Captain Beefheart - What's that all about then?
Posted by: Steve G on 15 January 2002
I'm glad some of the others I bought at the same time (Sandinista by the Clash, Keb' Mo', Carole King's Tapestry, Remastered the Best of Steely Dan and Sixpence None the Richer) are listenable!
Regards
Steve
-=> Mike Hanson <=-
Next, Edgar Verese....
quote:
Originally posted by Steve G:
No, not even when James (sybil) played some of his CD's have I heard anything this poor.
Now that I think on it James you might like it! You can have it if you want it.
It'll make a nice change from Emerson Lake and Palmer, Chic Corea, Weather Report and Micheal Jackson while I put together that "Teen Anger" compilation...
By the way the active setup has improved (in punch and clarity) now I replaced the "Steve SNAIC" with a real one!
Regards
Steve
quote:
Originally posted by Martin M:
If you want to sample the 'good captain' in a less 'angular' and more conventional mood try 'Clearspot'. A great album and more in keeping with the rest of your purchases.
Hmmm. Given my local shop is doing quite a range of CD's at 3 for 20 quid I might give it a go.
Cheers
Steve
If you understand his answer, you'll understand his music.
Ron The Mon
quote:
Originally posted by Steve G:
While browsing earlier today I thought I'd give Captain Beefheart a try so I picked up "Trout Mask Replica" on CD. I'm glad it was cheap because rarely have I heard such utter garbage! No, not even when James (sybil) played some of his CD's have I heard anything this poor. Even Joni Mitchell was better...
Steve, I dig Beefheart, especially TMR, but I can totally understand why it's not everyone's cup of tea.
What I can't understand is your last sentence "Even Joni Mitchell was better." Can you please elaborate?
regards,
dave
The same friend who got me at least on speaking terms with CB was also responsible for reintroducing me to Bitches Brew, many years after I'd bought it, not found any music on any of the 4 sides and then given it away. I'm now waiting for my own copy to land on the doormat having been using his vinyl copy while he was working in Canada for a couple of years.
Next job for trying again is probably some Mingus, and one of these days I might see what the fuss is about with A Love Supreme. Perhaps...
Pete.
quote:
While browsing earlier today I thought I'd give Captain Beefheart a try so I picked up "Trout Mask Replica" on CD. I'm glad it was cheap because rarely have I heard such utter garbage!
I don't think the CD master is very good. I bought it years after enjoying hearing Trout Mask off vinyl at a friends house. I could never find a decent copy of the vinyl. I always found the CD somehow impenetrable, and it really stopped me getting into the album.
I recently dug it out to try again since I had upgraded my CD player (CDX). It made one hell of a lot more sense than it did on my old Marantz CD17KI, this really surprised me, but somehow the CDX just organised the cacophony into a way that made musical sense. I later found that it had been repressed on 180g vinyl, so bought a copy, and this is a noticeable step better again in intelligibility.
Trout Mask is a very unlikely, but excellent test disk, it really builds a brick wall between the band and listener if the system is not working right. There really is something absolutely amazing about this album, it is just a bit hard to get at.
Tony.
PS Pete, keep at it with Mingus! The guy was a total genius - Ah Um is probably the best route in.
quote:
Originally posted by Pete:
Next job for trying again is probably some Mingus, and one of these days I might see what the fuss is about with A Love Supreme. Perhaps...
I've got some Mingus (The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady, Charles Mingus and Friends in Concert) which I haven't listened to for a while but I'd done remember it being particularily inaccesible. I don't recall thinking all that much of the "and Friends in Concert" but perhaps that's Bill Cosby's fault.
Regards
Steve
quote:
Originally posted by fred simon:
What I can't understand is your last sentence "Even Joni Mitchell was better." Can you please elaborate?
Basically all I meant was to express suprise that my experience to date was that Captain Beefheart was even worse than Joni Mitchell, difficult as that may be to comprehend.
Regards
Steve
Is that Ming gus or mingus (as in pingu?) BTW
P
quote:
Originally posted by Steve G:
Quote: "Originally posted by fred simon:
What I can't understand is your last sentence "Even Joni Mitchell was better." Can you please elaborate?
"Basically all I meant was to express suprise that my experience to date was that Captain Beefheart was even worse than Joni Mitchell, difficult as that may be to comprehend.
Regards
Steve
I guess what I'm having such a hard time wrapping my mind around (besides my intense curiosity as to specifically what you find so horrible about Joni Mitchell) is the supposed connection between Beefheart and Joni. I mean, why is Joni the subject of your analogy, as opposed to so many other, more related, examples you could have chosen?
quote:
Originally posted by Pete:Next job for trying again is probably some Mingus, and one of these days I might see what the fuss is about with A Love Supreme. Perhaps...
Pete.
Man, compared to Trout Mask Replica, A Love Supreme is a lullaby! Truly, give it a chance, it's a spiritually moving experience, and more accessible than you might think … nothing like Coltrane's later "out" stuff like Om or Ascension.
As to Mingus, I strongly recommend his late masterworks Changes One and Changes Two. I see plenty of Mingus recommendations here but not often these; I think they're some of his strongest work ever, and very accessible, tuneful and soulful and inviting.