Trout Mask Replica

A lot of chaos and god, the brass... but there's a few decent sounding songs. My favourite was Steal Softly Thru Snow.

Im sure it sounded better in the 70's

Obviously this is intended to be a little obtuse. I think on a different day I may have liked it more, but this was not that day

Feels like I’m having a stroke while high

Sounds *exactly* like an album where the songs were composed one or two bars at a time and stitched together Frankenstein-style. Shifts gears within the songs faster than any prog band would ever dare. The net result is that there are barely any grooves or hooks to latch onto, because before the band can settle into any pattern, they've already moved onto something else. (The big exception here is album closer "Veteran's Day Poppy", with its repeating guitar figures - it's the least abstract and most effective cut on the album, made even more so because of its brutal lyrics.) This album is admirable in its intent and execution, but not particularly entertaining to listen to.

Oh man, this song has a reputation surrounding it. Looking forward to hearing it! I love how immediately, 0.01 seconds into the first song, it sounds like they threw a bunch of musical instruments down a set of stairs, and that insanity doesnt let up....at all.... I can see how Tom Waits probably sweated this guy pretty hard. A lot of similarities. The Captain is just a lot more "out there" Apparently with the song China Pig, they decided to play it outside of the recording room where the microphones were, hence why it sounds like it's being played a mile away.....because it was lolol Overall, that was a wild album! It certainly lived up to its expectations! Fell off a bit at the end there with subsets of songs that felt unfinished, but I can see how Beefheart was trying to change the format of blues rock by injecting jazz into it. Not something I would listen to often, or probably ever again, but interesting album nonetheless Favorite songs: China Pig, Moonlight on Vermont, Dachau Blues, Pachuco Cadaver, My Human Gets Me Blues Least favorite songs: "Hair Pie: Bake 1", Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish 2/5

I will admit that this album grew on me over time, but this was a bit too long and chaotic. Started off as a 1 star, was one of the worst I ever heard and then it finished off as 2 stars

The one song of this album that was available was enough for me. I don’t know why, because I love so many artists that you can draw a straight line to from Captain Beefheart, but this was never a band that I could get into. So points for influence, but I won’t be listening to this group again until their next album pops up on this list.

I usually enjoy experimental music, and I appreciate its value as a force for innovation. However, not all experiments are successful. Sometimes their value lies not in themselves, but in what they opened the door to – which doesn’t mean they’re interesting to listen to. For me, this album falls in that this category. It may have had an impact on many musicians, but it feels too raw and transitionnal, and I find it really hard to listen to. The 60s were full of weird experiments ; some of them were even weirder than this album, and yet remain much more enjoyable to listen. Ummagumma came out the same year, and it’s infinitely stranger – and yet more haunting – than this. My main gripe is probably that the singer has a terrible, terrible voice. It’s harsh and grating and it got on my nerve so much that I had a hard time listening all the way through. I would maybe have liked it better if it had been an instrumental album. My knee-jerk reaction was to rate it a 1*, but after reflecting on it I'll still add an extra star for its sheer uncompromising madness. Despite being almost unlistenable, it's still more interesting than the heaps of radio-friendly, vanilla pop we got on this list. 3/10

This was a hard listen given the combo of random musical approach and then it getting stuck in a loop and repeating endless parts of the song. For some songs I’d get into in because there was an interesting give and then it would repeat endlessly to the point of really tired and don’t want to hear it ever again. It got 2 stars because scattered in the mix there were a few catchy riffs then it would get ruined by a bizarre shift into noise or endless repeat. No standouts at all.

I understand that this has a place for uniqueness but I legitimately struggled to find any kind of joy in this. The notes and how discordant it was, gave me a headache and made it very difficult to have it on without constant attention. That being said, because it's so different I will have to give it a couple stars just because I honestly have never heard anything like this before.

Oh dear lord I’m not sure what this is supposed to be, but what it ISN’T is BORING! Mix of blues, cacophony, chanting, what seems to be off-the-cuff ramblings of an institutional escapee… there HAD to be copious amounts of drugs involved in the making of this. I listened to the entire thing. The lyrics did make me laugh at times. I would never give anything this bodacious only one star, but it also isn’t going to get more than two!

To get the full effects of this you would need to be on stimulants. There are interesting bits but a lot of quirky nonsense to wade through. A cult act enjoyed by a lot of cults I expect. I hope one day to catch up to how great a lot of beefheart fans think this album is. Its not today though.

Well this was certainly an experience. There is a lot of technical skill to play like they do, but the arrangements sound awful. The lyrics are nonsensical and weird and I know that's the point and it for sure takes cajones to make something like this and release it, but that doesn't make it good or a masterpiece. Only art critics who have sticks up their butts would listen to this and find it pleasant or profound.

WHY, WHY, WHYYYYYYYY is this taking up space on this list?????? the most "interesting" thing about this rambling mess of sound & noise is the album cover.

Couldn't listen to on Spotify, can't find it anywhere.

I love some albums because of their attention to detail and the musicianship of the members; bands like Emerson, Lake and Palmer. Others because of the raw output, musical knowledge be damned; like Slayer. This goes so far to the detail that it wraps around to being devoid of music theory. When I first put this album on, the only thought running through my mind was "what the actual fuck am I listening to", and I don't think I've ever had as visceral a reaction listening to anything else before this. I understand that the atonal, polyrythmic style that dominated this album was intentional, I don't care. This album sounds like if you described jazz to someone completely unfamiliar with music. Some of the tracks like Pachuco Cadaver have some groove to them and sound kinda good, but good lord I can't for the life of me stand 95% of the tracks. I adore Frank Zappa to the utmost degree, but I don't understand what the hell he was thinking while producing this album. Maybe interesting to the right people, I am not one of them.

more than anything, this should show how I feel about that shitty def leppard album. This is at least interesting. Also kind of awful

Too out there for me.

Did your teachers ever say "you cannot get a 0% on this test, because that would require you to know all the answers and purposely get them wrong?" I don't know music theory, but I felt like that was the case while listening to this. Whether or not it was meant to sound like this is rather irrelevant to my opinion--if I thought it sounded good regardless of intent, it would get a better score. However, one thing I almost never felt was boredom, and that makes this album avoid the dreaded one-star rating.

Seems to me they go out of their way to be truly unusual

I had to listen to a playlist of the same name on Spotify so i'm not sure it was the actual album. I kept waiting for the intro and goofing around to stop and the album part to begin. Maybe if I was in a band or high I'd get it?

Lots of talk on here about Matt Groening of The Simpsons saying it's his favourite album. Well, I love the Simpsons but I can't go on and say it'll be mine. I do respect the ambition and its uniqueness. But sometimes, being weird for weirdness sake isn't necessarily a good thing.

I need a t-shirt that says: I survived Captain Beefheart! Thankfully this is not a list of 1001 albums you need to hear on repeat. Glad to have heard it, glad to not need to hear it again.

⭐️⭐️/5. Would love to come back and give this another listen and try to see what everyone is seeing, but I am such a rhythm and beat person that free, experimental jazz like this is a hard lesson. Loved the story of them playing it exactly like this in concert tho - that’s musicianship.

1.5 It’s not without moments of enjoyment. There are tuneful, fun bits. There really are. But it’s also between all the aggressive, intentionally bad soundscapes and annoying structures and it’s all almost 90 minutes. It’s one of those things where I can respect that someone had to do it to push the genre further. But I don’t have to enjoy it as a listening experience.

Usually I like weird stuff but this one straight up made me so anxious I couldn’t finish it. Giving it a two cause I respect what it’s doing

i looked at the reviews and its either a 1 or 5 for the most part. People who are giving this 5 are just being pretentious and trying to appear edgy. This is as bad as Red Hot chilli peppers and that got a 2 - so a 2 it is. Not one song stopped me and make me go..ohh thats interesting. for the most part it was unbearable. In Fact, I stopped about 3/4 of the way through

Loved the instrumentos of air

Pop pop pop music! This is something else, it's complete shit but always gets high praise from hipster assholes! It's a noisy mess! I'm sure when I was an edgy 14 year old I'd tell you this was the shit, now it's fucking noise

The low-point of a bad acid trip. This album redefines the term 'cacophony' Tho there are some good explanations on Wikipedia if you read the production notes. • Recorded partly in a commune-like house where the 'magic band' lived. • Atmosphere was similar to the Manson cult. • Mandated worship of Captain Beefheart, (Don Glen Vliet) who had been diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia. • Ate nothing for 8-months. • Each member was berated for days until they cried and submitted to the Beefheart. • Beefheart composed 70% of the album on piano, an instrument that he didn't know how to play. ... and the kicker of all of that is the band was forced to 'practice' for 14 hours a day. WTF? You practice for 14 hours a day and produce this? But perhaps the most telling is that this album was produced by Frank Zappa. So, if you find the Mothers of Invention and Zappa entertaining, you're gonna love this. Extra star for experimentation.

