Beefheart* – Bat Chain Puller

Madness really that quite a few Beefheart classics are not longer available, or available on streaming even. This one though, has the be the greatest failing of them all. Tragic mismangement of a great artist's work that you can even hear it, or buy a copy

Hopefully this album can get the proper, respectful release it deserves now that Gail Zappa is six feet under and the catalogue has been prised from the squabbling failsons and faildaughters of the Zappa clan.

They couldn't even be bothered creating a cover for it! How sad, this album deserves a proper cover and vinyl release.

Do NOT buy from scalpers! Available at 14 USD directly from https://store.captainbeefheart.com/bat-chain-puller-cd.html

According to the liner notes, the version of Hoboism here is a different recording form the Hoboism version in the unofficial Hoboism CD, which makes it even more obscure.

This is a great sounding CD. I have the original vinyl version Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) which sounds commercial compared to this. This is raw and it does deserve a special vinyl treatment, since it is sourced from master tapes.

give us a vinyl issue give us a vinyl, goodnight!

Some words after listening to this record, which I ed as mp3 from youtube
(thank you, capitalists!):
Bat Chain Puller (B): it's a cult object, but important only as a historical anecdote, not for musical reasons - it does not reach the quality of the later recorded versions of its tracks, on which the creative potential of Don Van Vliet and his companions truely shines.
The bass on Shiny Beast may be thin, but the arrangement/instrumentation is very compact, the bands playing, the music is wild, it rocks and flows with dense force, like on the following two albums. Nearly perfectly elaborated.
I miss that on B.
The Captains saxophone playing on "The Thousandth And Tenth Day ..." (Ice Cream for Crow): Wonderful! Tension! The same track on B, without sax: a little boring in comparison, I would say. The trombone of Bruce Fowler on the later recordings: it adds much power and an interesting colour to the music.
A good "decision" of "cooperating" Cohen and Zappa, not to publish B at that time. Otherwise, the later masterworks of CB perhaps would not have come to our ears, who knows?
The people may buy or sell B for 40 € or more (- would Karl Marx enjoy the music of CB ?), but that has not much to do with the musical quality, it's just meaningless "cult" (sounds like german "kalt" = cold). For me, Captain Beefheart is a cult figure because he created such phenomenal, authentic, exciting music, lyrics and paintings.
BCB doesn't satisfie me, but I love the last track (Bonus track "Hobo-Ism"): CB sings the "real" blues again - nothing is missing.
Thank you, Don!

This title is (September 2018) available for USD 14,- at the official Captain Beefheart Store, just as Trout Mask Replica (on Zappa records)

It's very tough deciding whether I prefer this to the revised "Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)" album released in 1978. On the one hand, that album introduces Tropical Hot Dog Night, which is one of Beefheart's best songs. On the other hand, some aspects of the production were disappointing: the high amount of tape hiss and thinness/lack of bass which John French himself commented on in his biography.

This album has better production, and what I consider to be the definitive versions of Bat Chain Puller and Brickbats. Some of the songs (namely Flavor Bud Living and Harry Irene) sound sluggish. At any rate, I'm happy the Zappa family released the original Bat Chain Puller, even if the artwork is unacceptably plain.