Doc at the Radar Station
{{Infobox album
| name = Doc at the Radar Station
| type = studio
| artist = Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band
| cover = CaptBeefheartDocRadar250px.jpg
| alt =
| released = August 1980
| recorded = June 1980
| venue =
| studio = Sound Castle Recording Studios, Los Angeles
| genre =
| length = 38:52
| label = Virgin
| producer = Don Van Vliet
| prev_title = Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)
| prev_year = 1978
| next_title = Ice Cream for Crow
| next_year = 1982
}}
{{Album ratings
| rev1 = AllMusic
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}{{cite web |url= http://www.allmusic.com/album/r3301 |title=Doc at the Radar Station - Captain Beefheart | AllMusic |first=S. |last=Huey |work=allmusic.com |accessdate=22 July 2011}}
|rev2 = Christgau's Record Guide
|rev2Score = A−{{cite book|last=Christgau|first=Robert|author-link=Robert Christgau|year=1981|title=Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies|publisher=Ticknor & Fields|isbn=089919026X|chapter=Consumer Guide '70s: C|chapter-url=https://www.robertchristgau.com/get_chap.php?k=C&bk=70|accessdate=February 23, 2019|via=robertchristgau.com}}
| rev4 = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music
| rev4Score = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|author-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|year=2011|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|chapter=Captain Beefheart|publisher=Omnibus Press|isbn=978-0857125958|edition=5th}}
| rev3 = DownBeat
| rev5 = The Great Rock Bible
| rev5score = 7.5/10{{cite book|title=The Great Rock Bible|author=Martin C. Strong|author-link=Martin C. Strong|edition=1st|year=2024|isbn=978-1-9127-3328-6|publisher=Red Planet Books}}
| rev7 = Music Story
| rev7score= {{rating|4|5}}{{CN|date=December 2023}}
| rev8 = MusicHound Rock
| rev8score = {{rating|4.5|5}}{{cite book|title=MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide|editor=Gary Graff|editor-link=Gary Graff|edition=1st|year=1996|location=London|isbn=978-0-7876-1037-1|publisher=Visible Ink Press}}
| rev9 = Rolling Stone
| rev9Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}} Rolling Stone Album Guide (1992) {{ISBN|0-679-73729-4}}
| rev10 = Spin Alternative Record Guide
| rev10Score = 9/10{{cite book |chapter=Captain Beefheart |editor1-last=Weisbard |editor1-first=Eric |editor2-last=Marks |editor2-first=Craig |title=Spin Alternative Record Guide |edition=1st |publisher=Vintage Books |location=New York |year=1995 |isbn=0-679-75574-8}}
| rev6 = Tom Hull
}}
Doc at the Radar Station is the eleventh studio album by American band Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, released in August 1980 by Virgin Records.
Packaging
The album cover was painted by Don Van Vliet. It was placed at number forty-nine on Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers in November 14th, 1991 issue.{{Cite web |title=Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers |url=Rolling Stone's 100 Greatest Album Covers }}
Background
Although about half of the album's songs are based on old musical ideas, Mike Barnes states that "most of the revamping work built on skeletal ideas and fragments ... would have mouldered away in the vaults had they not been exhumed and transformed into full-blown, totally convincing new material".Barnes, Mike. Captain Beefheart: The Biography. London: Quartet Books, 2000. The tracks "A Carrot is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond", "Flavor Bud Living" and "Brickbats" were originally intended and recorded for the unreleased album Bat Chain Puller.
John French (the original drummer in the Magic Band) rejoined Beefheart for this album. He played guitar on all songs, plus bass ("Sheriff of Hong Kong"), drums ("Ashtray Heart" and "Sheriff of Hong Kong"), and marimba ("Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee"). He also sings the second vocal on "Dirty Blue Gene".
Reissues
In 2011, 4 Men with Beards released a 180-gram version of the album, distributed by City Hall Records.
Track listing
{{Track listing
| headline = Side one
| all_writing = Don Van Vliet
| title1 = Hot Head
| length1 = 3:23
| title2 = Ashtray Heart
| length2 = 3:25
| title3 = A Carrot Is as Close as a Rabbit Gets to a Diamond
| length3 = 1:38
| title4 = Run Paint Run Run
| length4 = 3:40
| title5 = Sue Egypt
| length5 = 2:57
| title6 = Brickbats
| length6 = 2:40
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Side two
| title1 = Dirty Blue Gene
| length1 = 3:51
| title2 = Best Batch Yet
| length2 = 5:02
| title3 = Telephone
| length3 = 1:31
| title4 = Flavor Bud Living
| length4 = 1:00
| title5 = Sheriff of Hong Kong
| length5 = 6:34
| title6 = Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on My Knee
| length6 = 3:11
}}
Personnel
- Captain Beefheart (Don Van Vliet) – vocals, Chinese gongs, harmonica, soprano saxophone, bass clarinet
- John French – slide guitar, guitar, bass, drums (on "Ashtray Heart" and "Sheriff of Hong Kong"), marimba (on "Making Love To A Vampire With A Monkey On My Knee"), vocals on "Dirty Blue Gene" and "Run Paint Run Run"
- Jeff Moris Tepper – slide guitar, guitar, nerve guitar, background vocals on "Run Paint Run Run"
- Eric Drew Feldman – synthesizer, bass, mellotron, grand piano, electric piano, background vocals on "Run Paint Run Run"
- Robert Arthur Williams – drums, background vocals on "Run Paint Run Run"
;Additional personnel
- Gary Lucas – guitar (on "Flavor Bud Living"), French horn (on "Best Batch Yet")
- Bruce Lambourne Fowler – trombone (on "Run Paint Run Run")
Notes
{{Reflist}}
Further reading
- {{cite book|title=A Brief History of Album Covers|first=Jason|last=Draper|publisher=Flame Tree Publishing|location=London|year=2008|pages=216–217|isbn=9781847862112|oclc=227198538}}
External links
- [http://www.beefheart.com/doc-at-the-radar-station-discography Lyrics, reviews and details] at the [http://www.beefheart.com Captain Beefheart Radar Station]
{{Captain Beefheart}}
{{Authority control}}