yeah I think that was what he described as well

i prefer the Mirror Man sessions, actually

Thanks I'll check it out.


Edit: Well it certainly fits my description but I don't think that was it.

I'm going for Frank Zappa. My father love his songs and I think he had influenced me.

I've got a feeling it was Bongo Fury. Recently got this album and it's certainly a good one. Guess I missed the fact it was a Zappa/Beefheart collaboration.

How about both, you shouldnt have to pick between these two individuals. Both of these people created genius music!

i don't have that one

mebbe i ought to get a copy myself

I'll have to check out Bongo Fury as well. Normally, I'm not that interested in Live albums, but Roxy & Elsewhere (also live) is one of the finest Zappa albums in existence so when it comes to his discography, I make an exception. :)

Wrong! Beefheart might be one of the most overrated "musicians" of all time. At least zappa was a bad ass guitar player. Beef has nothing.

You know a good deal of Beefheart's songs were originally written for piano, right? And how can you say he has nothing when he's got that awesome voice and chops to use it? He was also a mad harmonica player. You don't have to like him, but come on, Beef has nothing?

That being said Zappa definitely was a rad and more talented player.

Ok, it was a bit of hyperbole based on the tone of the post to which I was responding. I don't feel that strongly about it but it's true, I don't get Beefheart and I think Zappa was way more talented. Apparently I failed the litmus test for my understanding of music.

I guess i'd go for Zappa as a consummate musician and composer - very much in total control of his musical output and way ahead of the pop musical pack. Dan Van Vliet, Beefheart, on the other hand, is a more intuitive performer - a free form surrealist of sound.

They are both worthy of a place in the higher ranks of the musical pantheon.
Favourite album... well "Hot Rats" of course... bringing the two together.

If you think that one's good, you should also check out Bongo Fury. Also here's a version of Orange Claw Hammer with Zappa on guitar.

Zappa, mainly because he did so much more, his music is much more coherent and fluid which I prefer to the crazy, odd time signatures and just overall weirdness of Beefheart. I also think Zappa is more versatile in that he can seamlessly switch between any sound and release some really definitive recordings of that style. I still haven't heard an album quite like Hot Rats, and that's probably the best I've heard from either artist.

For Beefheart, he sort of established his own brand of music more than almost anybody. Whereas Zappa is very conventional in the sense that he always sort of made music in a previously established genre, Beefheart is the exact opposite of that. They're both geniuses, but Beefheart even while being significantly less skilled a musician and less prolific is somehow ironically the more innovative in the music industry.

They were both geniuses, they were both perfectionists, but yeah Zappa's my pick.

Also, didn't notice the last post in this was from 2014 - it was hanging out near the top like someone had just posted in it. My bad if that's a no-no.

I like Zappa a lot but over half of his material is too contrived to handle. Beefheart is a unicorn, he doesn't even have to try.

You fail the test when you go too far in the other direction. Zappa has a lot of excellent stuff, just no filter.

Here's one that everyone seems to forget about