Originally Posted by Holerbot6000

Wow - what an interesting pairing of records to have a face-off with. I don't actually see any correlation between the two records that would even warrant a comparison, since they're so radically different. Might be a lack of imagination on my part though.

I wonder how 'Avant Garde' VU&N would have been had John Cale not been in the band. His influence in songs like 'Black Angels Death Song' and 'Venus & Furs' is so prominent. He brought that whole LaMonte Young Avant-Jazz thing into the band and he took it with him when he left. You can hear trappings of Cale's Avant leanings throughout his entire solo career, whereas Lou pretty quickly reverted to the same kind of classic rock&roll sound he was into even before VU. Cale also produced all of Nico's most interesting stuff too. I personally think Lou did his best work with the VU but I think without Cale they might have just been another rock & roll band.

Beefheart/Trout Mask was a whole different animal. I don't possess the tongue to properly sing it's praises. I've been listening to that album for 30 years and it still surprises and delights me. It's like the history of American music fed through a crazy kaleidoscope full of texture and sound and mad interpretation.

For me, VU&N is an essential rock&roll album I will always hold dear and it was obviously very influential, but personally, I think Trout Mask is much more of an important musical statement. Just my two cents though. No offense.

Funny that the guy with the Residents avatar didn't like Trout Mask - didn't Beefheart always complain that they stole their entire sound from 'The Blimp'? I love the early Residents, but I have to say, i think he may have something there...