Captain Beefheart RIP
Captain Beefheart
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He taught accomplished musicians how to play his difficult arrangements note by note.
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He was a genius and a mad scientist of music who was well acquainted with the fundamentals of blues, jazz and rock and roll. He was gifted with a multi-octave voice that resembled Earth-2 Howling Wolf. He taught accomplished musicians how to play his difficult arrangements note by note. A casual listener might dismiss his songs as dissonant cacophony, a platter of horrid blare (as Lester Bangs would say) filled with grunts and weird proclamations and neck-snapping tempo changes, but the mature, educated ear would hear structure and jagged rhythm that would reveal more with each play.
It was said that he could have been a commercial success had he gone in another direction but he was a man who was a slave to his own vision. Centuries from now, people will tap their four-toed feet to the Archies and the Beatles but they will still be trying to figure out “Trout Mask Replica.” Captain Beefheart aka Don Van Vliet was 69 years old.
Steve Andricks
December 20, 2010 9:57 am
In 1970,quite by accident,I received an ‘album of the month’ from whatever record club I was in at the time. That album was Zapped,a collection of artists culled from Frank Zappa’s ‘Bizzarre’ record label.Having forgotten to send my card back to NOT receive said album,I figured “what the heck,it had Frank’s seal of approval.” The album contained artists like The GTO’s,Wild man Fischer,Alice Cooper (the very early stuff) and this guy called ‘Captain Beefheart’. After repeated listens to ‘The Blimp’ and ‘The Old Fart at Play’,I went to the local record store and the only Beefheart they had was Trout Mack Replica’ and Strictly Personal’ (the clerk said I was the first one that even looked at those). I bought them both,went home and fired up the turntable,and my way of listening to music changed forever.He introduced me to Free Jazz,Dark blues,disjointed song structure,and shifting time signatures at least a year before Yes,King Crimson,The Mahavishnu Orchestra,and any number of artists that followed. So for the 40 years of enjoyment and enlightenment I have to say, “Thank You Don, you changed my life!”……
Jim
December 24, 2010 3:26 pm
My Head is My Only House Unless it Rains
- from Clear Spot
I’ll let a train be my feet
If it’s too far to walk to you
If a train don’t go there I’ll get a jet or a bus
Because I’m going to find you
You’re going to see me shadow soon around you
And my head is my only house unless it rains
I walk the meadow plains
Water deserts are my eyes until I find you
I won’t sleep until I find you
I won’t eat until I find you
My heart won’t beat until
I wrap my arms around you
My arms are just two things in the way
Until I can wrap them around you
You can make my sad song happy
Make a bad world good
I can feel you out there moving
You’re mine, I know I’ll find you
And my head is my only house until I’ve found you
I hate to have other people hear me sing this song
If this reaches you before I do
Follow it to “I love you”
That’s where I’ll find you
And my head is my only house until I find you