Captain Beyond – Live in Texas, October 6, 1973
Cleopatra
http://cleorecs.com/store/shop/captain-beyond-live-in-texas-october-6-1973/

Rating: C+

Captain Beyond were a sort of super group from the early 1970’s that featured former members of Deep Purple, Iron Butterfly and Johnny Winters’ band.  While they never reached their super potential, they did have a minor hit with “Dancing Madly Backwards (on a Sea of Air),” which remains still a cult hit to this day.

Cleopatra Records has found a true diamond in the rough with the release of this ultra rare live album from 1973.  The recording was originally available to fan club members and the sound was extremely poor.  They did their best to clean up the audio, making vast improvements, but still, the sound is far from perfect.  It is, however, a legendary performance by a true cult band, and for that reason, it is just too freaking cool. 

The live recording allows one to peek back in time to hear a band that was prog and hippie and hard rock all at the same time.  The songs are totally trippy and it is a time capsule back to how rock concerts were done during this special era of music.  The release has a cool cover which shows the Captain alive and well once again.  Rock scribe Dave Thompson adds words to the booklet, featuring an in-depth interview with drummer Bobby Caldwell.

There guys were pushing musical, as well as chemical boundaries, but the result is some tripped out tunes and a very unique sounding band.  This is one to show off to your ‘not as cool as you are’ rock nerd buddies, as you will look like you know your shit if you’re jamming on Captain Beyond in 2013! 

Track Listing
1. Intro
2. Distant Sun
3. Dancing Madly Backwards (On A Sea Of Air)
4. Armworth
5. Myopic Void
6. Drifting In Space
7. Pandora's Box (It's War)
8. Thousand Days Of Yesterday
9. Frozen Over
10. Guitar Solo
11. Mesmerization Eclipse
12. Drum Solo
13. Mesmerization Eclipse (Reprise)
14. Stone Free

By Jeb Wright