The Dust Blows Forward (An Anthology)

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Let's see…no Devo, no Residents, no Pere Ubu. No post-swordfishtrombones Tom Waits, that's for sure. Probably would have had the Sex Pistols, but no Public Image Ltd. No Prime-Time Ornette Coleman, no P. J. Harvey and no Henry Kaiser. And that's just off the top of my head. Captain Beefheart (aka Don van Vliet) and the Magic Band represent the fountainhead of the rock avant-garde, and he is perhaps the most original American artist since Charles Ives and John Cage. So what does he sound like? Imagine equal parts Howlin' Wolf, Bo Diddley, Sun Ra and Rahsaan Roland Kirk wood-shedding in a blues prison camp somewhere between the Mojave desert and Alpha Centauri, throw in a lyrical cut-up of James Joyce and Groucho Marx and you'll begin to get the picture. "I got a beef in my heart against the world" rants the Captain, but it belies his genuine and lyrical sense of humor - "Old Fart at Play", a spoken word composition typifies his perfect non-sense: "An assortment of observations took place. Mama licked her lips like a cat, pecked the ground like a rooster, pivoted like a duck…rubbed her hands on her gorgeous gingham, her hands grasped sticky intricate metal latchwork". Latin Playboys, contact me - I'll point you to Don's PO box so you can footnote your source and send his share of your royalties. If you didn't get a chance to see Beefheart and his crack, telepathic (they weren't called "Magic" for nothing) band, sorry - you're out of luck. Frustrated with his lack of commercial success, Don stopped making records and returned to his first love, painting. He has become highly respected in the avant-garde art world, and his works sell for several thousand dollars. As a consolation prize, we are treated to an excellent overview of his oeuvre with " The Dust Blows Forward", a two CD collection. It moves quickly through his earlier days, where we can see Beefheart shedding the skins of his mentors and following his unique vision, and it focuses on his first masterpiece, "Trout Mask Replica" and onwards to his musical retirement in 1982. Along with detailed track information, and a booklet filled with insightful anecdotes, " The Dust Blows Forward" is the place to start for this formidable giant of American music.