Getting to appreciate the music of Cpt. Beefheart (and Trout Mask Replica in particular) can be a daunting task, as this article demonstrates:
Playing it – or rather, attempting to – is a bit like being in one of those cartoons in which the principal characters cagily open a door, only to find all hell – elephants, possibly, or a speeding train – breaking loose behind it, whereupon they slam it shut again.
… while Andy Partridge of XTC explains it thusly:
You’re running around stairs and gangways and gantries – things are swinging across, and you’ve got to grab them to get to the next level. It’s like being trapped in a mad, giant watch.
As for me, to be honest, I too have yet to experience that “road to Damascus” moment where it clicks. Perhaps at the next listen…
I bought Trout Mask Replica a few days after release and loved it straight away. But when I played it to my girlfriend she gave me the strangest look – our relationship was never the same after that…
Likewise, with only one exception, all my friends have tended to make their excuses and leave whenever I put Trout Mask on the turntable. The guy who is the exception is now a Local Government Education Adviser. I dunno what that tells us…
I think that a good way to start on Trout Mask
is to just listen to Sweet Sweet Bulbs =
good lyrics and some beautiful music with
great guitar interplay…
And on Decals, there’s the incredible Peon !
Love it all !
Listen to ‘Hair Pie, Bake Two’. No lyrics, but very very eloquent, and beautiful. Then try ‘The Dust Blows Forward..’ – all lyrics and no music. Then venture into ‘Pachucco Cadaver’. Small doses at first are better than sitting and listening to the whole thing straight through, in my opinion.
Easy peasy, never had any trouble with Trout, never find it “difficult” as those twats at the bloody awful Wire magazine would have us believe, just lovely imaginative playing and lyrics.
Phil Collins however, that is “difficult”…
Well color me impressed with the way you guys all got it at the first listen. Might it partly be a “being at the right place at the right time” sort of a thing? Ken, Jonny: thanks for the heads up! :)
It could be a generation thing. Perhaps it was the right thing at the right time but…
I bought it when it first came out and did not leave the house all weekend. I just played it over and over. It was (and probably still is) the most exciting thing I had ever heard.
I did not start buying those newly invented CDs until I saw TMR was available – TMR all on a single disc is exactly what CDs were invented for!
Perhaps some favourable comments will help you see the light. I did not know about the Steve Reich connection – now I am going to have to start listening to it all over again :)
…that’s right, the Mascara Snake!
I loved Beefheart on the “Bongo Fury” album, so I went out and bought “Trout Mask Replica”. Frankly, (grin), was a litttle disappointed. But yesterday I heard some Beefheart in, of all places, Starbucks coffee shop. Loved it so much, I rushed home to see if there was any Mp3s on the web. I found some live stuff that was beyond awsome. Here are two MP3s of The Magic Band live:
http://www.coolhotlinks.com/Crazy%20Little%20Things.mp3
http://www.coolhotlinks.com/Alice%20in%20Blunderland.mp3
Enjoy!