Captain Beefheart Theory

Trout Mask is one strange album, to this day.  I've been listening to it since it was released (that'd be nearly 40 years) and I still don't necessarily 'get' it all.  As another poster noted, songs such as Ella Guru are almost mainstream. 

Edited by jammun - August 14 2008 at 19:13

NaturalScience wrote: Pnoom! wrote: rileydog22 wrote: Pnoom! wrote: NaturalScience wrote: This music sounds very intriguing - I'll have to give it a go one of these days. You will not regret getting Trout Mask Replica. I wouldn't make that guarantee to anyone.  I think NS is the type of person who will at the very least appreciate TMR and will not regret hearing it. At the least I need to try the album as it's apparently a RIO/Avant "classic".

I second all of this. The first Beefheart album I heard was TMR and although his other works are good, this towers above the rest. There is simply nothing else out there that has tried or ever will try to do what TMR did. I believe it is easily a RIO/Avant "classic" and should be heard by anyone who dares to think they know all about music.

Safe as Milk is the most accessible Beefheart album, since it's basically (awesome) blues with Beefheart's crazy vocals.  Occasionally, the tracks show his avant leanings (Electricity), but mostly it's just one of the best blues albums ever released.

zafreth wrote: Slartibartfast wrote: My experience was first encountering him on Zappa's Bongo Fury, which I found interesting.  My next one was Doc At The Radar Station, which I liked but didn't make me a big fan.  Trout Mask I tried a while after that one, despite it having a devoted following, I didn't care for it and still don't.  I picked up Safe As Milk a little while ago and it's got me interested in exploring more. Considering all the weird music I like, you'd think Trout would have been a hit with me, but somethings just don't click sometimes.   Interesting i knew about he in almost the same way as you, via bongo Fury, which i found strange, then i have to re listen several times because at the same time it was my first Zappa album hahaha   Then several years later, i purchase Safe As Milk and i LIKE a lot, then i found my way out listening mirrorr man (fascinanting), Trout Mask Replica, Lick my Decals off The Spotlight Kid, Clear Spot, etc.   But i think the most emotional Beefheart that i found is in the song Futher That We´ve Gone for Bluejeans and Moonbeans

I think you might be me.  Bongo Fury was my first Zappa album, too.

jammun wrote: For all who's first experience with Zappa and Beefheart was Bongo Fury (and therefore Debra Kadabra), and that you chose to continue on the Zappa and Beefheart paths (you did, didn't you), congrats on being made of stern stuff

Thanks jammun after hear and understand that album, i bought nothing more and nothing less that Hot Rats of the FZ side and ASAM of the Doc side, and then... i fell in love completely with their music..

A B Negative wrote: song_of_copper wrote: I tend to think of Beefheart's music as being like the musical equivalent of one of those 3D pictures that you have to look at, look at again, look at a third time, keep looking at, and suddenly - all at once, when you've pretty much given up and relaxed your effort - it snaps into focus, and you can see what's really in there.  Glance at it quickly and all you see is random dots.  But get your eye in... and every time you look at it, you'll see something different. I like that analogy but I could never get those pictures to work! Beefheart's more way-out music seems like an unstructured mess at first listen but everything is there for a reason. When the pattern becomes clear it's Magic!

I basically agree with you two on the subject of Captain Beefheart: His music takes so long to get into while not having that much in the way of craftsmanship (as commonly understood, at least ) is where its entire appeal comes from. The reason for this is that his underlying mindset is worlds apart from that of most music, even experimental stuff, which makes the process of understanding his music a rather mind-expanding experience in itself.

To be honest, I listen to Captain Beefheart very very rarely and I don't either have that much of an opinion about how good he is at what he does... but I already understand the ramifications of the Captain being an "outsider artist". Those artists are hard to appreciate but hard to judge objectively for the same reasons.