Difference between revisions of "Talk:Trout Mask Replica"

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(Trout Mask /Band/The making of.)
 
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== Trout Mask Replica: Band Line-up ==
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Hi. Thought I'd have a go at syntaxing the [[Trout Mask Replica]] album page to wiki style.
  
 +
Rather than face 'public humiliation' resulting from drastic editing on the page proper by those more knowledgeable than me, I thought I'd grab a bit of metaphorical 2x4 and shove it falteringly to center stage from the wings for discussion/edits/whatever. (Can you see the join, hear the roar of the greasepaint & smell the crowd?)
  
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Lineup:
+
Maybe the uncredited players should have gone in notes at the foot, but I thought it relevant to 'clear up' who is actually who in the bandlist asap- identifying ALL the players at the start so that they can be sourced in the wiki (without discovering them later at the foot)?
  
−
[[Don van Vliet]] bass clarinet, simran horn, musette, tenor/soprano sax, vocals. aka [[Captain Beefheart]].
+
To keep it wiki I've looped back to FZ interest at the foot with the cross-polinating band members. Probably more internal/external links needed too.
  
−
[[Bill Harkleroad]] guitar/flute. aka [[Zoot Horn Rollo]]. Also lead guitar in the band [[Mallard]]
+
PS: I don't have CD reissue/haven't researched, just repeated album list for now.
 +
My page suggestion:
  
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[[John French]] drums. aka [[Drumbo]]
+
== Trout Mask Replica ==
 +
A [[:Category:Side Projects|Side Project]] in collaboration with [[FZ]] as executive producer, [[Trout Mask Replica]] is perhaps one of the best-known and most acclaimed of [[Captain Beefheart]] albums. An incredible mix of influences crammed into a double LP, with a sound that seems to exist outside of most musical styles.<br>
 +
__TOC__
 +
==Players==
  
−
[[Jeff Cotton]] steel guitar/flesh horn. aka [[Antennae Jimmy Semens]]
+
'''(From original liner information)'''
  
−
[[Mark Boston]] bass. aka [[Rockette Morton]]. Also bass/vocals in [[Mallard]]
+
<blockquote>"ZOOT HORN ROLLO: glass finger guitar, flute
 +
ANTENNAE JIMMY SEMENS: steel-appendage guitar
 +
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, vocal
 +
THE MASCARA SNAKE: bass clarinet & vocal
 +
ROCKETTE MORTON: bass & narration
  
−
[[Victor Hayden]] bass clarinet/vocals. aka [[The Mascara Snake]].
+
CAPTAIN BEEFHEART plays tenor & soprano sax simultaneously on Ant Man Bee, simran horn & musette on Neon Meate Dream; ANTENNAE JIMMY SEMENS sing[sic] lead vocal on Pena & plays flesh horn on Ella Guru; special guest artist DOUG MOON plays guitar on China Pig."</blockquote>
  
−
[[Doug Moon]] guitar on the track [[China Pig]].
+
'''Subsequent player information'''
  
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The Music: (TMR refers to [[Trout Mask Replica]])
+
Since the release of [[Trout Mask Replica]] further details regarding its production, together with anecdotal evidence from its [[Magic Band]] members (some uncredited on the album), has emerged. Much of this can be found in the booklets contained within the [[Captain Beefheart]] compilation CDs '[[Grow Fins: Rarities 1965-1982]]' &  '[[The Dust Blows Forward: An Anthology]]', both released in 1999.
  
−
The myth that Beefheart composed all 28 songs in just over 8 hours has surely been dispelled. A Uher 5-inch reel-to-reel (from Dick Kunc) and cassette recorder served the Magic Band crew in carefully crafting the pieces over a considerable period of time in the Magic Band House on Enseneda Drive, Woodland Hills, CA. Here Don's bedroom served as a studio and FZ would visit in a mentoring capacity.
+
In the same ambiguous fashion that [[Don van Vliet]] gained his own title of [[Captain Beefheart]], the members of the Trout Mask ensemble were also variously credited by the use of pseudonyms on the album.
  
−
During the album development Jerry Handley left the band. FZ had booked [[Sunset Sound]] for a session of 3 songs for TMR, so [[Gary Marker]] of [[Rising Sons]] was called in to play bass. These tracks were yet another version of [[Kandy Korn]], plus [[Moonlight On Vermont]] and [[Veteran's Day Poppy]] with FZ at the control desk in an unfamiliar studio newly refurbished to 'solid state'. Only the latter 2 tracks made it on to the finished album, where neither Gary or the recording studio is credited.
+
'''Subsequent information on credited musicians'''
  
−
Victor Hayden (from [[Strictly Personal]] album) then joined and [[Mark Boston]] replaced Gary. One or two months of intense rehearsal/writing/starving and in-fighting then followed, with Don's ego and expectations mainly the cause- having been given full creative freedom by Frank. One day [[Dick Kunc]] did arrive with sound equipment and attempted to turn the house into a recording studio. This venture evolved into no more than a lengthy sound check sprinkled with inspirational minutes and culminated in Don convincing Frank to hire a studio. FZ agreed to give the band 6 hours to lay down 20 basic tracks in Whitney Studios, Glendale, CA.
+
*[[Captain Beefheart]] (bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, simran horn, musette, 'walk-tape' machine, lead vocals)
 +
*Bill Harkleroad (glass finger guitar, flute) aka Zoot Horn Rollo
 +
*Jeff Cotton (steel-appendage guitar/flesh horn/lead vocals on Pena) aka Antennae Jimmy Semens
 +
*[[Victor Hayden]] (bass clarinet, vocals) aka The Mascara Snake
 +
*Mark Boston (bass guitar, vocal narration) aka Rockette Morten
 +
*Doug Moon (guest guitar on China Pig)
  
−
This gave the band about 18 minutes per track after set-ups. Amazingly they did the lot in less than 5 hours. Chunks of the house-taped stuff was duly cut about and inserted, with [[The Blimp]] (A musical icon of TMR) and [[China Pig]] (featuring [[Doug Moon]]) being highlights.
+
'''Subsequent information on uncredited musicians'''
  
−
With the diverse sounds of the Sunset and Whitney studios, coupled with its audio-reportage style cassette work, this album opens up with the rhythmicaly defying [[Frownland]] proceeds to take you aurally to places you may be lucky enough not to see in nightmares and spits you out with the almost punk-like ''I don't want your'' [[Veteran's Day Poppy]], ''it can only make me cry...''
+
*[[John French]] (drums, [House track engineering & transcripts]) aka Drumbo
 +
*Gary Marker (bass guitar on Moonlight & Veteran) aka Gary 'Magic' Marker
 +
*[[FZ]] (comments on [[The Blimp]])
  
−
An album that's as fresh, groundbreaking and audacious today as it was in 1969. Take the trip.
+
==Tracks==
 +
 
 +
{| cellspacing="30"
 +
 
 +
|valign="top"|<div id="LP"><big>'''Double LP'''</big></div>
 +
'''Side One'''
 +
#Frownland (1:39)
 +
#The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back (2:04)
 +
#Dachau Blues (2:21)
 +
#Ella Guru (2:23)
 +
#Hair Pie: Bake 1 (4:57)
 +
#Moonlight on Vermont  (3:55)
 +
 
 +
'''Side Two'''
 +
#Pachuco Cadaver (4:37)
 +
#Bills Corpse (1:47)
 +
#Sweet Sweet Bulbs (2:17)
 +
#Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish (2:25)
 +
#China Pig (3:56)
 +
#My Human Gets Me Blues (2:42)
 +
#Dali's Car (1:25)
 +
 
 +
'''Side Three'''
 +
#Hair Pie: Bake 2 (2:23)
 +
#Pena (2:31)
 +
#Well (2:05)
 +
#When Big Joan Sets Up (5:19)
 +
#Fallin' Ditch (2:03)
 +
#Sugar 'n Spikes  (2:29)
 +
#Ant Man Bee  (3:55)
 +
 
 +
'''Side Four'''
 +
#Orange Claw Hammer (3:35)
 +
#Wild Life (3:07)
 +
#She's Too Much For My Mirror (1:42)
 +
#Hobo Chang Ba (2:01)
 +
#[[The Blimp]] (2:04)
 +
#Steal Softly Thru Snow (2:13)
 +
#Old Fart At Play (1:54)
 +
#Veteran's Day Poppy (4:30)
 +
 
 +
|valign="top"|<div id="CD"><big>'''CD'''</big></div>
 +
#Frownland (1:39)
 +
#The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back (2:04)
 +
#Dachau Blues (2:21)
 +
#Ella Guru (2:23)
 +
#Hair Pie: Bake 1 (4:57)
 +
#Moonlight on Vermont  (3:55)
 +
#Pachuco Cadaver (4:37)
 +
#Bills Corpse (1:47)
 +
#Sweet Sweet Bulbs (2:17)
 +
#Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish (2:25)
 +
#China Pig (3:56)
 +
#My Human Gets Me Blues (2:42)
 +
#Dali's Car (1:25)
 +
#Hair Pie: Bake 2 (2:23)
 +
#Pena (2:31)
 +
#Well (2:05)
 +
#When Big Joan Sets Up (5:19)
 +
#Fallin' Ditch (2:03)
 +
#Sugar 'n Spikes  (2:29)
 +
#Ant Man Bee  (3:55)
 +
#Orange Claw Hammer (3:35)
 +
#Wild Life (3:07)
 +
#She's Too Much For My Mirror (1:42)
 +
#Hobo Chang Ba (2:01)
 +
#[[The Blimp]] (2:04)
 +
#Steal Softly Thru Snow (2:13)
 +
#Old Fart At Play (1:54)
 +
#Veteran's Day Poppy (4:30)
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Release Notes==
 +
Recorded at [[Whitney Studios]], Los Angeles, CA; April 1969<br>
 +
Released 1969 (US Original) on [[Straight]] Records (STS 1053)<br>
 +
Produced by [[Frank Zappa]]<br>
 +
Arranged by [[Don van Vliet]]<br>
 +
Engineered by [[Dick Kunc]]<br>
 +
(Tracks 1:6 & 4:8 recorded & engineered by [[FZ]] at [[TTG Recorders]], Los Angeles, CA; late 1968)<br>
 +
(Tracks 1:2, 1:5, 2:5, 3:3 & 4:1 recorded at Beefheart's House, Woodland Hills, CA)<br>
 +
(Track 2:5 produced & engineered by Don Van Vliet)<br>
 +
(Track 4:1 produced by Don Van Vliet & engineered by [[John French]])<br>
 +
Album design: [[Cal Schenkel]]<br>
 +
Photography: [[Ed Caraeff]]/Cal Schenkel<br>
 +
Special electronic modifications on Captain Beefheart's band equipment by Dick Kunc<br>
 +
Most recent in a long series of contract negotiations leading to an actual signing: Neil C. Reshen<br>
 +
Reissue CD design and restoration: Tom Recchion<br>
 +
All songs written by Captain Beefheart © 1969 Words & music copyrighted for the world by Beefheart Music Co. BMI
 +
 
 +
==Liner Notes==
 +
'Glass finger guitar' suggests the [[bottleneck]] style of playing, brought to prominence by early blues musicians who literally used the neck of a broken bottle on their finger to create sustained sound-effects by oscillating it on the strings.
 +
==Background Information==
 +
At the time of recording Gary Marker was the bass guitarist of [[The Rising Sons]], fronted by [[Ry Cooder]] who had previously sessioned with the Magic Band.<br>
 +
Other than Captain Beefheart there is a lineage of Magic Band members who have also had a working relationship in [[FZ]] bands: [[Elliot Ingber]] (aka Winged Eel Fingerling), [[Arthur Tripp|Art Tripp]] (aka Artie Tripp III/Ed Marimba/Ted Cactus), [[Roy Estrada]] (aka Orejon) & [[Denny Walley]] (aka Feelers Reebo).
 +
 
 +
==Conceptual Continuity==
 +
==Versions==
 +
==Trout Mask Replica Album Reviews==

Revision as of 10:28, 22 May 2008

Hi. Thought I'd have a go at syntaxing the Trout Mask Replica album page to wiki style.

Rather than face 'public humiliation' resulting from drastic editing on the page proper by those more knowledgeable than me, I thought I'd grab a bit of metaphorical 2x4 and shove it falteringly to center stage from the wings for discussion/edits/whatever. (Can you see the join, hear the roar of the greasepaint & smell the crowd?)

Maybe the uncredited players should have gone in notes at the foot, but I thought it relevant to 'clear up' who is actually who in the bandlist asap- identifying ALL the players at the start so that they can be sourced in the wiki (without discovering them later at the foot)?

To keep it wiki I've looped back to FZ interest at the foot with the cross-polinating band members. Probably more internal/external links needed too.

PS: I don't have CD reissue/haven't researched, just repeated album list for now. My page suggestion:

Trout Mask Replica

A Side Project in collaboration with FZ as executive producer, Trout Mask Replica is perhaps one of the best-known and most acclaimed of Captain Beefheart albums. An incredible mix of influences crammed into a double LP, with a sound that seems to exist outside of most musical styles.

Players

(From original liner information)

"ZOOT HORN ROLLO: glass finger guitar, flute

ANTENNAE JIMMY SEMENS: steel-appendage guitar CAPTAIN BEEFHEART: bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, vocal THE MASCARA SNAKE: bass clarinet & vocal ROCKETTE MORTON: bass & narration

CAPTAIN BEEFHEART plays tenor & soprano sax simultaneously on Ant Man Bee, simran horn & musette on Neon Meate Dream; ANTENNAE JIMMY SEMENS sing[sic] lead vocal on Pena & plays flesh horn on Ella Guru; special guest artist DOUG MOON plays guitar on China Pig."

Subsequent player information

Since the release of Trout Mask Replica further details regarding its production, together with anecdotal evidence from its Magic Band members (some uncredited on the album), has emerged. Much of this can be found in the booklets contained within the Captain Beefheart compilation CDs 'Grow Fins: Rarities 1965-1982' & 'The Dust Blows Forward: An Anthology', both released in 1999.

In the same ambiguous fashion that Don van Vliet gained his own title of Captain Beefheart, the members of the Trout Mask ensemble were also variously credited by the use of pseudonyms on the album.

Subsequent information on credited musicians

  • Captain Beefheart (bass clarinet, tenor sax, soprano sax, simran horn, musette, 'walk-tape' machine, lead vocals)
  • Bill Harkleroad (glass finger guitar, flute) aka Zoot Horn Rollo
  • Jeff Cotton (steel-appendage guitar/flesh horn/lead vocals on Pena) aka Antennae Jimmy Semens
  • Victor Hayden (bass clarinet, vocals) aka The Mascara Snake
  • Mark Boston (bass guitar, vocal narration) aka Rockette Morten
  • Doug Moon (guest guitar on China Pig)

Subsequent information on uncredited musicians

  • John French (drums, [House track engineering & transcripts]) aka Drumbo
  • Gary Marker (bass guitar on Moonlight & Veteran) aka Gary 'Magic' Marker
  • FZ (comments on The Blimp)

Tracks

Double LP

Side One

  1. Frownland (1:39)
  2. The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back (2:04)
  3. Dachau Blues (2:21)
  4. Ella Guru (2:23)
  5. Hair Pie: Bake 1 (4:57)
  6. Moonlight on Vermont (3:55)

Side Two

  1. Pachuco Cadaver (4:37)
  2. Bills Corpse (1:47)
  3. Sweet Sweet Bulbs (2:17)
  4. Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish (2:25)
  5. China Pig (3:56)
  6. My Human Gets Me Blues (2:42)
  7. Dali's Car (1:25)

