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el dingo 
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 Topic: Captain Beyond... and Sufficiently Breathless
Posted: October 15 2008 at 04:39 |
I've had Captain Beyond (Capricorn) for yonks and like it a lot - mainly I guess because I always liked Rod Evans vocals in Purple Mk I and a healthy bit of riffola always pleases me if done well.
I've recently invested in a download of Sufficiently Breathless, but obviously I've got no details apart from the track listing.
I know about the original band and how it was formed, etc, but the second sounds markedly different and I wonder if anyone out there can tell me of any personnel changes, etc. 'cos I know nothing about the second album at all.
Grateful for any info or general discussion on a band a lot of Purple freaks seem not even to have heard of, let alone appreciate!
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Queen By-Tor
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 11:38 |
Well, here's the line-up for the first album... - Bobby Caldwell / drums, percussion, vibes, bells, piano, backing vocals - Lee Dorman / bass, piano, backing vocals - Rod Evans / lead vocals - Larry Reinhardt / acoustic, electric & slide guitars It looks like for Sufficiently Breathless they just added a whole bunch of people  - Lee Dorman / bass - Rod Evans / lead vocals - Guille Garcia / congas, timbales, percussion - Larry Reinhardt / acoustic electric & slide guitars - Marty Rodriguez / drums, backing vocals - Reese Wynans / acoustic & electric pianos + Paul Hornsby / organ (5) Then by the time they got to Dawn Explosion they were... uh... Sufficiently Stripped Down. This line up also doesnt include Rod Evans! - Bobby Caldwell / drums, percussion, backing vocals - Willie Daffern / lead vocals - Lee Dorman / bass, strings, backing vocals - Larry Reinhardt / acoustic electric & slide guitars I don't know how each of the line ups came to be either, maybe Wiki would know?
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febus
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 12:01 |
 King By-Tor wrote:
Well, here's the line-up for the first album...
- Bobby Caldwell / drums, percussion, vibes, bells, piano, backing vocals
- Lee Dorman / bass, piano, backing vocals
- Rod Evans / lead vocals
- Larry Reinhardt / acoustic, electric & slide guitars
It looks like for Sufficiently Breathless they just added a whole bunch of people
- Lee Dorman / bass
- Rod Evans / lead vocals
- Guille Garcia / congas, timbales, percussion
- Larry Reinhardt / acoustic electric & slide guitars
- Marty Rodriguez / drums, backing vocals
- Reese Wynans / acoustic & electric pianos
+ Paul Hornsby / organ (5)
Then by the time they got to Dawn Explosion they were... uh... Sufficiently Stripped Down. This line up also doesnt include Rod Evans!
- Bobby Caldwell / drums, percussion, backing vocals
- Willie Daffern / lead vocals
- Lee Dorman / bass, strings, backing vocals
- Larry Reinhardt / acoustic electric & slide guitars
I don't know how each of the line ups came to be either, maybe Wiki would know?
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I knew this thread could only be answered by the eminent and Knowledgeble King of Tor   .....
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el dingo
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Joined: October 08 2008
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 12:15 |
Thanks guys
Still struggling to get into the second album but it always seemed like a case of too many cooks and thanks to your posts a lot has become clearer.
As a footnote, the last I heard is that Evans married a rich US girl in the 70s and gave up overnight. If I remember from the time (I was only about 14 but could be right) he took the sack from Purple quite calmly and said he was going to the US to be a Hollywood star. Or maybe married one. Anyway I guess he earns more than I do, one way or the other.
I don;t think I'll be investigating Dawn Explosion, but who knows?
Still love Dancing Madly Backwards/Armworth.
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Queen By-Tor
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 12:18 |
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As much as I love the second album I know it's not for everyone. It's a
little more latin inspired and while I certainly love the riffs and
whatnot from that album it is somewhat "lacking" compared to the first.
I still have yet to get Dawn Explosion myself, but I'm looking for it
quite hard. Hopefully it will be better than the final Babe Ruth album
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Queen By-Tor
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 12:20 |
febus wrote:
I knew this thread could only be answered by the eminent and Knowledgeble King of Tor ..... |
Its what I do 
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el dingo
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 14:26 |
*****
You remember Babe Ruth!!!
They used to have a singer called (I think) called Jenny Haan or something like that. I think I saw them once but can,t really remember.
The music press in the UK (Sounds, NME, MM) loved them but I was never too sure. Sounded like a Joplin ripoff to me but this is a really stretched memory. Maybe I heard an album called First Base once - don't think I particularly liked it.
On reflection, definitely saw them - she was a tiny dark haired chick dressed in white. Probably Dagenham Roundhouse around 73. Closest comparison - Vinegar Joe. Yes Elkie Brooks and Robert Palmer grew up tough too.
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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Queen By-Tor
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 14:32 |
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If you didn't like Babe Ruth's first then you likely won't like the rest of their catalog. There was a steep drop in quality after their debut album that leveled off for some mediocre albums and then one nadir-ific final album called "Kid's Stuff".
I would have killed to see them live!
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el dingo
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 15:13 |
You can't kill me 'cos you don't know where i live ha! ha!
