Captain Beyond (Official Thread)

[joe]

Formed in 1971, Captain Beyond consisted of original vocalist Deep Purple vocalist Rod Evans, guitarist Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt and bassist Lee Dorman from Iron Butterfly, and drummer Bobby Caldwell who played with Johnny Winter.

The s/t debut from 1972 is a prog/heavy psych/proto-metal masterpiece. When I bought this album in 1983 it was in relatively obscurity. At that time the album was OOP and I paid $25 for a mint copy. For whatever reason Capricorn Records deleted this album and it still baffles me today why that label put this classic out of production. It is probably more known today as it was in the early 80's.

Rod Evans vocals sound better here than they do on any of the first three Deep Purple albums. Fantastic layered vocal harmonies. Rhinos riffs are absolutely hook laden with stunning time signature shifts interlaced with sonic solos and acoustic passages. Bobby Caldwell's drumming is phenomenal. Some of the best drumming I've heard on any 70's album.

The songs all flow into each other taking you on a high octane ephemeral excursion with help of the sophisicated production. 10/10

 

[LG]

Re: Captain Beyond

Very nicely done Joe...

I have 3 of Captain Beyond's albums now, but you are bang on target the debut is the "Must Have" record.

Many record companies have suffered complete brain cramps over the years, stopping production of some great albums. At times like that I say "Thank Gawd for the Internet and my generous friends who keep the classic alive."...

I would give this one a Superb if you had your usual scale posted.

 

[joe]

Re: Captain Beyond

Capricorn Records were big on the southern rock in the 70's with likes of the Allman Bros. and Marshall Tucker. Too bad they didn't back up this album.

 

[LG]

Re: Captain Beyond

^^Doesn't really matter now Joe, unless you are talking about the vinyl versions being OOP.

The music fraternity ensures that all the great albums we grew up with are available no matter what the labels did with their master tapes. It has to be a pretty rare recording for me not to be able to get my hands on a copy if I really want one.

 

[joe]

Re: Captain Beyond

It was different back in those days LG. I still regret not picking up some vinyl from back then as I never did see it again. Not only rare, but expensive.

 

[LG]

Re: Captain Beyond

^^I miss some things about the old vinyl days too, but I have moved on I only buy CD's now, I will not pay outrageous prices for a used vinyl album no matter who it is. Besides there are some really generous people who have Ripped their precious vinyl using excellent equipment and share them online for the price of a little effort on your part to take them. Again these are OOP albums no longer available in any format so I feel no qualms about picking them up. When done properly a vinyl Rip can sound fantastic. I am talking about Lossless only not AAC or MP3 compressed versions.

 

[joe]

Re: Captain Beyond

I moved on quite some time ago. Man I spent a lot of money. Too much.

 

[Sox]

Re: Captain Beyond

Class debut Joe 9/10 easy and a sound follow up from '73

 

[Cosmic Harmony]

Re: Captain Beyond

It might not be off their classic debut or even feature Rod Evans (who is the sole reason I originally checked out Captain Beyond in the first place) but this has always been my favorite song from Captain Beyond:

 

[TheFeldster]

Re: Captain Beyond

Must admit, I'd never heard of these guys until I opened this thread.

I just listened to the first video posted, however, and I was blown away.

I shall certainly keep my eyes peeled for a download of these guys (considering it is OOP - never will download an In-Print album I'm afraid)