Big Ears

I read everybody's comments with interest. Here are mine:


1. What were your VERY FIRST impressions on listening to the album, say from the first five minutes in?

Hard to remember, as I heard it when frst released, but probably as a masterpiece of restraint (even a decade before the over-production of the nineteen-eighties).

2. What did you think of the opening tracks?

Dancing Madly Backwards (On a Sea of Air) is probably their best known track and exemplifies their subtleties.

3. What did you think of the later tracks?

I absolutely love all of them. I could eulogise for hours.

4. Did you like the vocalist? Hate him/her? Any impressions?

Rod Evans was cruelly treated by Deep Purple and is a criminally underrated singer in my view.

5. Did the music (only) generally appeal to you, or not?

No, I specifically love every track.

6. Did the album get better or worse as you listened to it (first time)?

Captain Beyond starts on a high, which is maintained throughout.

7. What did you think of the lyrical content?

A good question. The lyrics are ethereal and do not really mean anything, but are effective nevertheless. When drummer and co-writer Bobby Caldwell left the band, they were cast adrift without him.

8. Did you like the instrumental parts?

Indeed. They play as a band, all excellent, with no-one stealing the limelight. Larry Reinhardt on guitars is a paragon of good taste, Caldwell is all-pervasive on drums and bassist Lee Dorman adds one nifty riff after another.

9. What did you think of the production?

If I have a criticism, it sounds slightly dated. Even in 1972, it was dated! The echo-y vocals and the Fifth Dimension harmonies are more a product of 1968, but the band's playing throughout pre-dates many bands who followed in their wake. If nothing else, they were highly influential.

10. How well do you already know the band/artist?

They were one of the first hard rock bands I ever heard in the early seventies.

11. What sub-genre, if any, would you assign this music to?

Captain Beyond do their best to defy classification, but they are hard rock, with psychedelia, progressive rock, space-rock and careful harmonies.

12. On repeated listens, did you find you liked the album more, or less?

More. It rewards repeated playing and I never tire of hearing the album. It is brimful of ideas.

13. What would you class as your favourite track, if you have one?

Thousand Days of Yesterdays (Time Since Come and Gone) and both parts of As the Moon Speaks. They have infectious melodies, intricate harmonies and an indefinable sense of other-worldliness.

14. And the one you liked least?

I honestly cannot think of a weak track on the album.

15. Did the fact that this album is a debut/sophomore/middle period or later period allow it, in your mind, any leeway, and if so, was that decision justified or vindicated?

They debuted on a high-point, which they could never reach again.

16. Are you now looking forward to hearing other albums by the band/artist?

I might listen to the follow-up, but really this is all I need. I would like to hear other material by the members of Captain Beyond, such as Iron Butterfly.

17. Did you get, thematically, the idea behind the album if there was one?

With hindsight, one can see what they intended, with lots of variety and experimentation - all of which worked.

18. Did the album end well?

Very abruptly and probably appropriately.

19. Do you see any way the album could have been improved?

Not really. Although influential, it was a product of its time. A remaster would not go amiss in my opinion.

20. Do you think the album hung together well, ie was a fully cohesive unit, or was it a bit hit-and-miss?

The album is one hundred percent cohesive. Cohesion being the key word here. Without it, they were finished.

Overall Album Rating: 9 out of 10. Nothing's perfect, but this comes close.

I have drafted a review, which I will post in my journal.