Trout Mask Replica

An extraordinarily strange and even harsh critics’ favourite. For its unique and uncompromising Anne garde approach it deserves a couple of stars, but nothing more.

A deconstructed psychedelic cabaret from a wild showman having a demented trip - it's annoying on purpose, disjointed, choatic, dissonant, lo-fi, funny and full of life. Settles into some surprisingly deep grooves to jam out, but they succumb to the centripital forces pulling it all apart.

Every now and then there would be something I found enjoyable, but most of it not so much.

yeah great that

Favorite track(s): Frownland, Dachau Blues, Ella Guru, Moonlight on Vermont, Pachuco Cadaver, China Pig, Sugar 'n Spikes, Veteran's Day Poppy

Heard before
Previous rating: 9/10

Yes, I'm one of those people. Sue me.

The Good: It’s a trap!!!!
The Bad: It’s a trap!!!
The Ugly: Okay, so the Star Wars character has a catfish mask, not a trout… still… It’s a trap!

What a total mindfuck this music is. I am constantly thinking about them Canadian freaks Angine de Poitrine.

Microtonal, Dissonance… a general disregard of anything mainstream… it is interesting to say the least, but I am uncertain if roughly 80 minutes is a of the o-kay.

I will want to listen to this again though, as I am certain there is going to be a time when this is exactly what I need… potentially on a long haul flight, this is perfect to keep the brain going.

4* even if I don’t like trout!!!

Vamos allá. Llevo tanto tiempo sabiendo que llegaría este momento que no creo que esté a la altura de las expectativas (bajas) que tengo. Solo lo he encontrado en una lista de usuario de YouTube Music. Al final no ha sido para tanto. NO creo que lo vuelva a escuchar y no guardé nada, pero en mi vida creo que he escuchado cosas peores en especial alguna de esta lista de 1001 discos.

I'm displeased to learn there is another Captain Beefheart album on this list.

Double Album.
79 minutes.
FML

I take issue with the idea that challenging music needs to be torturous, both to create and to consume. There's this fucked up notion that Captain Beefheart was a misunderstood genius because he made an impenetrable record that requires 7 listens to "get" and did it by physically and emotionally abusing his band. Fuck that. No art is worth that kind of torment. There is clear talent within this group, and Captain Beefheart himself—it's not easy to make music that sucks this hard. But there are all these assholes who romanticize the REAL suffering of the band, and have decided to suffer alongside them to enjoy art that they are uniquely troubled enough to understand. It's stupid and self-centered.

choices

More Moonlight on Vermont, less Hair Pie. Genuinely struggled to finish this, but there's worse on this list. Like Kid Rock. Fuck 'im.

Yes, this is Beefheart's masterpiece, it's one of the greatest experimental expressions of the sixties, & a touchstone for any & all of us who opt for a history of blues music vis-a-vis a turning-inside-out of that genre. I love Led Zeppelin, I really do, but this puts to shame the notion that they were 'blues historians,' that they took the blues & put their own spin on it. THIS is the blues so finely tuned that it's got no choice but to be different, to be a big slice of strangeness, to be 'avant-garde.' It's also a free jazz record, w/ all the energy, electricity & humor of Ornette Coleman, Archie Shepp, or Joe Harriott. 'A squid eating dough in a polyethylene bag is fast & bulbous. Got me?' You goddamn right I listen to this unironically. It's fucking great.

A record for contrarians. And reader, I'm one of them. I can find beauty in noise, distortion, some dissonance...and yes this.

The artwork kinda makes me sick.

Also, only Hair Pie: Bake 1 is on Spotify and it's discordantly unfun. I will not be seeking out the rest of this album.

I get it's a commentary on the mainstream, highly polished pop and rock music norms of the 1960s. I also get that it deconstructs the traditional conventions of blues, rock, and pop. I know that it has an anti-commercial statement.

I don't care that John Peel and Lester Bangs think that this album is incredible. I don't and that's all that counts when it really comes down to it.

I bought this years ago because someone told me it was “good”. I can’t remember who I need to “thank”. I understand that this album polarizes people. Personally, I think the issue is where I may mutter “keep to a time signature, you gits”, others will say “ahh polyrhythm” and while I may complain about whether this can actually be called music due to no good tunes, others may happily wax lyrical about polytonality. It worries me that the hype for this album is at such a high level that it reminds me of the old tale of the emperor’s new clothes. Is it good? or is that people think because it is challenging it must be arty? It has even been compared as eclectic as walking Christmas trees and, like this album, that is not something I need thanks.

Jeg tror Safe As Milk og Unconditionally Guaranteed er mer mine kopper med te.

Trout Mask Replica ga meg nesten ingenting. Likte ikke alle skitsene, og låtene i mellom switcha mellom å være kjip blues og litt offbeat jazza opplegg som høres ut som en parodi på pretensiøs eksperimentering.

Jeg sjekket tiden flere ganger underveis, og det var ikke for å notere meg låtene slik at jeg kunne huske dem til senere.

Phew, that was exhausting. After a lot of effort, I managed to listen to parts of the album. This is exactly the kind of experimental music that I don't understand and that really gets on my nerves. I'm not a musicologist and I don't want to become one. Maybe it's brilliant stuff. I don't enjoy it. I definitely won't be listening to it again. 1/5

There were some absolutely horrible songs. There were some great songs. But it kept me engaged... and difficult one to judge so I'll give it a 3.

As someone who enjoys so much of what this influenced, it's a challenging listen to say the least. Does that mean it should have a "classic" rating? It's the classic album to point to if someone claims they "listen to everything" and you want to put that to the test, sure. But does it need to be in the same conversation as some of the best music ever made? I'm not sure I believe that to be true.

Pretty chaotic, but unique and interesting for it's time.