Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller)

Frank Zappa’s manager used Zappa’s royalty checks to fund the recording of the original version of Bat Chain Puller in 1976, and, of course, Zappa got pissed off about that and withheld the master tapes from Van Vliet. Lawsuits flew, and the whole matter was settled privately out of court, but what we do know is that Van Vliet had to re-record some of that material two years later, and that re-recording, along with four new songs, is the album in question here. So what does this album sound like? Well, Captain Beefheart, obviously, which means it’s experimental and confident, and somehow it strikes me as simultaneously lazy and urgent. Anyway, this is excellent late-career Beefheart and my favorite of his. Kick your boots off, whistle along, and play your air guitar!