Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart and the time that went

Posted by Kendall Defoe Aug 31, 2006

Zappa and Beefheart: it seems too perfect that both men would start as friends who were outsiders living in a hick town in the middle of nowhere California. If you get the chance, pick up both "The Lost Episodes" and "Mystery Disc" with the recordings of "Tiger Roach", "The Birth of Captain Beefheart", "Alley Cat" and certain other musical noises.

I have been living with their music since the age of fourteen. I was impressed by a review of "Trout Mask Replica" almost twenty years after the fact which stated that it was rock`s most revolutionary album. Amazingly enough, I first found it at the library - it had not been checked out in a while - and it floored me. Jazz meets Dada meets blues meets the voice of a man who seemed to be growling out complaints about frownlands, poppies, Dachau ("Dachau Blues is still the most disturbing track to come out of that era, which is saying much), animals and misfits. Zappa came later, and I could hear the genius in it, but it was structured to the point where it felt like cheating to my ears. I am glad that I started with the Captain first. My hearing was bent in the right direction.