Editing Captain Beefheart (section)

==Career==
After Zappa began regular occupation at Paul Buff's [[Pal Recording Studio|PAL Studio]] in [[Rancho Cucamonga, California|Cucamonga]], he and Van Vliet began collaborating as ''The Soots''. By the time Zappa had turned the venue into [[Frank Zappa#Early 1960s: Studio Z|Studio Z]], they had completed the songs "Cheryl's Canon", "Metal Man Has Won His Wings" and a [[Howlin' Wolf]]-styled rendition of [[Little Richard]]'s "[[Slippin' and Slidin']]".<ref name=realFZ /><ref name="Moon2008">{{cite book |last1=Moon |first1=Tom |title=1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die: A Listener's Life List |date=2008 |publisher=Workman Publishing |isbn=978-0-7611-3963-8 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=I0WdHp53TD4C&pg=PA142}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The Bathroom Tapes by Mike Barnes – Captain Beefheart Radar Station |url=http://www.beefheart.com/the-bathroom-tapes-by-mike-barnes/ |access-date=2023-12-16 |website=www.beefheart.com}}</ref> 

The name 'Captain Beefheart' may have come from Vliet's uncle Alan, who had a habit of exposing himself to Don's girlfriend. He would urinate with the bathroom door open and, if she walked by, exclaim that his penis looked like a big [[Heart#Food|beef heart]].<ref name="Zappa">{{cite book |last1= Zappa |first1= Frank |last2= Occhiogrosso |first2= Peter |year= 1990 |title= The Real Frank Zappa Book |publisher= Fireside |isbn= 0-671-70572-5 |url-access= registration |url= https://archive.org/details/realfrankzappabo0000zapp }}</ref> 

Van Vliet enrolled at [[Antelope Valley College]] as an art major, but left after one year. He worked as a door-to-door [[vacuum cleaner]] salesman, and sold a vacuum cleaner to the writer [[Aldous Huxley]] at his home in [[Llano, California|Llano]], pointing to it and declaring, "Well, I assure you sir, this thing sucks."<ref name="coley">{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/zigzag/articles/rabbit.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Captain Beefheart Pulls A Hat Out of His Rabbit |work=Beefheart.com |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918085914/http://beefheart.com/zigzag/articles/rabbit.htm |archive-date=September 18, 2010 }}</ref> After managing a [[Kinney Shoes|Kinney's]] shoe store, he moved to [[Rancho Cucamonga, California]] to reconnect with Zappa. Van Vliet was quite shy but was eventually able to imitate the deep voice of [[Howlin' Wolf]] with his wide vocal range.<ref name="beefheart2"/><ref name="ZappaIT">Zappa, Frank (March 1977). ''International Times''.</ref> He grew comfortable with public performance and, after learning to play the harmonica, began playing at dances and small clubs in Southern California.

=== Initial recordings, 1962–69 ===
In early 1965, Snouffer invited Vliet to sing with a group that he was assembling. Vliet joined the first [[The Magic Band|Magic Band]] and changed his name to Don Van Vliet, while Snouffer became Alex St. Clair. Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band signed to [[A&M Records]] and, in 1966, released two singles: a version of [[Bo Diddley]]'s "[[Diddy Wah Diddy]]" that became a regional hit in Los Angeles, and "Moonchild" (written by [[David Gates]], later of the band [[Bread (band)|Bread]]). That year, the band began to play larger west coast venues such as the [[Avalon Ballroom]] in San Francisco.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=40}}

=== ''Safe as Milk'' ===
After fulfilling their deal for two singles, the band presented demos to A&M for what would become the album ''[[Safe as Milk]]''. A&M's [[Jerry Moss]] reportedly described this new direction as "too negative" and dropped the band from the label. Much of the demo recording was accomplished at [[Art Laboe]]'s Original Sound Studio, then with [[Gary Marker]] at [[Sunset Sound Recorders|Sunset Sound]] on 8-track. By the end of 1966, they were signed to [[Buddah Records]] and much of the demo work was transferred to 4-track, at the behest of [[Bob Krasnow]] and [[Richard Perry]] in the RCA Studio in Hollywood, where the recording was finalized. By now, Doug Moon had left the band and his tracks were taken up by [[Ry Cooder]], who had been brought into the band after much pressure from Van Vliet.

Drummer John French had joined the group and it would be his patience that was required to transcribe Van Vliet's ideas (often expressed by whistling or banging on the piano) into musical form for the other group members. Upon French's departure, this role was taken over by [[Bill Harkleroad]] for ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby''.<ref>Harkleroad, Bill (1998). ''Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart Experience''. Interlink Publishing. {{ISBN|0-946719-21-7}}. p. 67</ref>

{{Listen
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Many of the lyrics on the ''Safe as Milk'' album were written by Van Vliet in collaboration with the writer [[Herb Bermann]], who befriended Van Vliet after seeing him perform at a bar in Lancaster in 1966. The song "[[Electricity (Captain Beefheart song)|Electricity]]" was a poem written by Bermann, who gave Van Vliet permission to adapt it to music.<ref name="ReferenceB">{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/herb1.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Herb Bermann interview pt 1 |work=Beefheart.com |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081020115103/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/herb1.htm |archive-date=October 20, 2008 }}</ref>  Unlike the album's mostly blues rock sound, songs such as "Electricity" illustrated the band's unconventional instrumentation and Van Vliet's unusual vocals.
 
Much of the ''Safe as Milk'' material was honed and arranged by Cooder. The band began recording in spring 1967 and the album was released in September 1967. [[Richie Unterberger]] of ''[[Allmusic]]'' called it "blues–rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk–rock influences than he would employ on his more [[avant garde]] outings".