Punctuation is important. My 1001 comrade encouraged Captain Beefheart to "experiment on my friends." I think he meant "experiment on, my friends." At least I hope so. Because I don't want Captain Beefheart or his Magic Band to experiment on me. "Trout Mask Replica" was more than enough already, thank you.

I really don’t know what to make of this, which I would imagine is the point. I actually find it less insufferable than Zappa and the Mothers, so that’s a plus. Two stars. Don’t think I’ll be returning to this one. Life’s too short to force myself to listen to something multiple times in the hope that I may grow to love it when there is so much great music out there to discover and enjoy

Damn… They really must have taken some seriously hard and illegal stuff to come up with something like that. I understand this is a very technical work but “Dali’s Car” and those a capella vocal horn noises are still hurting me too bad. In an attempt to stay mentally safe, I didn’t go through the whole 80’ of this trip. 2 stars just for the experience of listening something really unconventional which sounds like the thoughts of a drugged schizophrenic mind.

I'm being kind giving it a 2. I'm primarily giving it a two because it at least is an original idea. But there's also a reason this is uncommon

It was experimental but all kind of fell flat.

Niet echt mijn ding

at least when my generation took too many drugs and made unlistenable music you could dance to it

kind of confused

Couldn’t find on Spotify?

1.78

I get why this is on there just not for me

Was isch dänn das? Wells so schräg isch gits äs 2

I’m giving this two instead of 1 because it made me laugh. Didn’t need to hear this before I die though.

This is pretty chaotic. They worked very hard at making this sound as bad as possible. Well...that was different.

Well that was interesting. This is not on Apple Music, so I had to go to YouTube. The comment section alone was high quality entertainment. I’ve heard noise rock more atonal than this but this is still a challenge. Comparable to Frank Zappa, this is still far better than his bullshit. I like to think that this is one of those albums that you have to listen to many times through then suddenly it clicks and becomes one of the best albums ever made, much like In The Aeroplane Over The Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel was for me. Still, right now, it’s a mess.

Average queen album. Listenable but nothing outstanding about it . Would prefer a more dramatic presentation

I kinda enjoyed the bits where there were lots of instruments randomly making noises (apparently they're polyrythms) but I did not like that guy's voice

Love the musicians. The vocals are just okay.

You know, despite this album being notoriously bad, I didn't 100% hate it. In fact, I think it gets into 2 territory.

слишком авангард для меня, простите

YouTube started playing an Alka-Seltzer ad halfway through and I couldn't tell if it was supposed to be part of the album or not.

In the midst of all the rambling vocals and odd music are a few snippets worth listening too. 2 stars or D-.

Seems to come from the throw-everything-at-it-and-see-what-sticks school of composition. While I’m not against that I can’t get on board with this particular sound.

OK.

Did not listen

Captain Beeffheart just isn't for me. i understand it's technically accomplished but I just can't do it man

That one guy in the corner shouting obscenities and giggling whilst everyone else tries really fucking hard to pretend they don't exist. Usually that guy is me. When I drink I think I'm funny. That time it was Captain Beefheart. But he wasn't drunk and he roped a load of impoverished musicians in and made them repeat his crazed shit over and over, and he wasn't drunk (at least not all the time) and it went on for hours. All the squares in the bar had never seen a guy giggling and shouting like this before and eventually they looked over and asked each other what the heck was going on. And then they gathered around to see if they could figure him out, but they couldn't. I kind of agree this is an album to listen to before you die, but that doesn't make it good. One of his musicians started crying.

I'm incredibly torn with this one, I think it's the most I've had to say for any album so far. I can always appreciate art that pushes the boundaries and tries something new, and nobody could claim this isn't original. On the other hand, I don't see myself ever willingly wanting to listen to this album again. I appreciate that the way each instrument plays in a different time signature is extraordinarily difficult to pull off, that doesn't change that it often sounds fucking dreadful. This sometimes sounds like individual tracks from different songs smashed together into an incoherent mess. The prime example is Frownland, though to be fair, it probably skews perception being the opening track, and it's rarely that incoherent again. That's not to say it isn't an issue again; as another example, Pena is just horrible. Just complete nonsense. There are moments where I can hear a good track buried, like Dachau Blues or Hair Pie Bake One, but it's lost in a sea of complete nonsense (though to be fair, I found it quite funny that they just buried what sounded like a decent, normal song with erratic screeching on the latter) There are a few songs I can somewhat appreciate. Sugar and Spike and Ant Man Bee are sort of good, they still have the ramshackle feel but it kind of works on those. The closest I'll get to actually liking anything is Moonlight on Vernont and Ella Guru, though I can't really put my finger on why they stand out compared to the rest Beefheart's vocals just become exhausting eventually as well, he does show he can actually kind of sing at various points throughout, but it's frequently grating. I admittedly skipped Orange Claw Hammer, just got so sick of his gibberish The length is also totally unnecessary. I went in with pretty negative preconceptions, actually found myself somewhat appreciating it, if not enjoying it, but felt like it was never going to end and I started hating it again. Maybe it was intended to be some kind of endurance test I think I can see why some would enjoy this, maybe in an ironic way and/or out of awe of the utter insanity (I love The Shaggs, for example). I will say I get why it's on this list, and it's earned its place over several other albums I've listened to so far. I know that many say you have to listen several times before it starts to click, maybe I'll do that in the future Highlights: Moonlight on Vermont, Ella Guru

Säkert genialiskt, men lite för udda för min smak. 4/10

This could have been a 4 minute song

Album 1041/1089 Ah yes, my old friend Trout Man. I first came across you, years ago, flipping through my aunt and uncle’s copy of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums. How your colourful, surrealist cover intrigued me at the time. I tried listening to you once, and failed. I will not fail again Edit: Trout Mask Replica has been listened to in full. First, before I comb the reviews to find someone else’s opinion to base my review off of (:p), I recall one of yehs* pointing out how incredibly loud the vocals are in comparison to the instrumental, and it became increasingly frustrating the longer the album went on (perhaps reaching a head at the a capella “Orange Claw Hammer”) I do subscribe to the notion that a future listen (or listens) can be a wholly different experience- kinda like MBV’s Loveless, where there’s so much going on that your brain focuses on different elements each time. However, I can't go back and report on that. I'm not... strong enough. It seems that Captain Trout Man has once again won this round. *Found it, it was actually a Fantano vid on TMR I watched a while ago, and now watched again tonight to be sure.

I am glad I listened to this album, as it is quite an experience. But I don't think that I would ever or will ever do it again. There was never a point were I wanted to turn it off, unlike some other albums I've listened to.

Quite an interesting and peculiar album, not necessarily nice to listen to, but I can tell that there is some ambition behind it. Also it is cool that albums like this could be done at all.

had my eyebrows lifted the whole time while listening to it.

A very strange record. Most songs just sound like sketches like they are not finished yet. I had better records here.

Had to listen to this on YouTube. What a weird album. I overall didn’t like it, but there were certain moments that stuck out to me as good or clever. Mostly, not something I enjoyed.

Well I guess I knowwhere Tom Waits got the idea to sing like that from. Lots of stuff said about this but at over an hour and twenty minutes long, if it really has got this hidden depth you can glean from it after multiple listens that's simply asking too much of the modern man's time.

I'm convinced this album is just a prank because otherwise it doesn't make sense.

strange

There’s so much crap here, but it has moments where it starts to coalesce into something worth listening to before degrading back to utter nonsense.

Love the name of the band and the album but unfortunately not so much the music...

I appreciate the experimental side of this, but it's just not very listenable.

Good moments. Bad moments. Mostly just f-ing weird.

weird ass album, couldn't really get into it. some of the songs are great, but as an album it wasn't a great listen

An overall unpleasant listen. I could see it maybe being influential to Tom Waits but there’s nothing to grab onto and it is 70 minutes. Light 2.

okay, look - i'm glad that music like this exists. i am heartened that we live in a world where anyone can make whatever kind of art they want, especially art that pushes the boundaries of good taste or enjoyment. this was clearly a very special and influential record for a lot of artists. but i think there's a different between acknowledging the influence something had and having to listen to it. i did not enjoy this at all. overstimulating, toneless, jumbled, weird for weird's sake. it never coalesced for me the way others have said. it was a struggle enough to just finish it. how did it sound like a band warming up, a 12 year old at guitar center, and squidward playing his clarinet all at once? a musical headache. a sonic nightmare. that's probably the point. i feel obligated to give this 2 stars, both by all the glowing reviews and my own personal habit of saving my 1 stars for rapists and criminals, but man. there was no enjoyment to be found here. i'm sorry, i have to be honest!

