Dawn Explosion

Dawn Explosion, the third and final album by Captain Beyond, was released in 1977. The band had broken up four years before, but Warner Bros. Records signed a deal with the band's original label, Capricorn Records, and contacted the band members asking them to reunite.[3] Because original singer Rod Evans could not be contacted, Captain Beyond held auditions and picked Willy Daffern to replace him.[3] The drummer position was taken by original member Bobby Caldwell rather than his successor Marty Rodriguez.

Dawn Explosion
Studio album by Captain Beyond
Released	April 1977
Recorded	1976–1977 at the Record Plant, Sausalito
Genre	Progressive rock psychedelic rock
Length	37:57
Label	Warner Bros.
Producer	John Stronach and Captain Beyond
Captain Beyond chronology
Sufficiently Breathless (1973) Dawn Explosion (1977)

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[1]
Rolling Stone	(not rated)[2]

The song "Dawn Explosion" was recorded during the album sessions but the final album did not include the track, despite taking its title from it.[3]

Track listing

Side one

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Do or Die"	Bobby Caldwell, Willy Daffern, Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt	3:38
2.	"Icarus"	Caldwell, Lee Dorman, Reinhardt	4:17
3.	"Sweet Dreams"	Caldwell, Dorman, Reinhardt	5:29
4.	"Fantasy"	Caldwell, Daffern, Reinhardt	6:02

Side two

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Breath of Fire, Part 1 & Part 2"	Caldwell, Daffern, Reinhardt	6:19
2.	"If You Please"	Caldwell, Daffern, Dorman, Reinhardt	4:13
3.	"Midnight Memories"	Reinhardt	3:59
4.	"Oblivion"	Caldwell, Dorman, Reinhardt	4:00

CD reissues split "Breath of Fire, Part 1 & Part 2" into two tracks (subtitled "A Speck Within a Sphere" and "Alone in the Cosmos", respectively), and "Oblivion" into three tracks (with the preceding "Space Interlude" and succeeding "Space Reprise" being the sound effects and percussion that bookend the main section of "Oblivion").

Personnel

• Willy Daffern – lead vocals
• Larry "Rhino" Reinhardt – lead guitar, acoustic guitar, slide guitar
• Lee Dorman – bass, backing vocals, string ensemble synthesizer
• Bobby Caldwell – drums, backing vocals, percussion

Charts

Year	Chart	Peak position
1977	U.S. Billboard Pop Albums	181

References

1. Dawn Explosion at AllMusic
2. Rolling Stone review
3. "The Captain Beyond Story". The Unofficial (European) Captain Beyond Website. Archived from the original on May 2, 2001.

• Dawn Explosion (vinyl back cover). Captain Beyond. Burbank, CA: Warner Bros. 1977. BS 3047.CS1 maint: others (link)