[[John Lennon]] displayed two of the album's promotional "baby bumper stickers" in the sunroom at his home.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/pics/lennonsam.jpg |title=Photo of John Lennon lounging at his Surrey home, with "Safe as Milk" bumper stickers visible |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616182238/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/pics/lennonsam.jpg |archive-date=June 16, 2011 }}</ref> [[The Beatles]] planned to sign Beefheart to their experimental [[Zapple]] label, plans that were scrapped after [[Allen Klein]] took over the Beatles management.

Van Vliet was often critical of the Beatles. He considered the lyric "I'd love to turn you on" from "[[A Day in the Life]]" to be ridiculous and conceited. Tiring of their "lullabies", he lampooned them with the ''Strictly Personal'' song "Beatle Bones 'n' Smokin' Stones",{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=194}} with the sardonic refrain of "strawberry fields, all the winged eels slither on the heels of today's children, [[Strawberry Fields Forever|strawberry fields forever]]". Vliet spoke badly of Lennon after getting no response when he sent a telegram of support to him and wife [[Yoko Ono]] during their 1969 "[[Bed-in]]".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=194}}

{{Listen|filename=Safe as Milk.ogg|description="Safe as Milk" from ''Strictly Personal'', an album "having little in the way of lyrics or chords beyond the most primeval stomp" according to Stewart Mason in his AllMusic review.<ref name="Mason, AllMusic">{{cite web|last=Mason |first=Stewart |url= {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r32274|pure_url=yes}} |title=Strictly Personal &gt; Overview  |website= Allmusic |date=April 25, 1968 |access-date=September 2, 2019}}</ref>|title="Safe as Milk"|pos=left}}

To support the ''Safe as Milk'' release, the group was scheduled to play at the 1967 [[Monterey Pop Festival]]. Vliet was having severe [[panic attack]]s and was convinced that he was having a heart attack, a fear exacerbated by his heavy [[Lysergic acid diethylamide|LSD]] use and the fact that his father had died of heart failure a few years earlier. At a vital warm-up performance at the [[Fantasy Fair and Magic Mountain Music Festival]] (June 10–11) shortly before the Monterey Festival, the band began to play "Electricity" and Van Vliet froze, straightened his tie, then walked off the {{convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on}} stage and landed on manager [[Bob Krasnow]]. He later claimed he had seen a girl in the audience turn into a fish, with bubbles coming from her mouth.<ref>French, John. ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic'', p. 253. {{ISBN|978-0-9561212-1-9}}</ref> This aborted any opportunity of breakthrough success at Monterey, as Cooder decided he could no longer work with Van Vliet and quit.<ref name="artist formerly known"/> There was no time for the band to find a replacement. Cooder's spot was eventually filled by Gerry McGee, who had played with [[The Monkees (album)|the Monkees]]. According to French, the band did two gigs with McGee, one at The Peppermint Twist near [[Long Beach, California|Long Beach]], the other at the [[Santa Monica Civic Auditorium]], August 7, 1967, as the opening act for [[The Yardbirds]].<ref name="John French p264">French, John. ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic'' p. 264. {{ISBN|978-0-9561212-1-9}}</ref>

=== ''Strictly Personal'' ===
In August 1967, guitarist [[Jeff Cotton]] filled the spot vacated by Cooder and McGee. In October and November 1967 the Snouffer/Cotton/Handley/French line–up recorded material for what was planned to be a double album called ''It Comes to You in a Plain Brown Wrapper'' for the {{sic|hide=y|Buddah}} label–it was released in pieces in 1971 and 1995. After rejection from Buddah, Krasnow encouraged the band to re-record four of the shorter numbers, add two more, and make shorter versions of "Mirror Man" and "Kandy Korn". Krasnow created a strange mix full of "phasing" that, by most accounts (including Beefheart's), diminished the music's strength. This was released in October 1968 as ''[[Strictly Personal]]'' on Krasnow's [[Blue Thumb Records|Blue Thumb]] label.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=93}} Stewart Mason in his ''Allmusic'' review of the album described it as a "terrific album" and a "fascinating, underrated release...every bit the equal of ''Safe as Milk'' and ''Trout Mask Replica''".<ref name="Mason, AllMusic" /> [[Langdon Winner]] of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' called ''Strictly Personal'' "an excellent album...with the lyrics demonstrating "Beefheart's ability to juxtapose delightful humor with frightening insights".<ref name=autogenerated2>Winner, Langdon (May 14, 1970). "[http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/odyssey.htm The Odyssey of Captain Beefheart] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060315005436/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/odyssey.htm |date=March 15, 2006 }}"</ref>

=== ''Mirror Man'' ===
In 1971, some of the recordings done for Buddah were released as ''[[Mirror Man (Captain Beefheart album)|Mirror Man]]'', bearing a [[liner note]] stating that the material had been recorded in "one night in Los Angeles in 1965". This was a ruse to circumvent possible [[copyright]] issues. The material was recorded in November and December 1967. It is a "[[jam session|jam]]" album, described as pushing "the boundaries of conventional blues–rock, with a Beefheart vocal tossed in here and there. Some may miss Beefheart's surreal poetry, gruff vocals, and/or free jazz influence, while others may find it fascinating to hear the Magic Band simply letting go and cutting loose."<ref>{{cite web|last=Huey |first=Steve |url= {{AllMusic|class=album|id=r416897|pure_url=yes}} |title=The Mirror Man Sessions &gt; Overview |website= Allmusic |date=June 1, 1999 |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> The album's "miss-credit errors" also state band members as "Alex St. Clare Snouffer" (Alex St. Clare/Alexis Snouffer), "Antennae Jimmy Simmons" (Semens/Jeff Cotton) and "Jerry Handsley" (Handley).

