Captain Beefheart: The Biography [Hardcover]

Mike Barnes (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 4, 2002

The unclassifiable music of Don Van Vliet--alias Captain Beefheart--and his departure from performing in the 80s have mystified fans and followers for years, and kept the rumor mills busy. Mike Barnes' Captain Beefheart: The Biography puts those rumors to rest as it tells the strange but true tale of a musical genius and his otherworldly odyssey from the California desert to stages and studios across the world. Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band arrived in the public consciousness in 1969 with the two-album set Trout Mask Replica, eventually praised by Rolling Stone as one of the best records of all time. Distilling a new audio experience from blues, psychedelic rock, and free jazz, the Captain and his band went on to confound journalists, intrigue reviewers, and amaze listeners with a decade and a half of albums and performances. Yet after recording his final album Ice Cream for Crow in 1982, Beefheart left music to begin a successful career as an internationally exhibited painter. His reluctance to give interviews has only enhanced the Captain Beefheart mystique. For his thoroughly researched biography of Beefheart, journalist Mike Barnes interviewed friends, acolytes, and members of the Magic Band to get the full story of Beefheart's collaborations and conflicts with kindred spirit Frank Zappa, his 're-education' of the members of the Magic Band, and the legal battles that kept the album Bat Chain Puller from ever being released. Barnes' biography illuminates the enigmatic artist, and brings the reader to an understanding of his creative drive. Previously published only in the U. K., the U. S. edition of Captain Beefheart: The Biography contains new material and new photographs.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Captain Beefheart was the musical persona of Don Van Vliet, the avant-garde 1960s and '70s musician (best known for the 1969 hit record Trout Mask Replica) whose inimitable psychedelic rock influenced such diverse groups as the Clash, Pulp and Sonic Youth before he abruptly ended his music career in 1982 to become a painter and notorious recluse. Barnes, a drummer and music journalist, concentrates on Van Vliet's creative life, tracing his unusual career trajectory from his childhood as a local art prodigy to his role in the '60s avant-garde California rock scene and his collaborations with Frank Zappa, Ornette Coleman and a young Ry Cooder. Barnes also includes a cursory discussion of Van Vliet's painting career. The book was written without Van Vliet's cooperation, so Barnes had to rely on previously published statements and secondary sources. He's careful not to take liberties with his subject's inner life, but while this conscientiousness is admirable, it also makes the story rather leaden. Lacking a thesis, Barnes recounts detailed episodes and long lists of events in Van Vliet's life. These give glimpses of an obsessive, paranoid, humorous artist, but never quite bring Van Vliet to life. The book reads like the work of a passionate, well-informed fan, but not necessarily that of an astute biographer. Photos.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

"You combine Truman Capote and Thelonious Monk and put them into rock'n'roll and you get Captain Beefheart." That is fellow musician Gary Marker's fitting description of Don Van Vliet (a.k.a. Captain Beefheart), one of the few truly original figures in pop music history. Under the tutelage of boyhood friend Frank Zappa, Beefheart and the Magic Band created a wholly unique way of composing and playing music. Here, British music writer Barnes reconstructs and explains the Captain's creative process, especially during the making of his masterwork, Trout Mask Replica, deftly balancing insightful critical analysis with biography. Part of the last chapter covers Van Vliet's more lucrative career as a painter (he retired from music in 1982). The book is strengthened by a list of Van Vliet's art exhibitions and an in-depth discography. However, none of the photos shows album covers, which Barnes spends a fair amount of time discussing. A more critical analysis of Van Vliet's art is William Bamberger's Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh (Alap Editions, 1999), and fans will find an insider's account in Lunar Notes (S.A.F., 1998) by former Magic Band member Bill Harkleroad. Recommended for larger pop music collections. Lloyd Jansen, Stockton-San Joaquin Cty.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 408 pages
• Publisher: Cooper Square Press (February 4, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0815411901
• ISBN-13: 978-0815411901
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 6.1 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,740,619 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Tells a story, but Van Vliet remains obscure..., November 6, 2004

By 

ewomack "ewomack" (MN USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

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This review is from: Captain Beefheart: The Biography (Hardcover)

