Quote:
Originally Posted by lucifer_sam
i'm not quite sure what you're trying to say here, but allow me to explain something...
Frank Zappa's production was the WORST thing to happen to the Magic Band. his financial constrictions prevented the instrumentals on Trout Mask Replica from sounding anywhere near their intended quality, to ill effect. in fact, the time constraints he placed upon the band (they recorded the instrumentals within four hours) prevented second-takes in most situations and offered an air of novice and ineptitude to the whole band, which could not have been further from what they were trying to accomplish. the two songs on the album which sound truly impressive (Moonlight on Vermont, Veteran's Day Poppy) are coincidentally the two that were recorded at a different session with an entirely different set of engineers.
had Beefheart chosen a suitable replacement for producer they might have elicited a much stronger sound and consequently better album. the problem was Frank Zappa's label was unwilling to provide the necessary funds and technicians to promote anything greater than what they had accomplished.
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Okay I could see that. So what do you like about Beefheart? What albums would you recommend? I'm just finding it hard to get into him. What I'm asking is how do you know he's not just being pretentious? I've heard from so many people that the albums are really inaccessible at first, and that many albums of his sound bad... but they grow on them.... and then suddenly they realize he was a genius. Do you think he is a genius?
I just don't want to get myself all excited and end up having some placebo effect about liking his music, or thinking it is good when it isn't. I can't judge at all, I really haven't listened to jack s
hit by him. I started listening to the beginning of Safe As Milk and it just sounded bluesy to me. Not inaccessible or genius, but that was only a few songs. Thanks for the input so far btw.