Search - Captain Beefheart :: Shiny Beast Bat Chain Puller

How do you like him now?

Billy D. Richardson Jr. | Horton, KS United States | 03/22/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Don Vliet's art only gets better with time. Looking back to when this was new and remembering how I compared it to TMR at the time, especially considering my disappointment in "Moonbeams and Bluejeans" and "Unconditionally Guaranteed", it becomes crystal clear to me that, like real estate, they just aren't making any NEW Captain Beefheart albums these days. What we got then was all we're going to get. Yes, there will eventually be a release of the original Bat Chain Puller masters but Captain Beefheart is essentially a known quantity now. Don's days of making music are over.

It always baffles me whenever a "fan" says something like ""Mommy-Mummy"...melody and lyrics are not quite up to classic Beef standards".

What? That song IS classic Beefheart, at least it is now anyway. Check this lyric..."I wanna grab her, pull her up to me 'til I look through her, but she moves so fast that I can't even see her. Her interest fades like breath on a mirror. I try to grab her and the wind from my hand blows her away like a feather." Ever known any mommies like that? Think anybody could relate to that visual? You quickly try to grab a feather and WHOOSH! It flips up and away at the last second. I always think of this lyric when I try to grab a piece of eggshell floating in a bowl of egg whites. Anyway, to me at least this song has great lyrics. The beat is highly syncopated. It epitomizes all that is great about this artist and his art. It has a very visual reference that is presented in a somewhat obscure way that makes it so incredibly satisfying when you see it in your mind's eye. Just fantastic.

Once when Don was asked about his "commercial period" he said something to the effect of, "yes those songs are different than a lot of my other stuff but they are still my songs. I still mean 'em and I like 'em. They are me." So what we have in the body of Don's work is what Don was and is. While I believe it is certainly valid to have personal preferences, I don't believe one can disqualify any of his work based on those preferences, or for ANY reason for that matter. Don is who he is and his work is who he is. Therefore his work is all qualified by THAT fact. We may disregard certain parts or aspects of Don's work, but I think whenever we do that we miss out on a red rose that he meant.

I absolutely love this record and still after all these years it completely commands all of my attention whenever I hear it. In my opinion one of the finest examples of American art ever produced. Essential."