Goes nicely with a double espresso: 
We take requests – and this is one of them. Captain Beyond were one of those bands that had all the earmarks of being a household name, but for whatever reason; timing and a reasonably ill-prepared record label, they suffered a goodly amount of undeserved overlook and neglect.
With members coming from bands as diverse as Iron Butterfly and Deep Purple, Captain Beyond were regarded as one of the first of the Prog/Hard-rock bands to come out of the 70s. In a time when much of the Stateside emphasis was on the “Geffen Acts” (i.e. Eagles, Linda Ronstadt etc.), and Prog-Rock being the somewhat exclusive property of Europe, Captain Beyond were something of an anomaly with audiences.
Though they persevered and released a few albums, regrouped and reinvented over the years, they’ve still never gotten the recognition they deserve. Sadly, two of the founding members, Lee Dorman and Larry Reinhardt have since passed away.
This morning it’s an appearance at the 1971 Montreux Jazz Festival in a short set, and one that constitutes their debut. Their first album wasn’t released yet, making this a rare appearance and an even rarer recording. Various versions of this gig are around – it was shot on video tape and the sound has ranged from acceptable to rotten. Unfortunately, the intro to the band is missing and fades in rather quickly.
But as always the case in history – you have to take what you can get.
Hopefully, more early material by this almost-forgotten band will surface. In the meantime, get acquainted with a very deserving and great band – who were much better in concert than they were in the studio, as was the case with a lot of music in the 60s and 70s.
If you’ve spent any time poking around social media and visiting websites the one thing that may hit you is how unique Past Daily actually is. It’s music you may not be familiar with or have forgotten about – it’s history without turning it into an “eat your vegetables” exercise – it’s people from the past; iconic and notorious who you may have read about or heard about but never actually heard what they had to say. It’s the occasional odd observation on life and living the day-to-day which may prompt you to nod or wince. One thing Past Daily is not is boring. The world is in a constant state of change and it’s good to be reminded that, very often, we’ve been on this road before and have experienced the same results. Sometimes we’ve learned from them, but a lot of times we haven’t -so the reminder that life is this gigantic adventure that very often has some good things attached to can be a comfort and a relief. That’s why Past Daily is here – we’re not here to hustle you for money for things you don’t want or need – we’re not here to trash anybody or anything or get you outraged – we’re here to turn you on to things that might, just possibly, add something to your life. That’s the deal and that’s why becoming a subscriber to Patreon – or even kicking in a few bucks via PayPal or Buy Me A Coffee is crucial and your way of keeping us up and running every day. It’s expensive to keep us going – but we’re committed to giving you the best and most unique. So, long story short – click on the “Become A Subscriber” box below, or click on the Buy Me A Coffee link on top and help become part of the solution – it’s easy and painless – honest.