It's finally over, feel like I've been listening to this for a week. This was what I was expecting from beefheart, unlike the other album we had before. Every so often there was an interesting idea or things would come together in a decent way but these parts were given no precedence over the other 98% random noise and gibberish so it must be pure chance. Not boring I'd say, bit definitely not good.

Well this was something! Took me 2 goes to get through it. The first of which I was not feeling it at all. Second time I had prepared myself somewhat.... It's still a tough listen though. It's got a bit of the Tom waits about it. Bits of it made me think of slam poetry or some sort of hipster jazz scene in some underground smoky room. Other bits were more like actual music.... Others not so much! I do think it was interesting, but it's way too out there for me I think. 2

Noisy

I don't know what to say. It is an album, and it's on this list. 2/5

TLDR: what the fuck? The longer version: what the fuck is this shit? As a disclaimer, I listened to a playlist on Spotify that includes most of the tracks from this album since it's not on Spotify as a standalone album. I might say "well, some of these are live tracks, so the true studio version of this album is probably better" except for the fact that I checked Wikipedia for the track listing and then read the rest of the Wikipedia article. My reaction after reading the article: holy batshit, Batman! If you haven't read the article, I highly recommend it: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trout_Mask_Replica There are a number of great quotes in the "Reception and legacy" section such as "it was not even 'ahead' of its time in 1969. Then and now, it stands outside time, trends, fads, hypes, the rise and fall of whole genres eclectic as walking Christmas trees, constituting a genre unto itself: truly, a musical Monolith if ever there was one." I'll agree with that much: it is a singular album. I find it hard to agree with all the publications ranking it as one of the greatest albums of all time, but I think it goes back to my main criticism of critics: they have to listen to so much stuff that they lose their minds over something that's truly different and creative regardless of whether it's objectively good. That's how this album strikes me, but maybe I'm not enlightened or open-minded enough. Matt Groening (yes, the Simpsons guy) also hated it at first, but loved it after 6 or 7 listens. I didn't pay for this double album so it won't get that much time from me, but maybe I'd grow to appreciate it if I tried. Maybe once you get into the mindset of "if it's intentionally discordant and shitty then it's not actually shitty" it works, but I'm not willing to put that effort in. Anyway, given the critical reception and the absolute batshit nature of the album as a whole, I understand why it's on this list and I'm glad to have been exposed to it. I did not enjoy this, and I can't imagine I'll ever listen to this again, but it gets points for creativity and for spawning a great Wikipedia article full of apocryphal shit. 1.5

I feel like a single listen can't really let you form an opinion here. Will have to revisit, so, a neutral rating of 2.

The back story is pretty interesting, with the torture and starvation. And him sitting just bashing the piano to find his melody is again, something interesting to listen to. But, with a fan saying it takes 7 listens to really love it…I’m not ever doing that and I’ll go with my first impression, which is this is either too weird or too stupid.

Not one I'd play again. Chaos the whole time, almost a so bad it's good kinda thing

Trippy 60's music, need to be high or on mushrooms to really enjoy it.

Wow what a start on this journey. This album was made in the late 60s and you can tell. The drugs were strong back then. If “Ross” from “friends” put a band together. It would sound like this. I’m giving this a two and not 1 as it made me laugh!

On a technical level, what they are doing takes immense amount of skill and you can tell that all musicians involved are virtuosos in their own right. On the question of how enjoyable it is, it is unbridled creativity, a storm of brutal sound that can also be quite intriguing at times, like an LSD-infused dadaist poetry slam.

Listened to some CB but not TMR I’ll take Zappa

How do you even rate a trout mask replica? By how much it looks like a trout? By how well it works as a mask? How well it imitates the original (without ever seeing the original)? By what the sight of a person wearing a trout mask triggers in you? Is this art? Impossible. And probably all of the above.

Its like the band members did their parts in completely different places not knowing what the others were doing, then they just mashed it together.

I see so much of this album’s DNA in experimental music today. That said, this was an exhausting listen by the end of it. I think I’m not gonna revisit this one for a while.

I just did not get this album. I don't hate it actively, but I just would not listen to this normally.

I’m just not a fan of odd noises.

well…. it’s certainly an album

This album is chaotic, but in a way that feels almost too intentional. The songs stumble and clash, like they’re trying to be something they’re not. It’s like listening to Frank Zappa’s most experimental moments, but without the structure that makes them work. There's a raw energy, but it’s buried under layers of noise and confusion. It’s more of an endurance test than a musical experience.

I do like frown land

Hmm

Beautiful voice, pretty melodies, breathtaking textures, tear jerking lyrics. Only such magnificent music could be made in the 60s … NOTTT

2 stars simply for the audacity.

Gave this album 20 minutes but I didn't finish it. It felt avant garde, but not in a good way (for me). I didn't feel like the artist had anything interesting to say so I lost interest pretty fast. Also, I couldn't get over the name Captain Beefheart, that combined with the album art just rubbed me the wrong way.

This album makes me violently want a Pepsi.

Incredibly odd chord charts and almost atonal melodic intonations from both the instruments and the vocalists make this an odd album, but there is still some minor pop sensibilities. Not sure how i feel, but it was definitely an experience.

Not on Apple Music

I've always felt the same way about this album, and it's really no different after this listen -- if this is your favorite album, no it's not. I really do understand the background history and the appeal of a record like this. I understand the approach to a free jazz/blues/garage, wild rhythm, "fuck you" to the industry approach and all that. And it's great. But this is not a good album on a pure musical enjoyment level. I think other albums (and I'll give this one credit for starting it) have approached the same ethos with a better end result. I just son't revisit this one often because at best it's silly, and at worst it's downright hard to listen to.

So weird that this album is coming up when I just referenced it in another review days ago. I think I agree with most people that this is unlistenable drivel. It’s just too far out there. And I think people who say they like this are just being pretentious and contrarian. It sucks. Points for being prolifically terrible though

It takes real skill to play this. It takes a madman to come up with it. It takes a special person to like it. I can hear some snippets of genius in there, but the overall album is too jarring, I'd rather listen to clowncore.

Some of this, I feel like I can get to a place where I get it. It’s bluesy, political, forces you to deal with discordant sounds as a form of expression. But then other times, I felt like I just needed to be on mind altering substances to appreciate it. And then I got distracted by thinking about my father being the same man who loves this band and also voted for Trump. Again, the answer probably has to do with drugs (or lack of them).

A squid eating dough in a Polyethylene bag Is fast and bulbous, got me?

So this is album 1,080 for me and here's how the review would once have gone: Something about the unbridled creativity and free expression of the late 1960's, something about Frank Zappa, something about the blues, maybe, takes a while to "get it," listened three times, etc. etc. etc. The truth now, however, is that I was not in the mood for this long-ass noodly horseshit.

In some previous albums in the project, I have felt bad because I thought that I just didn't get it and couldn't connect. I don't feel bad about feeling this way about this listening experience...although, I suppose it could have been worse...

Open mind open mind open mind. Nope. Irritating, long, and really really boring. Next!

It took some effort to listen to this as the album wasn’t on Apple Music in the United States. After being surprised at Captain Beefheart’s Safe As Milk album that wasn’t nearly as weird as I had anticipated, I had thought that maybe this one would also surprise. Nope. It was weird in a borderline-annoying way that overstayed its welcome. Kind of like some drugged-out coffeehouse performances by some really talented musicians. There were some ok moments here, but I won’t be tempted to return to this.

Ett väldigt underligt album, kanske de mest underliga albumet på den här listan. Konstigt nog så gillade jag det mycket mera nu på min andra lyssning än när jag lyssnade det för första gången. Kräver alltså fler lyssningar. Stark 2

I think previous attempts at forcing myself to like Zappa have desensitised me... This wasn't as jarring as I thought it might have - some good tracks but don't feel as though the quality I listened to it at did it justice. Need to get my hands on the record to make a valid judgement - 2.5 for now.

Well this is annoying. The album is not carried on Spotify. So I listened on YouTube. Listening was even more annoying. I have no idea who this artist is - I am guessing Tom Waits? Also I see some Zappa references on Spotify so there’s that. This does not seem genius to me. I am proud of myself for making it through. Basically it is one of those cool to get records. If not liking this is wrong I don’t wanna be right.

Not on Spotify so can’t really rate 2** based on some Spotify album that had this in its name

Je comprends toutes les mauvaises reviews de cet album qu'il y a sur ce site. Autant c'est unique, chaotique tout en étant tellement complexe, très humoristique, très marquant, mais c'est horriblement mixé, difficile à écouter d'un trait, très énnervant. C'est autant admirable que détestable. 4/10

That's not my taste in musik.

