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The supergroup that destroyed itself
Since nobody bothered to make a documentary about Captain Beyond, it was left to our robotic overlords to create one. It is done on the cheap, with no music licensed to use, still — the facts are there, so here it is.
Thanks to Arch and Uwe for the heads-up.
Unauthorized copying, while sometimes necessary, is never as good as the real thing
I used to have their Sufficiently Breathless album, and I never cared for it. Now West, Bruce and Laing what a group that could have been if not for the band members addictions.
May 22nd, 2026 at 01:47Even I learned some new-to-me stuff about CB in that perfunctory and AI wordy piece. Personally, I prefer Sufficiently Breathless (the album) to the debut, I liked that Santana influence. CB were this weird mix of English (almost Canterbury Scene) Prog, psychedelia and American West Coast rock, but it was certainly an original sound.
It is debatable whether Rod Evans ever qualified for the ârock singerâ bracket, but I found that he sounded on both CB albums more at home than on the Mk I albums.
I actually saw both Lee Dorman and Rhino a few years later on a German Iron Butterfly Tour – with Doug Ingle on keyboards and vocals. Rhinoâs terse guitar style appealed to me.
May 22nd, 2026 at 06:39Was there anything about West, Bruce & Laing that Mountain had not done just as well (if not better) before – stylish drug consumption of course aside? đ€
May 22nd, 2026 at 07:58The doc gets the chronology a little mixed up – the band was already a six-piece when drummer Glascock was replaced by Rodriguez, who joined on the recommendation of the conga player.
It also leaves out the fact that Bobby Caldwell rejoined in 1973 – after the second LP was released but before Rod Evans’ resignation at the end of the year caused the band’s initial break-up.
Live recordings from the band’s final tour with the original lineup show that material from “Sufficiently Breathless” sounded much more muscular with Caldwell on board.
May 22nd, 2026 at 10:36You:re right on both points, Skippy. The writing credits on Sufficiently Breathless are iffy too, Lee Dorman had some legal issues and could not be credited properly. I don’t think that was ever put right to the public on later (re)releases.
Until a few years ago, Bobby Caldwell was still touring the music.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sYMlLLbUtk
Sufficiently Breathless (the song) does have that “Wishbone Ash meets The Doobie Brothers”-vibe, maybe that is why I was always drawn to it.
May 22nd, 2026 at 16:46Love Captain Beyond, Rod was great with them. To this day I wish things would have worked out and they would have stayed together – and Rod with them – for many more albums!
May 22nd, 2026 at 18:27Uwe as far as I know, Leslie loved Cream, and when Mountain disbanded in 1972, he got to know Jack Bruce through Felix Pappalardi. I think it was simply a case that Leslie and Corky wanted to keep playing together and needed a bass player and got one of the greats. Felix Pappalardi was an all-around excellent musician, but Leslie said himself that when Mountain formed Felix was hesitant because he was never really in bands, he was a studio guy for the most part.
May 22nd, 2026 at 22:28That might very well be, I didn’t think the music of WBL was that hugely different. I always found it unusual that Felix went from producer of Cream to band member of Mountain only to then have Jack Bruce replace him. Kind of incestuous.
I’ve got one of Felix’ basses, no joke, a Gibson EB-1. It wasn’t his favorite one (he had several EB-1s), but sort of his spare. Some changed electronics according to his specifications. It was sold to me after his death by a Mountain fan who had obtained it from the estate.
I didn’t buy it because of the Felix background (back then I knew little of Mountain except for Mississippi Queen), but I wanted that particular model which was rare. It was from the first electric bass series Gibson ever did – way back in the 50s.
May 23rd, 2026 at 00:59Very interesting Uwe!
Now all you need is the Sunn Coliseum PA Head. I saw Mountain twice and guess what the second time they opened for Purple at the Scranton Cultural Center in the summer of 2005. My late wife had already seen them a few times by then and my older brother who used to love to bust my balls about being a Purple fan went to the show and admitted they were great afterward.
May 23rd, 2026 at 10:44Speaking of Felix, his tragic death getting shot by his wife in the throat, and the first person she called was her lawyer! Instead of murder, she only got manslaughter and served a few years. I remember reading In Classic Rock that she died some years ago, she was living in Mexico. Leslie and Corky said she was a very creative woman, she designed a few Mountain album covers, and I believe she even did some songwriting as well. But they both said that she was a witch, a really evil person despite her creativity.