Don Van Vliet (alias "Captain Beefheart") has become one of the most elusive and enigmatic figures in rock history. Strangely, a veritable paucity of information exists on his life and work. Internet webpages and blurbs in CD booklets provide one of the largest current trove of insights. This leaves a large knowledge gap for the curious, and there's plenty to be curious about. His self-abdication as the king of avant-garde rock (or so subsumed by many) to the painterly recluse represents a massive - and intriguing - change for an artist to undertake. Also, he's disappeared. Sightings of and interviews with Van Vliet have gone the way of the dodo bird. Add to that rumors of failing health, and the gossip fountains spurt prodigiously.
Given such a situation, those interested in the life of Van Vliet must embrace the appearance of a new biography (or at least a reissue; this book was originally published in 2000, and, according to the title page, was republished in 2002 with "textual emendations"). Surprisingly, not many biographies of "Captain Beefheart" have made their way into print. Or maybe this shouldn't surprise fans. The lack of material, especially valuable primary source material (in the form of interviews with Van Vliet himself) would daunt the most driven biographer wannabe.
In light of the startling limitations, one has to give Mike Barnes some credit for this undertaking. Unfortunately, the lack of really juicy material shows in this 365 page linear telling of Van Vliet's life. Plenty of dates and amusing and insightful anecdotes appear. And if one wants to know just the basic story behind Captain Beefheart and His/The Magic Band and his subsequent (or continuous) morphing into Don Van Vliet the painter, then dig in. Unfortunately, what one won't find is depth. Don Van Vliet the man and his methodologies remain in relative obscurity by the book's end. True, what happened to him gets a fair outline, but not much else. The book generally feels like a compilation of magazine, audio, and television interviews with sequeways filled in by the author. Consequently, anyone who has undertaken a study of Van Vliet will find much of the material familiar. Don't expect any earth shattering surprises.
Other flaws not related directly to lack of information also exist. The author's abrupt transitions to the first person are jarring. This happens only a few times, but when it does, the flow suffers. Placing these personal reflections into footnotes or endnotes would preserve the narrative flow (particularily the author's recollections of trying to get an interview with Van Vliet; they're very interesting but would have fit better in an epilogue or an appendix; they also come off like an apology for the lack of material). In addition, typos dot the text frequently enough to further strain the flow.
The photograph section presents another puzzle. The book covers all of Van Vliet's life (up to around 2001), but the photos only cover the years 1980 - 1982. Maybe permissions for photos were difficult to obtain? The included photos are great, but they beg the question as to why only an extremely small part of Van Vliet's life made it into this section.
Not only that, the book does not include an index, so returning to specific passages becomes tedious. Of course indexers cost money, so dropping the index probably helped the book get into print. Still, it makes the book less useful as a reference.
On a lighter note, one of the most amusing anecdotes related by Barnes is Van Vliet's run-in with Bono of U2. Following an offer made by Bono to tour with U2 and collaborate, Van Vliet supposedly kept asking his friends "Who's this Bongo?"
Lastly, the multifarious members of various Magic Bands get airtime here. Some of them feel cheated. Others feel fortunate. Some even feel cheated and fortunate. Many of their stories clash with Van Vliet's own version. In the end, what exactly happened is difficult to reconstruct.
Overall the book reads quickly and tells the story of Van Vliet. Those who have no prior knowledge of Captain Beefheart apart from the music will learn a great deal. Longtime fans will probably not learn too much. Barnes is obviously a big fan, and his enthusiasm shows. Nonetheless, the book contains flaws, but not insurmountable ones. Perhaps this book will lay the groundwork for a more detailed study in the future. Or at the very least get Van Vliet's music some more well-deserved press.

11 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent bio of a great musician, February 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: Captain Beefheart: The Biography (Hardcover)

Beefheart's music remains one of the few experiences that has successfully remained as exciting today as when I first encountered it in 1969. There is nothing like his music, nothing like his voice, nothing like the Magic Band.

Mike Barnes' book is an excellent introduction to the man, his music, and his times. For those who don't know his music, it will intrigue you enough to get an album or two, if not all of them (start with Trout Mask Replica, his greatest, and don't listen to anyone who says it's the least accessible: great music will always find a way into a receptive ear). And for those of us who love his music, Barnes' book will get us to drag out those lp's/cd's once again and listen to that glorious, joyous, extraordinary music.

Highly reccommended reading.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A Fair Biography of a Great Artist, December 20, 2002

By 

Riley (Highland, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Captain Beefheart: The Biography (Hardcover)

Thorough and informative, but unfortunately Mike Barnes is only a mediocre writer. This is a must have for fans and, for that matter, anyone interested in the milestones of American music. But prepare yourself for a less-than-satisfying literary experience.