TROUT MASK REPLICA

ABSTRACT....... This is one helluva 'strange trip' - I just don't get it, well, maybe only slightly. I really enjoy the RIO sub- genre of prog - especially Henry Cow and affiliated, even those free-blowing Elton Dean records make more sense to me, but there's just something I am missing here. I grant 10 points for the Captain and his bold crew for actually committing something this unruly to vinyl - and, not just 1 single album, but 2 FULL LP's worth. I get the impression that it sounds like each band member were in different studios across town recording their own tid-bits of music on their respective instruments, and Frank Zappa (bless 'im) somehow managed to dub the parts together to form a 'song'. But realistically, this is prime Avant- Garde composition, and whilst difficult to ascertain where these guys were coming from, one can just tell where they were going to......(?), but, when the band 'locks together' (scarcely), you can hear that they DO KNOW how to play, and it can be tight, too. I can't pin-point which tracks do this, but there is something here to be found. I have listened to this beast quite a few times in the 5 or so years I've had it, but I fail to see this as the masterpiece many claim it to be. Each to their own - it's still commands at least 3 stars - 1 for its uniqueness, 1 for its bravery, and 1 for its 'success'. I'm off to listen to it again - that'd be twice this week.