The sad passing of Captain Beefheart needs to be noted here. At 15, Trout Mask Replica seized my consciousness and made my isolated life better. I never tried to make music like the Captain (that's a gift that only comes once in a century at least), but his fierce independence was always a model. Like Syd Barrett, he retreated from music early; unlike Syd he moved on to a happy successful life as a painter, with a wife who by all accounts was a true partner. At least he lived a full life before the MS got him.
Notorious as a difficult, capricious bandleader who was both unreliable and a control freak, Don Van Vliet got a lot of criticism from ex-bandmates. At the same time, his unorthodox mind and methods resulted in music like no other. He was the weird old master who abused his students yet left them with skills and insights that few ever gain. A complicated story.
Drummer, transcriber/co-arranger/musical enabler John "Drumbo" French pays tribute here. It's a moving testimonial.
2 comments:
Thanks for the link. I don't think I've read anything by French since the liner notes in the Grow Fins box set, which were alarming.
A nice tribute. WV=beepin.
I know. I will read his huge new book one day, but I'm glad to see him approaching his life-changing adventure with a bit more equanimity.
But if DVV is a genius, I'd say French deserves the title too, for his ability to take those willful piano bangings and turn them into the astonishing music the Magic Band played.
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