[1969]
Album: Trout Mask Replica

"By all means, Trout Mask Replica is a joke - or a 'mystification', if you prefer. It's not unprecedented: after all, Beefheart the joker took his cues from his good old pal Frank Zappa and certain other freaky artists. But it's probably the grandest and most flawlessly and intelligently executed mystification in music as a whole, or rock music at least: a grandiose, 79-minute project, with specially trained musicians, thought out lyrics and actually a lot of care thrown into the whole project. The most successful mystification is the one that stands the closest to the truth, isn't it? But it's still a mystification. Beefheart's lyrics are fun, but for the most part they're dadaist and sound good just for the sake of sounding good; when he goes for something a little sharper, like his thoughts on World War Two in 'Dachau Blues', he shows that he can be goofy and serious at the same time, but that's very rarely the point."
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