When I was still in high school, I joined a friend at one of his friend’s houses. I had just started listening to the local college radio station, and my own suggestions of songs (“Triad” by Jefferson Airplane was one) earned me only disdainful looks – well deserved, too, once I started hearing his record collection. I was starting to gain some recognition as the first high-profile Bob Dylan fan in my age group, but this day showed me that I still had a lot to learn. It was one of those times in my life when I really wish I had been taking notes, but the band that stuck with me over the years was BEAST.
Beast – also called the Beast and the Incredible Beast – was formed in Colorado Springs in 1968 and opened for the Who there in August 1968. The band also hosted the Battle of the Bands in Colorado Springs in 1969. Beast has a website, www.bobyeazel.com/Beast.htm, but scarcely any mention at all on Allmusic and nothing yet on Wikipedia.
Beast released two albums, and as far as I know, neither is yet available on CD. The album I heard, Beast was released on Cotillion Records; to my delight, it was one of the first LP’s that I “rescued” from the Katrina debris. Despite a “warble” in the sound due to severe warping and ground-in mud, I have played it numerous times, and it sounds as great as ever. The album opens with what sounds like animal grunts (according to their website, the bandmembers were crowded around a mike chanting “Rush”), followed by a wild scream. Surprisingly, though, the songs that follow are quite mellow, with a hippie feel and some nice woodwinds. They had a later album called Higher . . . & . . . Higher with a very thin album cover; I managed to find them both, but they are quite scarce. I really don’t know why they vanished from the musical landscape so completely, but what can you do?
Flashback: The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for December 2009 – BEAST
I really didn’t expect to find anything on YouTube by this Beast, and I did have to hunt around quite a bit; but I finally stumbled onto several songs of theirs. None of them are videos; there is just a shot of the Beast album cover in each case. Apparently one person recorded every song on their first album, and others had recorded selected songs. The first song listed below is the opening cut on the album, which features chanting that sounds like animal grunts; the second is another good song that is a little different. If you like what you hear, there are plenty more that you could check out also.
I haven’t ever heard another band that is quite like Beast – the nice woodwind work is rare enough in itself – but if you know of one, please let me know!
“Floating (Down by the River)” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK7D6Kq9p8I
“Listen” – www.youtube.com/watch?v=2DkPiSMAA7s
(December 2011)
Picture Gallery: The Under-Appreciated Rock Band of the Month for December 2009 – BEAST
This is the back of the second album that shows a few photos:
Here is a promo poster that does the same:
(December 2012)
