Railroadism: Live in the USA 1972-1981 [CD]

Most importantly the quality of the material and performances shines through (like a diamond in the mud, one might say). "Railroadism" starts off fantastically, with an unaccompanied (save for introductory harmonica) rendition of "Old Black Snake." Beefheart had one of the greatest blues voices ever and this is as terrifying a display as you could hope for; the resonance, range and menace unequalled since.

"I'm Goona Booglarize You, Baby" succeeds in being even more insistent than the studio original and "Big Eyed Beans From Venus" and "Truce Day Poppy" if hardly matching the superlative album versions still rock in the way only the Magic Bands plural could.

While this might not be the best start for Beefheart Novices (I would recommend "Safe As Milk" or "Clear Sport" before taking a deep breath and exposing yourself to "Trout Mask Replica" - weird, disorientating but, after lengthy exposure, magnificent) its merits are certainly enough to make it relevant for more than completists.

Why, you might ask have I waited three years. Well, to be honest, I have been waiting for more material to emerge from Britain because there is clearly material around and much more importantly, in England at least there appears to be a coterie of fans who are ready, willing and able to purchase this material. In fact I have today ordered yet another album of outtakes and live material.

Regular readers may recall the trepidation with which I approached magnetic Hands as set out in my review for Amazon. There was some degree of trepidation here also but that was soon swept away by the first listening.

First the bad news. Some of the recordings are quite frankly of pretty poor quality. Secondly the material is more recent than I would have wished predominantly mid-70s and early eighties. Third there is not enough of it.

On the positive side the first thing to note is that there is little of the era of Unconditionally Guaranteed/Bluejeans and whatever material. Thank the deity for small mercies at least. Secondly the Captain is in good voice throughout and apparently in fine spirits. Unlike the London 1974 album where he seemed subdued and distracted here he is in fine form as is the band.

To be brutally frank, this is a rough diamond but I love it. Just to get a live version of the Blimp, (the mothership, the mothership) is worth the asking price. The range of songs and the selections are indicative of the variuous parts of the Captain's journey and the fact that they are live makes them valuable as there is little live material out there especially from the Bizarre years. I have my own particular favourites such as the Smithsonian Institute Blues and China Pig.

This is one Beefheart album everyone should own along with Trout Mask and Decals. by the way. Would you not think that given the continued interest in the Magic Captain's output some record company type would put two and two together and come up with Profit $ signs in their eyes. Their eyes are a blue million dollar miles? What reason can there be for keeping that masterpiece off the shelves when you can still buy Unconditionally Guaranteed? It does not make sense.

If you like the real thing, the Captain Beefheart of the Blues, then buy this album. Take it home, crank up the volume and listen to the work of genius. Listen to it on headphones, listen to it in the car, share it with friends share it with the world and let everyone know what they and we are missing. Come back Captain, my Captain. We need you.