The Captain And Me
He was born Don Van Vliet and he died as Don Van Vliet. In between he was know as Captain Beefheart and he died this past Friday leaving a singularly unique body of recorded work that he hadn’t added to since 1982. Gotta respect that. Beefheart didn’t have a lot of detractors; either you got it or you didn’t. Hard to critique a man’s work if you have no clue as to what he was laying down. I was a huge fan of what the cognoscenti refer to as his “commercial” work, specifically 1972′s Clear Spot and Spotlight Kid but over the years I also picked up the Radar Station and Bat Chain discs, among others.
Snag a copy of The Dust Blows Forward collection for a nice career overview and then dig in further as the music moves you. Don’s best work moved me as powerfully as anything I’ve ever slapped on a turntable. Tribute to him, I guess, that “The Past Sure is Tense” and “Crazy Little Thing” are battling “White Christmas” on my personal Hit Parade this week. Thanks Don.
The above caricature is about as close to a tattoo that I’ve ever gotten. Drawn by Plastic Crimewave at a Reckless’ in-store a couple years ago. Come to think of it, that just might look damn good on my bicep.
R.I.P. Captain Beefheart — Dead At 69
Jim
December 24, 2010 2:56 pm
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your Frownland
My spirit’s made up of the ocean
And the sky ‘n’ the sun ‘n’ the moon
‘n’ all my eyes can see
I cannot go back to your land of gloom
Where black jagged shadows
Remind me of the coming of your doom
I want my own land
Take my hand and come with me
It’s not too late for you
It’s not too late for me
To find my homeland
Where a man can stand by another man
Without an ego flying
With no man lying
‘n’ no one dying by an earthly hand
Let the devils burn and the beggar learn
‘n’ the little girls that live in those old worlds
Take my kind hand
My smile is stuck
I cannot go back to your Frownland
I cannot go back to your Frownland
- Frownland from ‘Trout Mask Replica’
Thanks for the tribute to the Captain, Richard. Either you were interested or not, but Don Van Vliet never pandered to an audience. He presented his unique musical vision, and later his drawings and sculpture, for consideration and certainly didn’t make it easy to follow along, but if you did, it was quite a journey.