Captain Beyond - Sufficiently Breathless (1973) {Japanese POCP-1827}
Release: 1973
Country: US
Type: Album
Length: 33:21
Biography by William Ruhlmann from allmusic.com wrote:
Captain Beyond was a rock group formed in Los Angeles in 1972 by ex-members of other prominent groups. Singer Rod Evans (b. January 19, 1947, Slough, Berkshire, England) had been with Deep Purple; drummer Bobby Caldwell had worked with Johnny Winter; and guitarist Larry Rheinhart (b. July 7, 1948, Florida) and Lee Dorman (b. September 15, 1945, St. Louis, MO) had been in Iron Butterfly. This lineup made their self-titled debut album for the Southern rock label Capricorn in 1972, after which Caldwell was replaced by Marty Rodriguez for their second album, Sufficiently Breathless (1973). Captain Beyond became inactive following the departure of Evans, but it was reorganized in 1976. Caldwell returned, and Willy Daffern was added as vocalist for Captain Beyond's third album, Dawn Explosion (1977), recorded for Warner Bros. Dawn Explosion was Captain Beyond's final effort.
Ralph Heibutzki from allmusic.com wrote:
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.
Tracklist:
1. Sufficiently Breathless (5:16)
2. Bright Blue Tango (4:12)
3. Drifting in Space (3:13)
4. Evil Men (4:52)
5. Starglow Energy (5:05)
6. Distant Sun (4:43)
7. Voyages of Past Travellers (1:46)
8. Everything's a Circle (4:14)
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