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Toaster Mantis 
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Joined: April 12 2008
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 Posted: September 12 2014 at 04:23 |
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Does anyone know exactly what are the copyrights issues that prevent Lick My Decals Off from getting a proper re-issue? I'd have guessed it had something to do with Beefheart and Zappa's mutual falling out, but then again not so long ago the Zappa Family Trust finally released Bat Chain Puller which had been caught in exactly that kind of legal limbo, so...
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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HolyMoly
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Posted: September 12 2014 at 04:55 |
 Toaster Mantis wrote:
Does anyone know exactly what are the copyrights issues that prevent Lick My Decals Off from getting a proper re-issue? I'd have guessed it had something to do with Beefheart and Zappa's mutual falling out, but then again not so long ago the Zappa Family Trust finally released Bat Chain Puller which had been caught in exactly that kind of legal limbo, so...
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I think it has to do with the fact that the first label to put Decals on CD (Enigma/Retro) went out of business in the early 1990s, so it's been in some kind of legal limbo. I don't know how such things work, but I do know that several other albums released on Enigma during the late 80/early 90s (e.g. The Effigies and the Wipers' catalogs) have also been slow to see reissue on CD.
Of course, now there's a new Beefheart box coming out which finally restores Decals to CD, albeit as part of a 4 disc package. And it's been on LP now for a while.
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
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Posted: September 12 2014 at 05:41 |
Xonty wrote:
Like Frank Zappa, I love bits of his work but always find it hard not to see something like TMR as some psychedelic, interesting artefact instead of a musical masterpiece. Zappa was a little more down-to-earth if you could put it that way - he had a more controlled eccentricity which can been seen as both "heritage" and classics. Basically, I never fully got into the Captain Beefheart ethos of playing, even though I understand it, but TMR sounds better to me with every listen. |
This is totally understandable. Beefheart truly is something different. I'm a huge Zappa fan myself, and I can easily admit that while they do have similar aesthetics and expressionism - Zappa is by far the easier of the two to digest. TMR is one of those records where you start to truly "hear it" with subsequent listens. The only other record that's ever done that for me (and ironically led me to discover Captain Beefheart due to someone mentioning the similarity in a review) is Gorguts Obscura.
Toaster Mantis wrote:
Does anyone know exactly what are the copyrights issues that prevent Lick My Decals Off from getting a proper re-issue? I'd have guessed it had something to do with Beefheart and Zappa's mutual falling out, but then again not so long ago the Zappa Family Trust finally released Bat Chain Puller which had been caught in exactly that kind of legal limbo, so...
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I was just watching the Captain Beefheart documentary last evening, and from what I can gather, Zappa was saying that Beefheart would just sign whatever was put in front of him. This led to all sorts of legal conflicts down the road, and were the main source of all that red tape. It's probably a little more complex than just that, but it wouldn't surprise me if that's a huge part of it, lol.
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
Location: New Hampshire
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Posted: September 15 2014 at 15:35 |
Trout Mask Replica is officially my favorite record at the moment.
Are there any others who are as "obsessed" with this record as I am right now?  |
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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HolyMoly
Special Collaborator
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Joined: April 01 2009
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Posted: September 15 2014 at 16:12 |
PrognosticMind wrote:
Trout Mask Replica is officially my favorite record at the moment.Are there any others who are as "obsessed" with this record as I am right now? |
well, i just finished the book about it, so I've had it on my mind quite a bit. The book didn't have too many surprises - I've studied everything Beefheart related that I can find - but it offered some insight into the lyrics, which I never tried too hard to unravel before. Turns out most of the songs are actually about something :lol:
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
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Posted: September 15 2014 at 16:23 |
HolyMoly wrote:
PrognosticMind wrote:
Trout Mask Replica is officially my favorite record at the moment.Are there any others who are as "obsessed" with this record as I am right now? |
well, i just finished the book about it, so I've had it on my mind quite a bit. The book didn't have too many surprises - I've studied everything Beefheart related that I can find - but it offered some insight into the lyrics, which I never tried too hard to unravel before. Turns out most of the songs are actually about something :lol: |
Who would've guessed, right?