Honestly thought this was just a /mu/core gem, didn't realize real humans knew it. Very funny that this isn't my least favorite listen thus far.

Rock experimental. Bastante inaguantable. Un 2.

Menudo rollo.

mica capito

I’ll admit when something intimidates me. I’m not going to put up a front, especially not when it comes to music. There have been artists I’ve just avoided, no matter how open I want to be, because I just don’t see it going well. I’ve heard Captain Beefheart before. But Safe as Milk did not break any new ground for me. I felt it lied in that same category of mostly forgettable psychedelic rock that haunts the 60s. But I made the note that the album was still weird. Don always had the capacity to make unique and unusual music. But that debut doesn’t even compare in the slightest to Trout Mask Replica. An album better known for why people don’t like it than vice versa. But even with its reputation, this has still garnered a very strong cult following of people who adore it. And that’s simply because it was, and still is, unlike anything another band has ever released. And I’m able to say that as someone who doesn’t enjoy this in much of any capacity. And I don’t think you can argue that this hasn’t influenced a huge amount of experimental rock. This is like the fucked up baby brother to The Velvet Underground & Nico. It’s not hard to understand where this album has gained its reputation from. If you are able to put this on, and not end up disturbed or confused at least once during the listen, you are either trying too hard or already pretty messed up yourself. This sounds like the ramblings and creative outlets of a madman. There is not one fraction of context that could be added to make these lyrics understandable. You can’t convince me otherwise. The actual performances are indeed impressive, and written in a purposefully confusing and technical manner. But I think fans of this lean on that fact too much. Because even so, the music itself still doesn’t sound that good. If you are going to go for complex songwriting, you have to make it sound at least decent. You can’t choose one or the other. But I’m aware, “That’s the point”, and “You’re just not getting it”. I’m assuming that’s what I would be told by some people. And that’s great. To each their own. But this album is not for me, and likely never will be for me. Rating: 4/10

A hard listen, but I don't hate it, I don't know.

Pachuco Cadaver Ant Man Bee Wild Life Old Fart At Play

The version on Amazon is no bueno

Not sure what to think after listening to that. Absolutely bizarre album. Interesting to listen to, but not sure I will relisten.

It took me many attempts before i got through the first song and listened to the rest of the album. After a while it is almost listenable. The only reedeming quality is how difficult it is to listen to, makes it atleast interesting, you want to turn it off but at the same time not. But in the end it is not very good.

Interesting

I've liked some Captain Beefheart stuff over the years, but this album just doesn't stick the landing.

This one wasn’t available, listened to their hits. Alright.

A bit too much for me. At times, this was difficult to listen to. I like other albums by this group, but this one was too out there for me. while you could say this is technically impressive, but that does mean it's enjoyable.

An album made by fish, for fish. Not for human consumption.

intriguing and wtf at the same time

Album not available on iTunes. Found the songs…most of them at least. Strange cross between bluegrass, rock, and jazz?

I can't listen to this anywhere and based on the reviews that appears to be a blessing.

The lore behind it is like an always sunny episode but the album is bad.

Quite possibly the greatest accomplishment from the Chordates since their breakthrough with The Incredible Mr. Limpet. Only possibly arrival by finding Nemo this may be peak Pisces achievement. Now, I suppose it is possible that I’ve been duped, and that these are really humans masquerading as fish for the shock value of an album cover. Well, crap. I just looked on Wikipedia, and it turns out that this is indeed only the creation of strange humans. I should have known. I would have held the fish to a higher standard. It all seemed a bit fishy from the get go.

It lived up to its hype

Produced by Frank Zappa. Experimental. I'm reading the wikipedia article because. this makes no sense to me. I was suspicious of this from the start because this is an iconic album cover and a well-known album, but I can't name any songs from it. Which is usually an indication that it fucking weird I hate this Checking my watch after each song to see when it ends It's like they had to figure out what music isn't before they could figure out what it is and just recorded all of their attempts Oh thank god. it's over Rating 2 stars because I recognize that this did a lot of cool stuff that hadn’t been done before but man was it insufferable to listen to

After trying to listen to this album for the first few minutes, I was ready to give it a 1. But after deciding to stick it out and I'm gonna bump it up to a 2. This thing is wildly unlistenable but occasionally, there are some moments of interesting music. Most of the credit I'm giving this album comes from the fact that it came out in 1969 and actually managed to garner success while being so unprecedented and out there. It feels more like performance art to me rather than music. Maybe I'd feel differently if I gave it more time to sit with me and settle in but I can't imagine wanting to spend more time and patience on this album.

Album #364. Wasn't streaming and then randomly showed up in Apple Music when I searched for the other Captain Beefheart album (#657), so I guess I'm listening to these back to back. I had no idea what this was going to sound like, only that it was going to be weird, of course. Yeah, I get what they are doing. Purposely out of tune, out of time, random nonsensical lyrics, etc. It's a shtick that entertaining for very short while, not the length of a double album. I suppose if you're stoned, this would be highly captivating all the way through. To me, it sounds like a self-aware Shaggs featuring Wolfman Jack, but you can tell these guys could play right if they wanted to. I didn't enjoy it, but I'm glad I finally got to hear it. Favorite track: Moonlight on Vermont, I guess. Now I get to see how their two years earlier album compares.

This is creative, but hurts my ears

Wild life was wel vet. Pena goeie dialoog als intro. Well mooi acapella. Reclames tussendoor werden gevierde pauzes tijdens de lijdensweg waar we ons aan onderworpen hebben.

Beginnen aan dit album voelt een beetje aan als het drinken van een bedorven pak melk. Het is direct een klap in je gezicht. Spuug het uit en gooi het weg. Ik heb nog nooit zulke rare muziek gehoord. Of is dit de enige normale muziek die er bestaat en de rest is vreemd? Wie zal het zeggen.. Ik heb de hele tijd dat ik me maar probeer te focussen op 1 instrument tegelijkertijd, maar zelfs dat is echt onmogelijk. Wat ik vet vind is dat je een beetje proto-indierock kan terughoren bij sommige nummers. Bijvoorbeeld bij Hair Pie: Bake 1. Ze zitten er echt tegenaan, een iets gestructureerde opbouw en je hebt gewoon een Arctic Monkeys hit. Zo kan je dat waarschijnlijk nog wel van andere proto-genres zeggen. En dat in 1969. Het album was duidelijk 'voor zijn tijd', alleen wanneer begon dan de tijd dat dit soort muziek gemaakt begon te worden? Die tijd is er nooit gekomen. Beefheart en Zappa zijn de enigen die zo gek zijn dat ze zulke muziek kunnen maken. Er zijn vrijwel geen volledige nummers waarbij je kan denken: dit nummer is écht chill, een highlight. Het zit er elke keer net, (of vaak compleet) naast. Alle instrumenten lijken een verschillend nummer te spelen. Ik moet toch toegeven dat het een beetje op me begint te groeien. Rating: 6,5/10. Muziek moet ook plezierig zijn om te luisteren. Dat is het bij lange na niet altijd. Het album is ook te lang. Één highlightje dan: Sugar and Spikes: bizarre drumsolo van Drumbo (aardige naam voor een drummer) en kloppende(?!?!) falsetto

De dag waarvan je wist dat die ging komen... Het viel me niet tegen maar eerlijkheidshalve; ik heb het einde van de plaat niet gehaald. Door al het gerommel heen hoor de heerlijke Beefheart-sound die op Safe as Milk zo geniaal ten gehore wordt gebracht. Waar deze muziek bewust uit de maat gespeeld wordt, verlies je mij als luisteraar. Ik krijg dat niet positief doorvertaald. Dat roept bij mij ook de fascinatie op wat vanVliet, Zappa en the Magic Band hier nou mee hebben willen bereiken. Dit is niet in één middagje in elkaar gerommeld maar een jaar lang aan geschreven, geoefend en bijgeschaafd. 6,5/10 Highlights Ella Guru Moonlight on Vermont

Too interesting to be boring, too bad to be good. A strenuous endeavor that offends most who decide to partake in it. This album is an abyss that makes you question your understanding of ... well anything and everything. Best Song: None of them Worst Song: All of them PS: FAST AND BULBOUS!

I enjoyed "Safe as Milk" well enough, but this didn't do a thing for me. I am disappoint.

Ok, I tried, and I tried again. Then I saw that it was produced by Frank Zappa, and yeah, that tracks. I just can't get through this. Diamanda Galas albums are more accessible than this album. I'm not saying it has no value, but who the hell is this even for?

