Track Listing

1. Floppy Boot Stomp
2. Tropical Hot Dog Night
3. Ice Rose
4. Harry Irene
5. You Know You're a Man
6. Bat Chain Puller
7. When I See Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy
8. Owed T'Alex
9. Candle Mambo
10. Love Lies
11. Suction Prints
12. Apes-Ma

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #208275 in Music
• Released on: 1998-10-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Format: Import

Album Description
Reissue of the experimental rock icon's 1978 album. This 5 star album features 12 tracks including 'Tropical Hot Dog Night'.

Customer Reviews

Amazing
When I first heard this CD, I was surprised in many ways. First, Shiny Beast is less bluesy than Beefheart's other records. Second, the atmosphere of some of the songs differs completely from anything I had heard from this man. And third, this is one of the best albums I have ever heard in my life.

Many of the songs on this album are very accessible, but the apparent simplicity is deceptive. As usual, Captain Beefheart is strong on arrangements. My absolute favorite in this respect is the title track. There are some sounds on this song that made me think "how the hell did he do that?". Candle Mambo is one of these songs that really surprised me when I thought I was getting to know the man. But Beefheart can be predictible as well: a Beefheart album always contains one or two nice instrumental songs, and Bat Chain Puller is no exception. Ice Rose really is a little jewel.

A must for any Beefheart fan.

Accessible Beefheart
The result of a short-lived late 70's association with a major label, reviewers at the time didn't give "Shiny Beast" a lot of sympathy. Too bad, 'cause this is clearly one of the Captain's most accessible albums, managing to be exquisitely tuneful while sacrificing none of his unique brand of home-grown American Surrealism. It's also one of the best incarnations of the Magic Band, mixing all of the threads evident from "Trout Mask Replica" on -- fast meter shifts, slashing guitar, octave-spanning blues hollers, strange lyrics -- with the tender, even (dare I say it?) mellow influences of Bruce Fowler's trombone and Art Tripp's marimba. "Owed T'Alex" wonderfully evokes the San Berdoo/Lancaster California desert Biker world the Captain grew up in, while "Suction Prints" could have come straight off "Trout Mask" (if that album had had better production). The title tune is sheer over-the-top Beefheart madness, a blistering fever-dream of environmental disaster that will leave welts on your mind. If you liked "Doc at the Radar Station", you _must_ have this.

The key album in Beefheart's collection
If you consider "Doc at the radar station" to be Beefheart's best, which many do, then this cd is for you. Using basically the same version of the Magic Band, Beefheart delves deep into his free-blues-rock hybrid. The title track is almost disturbing in it's hypnotic ranting. "Floppy Boot Stomp" is great lyrically and the band sounds amazing in it's rythm. Then there is the sublime "Harry Irene" which sounds like Tom Waits by way of the Beatles, if you could imagine such a thing. "You Know You're A Man" almost delves into 70's rock territory, (but with the Captain you know he doesn't quite get there.) "Doc" is probably the pivotal album, "Trout Mask Replica" the watershed. But "Shiny Beast" is definitely in the same league.