Captain Beefheart

原名Don Van Vliet的Captain Beefheart是現(xiàn)代音樂真正的改革者之一。他擁有驚人的四個半八度的音域、獨樹一幟的節(jié)奏感和荒謬主義的歌詞，同時他還擁有一種邪惡的樂感，借此，他把自由爵士、三角洲布魯斯、晚期的古典音樂和早期搖滾樂融合成了一種充滿創(chuàng)造性和大膽想象的新音樂。雖然他從未接近過主流市場，也基本沒賣出過幾張唱片，但他所帶來的沖擊卻是無法估量的，在后來的朋克、新浪潮和后朋克潮流中到處可以感受到他所留下的影響。
Van Vliet四歲時就因天賦稟異得到了葡萄牙雕刻家Augustinio Rodriguez的注意，他被稱為是一個神童。1954年，他得到了一份去歐洲學(xué)習(xí)的獎學(xué)金，但他的父母拒絕了，相反，他的家遷居到了摩哈維沙漠，在那里，他得到了年輕的Frank Zappa向朋友一樣的關(guān)心和對待。在那時，Van Vliet自學(xué)了薩克斯和口琴，并加入了當?shù)氐膬芍Ч?jié)奏布魯斯樂隊。在Van Vliet上了大學(xué)以后，只過了一個學(xué)期，他便與Zappa跑到了加州的Cucamonga，在那里他與Zappa計劃拍攝一部名為《Captain Beefheart Meets the Grunt People》的電影，但后來此事不了了之，Zappa最后去洛杉磯成立了著名的Mothers of Invention樂隊，Van Vliet則回到了摩哈維地區(qū)，將Captain Beefheart作為自己的藝名，并于1964年成立了自己的第一支伴奏樂隊the Magic Band。
最初的the Magic Band是一支布魯斯搖滾風格的樂隊，在形態(tài)上還比較大眾化，所以得以與A&M簽約，并成功地推出了單曲“Diddy Wah Diddy”，這也為他們錄制一張專輯提供了機會。但當唱片公司的老板Jerry Moss聽過“Frying Pan”、“Electricity”和“Zig Zag Wanderer”這些歌以后，卻以“太消極”為由拒絕為其出版，深受打擊的Beefheart于是找了個地方隱居了起來。1967年，在對樂隊人員進行了調(diào)整之后，樂隊將那些歌曲重新剪輯成了《Safe as Milk》，然而制作人Bob Krasnow未經(jīng)樂隊同意便將其重新混音改頭換面為為迷幻風格的《Strictly Personal》，這導(dǎo)致心灰意冷的Beefheart再次隱居了起來。幸好Zappa在此時成立了自己的Straight唱片公司，他找到了Beefheart，并答應(yīng)他享有百分之百的創(chuàng)作自由，于是“牛心”中又燃起了壯志雄心。他在九個小時內(nèi)瘋狂地創(chuàng)作了28首歌，并以全新的人員重新組成了最終定型的Magic Band。1969年，意義重大的雙張專輯《Trout Mask Replica》發(fā)行，之后是1970年同樣驚世駭俗的《Lick My Decals Off，Baby》。然而在1972年發(fā)行的《The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot》中，Beefheart采用了比較商業(yè)化的音色。不久，the Magic Band解散組成了另一支樂隊Mallard，Beefheart則被他的東家Reprise擱置了起來。經(jīng)過兩年的休息，Beefheart和新的但短命的the Magic Band又發(fā)行了兩張流行布魯斯專輯《Unconditionally Guaranteed》和《Bluejeans and Moonbeams》，接下來又是另一段假期。1978年的《Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)》則標志著他又回歸于早期佳作里的那種古怪的風格。1982年的《Ice Cream for Crow》發(fā)行后，Beefheart再次從音樂圈歸隱山林，但這次是因為一個好的想法：他回到了沙漠中，以拖車為家，專注于繪畫創(chuàng)作。1985年，他舉辦了他的第一次大型畫展，抽象原始的風格令人想起了Francis Bacon。就像他的音樂一樣，他的畫作也受到了廣泛的贊譽，有的作品甚至以25000美元的高價售出。進入九十年代，因為身患多種硬化癥，Beefheart消失在人們的視野中，但還是發(fā)行了五張一套的盒裝選輯《Grow Fins》和以及雙張精選《The Dust Blows Forward》。
Born Don Vliet, Captain Beefheart was one of modern musics true innovators. The owner of a remarkable four-and-one-half octave vocal range, he employed idiosyncratic rhythms, absurdist lyrics and an unholy alliance of free jazz, Delta blues, latter-day classical music and rock & roll to create a singular body of work virtually unrivalled in its daring and fluid creativity. While he never came even remotely close to mainstream success, Beefhearts impact was incalculable, and his fingerprints were all over punk, new wave and post-rock.
