Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)  

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Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) is the tenth album by Captain Beefheart and The Magic Band. Originally released in 1978, it is considered to be Beefheart's comeback album following 1974's poorly received efforts, Unconditionally Guaranteed and Bluejeans & Moonbeams, and is the first of his three critically acclaimed final albums.

Bat Chain Puller

Many of the tracks were originally recorded for Frank Zappa's DiscReet Records in 1976 for an album that was to be titled simply Bat Chain Puller - namely the title track, "Harry Irene", "The Floppy Boot Stomp", "Owed t'Alex" and the poem "Apes-Ma". This album, however, was never commercially released, owing to legal complications among the Discreet bosses, which meant that the tracks that appear on Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) had eventually to be re-recorded in 1978.

Track listing

All tracks written by Don Van Vliet except where noted

Side one

1. "The Floppy Boot Stomp" – 3:51
2. "Tropical Hot Dog Night" – 4:48
3. "Ice Rose" – 3:37
4. "Harry Irene" – 3:42
5. "You Know You're a Man" – 3:14
6. "Bat Chain Puller" – 5:27

Side two

1. "When I See Mommy I Feel Like a Mummy" – 5:03
2. "Owed t'Alex" (Van Vliet, Herb Bermann) – 4:06
3. "Candle Mambo" – 3:24
4. "Love Lies" – 5:03
5. "Suction Prints" – 4:25
6. "Apes-Ma" – 0:40

Personnel

• Don Van Vliet (AKA Captain Beefheart) - vocals, harmonica, soprano sax, whistling
• Jeff Moris Tepper - slide guitar, guitar
• Bruce Lambourne Fowler - trombone, bass
• Eric Drew Feldman - synthesizer, Rhodes piano, grand piano, bass
• Richard Redus - slide guitar, bottleneck guitar, guitar, accordion, fretless bass
• Robert Arthur Williams - drums, percussion
• Art Tripp III - Marimba, additional percussion