The poetic lyrics are one of my favorite aspects here. In particular, the ways the production sets and resets the stage for Beefheart's musings. The last spoken poetry portion of "Old Fart at Play", where it sounds like a single track recording from a tape recorder in the center of the room is an example of this. His annunciation and vernacular are unparalleled here, IMHO.
"Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish" is another personal favorite .
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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HolyMoly
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Joined: April 01 2009
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Posted: September 15 2014 at 19:32 |
PrognosticMind wrote:
HolyMoly wrote:
PrognosticMind wrote:
Trout Mask Replica is officially my favorite record at the moment.Are there any others who are as "obsessed" with this record as I am right now? |
well, i just finished the book about it, so I've had it on my mind quite a bit. The book didn't have too many surprises - I've studied everything Beefheart related that I can find - but it offered some insight into the lyrics, which I never tried too hard to unravel before. Turns out most of the songs are actually about something :lol: |
Who would've guessed, right? The poetic lyrics are one of my favorite aspects here. In particular, the ways the production sets and resets the stage for Beefheart's musings. The last spoken poetry portion of "Old Fart at Play", where it sounds like a single track recording from a tape recorder in the center of the room is an example of this. His annunciation and vernacular are unparalleled here, IMHO. "Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish" is another personal favorite . |
that song details a salacious sex scene, if you can believe that.
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My other avatar is a Porsche
It is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle if it is lightly greased.
-Kehlog Albran
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
Location: New Hampshire
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Posted: September 16 2014 at 05:56 |
HolyMoly wrote:
PrognosticMind wrote:
HolyMoly wrote:
PrognosticMind wrote:
Trout Mask Replica is officially my favorite record at the moment.Are there any others who are as "obsessed" with this record as I am right now? |
well, i just finished the book about it, so I've had it on my mind quite a bit. The book didn't have too many surprises - I've studied everything Beefheart related that I can find - but it offered some insight into the lyrics, which I never tried too hard to unravel before. Turns out most of the songs are actually about something :lol: |
Who would've guessed, right? The poetic lyrics are one of my favorite aspects here. In particular, the ways the production sets and resets the stage for Beefheart's musings. The last spoken poetry portion of "Old Fart at Play", where it sounds like a single track recording from a tape recorder in the center of the room is an example of this. His annunciation and vernacular are unparalleled here, IMHO. "Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish" is another personal favorite . |
that song details a salacious sex scene, if you can believe that. |
Nothing's out of bounds with the captain, lol.
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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aaroncliftmusic
Forum Newbie
Joined: March 25 2014
Location: Austin, TX
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Posted: September 19 2014 at 12:00 |
"Trout Mask Replica" for sure. That album has frightened several friends away, though. 
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matty3198
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Joined: October 19 2013
Location: Bath
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Posted: September 20 2014 at 13:49 |
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Trout Mask has it's moments but its the albums he made later that really do it for me. Lick my Decals, Shiny Beast and Clear Spot.
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dr wu23
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Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Posted: September 20 2014 at 19:48 |
matty3198 wrote:
Trout Mask has it's moments but its the albums he made later that really do it for me. Lick my Decals, Shiny Beast and Clear Spot.
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And I would add Spotlight Kid.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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matty3198
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Posted: September 23 2014 at 14:29 |
dr wu23 wrote:
matty3198 wrote:
Trout Mask has it's moments but its the albums he made later that really do it for me. Lick my Decals, Shiny Beast and Clear Spot.
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And I would add Spotlight Kid. |
Spotlight Kid has some good songs,but its one of his weaker albums IMO.
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
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Posted: September 26 2014 at 11:14 |
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Doc at The Radar Station is amazing.
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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brainstormer
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Location: Seattle, WA
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Posted: September 26 2014 at 13:27 |
Since this isn't an "appreciation" thread but merely a discussion, I'll chime in.
