Features
Camper Van Beethoven Rocks On
The album was originally recorded during Camper Van Beethoven’s heyday and finally saw daylight in May. The two-disc offering covers the Fleetwood Mac album of the same name and includes a number of CD bonus features.
Formed in the early ‘80s in Santa Cruz, Calif., Camper Van Beethoven rocked the college music world and club scene with their one-of-a-kind brand of “surrealist absurdist folk.” Encompassing many different genres – from folk, to ska, world, punk, and rock – the band released several idiosyncratic albums full of psychedelic dirges and pop hooks.
After making their mark on the emerging alt. rock scene and releasing what would be their final album in 1989, Key Lime Pie, Camper Van Beethoven dissolved. The members quickly moved on to make full-time jobs out of their side projects and solo aspirations – Counting Crows, Cracker, Natalie Merchant’s band, Monks Of Doom, Jack and Jill, Tarnation In Lava, and Kieronymous Firebrain, among others.
In 1999, a rarities collection, Camper Van Beethoven Is Dead – Long Live Camper Van Beethoven, was released, inspiring assorted Camper members to do a few quasi-reunion dates on the West Coast.
Currently, Cracker, formed by Camper lead singer David Lowery, are touring in support of their fifth album, Forever, while former bandmate David Immergluck continues his membership in Counting Crows‘ touring and session band.