Yeah I really did see them but I was just a teenager and remember so little about it. They really were the darlings of the UK music press at the time.Like any impressionable kid I probably spent most of that adolescent night slavering over Jenny. Only remember the guitarist could play a bit as well but those were er... hazy days indeed.
Talking of attractive ladies, I did see Fanny support Tull at the Rainbow once. They were all better looking than Ian Anderson, including the slightly butch drummer. Nicky someone maybe don't know any more.
If Babe Ruth still have fans and I guess they must, I can say with confidence that little lady's voice was huge. If you liked them, maybe check out Kokomo?
Have to go my brain hurts.
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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MrEdifus
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 22:25 |
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The original Captain Beyond album is amazing.
The second wasn't bad, but lacked the energy that made the first one so great.
Dawn Explosion is mediocre hard rock at best.
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jammun
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 22:45 |
I always avoided albums that had either Rod Evans or a former Iron Butterfly bassist. The guitar players I hung around with at the time disagreed.
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MrEdifus
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 23:05 |
jammun wrote:
I always avoided albums that had either Rod Evans or a former Iron Butterfly bassist. The guitar players I hung around with at the time disagreed. |
All I can say is that you missed out on a great album. I'm glad I'm finding people here who have heard of this band.
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jammun
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 23:17 |
MrEdifus wrote:
jammun wrote:
I always avoided albums that had either Rod Evans or a former Iron Butterfly bassist. The guitar players I hung around with at the time disagreed. |
All I can say is that you missed out on a great album. I'm glad I'm finding people here who have heard of this band.
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I'll have to search it out and give it a listen. I'm much more inclusive these days.
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Hawkwise
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Posted: October 15 2008 at 23:23 |
Babe Ruth First Base Classic  The Rest 
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el dingo
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Posted: October 16 2008 at 02:35 |
Both albums are available in MP3 format via GoMusic.Ru at a very cool price, not much more than a dollar each if I remember rightly. You might be able to get them on Soundike as well - similar prices. Both these sites sport disclaimers to say they are legal. I use both of them a lot and can recommend the sound quality. You also get free short soundclips on both sites. Nothing is streamed.
El Dingo is not sponsored by either site, he just rates them!
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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BenMech
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Posted: October 16 2008 at 13:05 |
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As one who has heard all three CB albums, I can say each has their moment in the sun, and not always for the same reasons.
Give each a good shot. Throw them onto an ipod or whatever, and walk around with them on. You can't go wrong then
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ghost_of_morphy
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Posted: October 16 2008 at 13:06 |
el dingo wrote:
I've had Captain Beyond (Capricorn) for yonks and like it a lot - mainly I guess because I always liked Rod Evans vocals in Purple Mk I and a healthy bit of riffola always pleases me if done well.
I've recently invested in a download of Sufficiently Breathless, but obviously I've got no details apart from the track listing.
I know about the original band and how it was formed, etc, but the second sounds markedly different and I wonder if anyone out there can tell me of any personnel changes, etc. 'cos I know nothing about the second album at all.
Grateful for any info or general discussion on a band a lot of Purple freaks seem not even to have heard of, let alone appreciate! |
The key is obviously the exit of Caldwell. Caldwell made the original Captain Beyond what it was in two ways. First, he was intimately involved in writing the material. There's a big difference between the songs on Captain Beyond and on Sufficiently Breathless. If you are already familiar with Captain Beyond, it should be easy to see that Sufficiently Breathless had much more input from the guitarist in the writing process.
Secondly, Caldwell/Dorman was a rock solid rhythm section that freed up Reinhardt to experiment and skylark. Reinhardt just has to check in on the riffs on the first album, and then he can go ahead and wow us. He was more integral to the band sound after that.
It should be mentioned that Captain Beyond made a concious decision to chase after a wider audience and more popular appeal after the first album. Heck, they even added a keyboardist. They didn't get the formula right on Sufficiently Breathless, for which we should all be grateful. They sold out quite successfully on Dawn Explosion, with the result that there is only a track or two worth listening to on that.
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el dingo
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Joined: October 08 2008
Location: Norwich UK
Status: Offline
Points: 7053
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Posted: October 16 2008 at 14:40 |
BenMech wrote:
As one who has heard all three CB albums, I can say each has their moment in the sun, and not always for the same reasons.
Give each a good shot. Throw them onto an ipod or whatever, and walk around with them on. You can't go wrong then |
From one Newbie to another - what a good hit. The first CB offering is a great companion to a 5-kilometre walk to a boring job which I've been doing all summer. 50 minutes of walking means you can hear the whole thing and down leafy English lanes, etc... Sometimes even a chance for a second hearing of Dancing Madly.
Tends to make you slightly less aware of oncoming traffic, though.
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It's not that I can't find worth in anything, it's just that I can't find worth in enough.
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gr8dane
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Joined: May 11 2005
Location: Canada
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Posted: October 16 2008 at 18:45 |
If you like heavy,get the first one.
If you like mellow get the 2nd one.
If you like heavy and the first one get the band Armageddon.
These days I like the 2nd better.I have mellowed out for now.
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zappaholic
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Location: flyover country
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Posted: October 21 2008 at 20:20 |
Haven't heard any Beyond beyond the first album, but that first album is the very definition of a "lost classic". Great stuff.
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Captain Beyond... and Sufficiently Breathless