Gteat cover photo. This album takes a number of listens to get used to.

Fake Fish Facade! Foul Formidable Fog!

I enjoyed reading about the artist rather than actually listening to the artist. Not my bag.

It is an album.

Too janky

Couldn't get through it. 2 because I loved reading the reviews.

Well this was an interesting listen.

multiple beats overtop each other. Lyrics are exclusively non-sense. Can see why this is important for music but isnt amazing to listen to. 2

Well I can say I've listened to it You can hear snatches of things that came in its wake and remembered to write the tunes but good lord I'll never listen to it again

Punky psychedelic, schizo noise. ...I think they might be on drugs! Another Zappa production in disguise. It's ART!!! It's far out, man. In this vein I would prefer Zappa's zany energy and vocals to Beefheart's constricted ravings and crappy beat poetry. The most cohesive aspect of this album is in its percussion. The play jumps between tight, complex music, and chaos. Shout out to "Hair Pie: Bake 1" for capturing the sound of a group of 6th graders honking on clarinets for the first time with wild abandon. I really don't understand why people laud this album as a stroke of genius, though it is certainly creative. Beefheart takes the kind of unbridled creativity that novices not yet boxed in by canon and method have, and reintroduces it to listeners via talented musicians who do actually know how to play "real" music - but don't. Other standouts? - Moonlight On Vermont (Live) - Sweet Sweet Bulbs - China Pig

Hard to listen to, but I get it

This wasn't necessarily bad, but it was pretty weird. Not something I'll likely return to. 2.5/5

I thought I was open minded but it was too much for me

#MAMITA 6/10

I have never wanted to both turn off an album but also keep listening at the same time. I can't say I enjoyed this album but I was so interested in what was coming next. The wikipedia article to this album is a must read with this being rehearesed for 8 months where none of the band members left a single small house. Please tell me where Captain Beefheart gets his drugs so I know never to go there.

If you put talented musicians in a room and they are all tuning their instruments or playing a few moments of a tune they just made up, this is what it would sound like. I was able to enjoy some of the songs that had words and melodies. The honks, jingles, and brongs don't do anything for me though. Many of the reviewers could not tolerate those chaotic parts of the album but I was able to deal with it. At times it seemed like a poetry slam with music accompaniment but the musicians were possessed by their instruments, like a Pentecostal says they get possessed by the holy spirit. It's kind of like the musician was being played by the instrument. I can feel such arrogance when they speak. It's edgy, noisy, raw, and chaotic. For me, albums need to be enjoyable to listen to if I'm going to consider it good. This was not enjoyable.

*sigh* Ah, Christ, I've been dreading this day. What's there to say about one of the most controversial albums of all time? A coworker, who likes this record, said to me one time, "Just so you know, every note on that record is where it's supposed to be." And that's... fine, I guess? I keep going back to the definition of music as "something enjoyable to listen to", and this just felt like a slog. For the record: I listened to the entire fucking thing. It inspired some feelings, and had some jams, but it mostly sounds like a massively talented band cosplaying as people who had never seen an instrument nor heard of the concept of "music". It's... definitely something.

Never really Understood the Captain. Just noise to me.

Not on spotify and not inclined to go out of my way to listen to this. I am guessing I would have given this 2* so that is what I will do

- This is a powerful album, no doubt about it. But it is incredibly annoying. It digs in your brain and it's really impossible to do anything else. - I do understand that people say that you should power through it, and be strong and that it will be worth it. Maybe someday I will. But right now, that feels more like an inside joke than anything. - Don't recommend.

So so so difficult to listen to.

Can we trade this one out for 'Safe As Milk'?

Not sure how I got through that.....

Sorry, no.

- Nun... schon häufig habe ich mich an avantgarde-musik, freejazz, zwölftonmusik o.ä. versucht - selten mit Erfolg aber manchmal hatte ich das Gefühl, das Konzept oder die Herangehensweise der Künstler*innen verstanden zu haben. Ähnlich wie bei abstrakter Kunst, bei der man in den meisten Fällen davor steht und sich denkt: "Was ist das für ein belangloser Schrott". Aber auch dort habe ich Momente, wo es *Klick* macht und ich Zugang zu der Kunst finde. Das bedeutet nicht automatisch, dass ich das gut finde, aber ich entwickle ein Gefühl des "Verstehens". - Ich habe den Eindruck, bei diesem Werk auf der Kippe zu stehen. Der erste Impuls ist natürlich, dass die Musik viel zu abstrakt und willkürlich ist, um einem Menschen bei gesundem Verstand in irgendeiner Form zu gefallen. Es entwickelte sich aber im Laufe des Albums bei mir tatsächlich ein "Draht", der einen Ausblick darauf gibt, dass sich meine Haltung zu diesem Album vielleicht etwas ändern könnte. - Es ist die ewige Diskussion um moderne/abstrake Kunst. Was ist gewollt? Wie viel Talent und Handwerk muss vorhanden sein? Sie wichtig ist die Absicht? Muss Kunst per se "gut" sein und gefallen? - Nach einem mal hören bleibe ich jedoch erstmal bei einer schlechten Bewertung. Interessant war die Erfahren wider erwarten jedoch absolut - 2/5

Everything you read about this album is correct. Everything. Halfway through while I was laughing I thought to read the reviews here amongst our greater-1001-group and from 1 (many) to 5 (few) I can't and won't argue a thing. Beefheart/someone had a lot of balls recording this and then just even releasing it. It's so off-the-hook that I can't give it a 1 on sheer chutzpah alone (plus the Zappa connection wins a point). I won't be putting this on at my kids' weddings but for shits and giggles I might leave instructions to play it at my funeral. I think I can sum this up in one word...: Beware. 3/10 2 stars.

Before starting this list, I'd seen this album cover around, but I didn't know anything about it. Since starting this list, I've heard a lot chatter about it, and I can't say that any of that chatter was good. Listening to this was certainly an adventure, and I'm happy to say that I survived the trip. Subjectively, I didn't like this album at all. It was a chore to get through, it wasn't particularly pleasant to listen to, and it was just really bizarre and nonsensical. I'll admit that I kinda liked "Ella Guru" and "Pachuco Cadaver" though. But from a critical standpoint, I think it takes a certain kind of musicianship to go out and intentionally create something as arhythmic, experimental, and and discordant as this album. I think that this is about as avant garde as you can get, and Captain Beefheart deserves some credit for taking a change and making something like this. Or maybe it was all a big joke to him, and he just wanted to see what people would buy and listen to. Whatever the case may be, I think this album earned its place on this list, even though it's not going to get a lot of love.

I've always liked this album in theory, but not so much in reality.

Madness

I didn't hate this as much as Yes.

This was one crazy trip!

I know it takes several listens for people to enjoy this one but I am not sure I want to do that. I don't even really like Frank Zappa.

I guess i didn't understand it. The lead singer sounded too much like Tom Waits for my taste. I just don't think i have the patience to listen to this to the point where I like it.

Wow what an experience. Not necessarily a good one, but one that I will remember for a long time. It's certainly original, especially for its time. I think the album is too long and has too much going on. I struggled to tell if I was liking what I was hearing or if I felt that way because the previous 3 songs sounded like a plane crash. I'll try to revisit it someday to try and re evaluate it, but I ain't got the energy to do it anytime soon.

je sais pas trop quoi en penser, c'est tellement inégale comme album. mon dieu des bouts je détestait et d'autres j'aimais la saveur blues. Mais en générale 1h00 de ca c'est beauocup trop. 2.5

So chaotic

Appreciate the artistic vision but it wouldn’t be something I play very often. By conventional means it’s not pleasant sounding but actually if you isolate certain parts you can hear good tunes.

Was going to give this the one star treatment before I realized not many albums made me think as much as this. The songs all had memorable quirks, and were all very versatile, which is very useful when this thing is about two years long. Overall a very memorable, exciting experience and one I hope I can one day say I enjoy listening to.

yngh... vmp...

It's not horrible, it has moments. Never again though.

There is something inherently appealing about a rogue artist daring to do something wildly different. In that way, "Trout Mask Replica" is something worth exploring. It is a decidedly, purposefully different, album that tries to blend an array of musical genres and experiments. It just doesn't completely work. It has moments or tracks that are more interesting or compelling than others, but on the whole, it falters. All of the raves about it seem overblown. It certainly will appeal to some but it will never appeal to many and seemingly has no desire to do so anyway.

Doesn't sound great but there is some very troll poetry/lyricism in this one "A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast and bulbous". Sounds like the fellas just took a bunch of LSD together and had fun at the studio making weird ass music

Whew! I found this one hard to listen to. I prefer the bluesy tracks to the more avant-garde ones. This is one of those albums that it might be better to read about than listen to.

