November 15, 2013

101 Reel-To-Reel Tapes 24: Captain Beyond ~ Sufficiently Breathless

album design by Pacific Eye & Ear
illustration by Joe Petagno & Carl Ramsey 
photo of cover by Styrous®


In addition to my vinyl collection I'm selling, I have hundreds of reel-to-reel, pre-recorded tapes I'm selling. This is an entry about one of them, Captain Beyond ~ Sufficiently Breathless, which was for sale on eBay (see link below for others). I have the vinyl LP version as well. Interested? Contact me by email, please, not by a comment.

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Captain Beyond was an American/British progressive hard rock band formed in Los Angeles, California in 1971. Sufficiently Breathless was the band's second album released in 1973. It is a jazz, latin, funk blend of rock kind of in the vein of Carlos Santana. It included Rod Evans (ex-Deep Purple), Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt (ex-Iron Butterfly) and Lee Dorman (ex-Iron Butterfly), quite an impressive line-up.

There is always a favorite song on any album for me. On this one, Starglow Energy is it. It is a dreamy, trippy and mellow rock song that is truly beautiful. It can be heard on YouTube (link below).

Drifting in Space is anything but drifting! It starts with a jolt as FAST as a run-a-way train. Kind of a latiny (is there such a word?) feel to it á la Carlos Santana. Whew!

Evil Men has a King Crimson (saw them at the Greek once, what a show) type of feeling to the intro that goes into a syncopated prog rock number with great guitar work by Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt ; terrific percussion and an echoey guitar duet during the break that is a knockout.

Distant Sun is a syncopated tour de force fusion of jazz and progressive rock stretched to incredible heights. Really nice for those who like their rock HARD and trippy but not hard rock.

Everything's a Circle has a quiet and trippy intro that nicely kicks into a great cha-cha rock tune that then goes into a VERY fast gallop that you have to hang on tight to get through it alive.

The graphics by Joe Petagno and Carl Ramsey on Sufficiently Breathless are really quite something; I've always wondered what they had been smokin'.


This album is progressive rock at its very best.

detail of illustration by Joe Petagno & Carl Ramsey 
detail photo by Styrous®



detail of illustration by Joe Petagno & Carl Ramsey 
detail photo by Styrous®



album design by Pacific Eye & Ear
background photo by Bob Jenkins
photo of cover back by Styrous®



album design by Pacific Eye & Ear
album back detail
detail photo by Styrous®



reel-to-reel tape
photo by Styrous®



reel-to-reel label detail
detail photo by Styrous®


Track listing:

All songs written by Lee Dorman

Side one:

1. Sufficiently Breathless – 5:15
2. Bright Blue Tango – 4:11
3. Drifting in Space – 3:12
4. Evil Men – 4:51

Side two:

1. Starglow Energy – 5:04
2. Distant Sun – 4:42
3. Voyages of Past Travellers – 1:46
4. Everything's a Circle – 4:14

Personnel:

Rod Evans – lead and harmony vocals
Larry "Rhino" Reinhardtlead guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar
Lee Dormanbass guitar
Marty Rodriguez – drums, backup vocals
Reese Wynanselectric piano, acoustic piano
Guille Garcia – congas, timbales, percussion
Paul Hornsbyorgan on "Starglow Energy"


Music links:

Starglow Energy on YouTube 
Sufficiently Breathless on YouTube
Bright Blue Tango on YouTube
Drifting in Space on YouTube
Evil Men on YouTube
Distant Sun on YouTube
Everything's a Circle on YouTube


reel-to-reel listings on eBay

more reel-to-reel tapes on the Styrous® Viewfinder:
                                             reel-to-reel tape archive


Thanks, guys.



Styrous®
~ Friday, November 15, 2013
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