They said Beefheart was trying too hard to go mainstream on Clear Spot too. And that's my favorite of his albums. Kate Bush called this one of her ten favorite albums of all time. So of course I wanted togive a listen to Bluejeans and Moonbeams, released in November of 1974.
Well, it's no Clear Spot but "Observatory Crest" especially, and maybe that very Beefheartian cover of J J Cale's "Same Old Blues", make Bluejeans and Moonbeams at least worth checking out. Most fans, band mates and Van Vliet himself tried their best to forget Beefheart's self-described "horrible and vulgar" work for Virgin Records in 1974. (This was the year he exchanged all of his best musicians with the kind of people "who groove along pleasantly"). To top it off Beefheart claimed he never received a royalty check for Bluejeans or its predecessor Unconditionally Guaranteed.
It's certainly not an album in the same mould of Trout Mask or Decals, but it's a bit different, and has some nice tunes, like the the one today.
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