This is one of those really polarizing albums that people like me, with no musical training but with a deep love and appreciation for music struggle to understand and appreciate. Kinda like Bitches Brew or Ornette Coleman's improvised free jazz. I've read how this very talented band rehearsed for 8 months(!) in order to get these very difficult polyrhythms, avante garde jazz/rock/blues notes just right and how its produced by the illustrious Frank Zappa. Matt Groening said he thought it was awful after his first listen, but since a double record cost so much and he couldn't believe that Zappa would do him so wrong, he gave it a few more chances. It didn't click until the 6th or 7th listening whereupon he thought it was the best album he had ever heard. Well I've listened to it maybe 4-5 times and I still don't love it, and I don't think I have it in me for a couple more listens because frankly it ain't a fun listen. Bitches Brew took a few tries before it finally clicked, but I don't think Trout Mask Replica ever will.

- Before even listening to this album everything about this is peak - Nevermind it's not on Spotify, L - This is weird and I don't understand it - It does get better as it goes along but maybe it's just me getting used to the weirdness - I'd give it a 2.5 because I can't say it's either good or bad

Legendarily difficult album. Too difficult for my small and non-drug addled brain. Can just about appreciate its out-thereness and that's about it.

This is the second album of theirs that I have received. I thought the first one was fun and quirky. This album dialed that up to 11. I felt some Tom Waits vibes throughout this record. Overall I didn't enjoy this one as much as the first. A little too weird and over the top for me. Not something that I would ever be able to listen to over and over again.

Almost 300 days late.... really wanted to have time with this. Read a bunch of the back story and denoting that this is one of the most challenging records. A lot of it is pretty weird, and makes me think of some crazy art students on a weekend project, but then there are some doozies.... Hobo Chang Ba comes to mind. I can imagine this best as a sound recording of some live stage production performance art performed by nutters. The strange dialog and music seems like there must be people on stage under psychedelic lights popping out of shadows, flailing uncontrollably. The music does drift into many places where i you wonder how you can tell anything is being played incorrectly (even though the history of the album seems to indicate and inordinate amount of practice to craft this piece). I'll give it a little bonus because if definitely challenges assumptions and makes you think differently about what music is.

That was a weird one. I mean I didn’t hate parts of it, but also it gave me a headache by the end. My boyfriend warned me, “despite his influence, he may sound like a 8 piece band falling down a long flight of stairs” and well….yeah.

Im not sure what just happened lol

3/10. They paired an experimental and off-putting sound with equally experimental and off-putting lyrical style, with an awful singing voice and a 78 minute runtime. I will say that I did kind of like some of the instrumental segments, but not enough to put up with the rest of the album.

I'll admit I wasn't really in the mood this morning to listen to something so experimental, but that doesn't stop me from appreciating its place in the story of popular music. This band has some incredibly talented performers, too. I might come back to this for a re-listen when I'm more in the frame of mind for this style of exploration.

There were lots of drugs kicking about in '69 if I'd joined in I'd probably have enjoyed it more

Absolutely bizarre – not for me

wtf trouta?

I just... couldn't.

I reckon I’ve owned this vinyl for at least 30 years. It’s still in pristine condition. Mainly because I’ve only ever played it a handful of times. I still find it hard work. I’ve always found Beefheart interesting. And there are a couple of his albums that I really enjoy - his debut album, Safe As Milk & his 7th release, Clear Spot. One had Ry Cooder all over it & the other, Little Feat. What’s not to like there? But this is a discordant double album. Back in the day I shared houses with guys who loved it. They usually had mental health problems. I know it’s supposedly very influential & all that, but I really don’t rate it that highly.

Some of the late 60's and early 70's elude me. This is one of those bands. Captain Beefheart is...interesting. To each their own.

Total mad lad

God, I've been loathing this moment. This is one of those albums that I'm supposed to like because I'm weird and I like weird things, and this is a landmark album in the history of weirdness. I've tried with this album, I really have. Multiple times .Every time I put it on, I want nothing so much as for it to end. This album is the equivalent to a person who confuses having an unusual pet for having a personality. "I'm glad you were able to buy a kimono dragon, Captain Beefheart. Can I get the fuck out of here now?" If I'm being serious, I can see why people were influenced by this album. There's little bits and pieces of things that would become much more prominent in music in the decades to follow. That's my problem with it, though. It's all just bits and pieces of things, with no actual coherent expression of a whole idea. Every time I find something that I like, it ends quickly, and moves on to something else that is the musical analogy of someone putting their finger and inch from your face and saying "I'm not touching you" Anyway, I've been dreading this moment. I'm going to give this album a bad grade because I don't like it, but I have to actually listen to it to see how bad of a grade it will be. And, of course, it's a double album because they couldn't shovel this much garbage onto just one disk. I feel the same way about this album that I feel about all of David Lynch's movies. I know that I'm supposed to like it. Tons of people whose opinions I really respect love this album and think it's brilliant (also, it's David Lynch's favorite album because of course it is). However, when I listen to it, I don't enjoy it, and then I feel stupid because I'm supposed to enjoy it, and maybe I'm just too stupid to understand it. Fuck you, Captain Beefheart. I'm not stupid, you are. If you're so much smarter than me, how come I'm alive and you're dead? 2/5 This album has an incredible legacy, but so does Michael Jackson's dad. Legacy isn't everything

This makes me uncomfortable but not in the good way

I had heard so much of this album, but I tried to go in without reading the Wikipedia as I usually do. I...don't really know what was happening and I feel like I forgot who I was by the end of it. But! Did I enjoy it? Not really. I did at 5 songs to my library (out of 18), so uh. Could have been worse, I suppose.

Oh God please don't make me listen to this again. I've just had Pet Sounds and I'm all chilled out. I've tried this twice in the past and it just annoys me. Ok here we go. Avant garde and chaotic and pretty much unlistenable. Hardest album to rate.

I probably just didn't get it

Best Song: My Human Gets Me Blues. Just a great blues track. You can really hear how Beefheart's vocal stylings will go on to influence so many others. Worst Song: Hair Pie: Bake 1. Seemingly intentionally a-musical. Also, weird Blair Witch vibes at the end. Wonder if that woman survived the encounter. Overall: An album that somehow manages to be neither as good nor as bad as I expected, it alternates between refreshingly weird and stubbornly opaque. I like the abstract poetry rambled over gritty blue, but I don't like the intentionally atonal and weirdly polyrhythmic stuff that seems to exist just to be different. There's clearly a core of something brilliant here, but it seems mostly obscured by Captain Beefheart's ego and resistance to editing. Everything that is introduced on this album has subsequently been better channeled and refined by Tom Waits, including the voice.

Well this is a chore. 28 tracks of what mostly sounds like three albums playing concurrently. I mean, each individual element seems to be if not pleasant then at least competent. This might - eventually - form itself into coherence. Free form jazz did that, just pinged from being godawful noise to transcendentally beautiful in the space of a couple of seconds. It hasn't done it yet, though. When the most accessible part of your music is cacophonic sax, you might have a problem engaging with new audiences.

I've heard of Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band, and I recognize the cover of Trout Mask Replica, but I probably haven't listened to a full track from the band. I was fine with working my way through the album. It was ¿good? to listen to an album that so many people consider as culturally significant. I'm not sure that I would want to try and listen to this album often enough to gain the acquired taste that this album seems to be. The album felt shorter (less of a burden to listen to) than I thought it was going to be, but still lands at 2 stars.

This is a hard listen but they say after 6 or 7 times, you get it and it’s a masterpiece. I don’t see myself listening to this again so I’ll take their word for it. I do see flashes here and there but I also feel like he’s just trying to be weird instead of just being weird.

I don't understand what is happening here. This seems to be fairly contentious with some people loving it but it's not my jam.

Mad one but not for me.

Woah nelly, this is a doozy. Struggled until Pachuco Cadaver, and struggled afterwards. Clearly some talent and and inventiveness, but just don't like the whole package. I think there must have been a lot of drugs sacrificed to make this album.

Oh no, my bete noir, extremely challenging avant-garde “piece”. There is a valuable place for experimental music, but did this have to be so long? However, it’s easier to listen to and more amusing than Marylyn Manson and other awful 1 star garbage. They rehearsed for 8 months!

I love beefhearts first album and even I thought this was a tough listen

not an easy listen

Legit definition of WTF. Just sounds like each member of the band wrote and recorded their own separate songs and then overlayed them together. Tah dah done. There's skill here but it's odd for odd's sake. "Story" songs are like Zappa but not nearly as good or entertaining.

Way too deep for me - I may try to listen to it a few times to see if it grows on me, but I doubt that my rating will change...

