DOC AT THE RADAR STATION

So far, this is my favourite album by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band. This is a well-rounded, consistent album. It's not as maximalist and experimental as Trout Mask Replica, and neither does it lean towards a relatively approachable sound like their first album did.

Not all the songs here go for a dissonant, atonal sound like in some of their other works, and are actually listenable to even someone who goes for classic prog music, with a bit of an open mind.

It's also notable that the heavy, psychedelic, and even somewhat confrontational sound they use here was a great influence on genres like punk rock and alternative rock.

The songwriting is also outstanding. Yes, it's not something that many people will "get", and those who I've asked to listen to these songs almost always told me that these lyrics make no sense, often in a derisive way. While I don't blame people for not liking the lyrics, it must be noted that they are about the atmosphere and imagery, more than any proper meaning. The surrealism of Captain Beefheart's lyrics is almost never replicated well, and he's an amazing songwriter in a unique way. Doc at the Radar Station, like Trout Mask Replica and Bat Chain Puller, has some amazing lyrics.

My favourite songs on this album are Sue Egypt, which boasts an almost magical soundscape along with lyrical delivery that's both funny and bemusing at the same time; Brickbats, with some of the most intriguing imagery I've experienced in a song and a killer guitar riff; Telephone, that embodies technophobia and panic, and the final song, Making Love to a Vampire with a Monkey on my Knee, which features heavy profanity, unlike all the other songs on the album.

This has become a record that I cannot live without, and while it's anything but approachable to a mainstream audience, it's a highly influential, varied, consistent, and really unique album.

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