During his first trip to England in January 1968, Captain Beefheart was briefly represented by [[mod (subculture)|mod]] icon [[Peter Meaden]], an early manager of [[the Who]]. The Captain and his band members were initially denied entry to the United Kingdom because Meaden had booked them for gigs without applying for the required [[work permit]]s.<ref>{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/zigzag/articles/refuse.htm |title=Refusal of Leave to Land Report, dated 24 January 1968 |work=Beefheart.com |access-date=July 18, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110817060153/http://www.beefheart.com/zigzag/articles/refuse.htm |archive-date=August 17, 2011 }}</ref> Press coverage and public outcry resulted in the band being permitted to enter the UK, where they recorded material for [[John Peel]]'s [[BBC]] radio show and, on Friday January 19, appeared at [[Middle Earth (club)|Middle Earth]], where they played tracks from ''Safe as Milk'' and some of the experimental blues tracks from ''Mirror Man''. The band was met by an enthusiastic audience; French recalled the event as a rare high moment: "After the show, we were taken to the dressing room where we sat for hours as a line of what seemed like hundreds of people walked in one by one to shake our hands or get an autograph. Many brought imports of ''Safe as Milk'' with them for us to autograph ... It seemed like we had finally gained some reward ... Suddenly all the criticizing and intimidation and eccentricities seemed very unimportant. It was a glorious moment, one of the very few I ever experienced".<ref>French, p. 316</ref> By this time, the band had terminated their association with Meaden. On January 27, 1968, they performed in the [[MIDEM|MIDEM Music Festival]] on the beach at [[Cannes]].

=== ''The 'Brown Wrapper' Sessions'' ===
After returning to the US, the plan was for the band to leave Buddah and sign to [[MGM Records]], and they re-recorded some Buddah material of the partial ''Mirror Man'' sessions at Sunset Sound with [[Bruce Botnick]]. Beefheart was conceptualizing new band names, including ''25th Century Quaker'' and ''Blue Thumb''.<ref>French, John. ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic'', p327 – 329. {{ISBN|978-0-9561212-1-9}}</ref> The idea of ''25th Century Quaker'' was that it would be a "blues band" alias for the more avant-garde work of the Magic Band. Krasnow then set up his own label, ''[[Blue Thumb Records|Blue Thumb]]'', which launched with ''Strictly Personal''. Thus "25th Century Quaker" became a track and a potential band-name became a label. Given that Krasnow had poached the band from Buddah, there were limitations on what material could be released. The raft of material left behind emerged as ''I May Be Hungry, But I Sure Ain't Weird''. Both ''Blue Thumb'' and the stamps on the cover of ''Strictly Personal'' have LSD connotations, as does the track "Ah Feel Like Ahcid".

=== ''Trout Mask Replica'' ===
[[File:VH_02_copy.jpg|thumb|Victor Hayden (aka [[the Mascara Snake]]) at the house where ''[[Trout Mask Replica]]'' was rehearsed and recorded in 1968]]
Critically acclaimed as Van Vliet's [[Masterpiece|magnum opus]],<ref name="rollingstone.com">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/captainbeefheart/biography |title=Captain Beefheart: Biography |magazine=Rolling Stone |access-date=February 11, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080924040000/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/captainbeefheart/biography |archive-date=September 24, 2008 |url-status=dead }}</ref> ''[[Trout Mask Replica]]'' was released as a 28-track [[double album]] in June 1969 on [[Frank Zappa]]'s newly formed [[Straight Records]] label. A school-age portrait of Van Vliet appears on the front of this sheet, while the cover of the gatefold shows Beefheart in a modified [[capotain|Pilgrim hat]].<ref name="Coloy1999">{{cite magazine |last1=Coley |first1=Byron |title=SPIN |date=December 1999 |magazine=SPIN |publisher=SPIN Media LLC |page=167 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HJbW_6l-uRUC&pg=PA167}}</ref> The inner spread "[[infra-red]]" photography is by [[Ed Caraeff]], whose Beefheart vacuum cleaner images from this session also appear on Zappa's ''[[Hot Rats]]'' release to accompany "Willie The Pimp" lyrics sung by Vliet. 

Alex St. Clair had now left the band and, after Elwood Madeo from the Blackouts was considered, the role was filled by [[Bill harkleroad|Bill Harkleroad]].<ref>French, John. ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic'', p359. {{ISBN|978-0-9561212-1-9}}</ref> Bassist Jerry Handley had also departed, with [[Gary Marker]] stepping in–he was soon replaced by [[Mark Boston]]. Thus the long rehearsals for the album began in the rented house in [[Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California|Woodland Hills]] that would become the Magic Band House.<ref>Harkleroad, Bill. ''Lunar Notes'' p22-23. {{ISBN|0-946719-21-7}}</ref> 

The Magic Band began recordings for ''Trout Mask Replica'' at [[TTG Studios]];<ref>''Grow Fins'' CD box set booklet p.51 [also in vinyl set booklet].</ref> it was completed at the [[Lorin Whitney|Whitney Studios]], with some [[field recording]]s made at the house. Van Vliet assigned nicknames to his band members, so Harkleroad became ''[[Zoot Horn Rollo]]'', Boston became ''[[Rockette Morton]]'', John French assumed the name ''[[John French (musician)|Drumbo]]'', and Jeff Cotton became ''[[Antennae Jimmy Semens]]''. Van Vliet's cousin Victor Hayden, ''[[the Mascara Snake]]'', performed as a bass clarinetist.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=97}} Vliet's girlfriend Laurie Stone, who can be heard laughing at the beginning of "Fallin' Ditch", became the [[audio typist]].

Van Vliet wanted the band to "live" the ''Trout Mask Replica'' album. The group rehearsed his difficult compositions for eight months, with everyone living in the two-bedroom house. Van Vliet implemented his vision by completely dominating his musicians, artistically and emotionally. He would berate a musician continually, sometimes for days, until the musician collapsed in tears or in total submission.<ref>[http://vpinterviews.blogspot.com/2005/04/magic-band.html The Magic Band], ''vanity project interviews'', April 2005.</ref> Bill Harkleroad complained that his fingers were a "bloody mess" as a result of Beefheart's orders that he use heavy strings.<ref>Gore, Joe. "Zoot Horn Rollo: Captain Beefheart's Glass-Finger Guitarist". Guitar Player Jan. 1998 : 39–40, 42, 44. Print.</ref> French described the situation as "cultlike"<ref name="Lewis">{{cite web|url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/drumbo/paullewis.htm|title=Burundo Drumbi! — John French's Series of Q&As, 2000/1|access-date=December 9, 2007|publisher=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071213094110/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/drumbo/paullewis.htm|archive-date=December 13, 2007}}</ref> and a visitor said "the environment in that house was positively [[Charles Manson|Manson]]esque".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=110}} Their material circumstances were dire. With no income other than [[Welfare (financial aid)|welfare]] and contributions from relatives, the group barely survived and some were  arrested for shoplifting food.<ref>From Straight to Bizarre – Zappa, Beefheart, Alice Cooper and LA's Lunatic Fringe, DVD, 2012</ref> French recalled living on no more than a small cup of beans a day for a month.<ref name="artist formerly known"/> A visitor described their appearance as "cadaverous". Band members were restricted from leaving the house and rehearsed for 14 or more hours a day.

In his 2010 book ''Through the Eyes of Magic'', French describes how, when he did not finish drum parts quickly enough, he was punched by band members, thrown into walls, kicked, and attacked with a sharpened broomstick.<ref>French, p. 7</ref> Beefheart punched him in the face and threatened to throw him out a window. He admits complicity in similarly attacking his bandmates during Beefheart's "talks" aimed at them. In the end, after the album's recording, Beefheart ejected French from the band by throwing him down a flight of stairs, telling him to "Take a walk" after French did not properly respond to a request to "play a strawberry". Beefheart replaced French with drummer Jeff Burchell, a roadie with no drumming experience whom Beefheart called "Fake Drumbo". French's name does not appear on the album credits.

According to Van Vliet, the 28 songs on the album were written in a single {{frac|8|1|2}}-hour session at the piano, an instrument he did not play. Band members have stated that the songs were written over the course of a year, beginning around December 1967. It took them eight months to mold the songs into shape, with French bearing primary responsibility for transposing and shaping Vliet's piano fragments into guitar and bass lines. <ref name="Miles 2005 pp. 182">[[Miles, Barry]] (2005). ''Zappa: A Biography'', Grove Press, pp. 182–183.</ref> Harkleroad recalled: "We're dealing with a strange person, coming from a place of being a sculptor/painter, using music as his [[idiom]]. He was getting more into that part of who he was instead of this blues singer.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=98}} The band had rehearsed the songs so thoroughly that the instrumental tracks for 21 of the songs were recorded in a single four-and-a-half-hour session.<ref name="Miles 2005 pp. 182"/> The album's cover shows Van Vliet wearing the raw head of a carp  fashioned into a mask by photographer [[Cal Schenkel]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.united-mutations.com/s/cal_schenkel.htm |title=United Mutations interview with Schenkel |publisher=United-mutations.com |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref>

{{listen|
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''Trout Mask Replica'' incorporated a wide variety of musical styles, including blues, avant garde/experimental, and rock. The relentless practice prior to recording blended the music into an iconoclastic whole of [[contrapuntal]] [[tempo]]s, featuring [[slide guitar]], [[polyrhythmic]] drumming (with French's drums and cymbals covered in cardboard), honking saxophone and [[bass clarinet]]. Van Vliet's vocals range from his signature [[Howlin' Wolf]]-inspired growl to frenzied [[falsetto]] to laconic, casual ramblings.

The instrumental backing was recorded live, while Van Vliet overdubbed most of the vocals in only partial sync with the music by hearing the slight sound leakage through the studio window.<ref name="Chusid">[[Irwin Chusid|Chusid, Irwin]] (2000). ''Songs in the Key of Z: The Curious Universe of Outsider Music'', pp. 129–140. London: Cherry Red Books. {{ISBN|1-901447-11-1}}</ref> Zappa said of Van Vliet's approach, "[it was] impossible to tell him why things should be such and such a way. It seemed to me that if he was going to create a unique object, that the best thing for me to do was to keep my mouth shut as much as possible and just let him do whatever he wanted to do whether I thought it was wrong or not."<ref name="artist formerly known"/>

Van Vliet used the ensuing publicity, particularly with a 1970 ''Rolling Stone'' interview with [[Langdon Winner]], to promulgate a number of myths. Winner's article stated, for instance, that neither Van Vliet nor the members of the Magic Band ever took drugs; Harkleroad contradicted this. Van Vliet claimed to have taught Harkleroad and Boston to play their instruments from scratch; in fact, both were accomplished musicians before joining the band.<ref name="Chusid"/> Lastly, Van Vliet claimed to have gone a year and half without sleeping. When asked how this was possible, he claimed to have only eaten fruit.<ref name="beefheart.com"/>

''[[AllMusic]]'' critic Steve Huey writes that the album's influence "was felt more in spirit than in direct copycatting, as a catalyst rather than a literal musical starting point. However, its inspiring re-imagining of what was possible in a rock context laid the groundwork for countless experiments in rock surrealism to follow, especially during the [[punk (music)|punk]] and [[New wave music|new wave]] era."<ref name="Huey">{{cite web | url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r3289|pure_url=yes}} | title=Trout Mask Replica | access-date=March 17, 2007 | last= Huey |first= Steve | website=Allmusic}}</ref> In 2003, the album was ranked sixtieth by ''Rolling Stone'' on its list of [[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]: "On first listen, ''Trout Mask Replica'' sounds like raw [[Delta blues]]", with Beefheart "singing and ranting and reciting poetry over fractured guitar licks. Tracks such as "Ella Guru" and "My Human Gets Me Blues" are the direct predecessors of modern musical primitives such as [[Tom Waits]] and [[PJ Harvey]]."<ref name="Posted Nov 01, 0003 12:00 AM"/> Guitarist [[Fred Frith]] noted that during this process "forces that usually emerge in [[Musical improvisation|improvisation]] are harnessed and made constant, repeatable".<ref name="Fred Frith"/>

Critic [[Robert Christgau]] gave the album a B+, saying, "I find it impossible to give this record an A because it is just too weird. But I'd like to. Very great played at high volume when you're feeling shitty, because you'll never feel as shitty as this record."<ref name="robertchristgau.com">{{cite web| url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist2.php?id=222 |title=CG: Artist 222 |publisher=Robert Christgau |date=December 1, 2006 |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> John Peel said of the album: "If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then ''Trout Mask Replica'' is probably that work."<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.furious.com/Perfect/beefheart/troutmaskreplica3.html |title=Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band: ''Trout Mask Replica'' |access-date=December 9, 2007 |last=Barnes |first=Mike |date=February 1999 |publisher=Perfect Sound Forever |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120133945/http://www.furious.com/Perfect/beefheart/troutmaskreplica3.html |archive-date=November 20, 2011 |url-status=dead }}</ref> It was inducted into the United States [[National Recording Registry]] in 2011.

=== ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' ===
''[[Lick My Decals Off, Baby]]'' (1970) continued in a similarly experimental vein. An album with "a very coherent structure" in the Magic Band's "most experimental and visionary stage",<ref>{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/decals.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Lick My Decals Off Baby |work=Beefheart.com |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100124020320/http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/decals.htm |archive-date=January 24, 2010 }}</ref> it was Van Vliet's most commercially successful in the United Kingdom, spending twenty weeks on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and peaking at number 20. An early promotional music video was made of its title song, and a bizarre television commercial included excerpts from "Woe-Is-uh-Me-Bop", silent footage of masked Magic Band members using kitchen utensils as musical instruments, and Beefheart kicking over a bowl of what appears to be porridge onto a dividing stripe in the middle of a road. The video was rarely played but was accepted into the [[Museum of Modern Art]], where it has been used in several programs related to music.<ref name="ReferenceA">''[http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/47/962 Music Video: The Industry and Its Fringes]'', Museum of Modern Art, September 6–30, 1985</ref><ref name="autogenerated1">''[http://www.moma.org/explore/multimedia/audios/47/956 Looking at Music]'', Museum of Modern Art, August 13, 2008 – January 5, 2009</ref>

On this LP, [[Art Tripp|Art Tripp III]], formerly of [[the Mothers of Invention]], played drums and marimba, along with a returning John French. ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' was the first record on which the band was credited as "''The''" Magic Band, rather than "''His''" Magic Band. Journalist [[Irwin Chusid]] interprets this change as "a grudging concession of its members' at least semi-autonomous humanity".<ref name="Chusid" /> Robert Christgau gave the album an A&minus;, commenting, "Beefheart's famous five-octave range and covert totalitarian structures have taken on a playful undertone, repulsive and engrossing and [[slapstick]] funny."<ref name="robertchristgau.com"/> Due to licensing disputes, ''Lick My Decals Off, Baby'' was unavailable on CD for many years, though it remained in print on [[vinyl record|vinyl]]. It was ranked second in ''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' magazine's May 2010 list of ''The 50 Greatest Lost Albums''.<ref>''[[Uncut (magazine)|Uncut]]'' magazine, May 2010. {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20110428185601/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/uncut.htm#LostAlbums "The 50 Greatest Lost Albums"]}} www.rocklistmusic.co.uk Retrieved February 9, 2010.</ref>

=== ''The Spotlight Kid'' & ''Clear Spot'' ===
[[File:Captain Beefheart.jpg|thumb|220px|left|Beefheart performing at [[Convocation Hall (University of Toronto)|Convocation Hall]], Toronto, in 1974.]]
The next two records, ''[[The Spotlight Kid]]'' (simply credited to "Captain Beefheart") and ''[[Clear Spot]]'' (credited to "Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band"), were both released in 1972. The atmosphere of ''The Spotlight Kid'' is, according to one critic, "definitely relaxed and fun, maybe one step up from a jam". And though "things do sound maybe just a little too blasé", "Beefheart at his worst still has something more than most groups at their best."<ref>Raggett, Ned.[http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-spotlight-kid-r60669 "The Spotlight Kid"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101205110125/http://www.allmusic.com/album/the-spotlight-kid-r60669 |date=December 5, 2010 }} allmusic. Retrieved December 19, 2010.</ref> The music is simpler and slower than on the group's two previous releases; this was in part an attempt by Van Vliet to become a more appealing commercial proposition as the band had made almost no money during the previous two years.<ref>{{harvnb|French|2010|pp=563–564}}</ref> Van Vliet said he "got tired of scaring people with what I was doing ... I realized that I had to give them something to hang their hat on, so I started working more of a beat into the music. It's more human that way".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=199}}

