Captain Beefheart Recomendation
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Prog Recommendations/Featured albums
Forum Description: Make or seek recommendations and discuss specific prog albums
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=26685
Printed Date: November 23 2024 at 08:42
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Topic: Captain Beefheart Recomendation
Posted By: Abstrakt
Subject: Captain Beefheart Recomendation
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:13
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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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Replies:
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:36
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.
------------- '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 |
Abstrakt wrote:Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: July 29 2006 at 07:42
| Thanks Alot! |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: July 30 2006 at 01:49
| Little More Help? |
Posted By: lovecraft
Date Posted: July 30 2006 at 05:08
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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 |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: August 01 2006 at 02:24
| What About "Doc At The Radar Station"? |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date 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 |
Posted By: Syzygy
Date Posted: August 01 2006 at 06:35
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. ------------- '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 |
Posted By: Dick Heath
Date 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. |
Posted By: Bj-1
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 12:15
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Doc at The Radar Station is excellent. Highly recommended! ------------- RIO/AVANT/ZEUHL - The best thing you can get with yer pants on! |
Posted By: Abstrakt
Date Posted: August 03 2006 at 12:16
Think "Trout Mask Replica" will be next 
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