The most reviled album of Captain Beefheart's entire career, 1974's ironically titled Unconditionally Guaranteed unfortunately largely deserves its negative reputation.
Recorded in the U.K.
as the first album of Captain Beefheart's contract with Virgin Records, it's also the last album that features any members of the Trout Mask Replica-era band, notably guitarists Zoot Horn Rollo and Alex St.
Clair, plus former Mothers of Invention percussionist Art Tripp.
Rather like Van Morrison's later album, A Period of Transition, Unconditionally Guaranteed is clearly a deliberate attempt by the Captain to restrain his more peculiar tendencies in search of a wider audience.
As might be expected, the wider audience didn't show up, and his longtime fans were put off by the album's more commercial facets.
It's not an entirely useless album, as the tunes do have some of the blues-rock punch that's at the root of Beefheart's work, and the lyrics, mostly declarations of love for his wife, Jan Van Vliet, who receives co-writing credit with producer Andy DiMartino on all ten tracks, seem heartfelt enough.
The problem is that DiMartino's production and arrangements are flaccid and dull, and Beefheart (purposely) sings as if he's half asleep throughout.
Even Captain Beefheart himself disowns this record.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upon the My-O-MyAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 02:43 | 6 MB | 15 MB |
| 2 | Sugar BowlAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 02:13 | 5 MB | 12 MB |
| 3 | New Electric RideAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 03:02 | 6 MB | 18 MB |
| 4 | Magic BeAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 02:55 | 6 MB | 16 MB |
| 5 | Happy Love SongAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 03:54 | 8 MB | 22 MB |
| 6 | Full Moon, Hot SunAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 02:19 | 5 MB | 14 MB |
| 7 | I Got Love on My MindAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 18 MB |
| 8 | This Is the DayAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 04:51 | 11 MB | 27 MB |
| 9 | Lazy MusicAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 02:51 | 6 MB | 14 MB |
| 10 | PeachesAndy Dimartino, Don Van Vliet | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart | Play | 03:20 | 7 MB | 20 MB |
| 31 mins | 71 MB | |||||
| 31 mins | 180 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Susanne Ayers | Photography |
| 2 | Mike Barnes | Liner Notes |
| 3 | Mark Boston | Bass, Guitar |
| 4 | Jim Callon | Engineer, Original Engineering |
| 5 | Captain Beefheart | Guitar, Harmonica, Primary Artist, Vocals |
| 6 | Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band | Primary Artist |
| 7 | Alex St. Claire | Guitar |
| 8 | Anton Corbijn | Photography |
| 9 | Jason Day | A&R |
| 10 | Andy Dimartino | Arranger, Composer, Guitar, Guitar (Acoustic), Producer |
| 11 | Darren Evans | Reissue Design |
| 12 | John Guess | Engineer, Original Engineering |
| 13 | Bill Harkleroad | Guitar |
| 14 | Bruce Leek | Mastering |
| 15 | Bruce John Leek | Original Mastering |
| 16 | Mark Marcellino | Keyboards |
| 17 | Rockette Morton | Bass |
| 18 | Tom Perry | Remixing |
| 19 | Tom Wegg Prosser | Project Coordinator |
| 20 | Zoot Horn Rollo | Guitar |
| 21 | Alex St. Clair | Guitar |
| 22 | Del Simmons | Flute, Sax (Tenor), Wind |
| 23 | Terry Squire | Design |
| 24 | Desmond Strobel | Art Direction |
| 25 | Art Tripp | Drums, Keyboards, Percussion |
| 26 | Don Van Vliet | Arranger, Composer, Group Member, Harmonica, Vocals |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |