Trout Mask Replica is Captain Beefheart's masterpiece, a fascinating, stunningly imaginative work that still sounds like little else in the rock & roll canon. Given total creative control by producer and friend Frank Zappa, Beefheart and his Magic Band rehearsed the material for this 28-song double album for over a year, wedding minimalistic R&B, blues, and garage rock to free jazz and avant-garde experimentalism. Atonal, sometimes singsong melodies; jagged, intricately constructed dual-guitar parts; stuttering, complicated rhythmic interaction -- all of these elements float out seemingly at random, often without completely interlocking, while Beefheart groans his surrealist poetry in a throaty Howlin' Wolf growl. The disjointedness is perhaps partly unintentional -- reportedly, Beefheart's refusal to wear headphones while recording his vocals caused him to sing in time with studio reverberations, not the actual backing tracks -- but by all accounts, the music and arrangements were carefully scripted by the Captain (aided by John "Drumbo" French), which makes the results even more remarkable.
Remastered Third Man Records reissue - Includes trifold insert with lyrics, drawings and credits.
Frownland 1:39
The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back 2:04
Dachau Blues 2:21
Ella Guru 2:23
Hair Pie: Bake 1 4:57
Moonlight On Vermont 3:55
Pachuco Cadaver 4:37
Bills Corpse 1:47
Sweet Sweet Bulbs 2:17
Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish 2:25
China Pig 3:56
My Human Gets Me Blues 2:42
Dali's Car 1:25
Hair Pie: Bake 2 2:23
Pena 2:31
Well 2:05
When Big Joan Sets Up 5:19
Fallin' Ditch 2:03
Sugar 'N Spikes 2:29
Ant Man Bee 3:55
Orange Claw Hammer 3:35
Wild Life 3:07
She's Too Much For My Mirror 1:42
Hobo Chang Ba 2:01
The Blimp (Mousetrap Replica) 2:04
Steal Softly Thru Snow 2:13
Old Fart At Play 1:54
Veteran's Day Poppy 4:30
