It is always difficult to write about the music of Captain Beefheart as it is virtually impossible to describe in any cogent manner, which may have been what the Beefer was aiming at in the first place.
He used Frank Zappa’s early material as a jumping off place, which enabled him to explore the outer edges of not only rock and roll, but of music itself. His ultimate goal was bringing art to life, which many times made for a tenuous relationship with established musical forms. His music always had a tension between the desire to entertain and the ability to shock, a tension that many times veered out of control.
Don Van Vliet (1941-2010) is now remembered as one of the more eclectic figures in rock and roll history. I had a nighttime radio show for a couple of years while in college, and his albumsTrout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off Baby received a lot of time on the turn table in the wee hours of the morning when I was trying to stay awake.
During 1972, he and his Magic Band were touring England and Europe when they made a stop at The Beat Club Studios in Bremen, Germany to record some tracks for later broadcast on German television. His band at the time consisted of bassist Rockette Morton (Mark Boston), guitar Zoot Horn Rollo (Bill Harkleroad), guitarist Orejon (Roy Estrada), drummer Ed Marimba (Art Tripp), and guitarist Winged Eel Fingerling (Elliot Ingber).
They only recorded four tracks for broadcast although there were several multiple takes. Only one has been available on a regular basis, while the rest have been consigned to a dusty vault. The session has now been resurrected as a DVD titled The Lost Broadcasts.
Article comments
1 - cartridge
Every so often my husband sneaks off to listen to Trout Mask Replica alone because he knows that the music terrifies our children!
2 - Christopher Rose
I think it is just lazy to refer to Captain Beefheart's music as "difficult to write about", don't think it is really accurate to say that he "used used Frank Zappa’s early material as a jumping off place" and simply wrong to call him "crazy".
What he was is simply one of the 20th Century's most compelling and exciting artists who created some simply wonderful psychedelic blues laced rock art that still sounds fresh today and someone whose work is still far too under-rated.