Warthur
The entire Magic Band quit after this album, and no wonder. The first of Beefheart's two ill-fated albums on Mercury Records finds him faced with an unsympathetic production job and a lineup on the verge of mutiny. The drift into commercial territory which had yielded fascinating and evocative results on The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot zooms out of control, resulting in most of the songs being played and mixed in a spineless, soulless commercial style, with the Captain's eccentric lyrics and vocal style being de-emphasised like on no previous Magic Band album. Occasionally the instrumental backing starts creeping towards more interesting territory, as on I Got Love On My Mind, but it never quite manages it. Anyone who listens to this album without hearing any of the Captain's better work would come away with the impression that the Magic Band were a third-rate, plastic soft rock band; anyone who listens to this who has heard the likes of Trout Mask Replica or Lick My Decals Off will rage at the utter waste of talent the album represents. Avoid.
