Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band’s fourth studio album, “Lick My Decals Off, Baby”, is often cited by Don Van Vliet himself as his favourite and most accomplished work. Released in December 1970 as the immediate follow up to the monolithic “Trout Mask Replica“, it refined that album’s chaotic energy into something arguably more complex, angular, and darker. This Deluxe Edition serves as the definitive celebration of this avant-garde masterpiece, offering fans a deeper look into the meticulous and often grueling creative process that defined The Magic Band.
This limited set features the original 15-track album recut from the original master tapes by the legendary Bernie Grundman, along with a second disc of previously unreleased instrumental versions and alternate takes from the original 1970 sessions at The Record Plant in West Hollywood. These instrumental tracks, allow listeners to hear the raw, unfettered machinery of The Magic Band without Beefheart’s guttural, multi-octave growl.
The advertisement for Beefhearts’ album “Lick my decals off, baby”
This transparency reveals the “impossible” chord progressions and syncopated rhythms that the band famously rehearsed for up to 14 hours a day under Van Vliet’s intense direction. The alternate takes of “Woe-Is-Uh-Me-Bop” and “I Wanna Find A Woman That’ll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have To Go” offer further insight into how these surrealist compositions evolved in the studio
The Fat Angel Sings 