I have tried to enjoy his work but can't get very far in listening to it because it's not my taste. I enjoyed his work with Zappa when I was barely a teen, the Bongo Fury album. After that, I really outgrew this guy. The kind of bluesy rock they create combined with Bukowsky meets the more drugged out hippies poetry hardly qualifies as prog in my book. It's a variation of what I call the "greasy spoon" aesthetic, in this case, too chaotic and simplistic to me to be considered good music. Maybe Bach and Mozart would concur
Did this guy ever do a semi-normal album, or what might be called classical or instrumental, or was it all this blues-based stuff? I imagine he probably did some with chromatic type stuff thrown in to essentially a rock/blue/free jazz type backdrop.
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PrognosticMind
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Posted: October 26 2014 at 06:58 |
brainstormer wrote:
Since this isn't an "appreciation" thread but merely a discussion, I'll chime in.
I have tried to enjoy his work but can't get very far in listening to it because it's not my taste. I enjoyed his work with Zappa when I was barely a teen, the Bongo Fury album. After that, I really outgrew this guy. The kind of bluesy rock they create combined with Bukowsky meets the more drugged out hippies poetry hardly qualifies as prog in my book. It's a variation of what I call the "greasy spoon" aesthetic, in this case, too chaotic and simplistic to me to be considered good music. Maybe Bach and Mozart would concur
Did this guy ever do a semi-normal album, or what might be called classical or instrumental, or was it all this blues-based stuff? I imagine he probably did some with chromatic type stuff thrown in to essentially a rock/blue/free jazz type backdrop. |
Beefheart truly is avant garde at its finest and most poignant, IMHO. You won't find much in the way of traditional blues with him beyond the ways he bends and twists those influences into his particular style. "China Pig" off of TMR is about as close to traditional blues as you'll get off that record, lol.
Edited by PrognosticMind - October 26 2014 at 06:59
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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dr wu23
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Joined: August 22 2010
Location: Indiana
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Posted: October 27 2014 at 16:20 |
For Brainstormer....
I think his most accessible or commercial albums are Unconditionally Guaranteed and Moonbeams and Bluejeans but they are also his weakest according to Beefheart fans....which I am one.
For me Clear Spot is the ultimate album since it's accessible, has blues and rock , and still maintains his weird musical vision and imho Big Eyed Beans From Venus might be the best blues rock thing he has ever written with his classic magic band lineup.
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One does nothing yet nothing is left undone.
Haquin
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Toaster Mantis
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Joined: April 12 2008
Location: Denmark
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 12:51 |
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For me it's The Mirror Man Sessions that helped me "get" the Captain though if you're not into less narratively aimed psychedelic jamming it might neither be the right place. The last two LPs Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crow might be better entrance points, though, they hit the just balance between the "mutant blues" of Safe As Milk and Bongo Fury on one hand the avant-garde mindbending free jazz surrealism of Trout Mask Replica on the other.
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"The past is not some static being, it is not a previous present, nor a present that has passed away; the past has its own dynamic being which is constantly renewed and renewing." - Claire Colebrook
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PrognosticMind
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Joined: August 02 2014
Location: New Hampshire
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Points: 1195
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Posted: October 28 2014 at 21:13 |
Toaster Mantis wrote:
For me it's The Mirror Man Sessions that helped me "get" the Captain though if you're not into less narratively aimed psychedelic jamming it might neither be the right place. The last two LPs Doc at the Radar Station and Ice Cream for Crow might be better entrance points, though, they hit the just balance between the "mutant blues" of Safe As Milk and Bongo Fury on one hand the avant-garde mindbending free jazz surrealism of Trout Mask Replica on the other.
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Ice Cream for Crow has really grown on me in the last month or so. It feels like Beefheart evolved.
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"A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous. Got me?"
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Tom Ozric
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 03 2005
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Posted: October 29 2014 at 01:07 |
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Earlier this year I finally acquired an LP of Bongo Fury. It's a wonderful album, and Beefheart just adds to Zappa's usual quality. As for the Captain's work, i only have a couple of LP's and I love Mirror Man for sure.
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