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Thread: Camper Van Beethoven

  1. #1
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    Camper Van Beethoven

    Remember them?

    I just found a cassette of "Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart" (1988 Virgin) which is now playing in my horizontal loading Denon DRS-640. Great sound!

    I haven't heard this in 2 decades! It's actually very good, a bit XTC-ish...maybe XTC meets The Jayhawks meets Squeeze meets The Smithereens...or something....
    Loads of vintage keyboard sounds! And lots of waltzy bits in songs or as whole tunes.

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2L3vp2Ub-t4

    Now this was the image on the record sleeve:
    http://991.com/NewGallery/Camper-Van...vol-529965.jpg


    But the cassette sleeve looks like this, not only a different cover image but also a fantastic version of the Virgin Twins label in shades of red:
    http://www.vinylvendors.com/Pictures...rvan190488.jpg
    Last edited by PeterG; 08-16-2013 at 12:37 PM.

  2. #2
    Member Pangolin's Avatar
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    Ahh... I remember that cassette inlay: as if Roger Dean had designed a cover for the 3 Mustaphas 3. (I wonder how many times the old Virgin logos by Dean have been revived over the years, like the occasional reuse of the original Harvest logo.)

    From memory it was very indeed waltzy..and maybe the most poppy/song-based album they did? Always liked "She Divines Water" and "Tania", surely the only love song about Patty Hearst ever written...though I will doubtless be corrected on that point.

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  3. #3
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    I've never forgot them. Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart does have a great sound. Virgin put some money behind the band to record, and we got a really nice album out of it. It was that particular album that hooked me on the band. It's successor, Key Lime Pie sounds great too, but is thematically darker, and lacks some of the whimsy that really attracts me to the band.
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  4. #4
    I never had any of their albums, but I remember a few songs that got played on MTV, specifically their version of Pictures Of Matchstick Men and The Eye Of Fatima. I seem to recall they did an album with Eugene Chadbourne, I think using the group name Camper Van Chadbourne, and there was a cover of Careful With That Axe Eugene on it. I was always curious to hear what that sounded like (I've got a couple of Eugene's other records, so I know any cover tune he's involved is gonna sound...unique, shall we say?).

  5. #5
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    I might be wrong, but I think the track that got most airplay in the UK was "Take The Skinheads Bowling".

  6. #6
    One of my favorites.

    ORBS might be my favorite of their albums.

    Their 21st Century reunion albums -- New Roman Times and La Costa Perdida -- are also great. In fact, I heard about the latter right here on this very PE.
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  7. #7
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    There's a few Camper Van Chadbourne albums about, not all made it to CD. Also, Chadbourne shows up on CVB's eponymous third album, which is by far their most psychedelic.

    I love New Roman Times, but for some reason La Costa Perdida hasn't really grabbed me. Perhaps I just need to let go of some expectations, or something.

    All through my twenties, if I went on a road trip, CVB would get on the tapedeck at some point.
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  8. #8
    Estimated Prophet notallwhowander's Avatar
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    I just picked up a remaster of Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart. Apparently that and Key Lime Pie have finally found a second release with bonus tracks, etc.

    The band has released another disc of new music called El Camino Real, a sister-disc to last year's La Costa Perdida. I have to admit while La Costa Perdida did find much traction with me initially, now that I have it mixed together with El Camino Real on my iPod, I'm really appreciating it much more. The two were a large portion of my road trip playlist this summer, going to Southern California to see family.

    The more things change, the more they stay the same.
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  9. #9
    I've got six or eight of their albums on vinyl, right between Glen Campbell and Can, right where they belong!

  10. #10
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    I saw them open for someone once (can't remember who). I remember liking them ok, but not enough to pick up any of their stuff.

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