Psychedelic-Rock'n'roll: Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - The Legendary A&M Sessions (RHYTHM 'N BLUES GARAGE US 1965-1966)

Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band - The Legendary A&M Sessions (RHYTHM 'N BLUES GARAGE US 1965-1966)

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"CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND - THE LEGENDARY A&M SESSIONS" (RHYTHM 'N BLUES 60s GARAGE US 1965-1966)

"The Legendary A&M Sessions" is an extended play featuring five songs by "Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band", recorded early in their career for their original record label "A&M Records".
The EP vinyl is compiled from two singles originally released through "A&M Records" in 1966. The first of these paired the "Bo Diddley" cover "Diddy Wah Diddy" with a track written by "Don Van Vliet" (aka "Captain Beefheart") called "Who Do You Think You're Fooling?".

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Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: "Diddy Wah Diddy" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling", A&M 794, US 1965

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Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: "Diddy Wah Diddy" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling", A&M 794 White Promo label with different credits (A. Christensen instead of E. McDaniel & W. Dixon), 1965 US

The second, "Moonchild", was written by producer "David Gates" (later of the band Bread...soon on Psychedelic-Rock'n'roll), and was backed with "Don Van Vliet"'s "Frying Pan".

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Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band: "Moonchild" / "Who Do You Think You're Fooling", A&M AMS 726, 1968 UK

The fifth tune featured here, "Here I Am I Always Am", was apparently a rejected B-side which had remained unreleased until the EP's appearance in 1984.
All of the songs, except maybe "Moonchild", showcase the skills of the early "Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band": his amazing gravel-textured engine-roaring vocals that sound like a voice singing through fire; the skippy Rock rhythms and catchy twangy guitar riffs; and the first stirrings of "Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band"'s ultimate lyrical direction.
The first four songs were released in 1965 on two separate 45 rpm singles after the band grabbed a deal with the then neophyte label "A&M Records".
The first of these, a cover of "Bo Diddley"'s "Diddy Wah Diddy", is an unappreciated Rock and Blues masterpiece.
The imposing Fuzz bass adds a touch of Psychedelia to the mix, but the song feels more like Blues Rock than "Incense and Peppermints".
Though the 1966 singles spawned no hits, they did vibrate the cochleas of one "John Peel", then working in California. Peel managed to get "Diddy Wah Diddy" on rotation, but sales didn't follow. Not long after "Moonchild" flopped, "The Magic Band" and "A&M Records" split.