Wow. This was so weird. But for all its weirdness I didn't find myself reaching for the next button. I was a bit intrigued. Kind of felt like a 2 though after first listen - just a lot to deal with, with all its deliberate mayhem and disconnectedness. And then I read about the album and decided I should give it at least one more listen. Especially because I hated the first Tom Waits album I heard but he has grown on me (and Beefheart surely gave birth to Waits' weird music and tortured vocal stylings). I listened to it a second time and I didn't hate it. But I didn't like it either. If it's David Lynch's favorite album, you know it is out of this world strange. Kudos to the creativity but not for me, and probably not for most. Deserved to be on this list for it's eccentricity but not sure what else after that.

Kantensa kuuloinen levy. Jotenkin viehättää laulutyyli ja meininki. Mutta onhan tää ihan liian raskasta kuultavaa.

Alkaa hyvin ja toimii muutenkin paikoitellen (eli sisältää myös kappaleita eikä ainoastaan äkkiväärää jammailua), mutta lopulta äkkiväärä jammailu alkaa tuntua levyn itseisarvolta - mitä sen EI ole tarkoitus olla (väitän). En myöskään usko, että kukaan olisi ikinä kuunnellut tätä loppuun.

Lijkt wel een trollband, wat een herrie

i have a t shirt for Neon Meate Dream of an Octafish which was sent by mistake when buying an alan partridge shirt and they said keep it. presumably they knew not really anyone would want it as there can't be that many people in to this brand of madness. i wear that t shirt because i listened to the album and decided that wearing a t shirt for an insane song on an album you don't listen to that gets you absolutely no kudos points or recognition from anyone you will meet wearing the shirt is the type of surreal shit captain beefheart would do. i get why they would put trout mask replica on the list but it is incredibly hard work even for someone who knows captain beefheart and has seen the magic band play (once the captain had popped his clogs). he does have some albums that are listenable, i quite like ice cream for crow but this album is so far into the realms of art/jazz that it flies over my head. i would probably understand it better if i was wearing a black turtle neck and a beret.

Trout Mask

A shitshow, but an authentic shitshow. Without question essential listening.

goofy ahh

I'm happy for the people that get this, but I am not one of them.

An important Record. Certainly Revolutionary for some. Captain Beefheart is the Lewis Carroll of rock. But for me at this time in my life it's a bit extra in a way that I'm less interested in now than I was in my more avant garde hungry days. The rest of this review will now be written in how the music feels: Skronkly and woggly time and word a disheveled stumble bumble of nonsense no sense make sense fake sense in this wild life — needle notes and conscripted toots. Stop. Go! Time to be brave! Hit record. Drive a ford across a fjord. Clever boi.

Rock experimental. Bastante inaguantable. Un 2.

I know the good captain was a friend of Frank Zappa, and Zappa's influence on this is unmistakable, but Beefheart was no Zappa. I can listen to something like Sheik Yerbouti over and over, but not this one. That said, I understand its place on the list.

I can think of 4 other Beefheart records I’d rather listen to than this one.

What the fuck was dit

This album is literally too much by all means. It sounds like every single member of the band is doing a different song. I got really confused by all the sounds and couldn't really focus. But I think it's essential for this album and if it was the effect they were going for, then they achieved it. Although, listening to this for more than an hour is truly tiring. I think the music is great, the guitars do a really good job of shaping the sound of the album. The thing I found the hardest to assimilate is the weird vocals, which just drive me crazy. The artist really went for oddity and strangeness all the way and did a good job sticking to that theme. I strongly believe this album has its own loyal followers. This type of music is not for everyone, and not for me either, at least not every day or I'll go crazy. Sometimes I found the music just unlistenable. Favourite track: "The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica)", least favourite track: too many

op zen willy organs: doe toch normaal man

Dit voelt echt als een taak om naar te luisteren. Het is zoveel zowel in aantal als gewoon in geluid. Geef me wat rust jong.

At the beginning thought people were living in different time zones our jamming over zoom with a lot of lag but later on some bits actually sounded sort of okay

Reminds me of Frank Zappa, and I dislike it for the same reasons I dislike Frank Zappa. It’s like if you do something random and bizarre enough, but do it confidently, people will think you’re a genius. But in reality it’s just random, bizarre crap. Yes, there are flashes of interesting musical bits in here, but overall it’s a big thumbs down for me. 2 stars.

An extra star for originality but it isn't pleasant on the ears. Basically took all the criteria on how to make a song, teared it up and made their own rules, which is commendable but personally don't like the end product.

Nah. Sometimes it taps into an inexplicably satisfying and deeply hidden groove - but beyond this it's annoying and contrived weirdness

It's tough to get through it because it's just so random.

Going to be honest here, this is a discount version of Frank Zappa and not nearly as smart, artistic or funny.

I am not sure what I just listened to, but I wouldn't qualify it as music. Technically arranged chaos is still chaos. Just because you can, doesn't mean you should.

Wow, that was...interesting. I was working while listening to this, not recommended.

This is a pure chaotic mess yet it’s weirdly fun and hard to stop listening. I probably won’t come back to it but I definitely had fun while it was on!

If you like avant garde music this is for you, for the the rest, no.

Mayhem.

I feel like it’s actually brave to sound good?

Eerste 5 nummers: Alsof iemand een muziekwinkel van de trap gooit Moonlight on Vermont best leuk Klinkt een beetje als pre-alpha-Zappa geen fan, maar ook niet heel erg om het een keer gehoord te hebben

Als je hem aanzet en iets gaat doen is het alleen maar soms heel kut, meestal best oké en heel soms best vet

I bet this was an influence on Victim's Family.

This might be artistically interesting, but it is not listenable music. I couldn't play this in my house - and I mean any portion of the album - for more than a minute before my wife would demand I turn it off. As far as art, I'm thinking it's akin to Piss Christ, or taping a banana to a wall and calling it art. Apparently, this pleases some people. I am inspired, though. Maybe I'll get a big canvas and some paint, and have some babies and maybe some ferrets have at. I think I might be able to sell the result for big money to the people with similar sensibility to art as those who value this album. I simply ask: Why?

Ah. I was wondering when this was coming. A very divisive album. Let’s see what side of the divide I am on. And I have to go for the bootleg. Well thank the lord for YouTube. Yeah. Ok. So I guess the divide is those who think this is an avant garde work of genius and those who think it’s utter BS? Well I listened to the WHOLE thing. The utterly unnecessary double album of, yes, utter and total BS. Supposedly there was a great deal of rehearsal going into this project? Could have fooled me. Really. And I listen to jazz. Post bop. Modal. Free jazz. This, most of this isn’t even demos. It’s just a dude making recordings for… the pleasure of the bush recorder? Because this certainly wasn’t for MY pleasure. No. I’m not buying the BS. I fall on one clear side of the divide apparently. 1 Boolean: well, I guess it’s True, so you can know for yourself

Clearly I am not sophisticated enough to understand and appreciate the musical genius here.

Literally this is what would happen if you gave a goose and a bunch of gorillas a drum set, a guitar, and some LSD and told them to go crazy

Truly awful

No la pude escuchar, no estaba disponible.

I'm giving this a 1 but only because I'm in on the joke. Favorite song: China Pig.

First Listen Favorites: Ella Guru Sweet Sweet Bulbs She's Too Much For My Mirror Well, Well, Well

Hey kids - don't do drugs... Or if you do, make them the kind that help you make music. Not whatever the fresh hell this is.

Bardzo dziwne. Chyba nie dokończyłem nawet.

Couldn't listen as not existent on deezer

Likely the worst album I've ever heard. I listened for about 20 minutes, and nothing like actual music appeared in the noise. I sorta skimmed the rest of the album, as I'm not interested in wasting my time listening to discordant twanging. Occasionally something like rhythm or melody appeared, but then was just as quickly gone. It's really awful.

no me apareció el álbum en spotify

Um. wow. I appreciate that this exists. It's not to my liking. I'm almost 50 years old having heard this for the first time. I'll wait another 50 to come back to this again but for now. 1 star.

Not on Apple :(

Album not available on Spotify

Na come on man

Das muss diese "Kunst" sein von der immer alle reden. Bin Banause.

No. Too hard. Hurty brain.

No

It's officially a crime we that can't 0 star or negative star albums. I'm gonna find whoever put this on the list and punch them in the throat. This was fuck-awful. I feel physically ill after sitting through this.

Naw

This is just noise. There is nothing redeeming about it.

Garbage. No amount or type of drug exists that would make this one palatable for me. I just don't care enough about a bunch of clowns fucking around in a studio in an attempt to push "musical" boundaries to suffer through this more than once.

