[Alert_Box Type =“Info”]此评价Bill Harkleroad和Billy James的书是由Andy Gill编写的，并在1998年12月展出的Mojo杂志。[/ Alrike_box]
作为Zoot Root Rollo，Don Van Vliet在Magic Band中最忠实的中尉，Bill Harkleroad是摇滚音乐中最有影响力的吉他手之一，尽管如此回忆录明确，它始终是爱的劳动，首先是劳动。他不仅要遭受令人沮丧的荒谬政权的奇怪狂热，而且，他在这里揭示的情况下，他最终从他扮演的任何一张专辑中收到了“没有任何钱”。Harkleroad承认这可能是由于他自己的年轻人渴望，这在当时的态度充分明显，但这并没有原谅他的老板对员工的可耻行为。毕竟，如果牛肉如此担心为他的记录索赔，他肯定至少对他的音乐家造成的责任，这显然被忽视了。
尽管他粗暴的待遇，Harkleroad Bears Van Vliet令人惊讶地小的恶意，这是考虑到魔法乐队中日常生活的心理雷区的非凡。他解释一下，牛肉是一个残酷的机械手，用于将乐队主管持续到“洗脑”的会议，每个人都持续到20个小时，在此期间他会在他的生活哲学中指导他们，因为它适用于这种重要事项作为正确的方式拿着一支香烟（明显上翘，明显地）。他会在他被认为是某人的弱点 - 他们的饮食习惯，姿态，姿势 - 对与母亲的关系感到特别兴趣的东西。
With no money, little food, and days consumed with practising the almost impossible guitar parts which drummer John “Drumbo” French would transcribe from Beefheart’s piano sketches or whistled demonstrations some requiring seven notes to be played simultaneously, a tough trick for five-fingered mammals – the atmosphere within The Magic Band quickly grew quite fractious, and all-out fist fights were common. On one occasion, steel-appendage guitarist Jeff Cotton (Antennae Jimmy Semens to you) was so badly beaten up he suffered two broken ribs. Not surprisingly, he left the hand following Trout Mask Replica. Harkleroad stuck out for another four albums, before capitulating to the inevitable. Though his evident love for the music comes across strongly throughout Lunar Notes, Harkleroad’s book makes sobering reading for anyone who still idolises Captain Beefheart. As so often, the final verdict would seem to be genius artist, amateur human being.