Vintage German TV Show Beat-Club Has Some of the Best Live Music Sets on YouTube

Invisible Hits is a column in which Tyler Wilcox scours the internet for the best (and strangest) bootlegs, rarities, outtakes, and live clips.

It’s definitely not the best of times for live music fans, but it could be worse. At least we have access to the vast archives of YouTube and beyond, allowing the quarantined concertgoer to time-trip back to their preferred era with just a few keystrokes. One of the most enjoyable live music wormholes is Beat-Club, a German television program that hosted a dizzying array of talent in the late 1960s and early ’70s. Beat-Club was among the first TV shows to present an unfiltered concert experience, with no stilted interviews or awkward studio dancers, allowing performers to just relax and play. The results speak for themselves: You could easily lose several quarantined days to the Beat-Club vaults. Here are 10 clips to get you going.

Curtis Mayfield (1972)

An hour’s worth of peak-period Curtis Mayfield, backed by the same band as 1971’s classic Curtis/Live! LP? Yes, please. Mayfield’s Beat-Club show kicks off with a smoking medley of Marvin Gaye’s “Inner City Blues” and Bill Withers’ “Ain’t No Sunshine” and doesn’t let up from there. Enjoy deep interplay between Mayfield and guitarist Craig McMullen throughout, with an impossibly funky rhythm section carrying the pair along. This footage comes and goes on the ‘net—catch it while you can. (And check out part two of Mayfield’s set.)

Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band (1972)

When you can actually see Captain Beefheart conjuring up his mutant electrified blues, the music becomes decidedly more relatable: Its idiosyncratic groove and intuitive logic emerge as you watch the musicians possessed by the flow. This 1972 clip is one of the best visual examples of the Captain and his Magic Band in full flight. Dig the unstoppable locomotion of “Click-Clack,” with Beefheart’s raspy vocals and earthy harmonica floating above the fray. You may also find yourself mesmerized by each member of the Magic Band’s so-wrong-they’re-right sartorial choices.

The Kinks (1972)

Only Kinks mastermind Ray Davies could wear something as goofy as his oversized bowtie here and still come across as impeccably cool. Wardrobe choices aside, this is an excellent look at the Muswell Hillbillies-era Kinks, capable of hook-laden pop (“Lola”), satirical music hall-style numbers (“Holiday”) and chooglin’ country rock (“Muswell Hillbilly”). The set closes on a throwback to the band’s classic mid-’60s era, with breakneck jams on “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night.”

Fotheringay (1970)

There’s frustratingly little footage of English singer-songwriter Sandy Denny out there, and this is some of the best. Denny’s Beat-Club appearance captures a mini-set with her short-lived post-Fairport Convention outfit Fotheringay. The highlight sees Sandy at the piano for a chilling rendition of the anti-war screed “John The Gun,” which later appeared on her 1971 solo album The North Star Grassman and the Ravens.

Fanny (1972)

Heavy blues-rock boogie was a fixture on the early 1970s scene, but it was rarely played by an all-woman group. And it was rarely played as well as Fanny played it. The quartet’s righteous swagger and swing is on full display in their Beat-Club appearance, showcasing the scorching riffage and soaring leads of guitarist June Millington. High energy and no nonsense, Fanny put the overblown antics of their male peers to shame, especially on their killer cover of the Beatles deep cut “Hey Bulldog.”

MC5 (1972)

Of course, overblown antics can be fun, too. Just check out MC5’s ecstatic Beat-Club performance from 1972. At this point, the group was a bit past its late-’60s prime, but they could still handily kick out the proverbial jams. The furious twin-guitar attack of Fred “Sonic” Smith and Wayne Kramer, the James Brown-style moves of frontman Rob Tyner, the mind-meld going on in the rhythm section—it all adds up to some thrilling rock action. (And if that’s not enough, here’s even more footage from MC5’s session.)

Amon Düül II (1970)

Beat-Club wasn’t all about the British and American rock scenes. The program also featured some homegrown talent, such as the krautrock adventurers Amon Düül II, who lay waste to the studio during an anarchic set. The visual effects date the clip considerably, but the band itself sounds frighteningly up-to-date 50 years later. Today’s neo-psych bands would kill for a fraction of these wild vibes.

Kraftwerk (1971)

More early krautrock is on display in this Beat-Club set by Kraftwerk—a version of Kraftwerk, anyway. Co-founder Ralf Hütter is missing in action here, and there are appearances by Klaus Dinger and Michael Rother, who would soon go on to form Neu!. The open-ended, free-floating sound is closer to what Dinger and Rother would shortly get up to on their own records, with beautiful clouds of impressionist guitar drifting over propulsive motorik beats. Kraftwerk co-founder Florian Schneider fits right in, adding a pastoral vibe to the proceedings with his effects-laden flute and strummed violin.

Johnny Cash (1972)

From the autobahn to a dusty Southern back road: Johnny Cash’s Beat-Club appearance is as down-home as it gets, even with the trippy visuals that play in the background. The Man in Black exudes supernatural warmth and authority in his performance, which comes after a rollicking appearance from Carl Perkins in the opening slot. Stick around for June Carter Cash’s show-stealing duet with Johnny on “Jackson,” in which both singers are unable to contain their flirty grins.

Stevie Wonder (1974)

You’d be hard-pressed to find a more restoratively soulful half-hour than Stevie Wonder’s 1974 set on Musikladen, the renamed Beat-Club. Starting with a delicious slow-burn jam, Stevie leads his versatile band through a performance that crackles with imagination, positivity, and mind-bending prog-funk. No matter how twisty the tunes sometimes get (just check out the lightning-fast “Contusion”), Wonder makes it look as natural as can be. By the time they roll into “Higher Ground,” the group has achieved lift-off, as Stevie belts out lyrics that are as relevant as ever today: “Powers keep on lyin’ / While your people keep on dyin’ / World keep on turnin’ / Cause it won’t be too long.”

Originally Appeared on Pitchfork