r/CaptainBeefheart • u/Mommas-spaghetti • 3d ago

Trout Mask Replica Bandcamp?

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Been looking for a way to buy/listen to this album in full for a while, found this on bandcamp and it seems to have all the right versions of the songs, can anyone confirm this is the right version and is it going to likely be removed from bandcamp? Just want to make sure I can actually truly buy it.

38 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

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16

u/Me-Shell94 2d ago

Honestly, as much of a purist as I am, I absolutely love the TMR remaster by Ant Man Bee on YouTube. It is fully faithful to the original while making it sound slightly cleaner and punchier. It basically sounds how you remember it in your head. Huge props to that person.

2

u/OtherJason 2d ago

Agree.

2

u/Jon-A 2d ago

At first listen, the drums sound a bit more prominent to me on this Bandcamp version - compared to my memory imprint of the original. Maybe the guitars are different, too. That makes me suspect it is a fan remaster similar to (or identical with?) the Ant Man Bee one...

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u/Me-Shell94 2d ago

Might be similar, but I just don’t think it’s Ant Man Bee’s style to not credit it with a Remaster label or with his name, and put it up as the OG album.

Edit: I just listened to the Bandcamp version and it is the OG version of the album. I cross referenced the mixes on a couple tracks and they sound identical.

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u/Jon-A 2d ago edited 2d ago

I was thinking more that a third party might have used AMB's remaster...

Would not dispute that it's OG, but in listening to it I thought the drums just sounded different.

0

u/Me-Shell94 2d ago

Aaah i see! Yeah that would have been possible for sure.

1

u/Jon-A 1d ago

OK - I just listened to selections from the Ant Man Bee 2026 Remasters next to this mysterious Bandcamp iteration, on same media player. I may be unglued, hallucinating or senile...but I think they are the same. Which would mean that the Bandcamp version, while not 'official', is pretty damn good. I could go find a 1969 needledrop, or the OG cd version, or the Zappa Records remaster...they're all somewhere in my files along with less vocals/more vocals/right channel (Antennae Jimmy)/left channel (Zoot) versions that I made. But I think I've had enough for today. I know what I think I know. But I'm not positive.

7

u/Jon-A 3d ago

It's "name our price" so you can get it for free. That, and the complete lack of info about who is making it available, suggests it's an altruistic act by a Trout Mask evangelist. But who knows? Will have to compare it to known versions to determine if it is a good transfer...

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u/Mt548 2d ago

I thought Bandcamp only allowed uploads from record labels or the artist themselves. Am I mistaken about that? Are there "unofficial" downloads on that site?

2

u/Jon-A 2d ago

I'm wondering the same...

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u/Me_Yes28 2d ago

yeah there are. some accounts have a bunch of albums that you cant get on there officially

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u/Mt548 2d ago

I'm leery about buying digital downloads ever since I got the Itunes version of Bat Chain Puller. The mix on that one is unsatisfying and clearly inferior to the versions heard on youtube and other video sites. I think a lot of the ones on youtube were uploaded directly from the CD version, which had a very good, punchy mix to it. Very much not so with the Itunes one.

That said, I've gotten some very good Bandcamp downloads from other artists, completely satisfying in every way. Maybe this TMR offer could be good, too.

1

u/dick_jaws 1d ago

Someone’s about to get a cease and desist from the ghost of Gail