TROUT MASK REPLICA

I'm really not sure how to rate this one. On the one hand, there is obviously some genius present (the album is composed to sound horrible), and on the other, well, it meets its intent. This album is painful. And I don't mean 90s boy band or disco painful, I mean stick your arm into a ceiling fan, crash into walls, wail incessantly, gnaw on your feet, laugh hysterically, stare cross-eyed at your surroundings, and have an existential breakdown painful. Why, then, is this album so highly regarded (not just on this site - a popular mainstream magazine ranked this baby as one of the most important records of all time)?

Its because Captain Beefheart was going for all those things. Not because DON VAN VLIET is some kind of creepy sadist, but to highlight by contrast what we value in music. For this reason alone, it deserves a listen by everyone. However, it is still so lamentably painful that I can't give this the 5 stars it probably deserves. So I'll stick with a conservative 3 stars and a high recommendation.