Last week I had the release of Conceptual Continuity in the pipeline so I wasn’t able to do a proper tribute to the late Captain Beefheart, even though I did have a version of “Willie The Pimp” lined up. I intend to make up for that this week.
When I was in high school and started getting into Frank Zappa I became aware of Captain Beefheart. So I went out and got a copy of Trout Mask Replica, probably not the most accessible introduction to the man’s music. Most of it went sailing over my head and I sold the CD to the local used record store. It stayed in their bin for a very long time.
I was working as a college radio disk jockey when Ice Cream For Crow came out, and at that time I was more prepared for that kind of music. I circled back to the earlier Capt. Beefheart albums, found that I liked some of the music and still didn’t like some of it. I’ve never been a huge fan, but I can certainly recognize somebody with an uncompromising musical vision. I can also understand why he was so influential to such a wide variety of musicians.
Everything But The Girl “My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains” (Captain Beefheart)
You don’t think of Capt. Beefheart as somebody who wrote middle of the road love songs, but EBTG managed to delve deep into the song and come up with this smooth version.
Azalia Snail “Abba Zaba” (Captain Beefheart)
In this song Beefheart was working much more with rhythm than melody. Even the lyrics are more rhythmic devices than words. Azalia Snail remain true to that purpose while reworking the rhythms. This comes from the fine Capt. Beefheart tribute album Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish.
Eugene Chadbourne & Jimmy Carl Black “Sure Nuff ‘N’ Yes I Do” (Captain Beefheart)
Much of Beefheart’s music is firmly rooted in the blues. When he first started releasing records his record label tried to sell him as the next great white blues singer. Boy, were they barking up the wrong tree. Here famously eccentric guitarist Eugene Chadbourne teams up with ex-Mother Jimmy Carl Black for a rollicking blues workout on one of Beefheart’s finest. They did a whole album of Beefheart covers called Pachuco Cadaver.
Magazine “I Love You You Big Dummy” (Captain Beefheart)
Howard Devoto formed Magazine to play music that was a little more adventurous than the stuff he played with the Buzzcocks. But they weren’t above having a good punk rock raveup with a Beefheart song that was also a favorite of the Buzzcocks.
Albert Kuvezin & Yat-Kha “Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles” (Captain Beefheart)
If Beefheart knew how to throat sing I’m sure he would have. Albert Kuvezin brings his distinctive voice and exotic Tuvan rhythms to bear on this song, with fantastic results.