Captain Beefheart: Under Review (an independent critical analysis)
The music of Captain Beefheart (ne Don Van Vliet) is an acquired taste, albeit one well worth acquiring. Perhaps no one in popular music embodies the phrase "cult artist" better. Regrettably, he has not recorded an album since 1982's Ice Cream for Crow. Nowadays, Beefheart paints and sculpts and his works in these media have achieved considerable acclaim, although multiple sclerosis has seriously diminished his output of late. The rather imposing title of this DVD might lead you to believe you were taking home a relatively scholarly assessment of the Good Captain's oeuvre. At 115 minutes in length, it does go into quite a lot of detail about each of CB's albums, but it does so in the context of interviews with various members of various Magic Bands, which provide all kinds of interesting insights regarding Beefheart's musical modus operandi and personal idiosyncrasies. Only a modest amount of live footage of Beefheart performances is included, but if you care for his music, you'll find this DVD fascinating.
-David
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