Lick My Decals Off, Baby by Captain Beefheart (1970) - Nowhere near my first listen but have been listening to it in full obsessively over the past few days, mostly in the shower. I think it may have just surpassed the VU and Nico as my all-time favorite record. Few records feel as imaginative and ballsy as this one. What to say but how can people not only have this within them, but the chops to actually put it to tape and execute it to perfection? As far as I know, nothing remotely similar came before this, nor after it. It's inimitable. A perfect storm of creativity, patience and craftmanship led by a delirious genius. Every track bangs against the other, and it is breathtaking to hear. A cacophonous record littered with brilliant melodies and with the instictive rhythm to pull it off. It's flawless. The howling, creepy and hilarious vocals (and lyrics) top it all off. There was no other way to perform and write this record. It had to be absurd. The album always leaves me burgeoning with courage and joy.
Favorite tracks:
- Peon (Greatest song of all-time, second greatest work of art of all-time, all artforms included. Only Kafka's The Metamorphosis hits me harder.)
- Japan in a Dishpan (Two contrasting songs playing on top of another. Should never work. Does so here with brilliance.)
- Woe-is-uh-Me-Bop
- One Red Rose That I Mean
- I Love You, You Big Dummy
- I Wanna Find a Woman That'll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have To Go
I think it may be time for me to have another serious go at Trout Mask Replica...I've had both my moments and my struggles with it. Moonlight on Vermont is one of my favorite Beefheart tracks.