Captain Beefheart Radar Station
A lot of people listen to about 30 seconds of Trout Mask Replica and then immediately write off Van Vliet&#x27;s music as unlistenable twaddle, just weird for the sake of being weird. And it certainly is weird music--but when you really start listening to the album you start to discover a twisted inner logic to every atonal guitar shreik and weird drum beat. It all comes together to create something pretty unique in the world of music. Captain Beefheart wasn&#x27;t making rock music--he was reinventing what music could be. There are few artists today who would dare to release something so blatantly off-kilter. Love it or hate it you can&#x27;t deny it&#x27;s in a league of its own on the creativity scale.<p>For some more traditional blues jams I love his Mirror Man Sessions. Not quite as revolutionary, but it shows a different, more listenable, side of Captain Beefheart that might be a gentler introduction to his work.