Unconditionally Guaranteed
| Unconditionally Guaranteed | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Studio album by Captain Beefheart | ||||
| Released | April 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1974 Hollywood Sound, L.A., CA |
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| Genre | Rock, psychedelic rock | |||
| Length | 31:14 | |||
| Label | Virgin Records, Mercury Records | |||
| Producer | Andy DiMartino | |||
| Captain Beefheart chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   [1] |
| Robert Christgau | B−[2] |
| Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) |  [3] |
| Piero Scaruffi | (4/10)[4] |
| Sounds | (mixed)[5] |
Unconditionally Guaranteed is the eighth LP by Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, originally released in 1974. Upon release it was criticised for being too commercial; in any case, it failed to give Beefheart any real chart success, peaking at #192 on the Billboard Top 200.
Immediately after recording of the album the entire Magic Band quit – as biographer Mike Barnes has stated, "[Beefheart] was in effect sacked by his own group."[6] They had become increasingly disenchanted with the lack of financial success, having subsisted on food stamps and donations from their parents, and with Beefheart's tyrannical control over the group. In the words of guitarist Bill Harkleroad "we had had enough of him treating us like punching bags."[7]
The album's lackluster and unchallenging music was the last straw. Drummer Art Tripp recalled, "When the band finally got our album copies, we were horrified. As we listened, it was as though each song was worse than the one which preceded it."[8]
After his contract with Mercury Records ended at the end of 1974, Beefheart disowned the record along with its successor Bluejeans & Moonbeams. He urged his fans to "take copies back for a refund" and called the albums "horrible and vulgar."[9]
[edit] Track listing
All songs written by Don Van Vliet.
- "Upon the My-O-My" – 2:43
- "Sugar Bowl" – 2:13
- "New Electric Ride" – 3:02
- "Magic Be" – 2:55
- "Happy Love Song" – 3:54
- "Full Moon, Hot Sun" – 2:19
- "I Got Love on My Mind" – 3:08
- "This Is the Day" – 4:51
- "Lazy Music" – 2:49
- "Peaches" – 3:20
[edit] References
- ^ Mason, S. (2011 [last update]). "Unconditionally Guaranteed - Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band | AllMusic". allmusic.com. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r3298. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Christgau, R. (2011 [last update]). "Robert Christgau: CG: Artist 222". robertchristgau.com. http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=222. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Template:ISBN 0-679-73729-4
- ^ Scaruffi, P. (2011 [last update]). "The History of Rock Music. Captain Beefheart: biography, discography, reviews, links". scaruffi.com. http://www.scaruffi.com/vol1/beefhear.html. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ P., S. (2011 [last update]). "The Captain Beefheart Radar Station - Unconditionally Guaranteed Review". beefheart.com. http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/reviews/unrev.htm. Retrieved 22 July 2011.
- ^ Barnes, Mike. Captain Beefheart. Quartet Books, ISBN 0704380730.
- ^ Bill Harkleroad with Billy James, Lunar Notes. SAF Publishing Ltd, 1998.
- ^ [1]
- ^ [2]
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