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- Ray Lankford
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- Registered: 9/08/2010
- Posts: 1,429
Don Van Vliet
Captain Beefheart, who died yesterday, may not be famous enough for the Silver Hammer Guy thread - after all, he wasn't good enough for the R'n'R HOF - but I've developed a late appreciation for the music of this childhood friend of Zappa.
One has to be careful when presenting Beefheart to the uninitiated. Some of you here may know his stuff very well, but for those who don't...let's just say, he takes some getting used to. Beneath the surreal lyrics and apparent chaos, the band usually was kicking ass in very creative ways. The first two tracks here are among my favorites: . If Candle Mambo were available standalone I'd post it for my less open-minded Facebook friends. Thanks, Warner Music, for your keen business sense. Once you figure out Owed T'Alex is about a motorcycle trip, you can hear the guitar mimic an engine about 3 minutes in. The third one, Love Lies, I can take or leave.
Here is an early live performance from '68: . Young Ry Cooder played lead/slide guitar on the album, but had quit the band prior to this, forcing them to cancel out of the Monterey Pop Festival. It's said Van Vliet was pretty rough on his musicians; at least one got him back good.
Speaking of that album (Safe As Milk), it doesn't have one bad song, IMO. This one is a feast of rhythm: .
Finally, this one is a real departure that demonstrates the fondness for doo-wop he shared with Zappa... sounds suspiciously like Smokey, and the video, while interesting, doesn't really fit: .
It's nice to have this outlet. I'll have to get here more often.
- artie_fufkin
- Administrator
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- From: God's Little Acre
- Registered: 9/08/2010
- Posts: 22,429
Re: Don Van Vliet
I first heard the Captain when I was about 18 and I hated it. It was just too bizarre. About 10 years later I really started developing an appreciation for all things Zappa, who I never really felt was a good musician himself, but he was a brilliant composer, and he certainly learned how surround himself with good musicians.
I'd probably gone a dozen years without listening to Capt. Beefheart until we got a new car with satellite radio this summer and one of the channels played Trout Mask Replica in its entirety. Just great, great stuff.