| 1967 | "Yellow Brick Road" / "Abba Zaba" | 57 | Safe as Milk |
| 1968 | "Moonchild" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling" | 61 | The Legendary A&M Sessions |
| "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" / "Yellow Brick Road" | — | Safe as Milk |
| "Zig Zag Wanderer" / "Abba Zaba" | — |
| 1970 | "Pachuco Cadaver" / "Wild Life" | — | Trout Mask Replica |
| 1972 | "Too Much Time" / "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains" | — | Clear Spot |
| 1974 | "Upon the My-O-My" / "Magic Be" | — | Unconditionally Guaranteed |
| 1978 | "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do" / "Electricity" | — | Safe as Milk |
| "Hard Workin' Man" | — | Blue Collar Soundtrack |
| 1982 | "Ice Cream for Crow" / "Light Reflected Off the Oceands of the Moon" | — | Ice Cream for Crow | |
Promotional singles
| Year | Single | Album |
|---|
| 1969 | "Plastic Factory" / "Where There's Woman" | Safe as Milk |
| 1972 | "Click Clack" / "Glider" | The Spotlight Kid | |
Other appearances
with Frank Zappa
Beefheart may also have performed uncredited (for contractual reasons) on other Zappa albums, including Freak Out! (1966) where he can be detected playing harmonica and singing.
Other collaborations
Films
- Ice Cream For Crow (1982) promotional video by Don Van Vliet, Ken Schreiber & Daniel Pearl
- Some Yo Yo Stuff (1994) Directed by Anton Corbijn[2]
- The Artist Formerly Known as Captain Beefheart (1997) BBC Documentary
- Captain Beefheart: Under Review (2006) An Independent Critical Analysis
External links
- Full discography at the Captain Beefheart Radar Station
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p55418/discography/main|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Captain Beefheart Main Albums]
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p55418/discography/compilations|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Captain Beefheart Compilations]
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p55418/discography/singles-eps|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Captain Beefheart Singles & EPs]
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p55418/discography/dvds-videos|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Captain Beefheart DVDs & Videos]
- [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p55418/discography/other|pure_url=yes}} allmusic Captain Beefheart Other]
Notes and References
- http://www.everyhit.com/ Everyhit.com
- Web site: Don van Vliet: Some YoYo Stuff. IMDb.
