Fans need no introduction, others can read the extensive Wikipedia entry. My own experience with his genius is this.
Although I was born in 1953, and experienced the music and culture of the 60s and 70s like everybody else of my generation, I somehow never got into Zappa or Beefheart. My friends and I were into other things, Jimi, Janice, The Doors and a little bit later, The Yes Group and Queen. 35 years passed in the blink of an eye and one day in 2009 I discovered the Zappadan Festival. That prompted a full immersion in the many albums of FZ, which as everyone knows can keep one very busy for a very long time. Naturally this activity led me to Captain Beefheart. I've never been the same since, music appreciation-wise.
Here's the first cut on the first album, Safe as Milk.
still one of favorite albums...you might recognize a nattily dressed young Ry Cooder on the cover. I love Sad Baby...a song that could have been released in the early 60's on MoTown even with The Captains poignant vocals. I'm trying to tie a lot of loose ends together in a piece...Zappa and one of his influences, the almost unknown American avant garde classicist, Conlon Nancarrows who lived in Mexico until 1994. I recently have been corresponding with an extraordinary Mexican Bass player and composer who sent me a recording that Nancarrows did shortly before his death acknowledging his friendship and appreciation of Zappa...He did a version of Wliie The Pimp, with the Captains original vocals from Hot Rats, but reworked via Nancarrows vision and as his wife said..."It's a kind of folk music..." I hope to have it on line later tonight.
ReplyDeleteI'll look for it.
DeleteWhat I can't believe is that CB's music wasn't more widely appreciated. Several songs on this first album could have been chart-topping hits in my opinion.