Magic Band members said that the slower performances were due in part to Van Vliet's inability to fit his lyrics with the instrumental backing of the faster material on the earlier albums, a problem that was exacerbated by the fact that that he almost never rehearsed with the group.{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=200}} In the period leading up to the recording, the band again lived communally, first at a compound near [[Ben Lomond, California]] and then in northern California near [[Trinidad, California|Trinidad]].{{sfn|French|2010|p=558–565}} The situation saw a return to the physical violence and [[psychological manipulation]]. According to John French, the worst of this was directed at Harkleroad.{{sfn|French|2010|p=563}} In his autobiography, Harkleroad recalls being thrown into a dumpster, an act he interpreted as having "metaphorical intent".<ref>Harkleroad, p. 67</ref>

''Clear Spot'''s production credit of [[Ted Templeman]] made [[AllMusic]]'s Ned Raggett consider "why in the world [it] wasn't more of a commercial success", and that while fans "of the fully all-out side of Beefheart might find the end result not fully up to snuff as a result, but those less concerned with pushing back all borders all the time will enjoy his unexpected blend of everything tempered with a new accessibility". The review called the song "Big Eyed Beans from Venus" "a fantastically strange piece of aggression".<ref>Raggett, Ned. [http://www.allmusic.com/album/clear-spot-r3295 ''Clear Spot''], ''AllMusic''. Retrieved December 19, 2010.</ref> A ''Clear Spot'' song, "Her Eyes Are A Blue Million Miles", appeared on [[The Big Lebowski#Soundtrack|the soundtrack]] of the [[Coen brothers]]' 1998 cult comedy ''[[The Big Lebowski]]''.

=== ''Unconditionally Guaranteed'' & ''Bluejeans & Moonbeams'' ===
In 1974, immediately after the recording of ''[[Unconditionally Guaranteed]]'', which continued the trend towards a more commercial sound, the Magic Band's original members departed. They worked together for a period, gigging at [[Blue Lake, California|Blue Lake]] and putting together their own ideas and demos, with John French as  vocalist. These concepts eventually coalesced around the core of [[Art Tripp|Art Tripp III]], Harkleroad and Boston, with the formation of the band [[Mallard (band)|Mallard]], helped by money and UK recording facilities from [[Jethro Tull (band)|Jethro Tull's]] [[Ian Anderson (musician)|Ian Anderson]].<ref>French, John. ''Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic'', pp.608–609. {{ISBN|978-0-9561212-1-9}}</ref><ref>Harkleroad, Bill. ''Lunar Notes'' pp.132–133. {{ISBN|0-946719-21-7}}</ref> Some of French's compositions were used in the band's work, but the group's singer was Sam Galpin and the role of keyboardist was  taken by John Thomas, who shared a house with French in [[Eureka, California|Eureka]]. At this time Vliet attempted to recruit both French and Harkleroad as producers for his next album, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.

Vliet was forced to form a new Magic Band to complete support-tour dates. He recruited singer and keyboardist Michael Smotherman, bassist Paul Uhrig, drummer Ty Grimes, saxophonist Del Simmons, and guitarists Dean Smith and  [[The Mauds|Robert 'Fuzzy' Fuscaldo]]. These were session musicians who had never heard Beefheart's music, so they improvised what they thought would go with each song, playing much slicker "bar band" versions. A review described this incarnation of the Magic Band as the "Tragic Band", a term that stuck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/sscl/1844710599.htm|title=That Blues Thing: Enter Captain Beefheart|first1=Michel|last1=Delville|first2=Andrew|last2=Norris|year=2005|access-date=November 20, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090101042738/http://www.saltpublishing.com/books/sscl/1844710599.htm|archive-date=January 1, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.beefheart.com/the-tragic-band/|title = The Tragic Band – Captain Beefheart Radar Station}}</ref>
Mike Barnes said that the description of the new band "grooving along pleasantly", was "...{{nbsp}}an appropriately banal description of the music of a man who only a few years ago had composed with the express intent of shaking listeners out of their torpor."{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=285}} The one album this band recorded, ''[[Bluejeans & Moonbeams]]'' (1974) has a completely different, almost [[soft rock]] sound. Neither was well received; drummer Art Tripp recalled that when he and the original Magic Band listened to ''Unconditionally Guaranteed'', they "were horrified...each song was worse than the one which preceded it".<ref>{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/artinterview.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Art Tripp interview |work=Beefheart.com |date=February 10, 2006 |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120162605/http://beefheart.com/datharp/artinterview.htm |archive-date=November 20, 2010 }}</ref> Beefheart later disowned both albums, calling them "horrible and vulgar", asking that they not be considered part of his musical output and urging fans who bought them to "take copies back for a refund".<ref>{{cite web |first=Graham |last=Johnston |url=http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/cook.htm |title=The Captain Beefheart Radar Station – Zappa and the Captain Cook |work=Beefheart.com |access-date=February 11, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101120061857/http://beefheart.com/datharp/cook.htm |archive-date=November 20, 2010 }}</ref>

