ALBUM REVIEW :Captain Beefheart: Bat Chain Puller

         Reissues of old records are commonplace today, but first-time releases of long-since recorded albums are seldom seen. That's exactly the case of Bat Chain Puller, Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's lost would-be opus that was shelved after its production in 1976 due to a conflict between the producers and the label.

        Released to coincide with what would have been Beefheart's 71st birthday, the man otherwise known as Don Van Vliet recorded this album with his close friend Frank Zappa as co-producer. Some of the tracks were later re-recorded for other records, but this is the first time that this material has been properly mixed and released in its entirety. Given that these tracks are regarded by many as Beefheart's return to his most significant work after a career lull, Bat Chain Puller's release is no small matter.

        Beefheart's material won't fit under any one-genre label, and the same is true for this quirky, sometimes confusing record. Elements of psychedelia, blues-rock, jazz and spoken-word poetry are all prominent on Bat Chain Puller, and no two tracks are very much alike. The poetry is especially prevalent, which seems strange until considering that Van Vliet spent much of his career as a distinguished poet. While poetry isn't what most modern listeners search for on a record, it's important in the context of Van Vliet's career and as an indicator of what "avant-garde" meant as it pertained to music in the 1970s.

      Beefheart's voice is dynamic, and it proves to be one of the most interesting components of the record. It ranges from Howlin' Wolf-inspired blues roars to gruff speech, and it allows for a lot of artistic freedom among the members of the Magic Band. Tracks like "Floppy Boot Stomp" and "Owed T'Alex" showcase the Beefheart that fans adore—full of vitality and foot-stomping blues charm. At the other end, songs like the title track and "Seam Crooked Sam" are somewhat dissonant, focusing more on the "art" side of art-rock. Still others contain no music, like the spoken poem "Poop Hatch," or no words, like the pleasant piano interlude "A Carrot is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond."

       While it's historically significant, Bat Chain Puller isn't exactly easy listening. It pushes a lot of musical boundaries, even by today's standards, and as such it can come off as abrasive at times. Don't write it off too quickly, though—there are a lot of really complex, intricate polyrhythms and song constructions, so it's a delight for technical audiophiles. Bat Chain Puller shouldn't be an introduction into Captain Beefheart's catalog, but for fans it's beyond essential.