“I’d all the time thought music was too formal,” Don Van Vliet informed one US critic in 1973. “So I assumed, ‘I’ll get into this and repair it.’”
The repair, by then, was properly and really on. 4 years earlier, Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, had launched his masterpiece, the avant-rock behemoth that was Trout Masks Duplicate . Recorded along with his Magic Band, it distorted Delta blues, Beat poetry and free jazz by means of the prism of his personal absurdist creativeness, creating a complete new musical dialogue. It was frenzied and disciplined, visionary but tradition-bound.
The identical contradictions got here to outline Beefheart’s whole profession, by which an astonishing physique of labor was offset by an eccentric character and tales of virtually tyrannical management.
Born and raised in Southern California, Van Vliet’s past love was artwork – portray and sculpting from an early age. Jazz, blues and R&B supplied the soundtrack to his teenage years, throughout which he bonded with fellow Antelope Valley Excessive College pupil Frank Zappa . The pair started writing track parodies and B-movie scripts, one in all these – Captain Beefheart vs The Grunt Individuals – giving rise to a brand new alter ego.
In 1964, Van Vliet headed for LA with what grew to become the primary incarnation of his Magic Band. Debut album Secure As Milk landed three years later, foisting Beefheart’s octave-hopping voice and shamanic blues onto a largely unmoved public.
It was the start of a sample that will frustrate and confound him all through most of his musical life: adored by critics and followers, however shunned by the broader world. Acutely aware makes an attempt to breach the mainstream – 1974’s Unconditionally Assured and Bluejeans & Moonbeams – have been ill-advised.
In 1982 he retired from the enterprise. Within the years that adopted, amid rumours of ailing well being from his secluded enclave someplace within the Mojave Desert, he devoted his time to portray.
“The best way I be in contact with the world could be very gingerly, as a result of the world touches too onerous,” he declared in 1994. He died in 2010, however stays a toweringly influential determine. Amongst those that’ve acknowledged a debt are PiL, The Fall, Pere Ubu, Speaking Heads , The Conflict , Nirvana , Sonic Youth , and The Black Keys.
As Tom Waits mentioned: “When you’ve heard Beefheart, it’s onerous to clean him out. It stains, like espresso or blood.”
…and one to keep away from
You may belief Louder
Our skilled crew has labored for a number of the largest manufacturers in music. From testing headphones to reviewing albums, our consultants purpose to create critiques you’ll be able to belief. Discover out extra about how we evaluation.