Side Three

  1. Hair Pie: Bake 2 (2:23)
  2. Pena (2:31)
  3. Well (2:05)
  4. When Big Joan Sets Up (5:19)
  5. Fallin' Ditch (2:03)
  6. Sugar 'n Spikes (2:29)
  7. Ant Man Bee (3:55)

Side Four

  1. Orange Claw Hammer (3:35)
  2. Wild Life (3:07)
  3. She's Too Much For My Mirror (1:42)
  4. Hobo Chang Ba (2:01)
  5. The Blimp (2:04)
  6. Steal Softly Thru Snow (2:13)
  7. Old Fart At Play (1:54)
  8. Veteran's Day Poppy (4:30)
CD
  1. Frownland (1:39)
  2. The Dust Blows Forward 'N The Dust Blows Back (2:04)
  3. Dachau Blues (2:21)
  4. Ella Guru (2:23)
  5. Hair Pie: Bake 1 (4:57)
  6. Moonlight on Vermont (3:55)
  7. Pachuco Cadaver (4:37)
  8. Bills Corpse (1:47)
  9. Sweet Sweet Bulbs (2:17)
  10. Neon Meate Dream Of A Octafish (2:25)
  11. China Pig (3:56)
  12. My Human Gets Me Blues (2:42)
  13. Dali's Car (1:25)
  14. Hair Pie: Bake 2 (2:23)
  15. Pena (2:31)
  16. Well (2:05)
  17. When Big Joan Sets Up (5:19)
  18. Fallin' Ditch (2:03)
  19. Sugar 'n Spikes (2:29)
  20. Ant Man Bee (3:55)
  21. Orange Claw Hammer (3:35)
  22. Wild Life (3:07)
  23. She's Too Much For My Mirror (1:42)
  24. Hobo Chang Ba (2:01)
  25. The Blimp (2:04)
  26. Steal Softly Thru Snow (2:13)
  27. Old Fart At Play (1:54)
  28. Veteran's Day Poppy (4:30)

Release Notes

Recorded at Whitney Studios, Los Angeles, CA; April 1969
Released 1969 (US Original) on Straight Records (STS 1053)
Produced by Frank Zappa
Arranged by Don van Vliet
Engineered by Dick Kunc
(Tracks 1:6 & 4:8 recorded & engineered by FZ at TTG Recorders, Los Angeles, CA; late 1968)
(Tracks 1:2, 1:5, 2:5, 3:3 & 4:1 recorded at Beefheart's House, Woodland Hills, CA)
(Track 2:5 produced & engineered by Don Van Vliet)
(Track 4:1 produced by Don Van Vliet & engineered by John French)
Album design: Cal Schenkel
Photography: Ed Caraeff/Cal Schenkel
Special electronic modifications on Captain Beefheart's band equipment by Dick Kunc
Most recent in a long series of contract negotiations leading to an actual signing: Neil C. Reshen
Reissue CD design and restoration: Tom Recchion
All songs written by Captain Beefheart © 1969 Words & music copyrighted for the world by Beefheart Music Co. BMI

Liner Notes

'Glass finger guitar' suggests the bottleneck style of playing, brought to prominence by early blues musicians who literally used the neck of a broken bottle on their finger to create sustained sound-effects by oscillating it on the strings.

Background Information

At the time of recording Gary Marker was the bass guitarist of The Rising Sons, fronted by Ry Cooder who had previously sessioned with the Magic Band.
Other than Captain Beefheart there is a lineage of Magic Band members who have also had a working relationship in FZ bands: Elliot Ingber (aka Winged Eel Fingerling), Art Tripp (aka Artie Tripp III/Ed Marimba/Ted Cactus), Roy Estrada (aka Orejon) & Denny Walley (aka Feelers Reebo).

Conceptual Continuity

Versions

Trout Mask Replica Album Reviews

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