emjej@uokvax.UUCP (03/14/84)
#N:uokvax:4000010:000:632 uokvax!emjej Mar 12 10:26:00 1984 Question for Capt. Beefheart fans more knowledgeable than I: after getting to know and enjoy the Captain via *Doc at the Radar Station* and *Trout Mask Replica*, I came upon an album of his called *Unconditionally Guaranteed*. *Oy*, what a dog! It sounded as if someone tried to get him to go commercial--I still have it for some reason (perhaps completeness's sake, perhaps masochism; after all, I still have my copy of the Memluks' album). I can't believe the estimable Mr. van Vliet would do such a thing save under duress. Can someone out there tell me what happened? "Somebody's had too much to think!" James Jones
oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) (03/18/84)
(Incomplete) discography: *** Captain Beefheart *** Safe as Milk (1965) : [Buddah BDS 5063] Strictly Personal (1968) : [Liberty/UA LBR 1006] Trout Mask Replica (1969) : [WEA 2MS 2027 (2 LP)] Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970) : [Reprise K 84006] Clear Spot (1972) : [Reprise REP 54007] The Spotlight Kid (1972) : [Reprise K 84006] Shiny Beast (1978) : [WEA BSK 3256] Doc at the Radar Station (1980) : [Virgin V2172] Ice Cream for Crow (1982) : [Virgin/CBS VL 2236] Unconditionally Guaranteed (1974?) is generally acknowledged to be a low-point for your Beef and mine. The cover tells it all: the now money-hungry Captain is greedily clutching the wad of bills this album (he hopes) will bring rolling in for him. It didn't. The idea was to tone down the more bizarre (i.e. interesting) aspects of his music and make the `product' more commercial. It was a ghastly failure. Also apparently not worth getting (if you can find a copy, and I have ...) is Blue Jeans and Moonbeams. The others I can vouch for. The first couple (Safe as Milk and Strictly Personal) are interesting but a little tame. They don't really give you a good idea of what is to follow. Trout Mask Replica is the early Beefheart masterpiece. Beefheart (according to legend) composed all of the music on this double LP set in a *very* short period of time (a couple of days?) and spent the better part of a year teaching his musicians how to perform it. Zappa produced the album, and although the mutual appreciation may show through, the stamp on the record is the Captain's. This is wild, raw and strangely moving music that is ahead of its time even today. Highly recommended. The period immediately following Trout Mask produced some good albums, but nothing quite as mind-blowing. Lick My Decals Off, Baby, Clear Spot and The Spotlight Kid are all worth having, but Unconditionally Guaranteed is to be avoided at all costs (preferably no cost at all). Beefheart's quality of output (if not his career) took a significant upswing with Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller). This is a wonderful album with more of Beefheart's indescribable vocalizations, wild saxophone playing and dense, witty lyrics (as in "When I'm with Mommy I feel Like a mummy", "Tropical Hot Dog Night" and "Bat Chain Puller"). Similarly Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crow turned out to be very satisfying albums with Beefheart in top form. (Changing record labels apparently helped a lot.) Although Virgin seems to have given him some more exposure than Warner Bros. ever did, interest in Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band still seems, unfortunately, to be limited to musicians he has influenced and a few cognoscenti. To get a good introduction to the Captain, try Shiny Beast or Doc at the Radar Station. Trout Mask Replica is a must-own, but may be a little tough to take right off the bat. "You can't own too many records." Oscar Nierstrasz @ utcsrgv!oscar