Zoot Horn Rollo
The blues reinterpreted from Outer Space. The Captain at his best.
Where is he when we need him?.
A truly joyful album! Very highly recommended.
What I will say is that it has been a while since I've been as enamoured with an album as I am now with Shiny Beast. I'm a pretty new Beefheart fan, and not exactly one of these types proclaiming Trout Mask Replica to be the greatest artistic expression of the century. It reminds me of the first time I heard Jethro Tull's Aqualung album, which was one of the great revelations of my life. I was initially drawn to Captain Beefheart when I heard his inimitable and legendary voice on the well-known Zappa tune "Willie the Pimp. " At first it seemed ugly, harsh, and difficult to really enjoy. But gradually it grew on me and I got up the guts to check out some of his other material. I have not heard all of his stuff, but I think, given what I do know about his music, that there could not be a better starting point for new fans than Shiny Beast. Not only that, this joyous collection of songs may well be the best work Mr. Van Vliet ever released (musically, that is).
"The Floppy Boot Stomp" starts things off with a ferocious, swamp-blues energy, and even contains some great lyrical one-liners. "Tropical Hot Dog Night" and "Ice Rose" are both lovely, upbeat songs that keep things moving along at a good pace. Interestingly, "Ice Rose" seems to be a vastly improved re-write of "Big Black Baby Shoes," which was recorded back in the Safe as Milk days. Then the Captain pulls a 180 with the mellow, jazzy "Harry Irene," a positively perfect little song in which we catch a glimpse of Beefheart's underrated abilities as a pop crooner. "You Know You're A Man" is a more standard type of blues rock song (as standard as you're going to get from this guy) that contains a great slide guitar solo. Then comes the title track, which I didn't like at first but have come to love. It perfectly embodies Beefheart's idea of "painting" through music. The greatest highlight of this great album is "Owed T'Alex. " This song features everything you love about Captain Beefheart: bluesy guitars, deceptively simple rhythms, quasi-goofy horn parts, and great poetry. The part where he just starts laughing insanely at the end must be the single most glorious moment of his career. After that, the album starts to wind down. That's not to say that the songs decrease in quality, because they certainly don't. They simply don't seem as intense or focused. The album ends with a very short but very thought-provoking poem called "Apes-Ma. " A word about the backing band: they are all quite excellent throughout, but special credit must be given to trombonist Bruce Fowler. With Beefheart's vision and Fowler's skills, there is no doubt that Shiny Beast contains some of the most innovative and outstanding trombone parts in the history of rock music.
If you have ever considered giving Captain Beefheart a try, start with this album. It is much less of an acquired taste than most of his other stuff, but it's still very unique and weird in that quintessentially Beefheart way. If you have an open mind and would like to have a truly rewarding musical experience, buy this album now. .
Worship this album
For me, Shiny Beast is perfect from start to finish. Others seem to think Doc at the Radar Station is better, but just because this one is "catchier"/more straight-forward doesn't mean it's any less genius than that one. Every song gives me the chills. .
3.5 Stars really: some real BEEF here!
Odd stylings, off-kilter tempos & surreal subject matter all coalesce again after DVV's dreadful "commercial period" of Unconditionally Guaranteed and Blue Jeans & Moonbeams. The dear old Captain returns to idiosyncratic form here. But this album teeters a bit as the Captain regains his sea-legs. The first three tracks, "Tropical Hotdog Night", "Ice Rose" and "Harry Irene" all sound a bit schmaltzy, DVV's sentiment still gets in the way of artfully rockin' out like he was still obviously most able. By the time "Bat Chain Puller" ominously roars out of your speakers, the OLD CAPTAIN NOW SAILS GLORIOUSLY and somewhat chaotically over the bounding riffs. Beefheart is best taken all gruff and oddly time signatured. While the Captain himself exhorts his artistry of word-smithing about the oddness of the everyday. "Candles Mambo" sputters a bit again but "Love LIes", "Suction Prints" and "Apes Ma" are all rock & roll channeled thru Beefheartian insensibilities and churned out as PURE WEIRD ROCK. Fans of Beefheart will not be disappointed by this or the dastardly awesome albums to follow: DOC AT THE RADAT STATION and ICE CREAM FOR CROW. Albums upon which Beefheart raised the seas with mighty art rock and sailed like a mythic hero out of the music biz and into the stuff of rock legends.
Genius! (again)
This, however, is a very good album, and in some ways it shows a more mature form of his genius. I admit it: I am one of those people who think that Don Van Vliet is a genius and that Trout Mask Replica and Lick My Decals Off, Baby are his masterpieces (though Clear Spot, Doc, and others are way up there, too!). This version of the Magic Band were all big fans of Don's music and they worked very hard and did it justice. Not that the previous bands did not, or were not as good (a good argument can be made that the Lick band were the very best of all), just that this album and Doc have a special energy to the playing and arrangements.
So what can I say? You either love Don (Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart, for that . 1% out there that might not know Beefheart but might be considering the purchase of this fine long player) or you hate him.
Most people hate him; especially women. Most people say this sounds like a horrible noise, not even music. If you want to end a party and drive people out of the house, put this on.
Be prepared, though, for that one guy who loves Beefheart, and says "Hey man! That's awesome! Now that everyone is gone, how about putting on "Doc at the Radar Station" or "Trout Mask Replica"?"
This is a very good album by a true musical genius. I think a hundred years from now this album will be studied in University Music Dept. 's, much the way Stravinsky is studied today.
This is not Don and the MB's best album, but it has a certain sound that may be more accessible to a new listener than his best albums, "Trout" and "Lick". It is pretty ugly music, as Beefheart himself acknowledged; yet also quite beautiful in its own way, like the way a spider or bat can be seen as beautiful.
I will say this, however, to the true fans: By hook or by crook, whatever it takes get your hands on the original mix of this album, the one produced by Zappa, and issued as a 2fer with the MONO Safe As Milk. It is totally studio quality and better - yes, BETTER! - than the released version! It may be the best album Don did after "Clear Spot".
p. s. "Clear Spot" is a great introduction (Beefheart 101) to the music of Beefheart. It is "rock and roll Beefheart" or "rhythm and blues" Beefheart, and is his single most accessible great album, and if you like that you might then move to "Spotlight Kid" (actually there used to be a 2fer available of the 2), then on to something like Doc at the Radar Station or Lick My Decals Off, Baby.
p. p. s. "We all drink from the same pond. " - D. V. V.
You can see a complete list of all Captain Beefheart discography, or go back to the Captain Beefheart tabs
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