Captain
Beefheat, also know as Don Van Vliet, was one of the strangest artists in the
history of rock music. His music might be off-putting for those whose tastes
are limited to the mainstream, but for the initiated, his quirky and often
downright bizarre music is a source of infinite amusement. Beefheart has been
critically-praised for decades for his highly original music which incorporates
rock, blues, and avant-garde jazz. Beefheart was always supported on recordings
by various versions of his “Magic Band.”
Born Don
Glen Vliet, Beefheart started out with childhood friend Frank Zappa in local
groups such as The Omens and The Blackouts. Around this time he added “Van” to
his name and was thus named Don Van Vliet. His colorful moniker, “Captain
Beefheart,” came from Zappa who observed that he sang as if he had a “beef in
his heart.”
In 1965,
the first Magic Band was formed. They played blues and R&B, both covers
& original material, and scored a contract with A&M Records with whom
they released two singles. The first, “Diddy Wah Diddy,” became a minor hit,
but the label discarded them anyway.
In 1967,
Beefheart and the Magic Band landed a contract with Buddah Records and recorded
their brilliant debut, “Safe as Milk” (1967). The album was rooted in blues and
R&B, and while containing moments of slight weirdness like the track,
“Electricity,” the sound of the band was still palatable to mainstream
listeners.
This
changed with the release of the great and sometimes controversial, “Trout Mask
Replica” (1969), Beefheart’s masterpiece. It is one of the strangest recordings
in the history of popular music. The music is a synthesis of pure avant-garde
jazz and rock almost devoid of melody and harmony, featuring songs not so much
sung, as croaked by Beefheart, whose voice, at the best of times, could be
described as grating. As such, the album is unlistenable for mainstream music
fans, but it is over-flowing with creativity and humour.
Beefheart
would continue to release albums for the next 15 years which followed in a
similar vein. The best of Beefheart’s post-Sixties work is: “Lick My Decals
Off, Baby” (1970), “Mirror Man” (1971), “Clear Spot” (1972), “Shiny Beast (Bat
Chain Puller)” (1978), and “Doc at the Radar Station” (1980).
Beefheart,
one of the true originals of rock music, died in 2010.
