burun wrote:

cesb wrote:Doc at the Radar Station.

Mike is, once again, correct-a-mundo.

This will be the next Beefheart record I purchase.

katie, a douchebag wrote:I think it was mainly because his lyric/songwriting well had run dry.

big_dave wrote:From what I can tell his painting and poetry at the time was still awesome.

Those meddling kids in his band should have figured out a way to get his awesome paintings into the songs. That really would've been New Wave!

The truth is that Don couldn't come up with songs for "Ice Cream." He asked Zappa if he could use songs from the original "Bat Chain Puller" for the entire 2nd side of "Ice Cream," because he couldn't come up with songs. Once that request was denied, he ended up recycling old ideas, and pulled "Skeleton Makes Good" out of his ass in one day, so that they could finish the record. He couldn't come up with songs. It happens.

katie, a douchebag wrote:

katie, a douchebag wrote:I think it was mainly because his lyric/songwriting well had run dry.

big_dave wrote:From what I can tell his painting and poetry at the time was still awesome.

Those meddling kids in his band should have figured out a way to get his awesome paintings into the songs. That really would've been New Wave!

The truth is that Don couldn't come up with songs for "Ice Cream." He asked Zappa if he could use songs from the original "Bat Chain Puller" for the entire 2nd side of "Ice Cream," because he couldn't come up with songs. Once that request was denied, he ended up recycling old ideas, and pulled "Skeleton Makes Good" out of his ass in one day, so that they could finish the record. He couldn't come up with songs. It happens.

"Skeleton Makes Good" is a great song. I don't care where it came from.

As for the "Bat Chain Puller" issue, its entirely subjective. Either heartbroken Beefheart was sure that Zappa would let him release his beloved album and was then betrayed, or Beefheart the moocher was forced to phone in half a record because he wasn't allowed to re-record a bunch of old stuff.

To be honest, I'm in Beefheart's corner on this one. He waited years to cut those songs and canning them was a crap-arsed move.

"Ink Mathematics" is the only sub-par song on Ice Cream For Crow, and its still a good one. "Hey Garland, I Dig Your Tweed Coat" is wonderful. I think that was a Bat Chain out-take, wasn't it?

I'll set up with ya, big_dave. I'm too fat to go out in the daylight.

That's the best reply I could've hoped for.

Captain Beefheart's leavings are better than most people's cut and polished diamonds.

Sid Hartha wrote:Everybody guessed wrong.

The correct answer is:

I like pretty much everything by the dude but this record has a special vibe to it, I agree.

PEPPER! wrote:

Sid Hartha wrote:Everybody guessed wrong.

The correct answer is:

I like pretty much everything by the dude but this record has a special vibe to it, I agree.

That record sounds pretty dead. Sleepy.

Had the band sounded like this, that record would've kicked ass.

The Spotlight Kid is much, much weaker than Clear Spot. I still like it, it sounds like Unconditionally Guaranteed grew facial hair and some bollocks.

I never thought "dead" but there is something sleepy, surreal, and kind of trippy about it. I think Glider is one of his best songs.