Riding Some Kind Of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On The Arts Of Don Van Vliet (Paperback)

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Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Biography. Art Criticism. For more than seventeen years, Don Van Vliet made music under the name Captain Beefheart. When he walked away from music, he turned to his other art and is now an internationally known and collected abstract painter. RIDING SOME KIND OF UNUSUAL SKULL SLEIGH looks at the phases of Van Vliet's musical career through the lens of the new, ecological theories of mind which were emerging at the time Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band were beginning to record. The result is a unique interpretation of Van Vliet's music and motives -- "Van Vliet as Gaia microcasm" -- which looks at both his genius and the darker side of his Captain Beefheart persona. The author also offers a detailed analysis of Van Vliet's drawings and paintings and suggests that art world acceptance has drastically changed his art -- and perhaps the artist himself.

Product Details

• Paperback: 210 pages
• Publisher: Bamberger Books; 1 edition (October 28, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0917453352
• ISBN-13: 978-0917453359
• Product Dimensions: 8.8 x 5.8 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #499,692 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Critical Essay, January 21, 2002

By	JOHN SPOKUS (BALTIMORE, MARYLAND United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Well I like to read any piece about Don, and I wish more people would get turned onto his musical work; a lot of the painting stuff I can do without.This book is really no revelation if you already are a big fan,but may provide some background for a Beefheart neophyte. It basically quotes Bill Harkleroad's "Lunar Notes" which is recommended over this, and a lot of info comes from the Radar Station website,which you can read for free. Typos are a plenty, and a couple of things strike me as a little misinformed, like his reference to co-writer Herb Bermann on "Safe As Milk" who has pretty well been exposed as a fictitious person created by Don for some type of royalty scam, and I thought that was common knowledge; just read the liner notes for the "Safe As Milk" re-master.Too much of this is opinionated rather than factual.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Definitely not worth whatever they're charging for it, January 29, 2001

By	A. Forrest "aa" (Princeton, NJ USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I was so hugely disappointed in this book i can barely describe it. This was by far one of the worst written and most poorly edited books I have ever read. Bamberger really takes it over the top trying to intellectualize Beefheart's music & paintings. Leaving the reader to say "who cares?". It really just ends up taking away from how great his music & art really is. Left me with a bad taste in my mouth...Definitely not worth the high price.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Trout Mask Original, August 7, 2000

By	Ron Ledford (Flint, MI USA) - See all my reviews

Bamberger is to Beefheart as Sandberg is to Lincoln. This is the primer and reference book for the subject. Bamberger's detailed descriptions and thoughtful insight will give any reader a greater appreciation of this phenomenal artist. If you have listened to "Trout Mask Replica" more than once or are curious about Van Vliet the artist, you must have this book.