I wish I had the memory of a fish and could instantly forget Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band and Trout Mask Replica. I was actually expecting more from this. Earlier in the year I listened to Safe as Milk and really enjoyed it, so I came into this with reasonably high expectations. Unfortunately, this album and I simply did not get along. The opening track, "Frownland", is possibly one of the most unpleasant things I have ever listened to. It feels chaotic, disjointed and completely impenetrable, and unfortunately things didn't improve much for me when "The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back" followed it. Rather than pulling me into the album, the opening few tracks left me wondering what on earth was going on. I understand that Trout Mask Replica is regarded as a groundbreaking and highly unconventional record, and I can appreciate the ambition behind it. The complex rhythms, strange song structures and complete disregard for conventional melody are clearly deliberate choices rather than mistakes. The problem is that none of it worked for me as a listening experience. Maybe I simply prefer my rock and roll to be a little more straightforward and a little less experimental, because I found much of this album bizarre rather than brilliant. The lyrics didn't connect with me, while the polyrhythms, multi-octave vocals and polytonal arrangements felt more exhausting than exciting. I can understand why some people consider this a masterpiece and an important artistic statement, but after spending time with it I can safely say it isn't for me, and I can't imagine ever wanting to revisit it. Favourite tracks: "Moonlight on Vermont" was probably the closest thing to a highlight, with some genuinely nice guitar work. "Sweet Sweet Bulbs" also has moments where the musicianship shines through beneath all the chaos. Least favourite tracks: "Frownland" takes the prize here. It was a very difficult introduction to the album and set the tone for much of what followed. Album artwork: Love the cover — it's far more appealing than the music inside.

As usual: a solo artist who’s a multi-instrumentalist? You don’t even need to open the album. With this particular album, I still can’t tell which is more prominent—the music or the drugs.

Sounds like a band falling down the stairs. I might find this to be an interesting choice if there was something in the songs themselves worth seeing through the chaos to. But after hearing the satirical holocaust song (Dachau Blues) I had a hard time seeing how the rest of the album would be something worth working so hard for The mix also sounds like shit - with the alleged hyperintricate complexity of the instrumentals drowned out by someone howling with the eloquence of a unmedicated schizophrenic. I'm sure this was intentional but I don't think 'make it sound bad' is that clever of an artistic choice. According to a podcast I listened to - Cpt Beefheart wrote the songs on the piano despite not knowing how to play piano. So like how my toddler 'writes' songs. GTFO. It might be hypocritical to hate this while kinda liking duck stab and kollaps. But there's a pretentious element to this (podcast guys explained that different musicians are playing in different keys and different time signatures from each other) that just feels exhausting.

I would rather listen to an entire concert from a beginner middle school band and orchestra than listen to this again. You know what, throw in an elementary school choir where the director is only working 1/3time because of budget cuta and they do at least one song with kazoos and I would still choose to listen to that concert over this album

Total shit

Come on? WTF even is this. Probably one of those albums that people say "you don't get it" but this is not good. I feel like it is something my friends and I would do in middle school. Grab some instruments we don't know how to play and make noise and make up some lyrics in the moment. Maybe you have to be super high to enjoy this?

Always hated this band.

Spotify on my has one song listed for this album and I’m OK with that.

One star for the trout. It's long and quite painful. Favorite songs: Moonlight on Vermont

Just shy of 79 minutes of musical discord with few redeeming features. Any interest I had in the album had dissipated by the time of side three's "Well". Great album art though. One star. Side one 1 "Frownland" (2/5) 2 "The Dust Blows Forward 'n the Dust Blows Back" (2/5) 3 "Dachau Blues" (2/5) 4 "Ella Guru" (1/5) 5 "Hair Pie: Bake 1" (instrumental) (1/5) 6 "Moonlight on Vermont" (2/5) Side two 1 "Pachuco Cadaver" (2/5) 2 "Bill's Corpse" (1/5) 3 "Sweet Sweet Bulbs" (1/5) 4 "Neon Meate Dream of a Octafish" (1/5) 5 "China Pig" (2/5) 6 "My Human Gets Me Blues" (2/5) 7 "Dali's Car" (instrumental) (1/5) Side three 1 "Hair Pie: Bake 2" (instrumental) (1/5) 2 "Pena" (1/5) 3 "Well" (1/5) 4 "When Big Joan Sets Up" (1/5) 5 "Fallin' Ditch" (1/5) 6 "Sugar'n Spikes" (1/5) 7 "Ant Man Bee" (1/5) Side four 1 "Orange Claw Hammer" (1/5) 2 "Wild Life" (1/5) 3 "She's Too Much for My Mirror" (1/5) 4 "Hobo Chang Ba" (1/5) 5 "The Blimp (Mousetrapreplica)" (1/5) 6 "Steal Softly thru Snow" (1/5) 7 "Old Fart at Play" (1/5) 8 "Veteran's Day Poppy" (1/5) Total - 35 Average - 1.3 368/1001 195/368 albums reviewed were new to me.

Just because you can, doesn't necessarily mean that you should. Also, if an album requires SEVEN LISTENS for you to 'get it', that sounds more reminiscent of being tortured to the point of confessing to something you didn't do.

Overall Rating - 1.41/5 (2.82/10). Whiskey. Tango. Alpha. Foxtrot. Over. Crazy, experimental, and, at times an assault on the ears.

Ik gaf een ander album van ze een 4. Ik weet niet of dat album echt heel anders was dan deze of dat ik een wat rare dag had. Maar dit album komt niet in de buurt van de 4. Gek doen om het gek doen. Moderne kunst die ik niet snap. Polyritmiek die ik niet kan volgen. Willekeurige shit waar ze schijnbaar toch heel lang op geoefend hebben. De reden dat veel muziek lekker aanvoelt is omdat er slim wordt gespeeld met patronen. Als die patronen te ingewikkeld worden of zelfs ontbreken gaat voor mij een groot deel van het plezier verloren. Het is knap, maar ik kan er niks mee. Ik heb dan ook helemaal geen zin om dit van voor naar achter naar deze Zappa-achtige gekheid te gaan luisteren. Eén ster en ik ga vroegtijdig verder naar het volgende album.

To me, *Trout Mask Replica* by Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band is a bit crazy. It’s not an album you can just listen to casually; perhaps you need to hear it several times to grasp the music. But that requires time—something I didn't have yesterday. Sorry, just one star.

I just don’t understand how you even come across this album. Like did this guy just have that deep of music knowledge to know about this shit? Or did he actively listen to this shit and enjoy it? Or is the criteria just throwing shit (this album) at a wall (us) and hoping it sticks? This genuinely has confused me and simultaneously pissed me tf off.

Robert Wyatt, you can rest now; you’ve been dethroned The only thing I can say that’s positive about this album is that it’s not boring and when it wants to, it can sorta kinda throw together some blues pieces (Moonlight on Vermont would be ok if someone else sang it) The rest is just…beyond garbage. Half of the tracks on here I wouldn’t even call music. I hate the almost insistence to play off rhythm and off key to make songs clash with themselves. I hate the vocals that intentionally sound bad to show you “music ain’t all that beautiful”. I hate the subject matter of half of these songs, it really does feel like it was specifically appealing to the fart sniffing “high art” intellectuals who think because it’s challenging it’s automatically good. I hated the snippets of blues, one of my favorite genres, which would immediately transform into disgusting abominations of something that could once be considered good. Also this being a double album made it all the more insulting, as if I didn’t get enough of this garbage. I could go on for hours about how much I didn’t like this album. I think it’s kinda crazy this came out in the 60s, and definitely does stand out as pretty unique, but from a “do I want to listen to this” perspective I think this might be the single worst album we’ve had. I listened to Rock Bottom again and although it sucked it’s so much less painful than some of the other awful records we’ve gotten (Pere Ubu, White Light/White Heat come to mind). This is worse because not only is it mind numbingly awful, but it took a significant portion of my day and wasted it. This is an affront to music as a medium

its like 2 different songs being played over each other at the same time. complete nonsense noise; i just happen to find it amusing at how unapologetically bad it sounds. a loving 1 star

I listened to this full album, just so I could post a sincere 1 rating. This type of music enrages me as it inevitably leads to those who declare it a masterpiece, avant-garde, a piece of art, etc. You need to really listen to it a few times to appreciate the musicianship, they say. No you don't, I say. This is crappy music. This is complicated for the sake of being complicated, it strips all the fun out of music leaving a barely functional purely technical pile of slop. "Oh wow polyrhythms and polytonality, these musicians are so great" no they aren't, shut up, it sounds like garbage and just because you heard someone call this experimental and you want to attach yourself to it because you think it makes you seem complex is ridiculous.