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Abstrakt
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Joined: August 18 2005
Location: Soundgarden
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Topic: Captain Beefheart Recomendation Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:13 |
I'm planning to buy some Captain Beefhert soon.
Any recomendations for a newbie?
"Doc At The Radar Station" and "Spotlight kid" sounds interesting, but are them a good place to start?
Help me!
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Syzygy
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Joined: December 16 2004
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Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:36 |
Abstrakt wrote:
I'm planning to buy some Captain Beefhert soon.
Any recomendations for a newbie?
"Doc At The Radar Station" and "Spotlight kid" sounds interesting, but are them a good place to start?
Help me! |
I'd recommend Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) for starters - his discography is very varied, but this one covers most of the bases and is excellent throughout.
Clear Spot also mixes accessible and avant garde successfully, and is available with Spotlight Kid on a single disc, which is good value.
Avoid Bluejeans & Moonbeams and Unconditionally Guaranteed - they were an ill fated stab at going mainstream, not as bad as they're sometimes made out to be but definitely substandard.
Safe as Milk, Mirror Man and Strictly Personal are more psychedelic blues rock than prog - brilliantly done for the most part. Spotlight Kid was a partial return to that style.
Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Baby are his avant-rock masterpieces, but maybe not the best place to begin.
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'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'
Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom
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Abstrakt
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Joined: August 18 2005
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Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:42 |
Thanks Alot!
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Abstrakt
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Joined: August 18 2005
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Posted: July 30 2006 at 01:49 |
Little More Help?
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lovecraft
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 26 2005
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Points: 159
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Posted: July 30 2006 at 05:08 |
Well, I think Syzygy largely covered things but, my advice would be:
Start with: Safe as Milk, Mirror Man, Strictly Personal - all fairly accessible recordings from the Captains 60's peak.
From the early 70's I can only highly recommend Clear Spot - his other work from this period is fairly patchy and I have never returned to it much.
The late 70's early 80's albums for Virgin are all essential.
Trout Mask and Decals are the pinnacle of the Captains career but not for the faint hearted be prepared not to 'get' TMR but 'trust us' - it is a unique and brilliant album - no other band has ever sounded like this.
I have been lucky enough to see the Magic Band sans Captain play in Scotland twice in recent years and they are superb - go and see them if you get the chance.
http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/reunion/index.html
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Abstrakt
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Joined: August 18 2005
Location: Soundgarden
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Points: 18292
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Posted: August 01 2006 at 02:24 |
What About "Doc At The Radar Station"?
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Dick Heath
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Posted: August 01 2006 at 05:18 |
Ice Cream For Crow - superb title track for an opener, and Gary Lucas's
debut recording - a distinctive guitarist already sounding his trade
mark self
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Syzygy
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Posted: August 01 2006 at 06:35 |
Abstrakt wrote:
What About "Doc At The Radar Station"? |
Many Beefheart fans consider this to be the best of his last 3 albums. It's certainly the closest to the mind boggling complexity of Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby, but it's maybe not the best place to start.
As Dick Heath said, Ice Cream For Crow is also a fine album, though oddly underrated by most critics.
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'Like so many of you
I've got my doubts about how much to contribute
to the already rich among us...'
Robert Wyatt, Gloria Gloom
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Dick Heath
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Jazz-Rock Specialist
Joined: April 19 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 12812
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Posted: August 03 2006 at 09:06 |
Virgin records reissues of Beefheart recordings gets a full
page review in the latest Mojo magazine - plus an interview with Gary
Lucas. Again Icecream For Crow has been slighted with 3 from 5 stars.
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Bj-1
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Joined: June 04 2005
Location: No(r)Way
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Posted: August 03 2006 at 12:15 |
Doc at The Radar Station is excellent. Highly recommended!
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RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on!
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Abstrakt
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 18 2005
Location: Soundgarden
Status: Offline
Points: 18292
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Posted: August 03 2006 at 12:16 |
Think "Trout Mask Replica" will be next
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