Don Van Vliet: Last of a Dying Breed
Word arrives that one of Rock’s most singular characters has passed away. Don Van Vliet, AKA “Captain Beefheart,” was known to many as a sometime sideman and collaborator with Frank Zappa, and for his own group, The Magic Band.
He recorded 12 albums between 1965 and 1982 that gained a cult and critical following, but generated scant (by Rock standards) commercial success. The most notable of these was “Trout Mask Replica.” Beefheart approached making the album as a Dada artist might approach creating art. Snippets of musical ideas generated on the piano (which he did not know how to play) were expanded into group arrangements through 8 months band-abusive marathon practice sessions.The final product contains a challenging surrealistic mix of blues, jazz, classical, the avant-garde, free poetry, chance music, and the kitchen sink.
BBC disc jockey John Peel said of the album: “If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.”
This review from an Amazon user sums up the listening experience nicely:
“Yes yes yes. It’s cacophonous, it’s gritty, it’s unpleasant. Put it on at a party and watch people make a mad dash for the door. Just try and dance to some of the arhythmic beats that fill the album like a car being thrown down a large flight of stairs. It’s not popular music was never meant to be and will never apologize for not being so. It is as about an acquired taste as you can get.” — ewomack
But judge for yourself…
Beefheart’s work influenced later Art Rock and Punk music and had a direct effect on other artists who adopted eccentric personas as part of their acts. (See Tom Waits and Leon Redbone.) An interesting essay on the surrealist aspects of Captain Beefheart’s music can be found HERE.
In 1982, Captain Beefheart disbanded the Magic Band, and retired both his music career and his name, reverting back to Don Van Vliet. He embarked on a painting career and spent the next 28 years creating primitive abstract canvases that are the visual continuation of his musical sensibilities. His work is represented by the Michael Werner Gallery.
Don Van Vliet passed away on December 17, 2010 after years of battling MS.
The Painted Note Gallery 
In 1974 frustrated by lack of commercial success he released two albums of more conventional rock music that were critically panned this move combined with not having been paid for a European tour and years of enduring Beefhearts abusive behavior led to the entire band quitting. Known for his enigmatic personality and relationship with the public Van Vliet made few public appearances after his retirement from music and from his Beefheart persona in 1982 to pursue a career in art an interest that originated in his childhood talent for sculpture. Van Vliet also claimed that he was related to adventurer and author and the cowboy actor and said that he remembered being born.