Captain Beyond - Sufficiently Brethless (1973 us / uk, sensational hard progressive rock with smooth jazzy feeling, Original Vinyl edition)

Captain Beyond's second album must have confused the diehards. Where their self-titled debut had upheld the basic progressive heavy rock blueprint of lengthy instrumental explorations, constant tempo changes, and opaque, yet cinematic lyrics, Sufficiently Breathless downplays them for a subtler, song-oriented production. 

The predominant mood is snappy and businesslike; no track runs over five and a half minutes. This newfound conciseness certainly benefited such heavy-rocking efforts as "Distant Sun," even as the band stuck to their diverse guns on the moody, acoustic title track and the sleek Latin funk rock of "Bright Blue Eyes" and "Everything's a Circle." The results were intelligent and self-assured, yet the band's never-ending bad luck again intervened when vocalist Rod Evans quit in late 1973, leaving the album adrift. 

The band would proffer a markedly different style on their return four years later, but anyone dismissing progressive heavy rock as an oxymoron should definitely check out this album first. 

by Ralph Heibutzk

 Tracks
1.Sufficiently Breathless - 5:12
2.Bright Blue Tango - 4:08
3.Drifting In Space - 3:11
4.Evil Men - 4:50
5.Starglow Energy - 4:53
6.Distant Sun - 4:42
7.Voyages Of Past Travellers -1:46
8.Everything's A Circle - 4:12
All compositions by Lee Dorman

Captain Beyond
*Lee Dorman - Bass
*Rod Evans - Lead Vocals
*Guille Garcia - Congas, Timbales, Percussion
*Larry Reinhardt - Acoustic Electric, Slide Guitars
*Marty Rodriguez - Drums, Backing Vocals
*Reese Wynans - Acoustic, Electric Piano
*Paul Hornsby - Organ

Free Text
Free Text  II