Captain Beefheart discography


The following is a list of official releases by American musician Captain Beefheart. With various line-ups of musicians called The Magic Band, Beefheart released a total of 13 studio albums recorded between 1967 and 1982, after which he left music to concentrate on a career in painting, as Don Van Vliet. His catalogue has since been augmented with extra releases including an EP and various compilations of live material, studio outtakes and greatest hits releases.
In addition to his work with the Magic Band over this period, Beefheart also collaborated with several other musicians, most notably Frank Zappa, a friend from his teenage years with whom he worked intermittently during his musical career.

Main releases

Studio albums

EP

YearTitleNotesMagic Band personnel
1984The Legendary A&M Sessions
  • Released in October 1984
  • Label: A&M
  • Features four tracks taken from the band's earliest singles in 1966, and a fifth track recorded in the same year
  • Doug Moon
  • Alex St. Clair
  • Paul Blakely
  • Jerry Handley

    • Live albums

  • Live London '74
  • Amsterdam '80

    Compilations

  • The Spotlight Kid/Clear Spot
  • The Spotlight Kid/Lick My Decals Off, Baby
  • Captain Beefheart File
  • Music in Sea Minor
  • Top Secret
  • Safe as Milk/Mirror Man
  • Abba Zaba
  • Captain Beefheart at his Best
  • The Best Beefheart
  • Zig Zag Wanderer: The Collection
  • I May Be Hungry but I Sure Ain't Weird: The Alternative Captain Beefheart
  • A Carrot Is As Close As A Rabbit Gets To A Diamond
  • Zig Zag Wanderer: The Best of the Buddah Years
  • Electricity
  • The Mirror Man Sessions
  • The Dust Blows Forward: An Anthology
  • The Best of Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band
  • Hot Head: Introducing Captain Beefheart
  • The Buddah Years
  • It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper
  • Sun Zoom Spark: 1970 to 1972

    Singles

    • Promotional singles

    Other appearances

    with Frank Zappa

    Beefheart may also have performed uncredited on other Zappa albums, including Freak Out! where he can be detected playing harmonica and singing.

    Other collaborations