@ 8- interesting your story of that EB-1 Gibson bass guitar you have Uwe. I have just finished reading this afternoon Bob Daisley’s book and he picked up one the same, no doubt you would be aware of that from reading the book. Little Richard’s bass player’s guitar that was used on many of those famous old hits. Good Golly Miss Molly, Lucille and many other songs. Cheers.
May 23rd, 2026 at 11:49Oh yeah, Bob has this one here:
https://youtu.be/Q0cBzyYlJuo (third guy from the left in the backing band)
Most people forgivable think âBeatles Bassâ (= Höfner) when they see a Gibson EB-1 because of the violin body shape, but the Gibson is actually the original from the 50s, the Höfner the visual rip-off from the 60s. Structurally they are nothing alike, the EB-1 is a hunk of solid and phat mahogany wood (with a weight belying its petite looks) with a really deep sound while the Höfner is a hollow-body with a more percussive tone.
May 23rd, 2026 at 23:00Sidroman, maybe itâs the lawyer in me talking, but who knows what really happened when that gun went off in Felixâ and his wife Gail Collinsâ NYC apartment. Felix had been seeing another woman, the couple was obviously experiencing a jealousy conflict. Iâm not saying Gailâs bullet did not kill him (the gun belonged to Felix btw), but Iâm not sure there was an intention to kill, even calling an attorney first thing in the aftermath doesnât create intent retroactively. I know, both ex-members of Mountain and Mountain fans see that differently, but even if Gail was a handful as a person, that still doesnât make her act automatically intentional. She did receive a mild sentence, true, and was out of prison in no time (less than two years) being a model inmate. To me it all sounds more like a domestic tragedy, at least that is what the jury must have come away with as an impression.
May 24th, 2026 at 12:19Regarding Gail Uwe, and this is just my opinion from what I’ve read about the band and heard in videos from Leslie West and Corky Laing. Felix was seeing another woman at the time of his death and Gail wasn’t happy at all about that, as you mentioned. I’ve also heard that personality wise she was very suspicious and was a very jealous person. I have a book on Mountain and Leslie was talking about when they played The Filmore in New York, Bill Graham was introducing the band as they came on stage, and he would introduce the band from the least important to the most important band member. First was Steve Knight the keyboard player, then Corky Laing was introduced, now Leslie was hoping that he would be introduced next, but Bill Graham introduced Felix instead and then finally Leslie was introduced. Leslie saw Gail and she was not happy about this at all! One final thing Leslie said about Felix and Gail’s relationship, there was a lot of physical violence, and Felix was not a big guy, and apparently Gail used to beat the crap out of him. Add various substances into this relationship and it’s not surprising that a disaster happened.
May 24th, 2026 at 22:35The fact that she put in her will that her three cats be euthanized and cremated with her did make me frown a bit, Sidroman! đ That showed a worrisome penchant for radical solutions and was a bit on the pharaonic side!
https://l450v.alamy.com/450vde/2h6p23c/romische-agyptische-katzenmumie-nach-30-v-chr-romische-periode-abydos-british-museum-ea37348-mumie-der-katze-leinenumhullungen-in-geometrischem-muster-angeordnet-len-2h6p23c.jpg
May 25th, 2026 at 11:10Yes, Exactly Uwe,
Putting her cats down just because she was dying seems like an extreme solution. If I was in her place I would have tried adopting the cats to good homes. Apparently, she had moved to Mexico because the USA wasn’t liberal enough to her liking. I’m trying to find out more about her because her story is fascinating. Some more information on her here.
http://www.goodreads.com/author_blog_posts/5796321-the-last-verse-for-one-of-rock-s-most-intriguing-wives
May 25th, 2026 at 22:30Why would one need a specific reason to put cats down? đ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cGEm-SB9WFM&t=28s
Just joking, all you cat lovers out there!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-VfQLIrwX0
May 26th, 2026 at 17:34Uwe
you remind me of Tracy Heyder
SHOOT THAT DOG!
May 27th, 2026 at 20:20I’ve been called worse!
What happened to her? She’s hopefully not THIS Tracy Heyder?
https://www.everestofthunderbay.com/obituaries/Mrs-Tracy-Lynn-Bousquet-Heyder?obId=34328007
May 31st, 2026 at 23:56Calling Tracy a woman infuriated him.
Together with Larry he was glued to the THS screen.
June 2nd, 2026 at 12:56