Don Vliet was born January 15, 1941 in Glendale, California (he changed his name to Van Vliet in the early 60s). At the age of four, his artwork brought him to the attention of Portuguese sculptor Augustinio Rodriguez, and Vliet was declared a child prodigy. In 1954, he was offered a scholarship to study in Europe; his parents declined the proposal, however, and the family instead moved to the Mojave Desert, where the teen was befriended by a young Frank Zappa. In time Vliet taught himself saxophone and harmonica, and joined a pair of local R&B groups, the Omens and the Blackouts.
After a semester at college, he and Zappa moved to Cucamonga, California, where they planned to shoot a film, Captain Beefheart Meets the Grunt People. As the project remained in limbo, Zappa finally moved to Los Angeles, where he founded the Mothers of Invention; Van Vliet later returned to the Mojave area, adopted the Beefheart name and formed the first lineup of his backing group the Magic Band with guitarists Alex St. Clair and Doug Moon, bassist Jerry Handley and drummer Paul Blakely in 1964.
In their original incarnation, the Magic Band were a blues-rock outfit who became staples of the teen-dance circuit; they quickly signed to A&M Records, where the success of the single Diddy Wah Diddy earned them the opportunity to record a full-length album. Comprised of Van Vliet compositions like Frying Pan, Electricity and Zig Zag Wanderer, label president Jerry Moss rejected the completed record as too negative, and a crushed Beefheart went into seclusion. After replacing Moon and Blakely with guitarist Antennae Jimmy Semens (born Jeff Cotton) and drummer John Drumbo French, the group (fleshed out by guitarist Ry Cooder) recut the songs in 1967 as Safe as Milk.
After producer Bob Krasnow radically remixed 1968s hallucinatory Strictly Personal without Beefhearts approval, he again retired. At the same time, however, Zappa formed his own , Straight Records, and he soon approached Van Vliet with the promise of complete creative control; a deal was struck and after writing 28 songs in a nine-hour frenzy, Beefheart formed the definitive lineup of the Magic Band — made up of Semens, Drumbo, guitarist Zoot Horn Rollo (born Bill Harkleroad), bassist Rockette Morton (Mark Boston) and bass clarinetist the Mascara Snake (Victor Fleming) — to record the seminal 1969 double album Trout Mask Replica.
Following 1970s similarly outre Lick My Decals Off, Baby, Beefheart adopted an almost commercial sound for the 1972 releases The Spotlight Kid and Clear Spot. Shortly thereafter, the Magic Band broke off to form Mallard, and Beefheart was dropped by his label, Reprise. After a two-year layoff, he released a pair of pop-blues albums, Unconditionally Guaranteed and Bluejeans and Moonbeams, with a new, short-lived Magic Band; following another fallow period, 1978s Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) marked a return to the eccentricities of his finest work.
After 1982s Ice Cream for Crow, Van Vliet again retired from music, this time for good; he returned to the desert, took up residence in a trailer and focused on painting. In 1985, he mounted the first major exhibit of his work, done in an abstract, primitive style reminiscent of Francis Bacon. Like his music, his art won wide acclaim, and some of his paintings sold for as much as $25,000. In the 1990s Van Vliet dropped completely from sight when he fell prey to multiple sclerosis; however, releases like 1999s five-disc Grow Fins box set and the two-disc anthology The Dust Blows Forward maintained his prominence.