=== ''Bongo Fury'' and ''Bat Chain Puller'' ===
{{listen|
| filename     = Bat_Chain_Puller.ogg
| title        = "Bat Chain Puller"
| description  = "Bat Chain Puller" from the original ''Bat Chain Puller'', the album that was supposed to mark Van Vliet's return to prominence and form.
| format       = [[Ogg]]
| filename2    = Ice_Cream_For_Crow.ogg
| title2       = "Ice Cream for Crow"
| description2 = ''Ice Cream for Crow'', the title track of the final Beefheart album
| format2      = [[Ogg]]
}}
By the fall of 1975, the band had completed a European tour, and added US dates in early 1976, supporting Zappa and [[Dr. John]]. Van Vliet now found himself stuck in a web of contractual hang-ups. Zappa extended a helping hand, with Vliet performing incognito as "Rollin' Red" on ''[[One Size Fits All (Frank Zappa album)|One Size Fits All]]'' (1975) and then joining with him on the ''[[Bongo Fury]]'' album and its tour. Two Vliet-penned numbers on ''Bongo Fury'' are "Sam with the Showing Scalp Flat Top" and "Man with the Woman Head". He also sings "Poofter's Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead", harmonizes on "200 Years Old" and "Muffin Man", and plays harmonica and saxophone.

[[File:Frank Zappa - Capt. Beefheart - crop.jpg|thumb|Van Vliet seated left on stage with Zappa in 1975 in their ''[[Bongo Fury]]'' tour]]
The friendship between Zappa and Van Vliet was sometimes expressed in the form of rivalry as musicians drifted back and forth between their groups.<ref>{{harvnb|Miles|2004}}</ref> Van Vliet embarked on the 1975 ''[[Bongo Fury]]'' tour with Zappa and [[The Mothers of Invention|the Mothers]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.discogs.com/Zappa-Beefheart-Mothers-Bongo-Fury/master/35842 |title=''Bongo Fury'' for Mothers link |work=Discogs.com |year=1975 |access-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref> mainly because conflicting contractual obligations made him unable to tour or record independently. Their relationship grew acrimonious on the tour to the point that they refused to talk to one another. Zappa became irritated by Van Vliet, who drew constantly, including while on stage, filling one of his large sketch books with rapidly executed portraits and warped caricatures of Zappa. Musically, Van Vliet's primitive style contrasted sharply with Zappa's compositional discipline and abundant technique. Mothers of Invention drummer [[Jimmy Carl Black]] described the situation as "two geniuses" on "ego trips".<ref name="artist formerly known"/> Estranged for years afterwards, they reconnected at the end of Zappa's life, after his diagnosis of terminal [[prostate cancer]].<ref>{{harvnb|Miles|2004|p=372}}</ref>

Their collaborative work appears on the Zappa rarity collections ''[[The Lost Episodes]]'' (1996) and ''[[Mystery Disc]]'' (1996). Particularly notable is their song "[[Muffin Man (song)|Muffin Man]]", included on ''Bongo Fury'' and Zappa's compilation album ''[[Strictly Commercial]]'' (1995). Zappa finished concerts with the song for many years afterwards. Beefheart also provided vocals for "[[Willie the Pimp]]" on Zappa's otherwise instrumental album ''[[Hot Rats]]'' (1969). Van Vliet  played the harmonica on two songs on Zappa albums: "San Ber'dino" on ''[[One Size Fits All (Frank Zappa album)|One Size Fits All]]'' (1975) and "[[Find Her Finer]]" on ''[[Zoot Allures]]'' (1976).<ref>[http://www.beefheart.com/shop/zapbeef.htm "Frank Zappa featuring Captain Beefheart"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100918125350/http://beefheart.com/shop/zapbeef.htm |date=September 18, 2010 }} The Captain Beefheart Radar Station. Retrieved July 1, 2010.</ref> He is also the vocalist on "The Torture Never Stops (Original Version)" on Zappa's ''[[You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4]]''.

In early 1976, Zappa offered his studio and finances to produce the Vliet album ''[[Bat Chain Puller]]''. The band was John French (drums), John Thomas (keyboards) and guitarists [[Moris Tepper]] and [[Denny Walley]]. Much of the work on this album was finished and some demos had been circulated when, in May 1976, the long association between Zappa and his manager/business partner [[Herb Cohen]] ceased. This resulted in Zappa's finances and works becoming part of protracted legal negotiations. The ''Bat Chain Puller'' project went "on ice" and did not see an official release until 2012.<ref name="GZonBCP20110624">{{cite web
 |title='Orig BCP' release date 
 |url=http://www.zappa.com/gzsez/questions/orig-bcp-release-date/ 
 |publisher=Zappa.com 
 |first=Gail 
 |last=Zappa 
 |access-date=November 3, 2011 |url-status=dead 
 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120109025812/http://www.zappa.com/gzsez/questions/orig-bcp-release-date/ 
 |archive-date=January 9, 2012 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://barfkoswill.shop.musictoday.com/Dept.aspx?cp=971_54317 |title=Barfko-Swill Bat Chain Puller CD &#124; Shop the Barfko-Swill Official Store |work=Barfkoswill.shop.musictoday.com |access-date=March 26, 2012}}</ref> 

In 1977, Beefheart appeared on [[the Tubes]]' album ''[[Now (The Tubes album)|Now]]'', playing saxophone on the song "Cathy's Clone".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=551}} The album also featured a cover of the ''Clear Spot'' song "My Head Is My Only House Unless It Rains". In 1978 he appeared on [[Jack Nitzsche]]'s soundtrack to the film ''[[Blue Collar (film)|Blue Collar]]''.<ref name="coley"/>

=== ''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' ===
Having extricated himself from a mire of contractual difficulties, Beefheart emerged with 1978's ''[[Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)]]'', on the [[Warner Bros. Records|Warner Bros]] label. It contained re-workings of the shelved ''Bat Chain Puller'' album and retained its original guitarist, Moris Tepper. He and Vliet were now joined by Richard Redus (guitar, bass and accordion), [[Eric Drew Feldman]] (bass, piano and synthesizer), [[Bruce Fowler|Bruce Lambourne Fowler]] (trombone and air bass), [[Art Tripp]] (percussion and marimba) and [[Robert Williams (drummer)|Robert Arthur Williams]] (drums). The album was co-produced by Vliet and Pete Johnson. Members of this Magic Band and the "Bat Chain" elements would feature on Beefheart's last two albums.

''Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)'' was described by Ned Raggett of ''Allmusic'' as "...{{nbsp}}manna from heaven for those feeling Beefheart had lost his way on his two Mercury albums".<ref>{{cite web|last=Raggett |first=Ned |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r32279|pure_url=yes}} |title=Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) &gt; Overview  |website= Allmusic |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> Following Vliet's death, John French claimed the 40-second spoken word track "Apes-Ma" was an analogy of Van Vliet's deteriorating physical condition.<ref>French, John.[http://blog.beefheart.com/2010/12/john-frenchs-tribute-to-don-van-vliet.html John French's tribute to Don Van Vliet] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101226013223/http://blog.beefheart.com/2010/12/john-frenchs-tribute-to-don-van-vliet.html |date=December 26, 2010 }} Beefheart.com Published 2010-22-12. Retrieved 2011-13-01.</ref> The album's sleeve features Van Vliet's 1976 painting ''Green Tom''.

=== ''Doc at the Radar Station'' ===
[[File:Don Van Vliet and Gary Lucas, "Doc at the Radar Station" sessions, Soundcastle Studios Glendale Ca. May 1980.jpeg|thumb|Don Van Vliet and [[Gary Lucas]] during the ''Doc at the Radar Station'' sessions (May 1980)]]
''[[Doc at the Radar Station]]'' (1980) helped establish Beefheart's late resurgence. Released by [[Virgin Records]] during the [[post-punk]] scene, the music was now accessible to a younger, more receptive audience. He was interviewed in a feature report on [[KABC-TV]]'s ''Channel 7 Eyewitness News'' in which he was hailed as "the father of the [[New wave music|new wave]]. One of the most important American composers of the last fifty years, [and] a primitive genius". Van Vliet said he was "doing a non-hypnotic music to break up the [[catatonic]] state ... and I think there is one right now."<ref>{{YouTube|yIlVXzC85TU|Van Vliet interviewed on KABC-TV's ''Channel 7 Eyewitness News''}} 1980. Retrieved on April 9, 2010.</ref>

Steve Huey of ''Allmusic'' cited ''Doc at the Radar Station'' as being "...{{nbsp}}the strongest album of his comeback, and by some as his best since ''Trout Mask Replica''", "even if the Captain's voice isn't quite what it once was, ''Doc at the Radar Station'' is an excellent, focused consolidation of Beefheart's past and then-present".<ref>{{cite web|last=Huey |first=Steve |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r3301|pure_url=yes}} |title=Doc at the Radar Station &gt; Overview |website=Allmusic |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> Van Vliet's biographer Mike Barnes writes of "revamping work built on skeletal ideas and fragments that would have mouldered away in the vaults had they not been exhumed and transformed into full-blown, totally convincing new material".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=362}} During this period, Van Vliet made two appearances on [[Late Night With David Letterman]], and performed on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]''.

=== ''Ice Cream for Crow'' ===
[[File:NewMagicBandPromo.jpg|left|thumb|Van Vliet and the new Magic Band.]]
The final Beefheart record, ''[[Ice Cream for Crow]]'' (1982), was recorded with [[Gary Lucas]] (who was also Van Vliet's manager), Moris Tepper, Richard Snyder and [[Cliff Martinez]]. This line-up made a video to promote the title track, directed by Van Vliet and Ken Schreiber, with cinematography by [[Daniel Pearl (cinematographer)|Daniel Pearl]], which was rejected by MTV for being "too weird". However, the video was included in a Letterman broadcast, and was accepted by the Museum of Modern Art.<ref>Darrin, Fox. "Fast and Bulbous: Gary Lucas and Denny Walley Reignite the Magic Band". Guitar Player Oct. 2003 : 43, 45, 47, 49. Print.</ref>

''Ice Cream for Crow'' features instrumental performances by the Magic Band with [[performance poetry]] readings by Van Vliet. Ned Raggett called the album a "last entertaining blast of wigginess from one of the few truly independent artists in late 20th century pop music, with humor, skill, and style all still intact", with the Magic Band "turning out more choppy rhythms, unexpected guitar lines, and outré arrangements, Captain Beefheart lets everything run wild as always, with successful results".<ref>{{cite web|last=Raggett |first=Ned |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r3302|pure_url=yes}} |title= Ice Cream for Crow &gt; Review |website= Allmusic |access-date=February 11, 2010}}</ref> Barnes writes that, "The most original and vital tracks (on the album) are the newer ones", and that it "feels like an hors-d'oeuvre for a main course that never came".{{sfn|Barnes|2011|p=411}} Michael Galucci of ''Goldmine'' praised the album, describing it as "the single, most bizarre entry in Van Vliet's long, odd career."<ref>Galucci, Michael. "Reviews: Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band – "Doc at the Radar Station"; "Ice Cream for Crow". Goldmine April 13, 2007: 63. Print.</ref> Van Vliet now retired from music to begin a new career as a painter.