Father's Place Knows Best

Some years back, Rhino Handmade caused great celebration among Captain Beefheart aficionados by releasing the rare live recording Live At My Father's Place (top left), by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band. Because I'm lazy and forgetful and lazy as all get out, I never got around to buying it, and as you might know, Rhino Handmade cds are all limited edition, and every copy eventually sold out (you'd have to mortgage your house to afford a used one now). Imagine my surprise when, in a local Glasgow chain store, I stumble upon a European release of this same live show (bottom left) on Masterplan Records. Granted, it doesn't have the attention to detail (live photos, liner notes, etc) that make Rhino Records the Criterion Collection of music reissues, and the track listing is shorter (3 songs are missing from this version), but egads, what a pleasure it is to finally own this and play the wild and wooly performance of Old Fart At Play that graces this album. Surprisingly, the cd is relatively easy to find on-line: the Polish store Tanie Plyty has made it available (with the price in US dollars, no less), and depending on how well you translate French into English, FNAC also has it for sale. Good luck.