I don't know why but walking from Waterloo to Peabody's office in the sun this morning Captain Beefheart's Ice-Cream for Crow came to mind. Then kind of would not leave. Like most of my musical tastes my affection for the Captain is down to John Peel. This song was my introduction to the great man's work. It was a combination of the wonderful slide guitar (boy I am a sucker for a bit of slacker slide guitar) and the 'he's making up the words as he goes along but of course he isn't' vocal.
What cemented it in my mind was a spread in the NME that followed shortly after, not so much the article but those iconic Anton Crobijn pictures of the band. Stark black and white pictures with Captain Beefheart looking out with eyes that had seen everything. A shamen.
One of those perfect comings together happened in 1990 at the Reading Festival. John Peel was there to introduce The Fall, and to announce his own arrival gave the crowd a salvo Ice-Cream for Crow. Standing in the sun, listening to the Magic Band over the speakers, pinging with anticipation for The Fall was just a beautiful moment.
Most of the full on Beefheart fans rave about Trout Mask Replica but for me that is a work I can more easily admire than love. It's with Ice Cream for Crow that my heart lies.
What cemented it in my mind was a spread in the NME that followed shortly after, not so much the article but those iconic Anton Crobijn pictures of the band. Stark black and white pictures with Captain Beefheart looking out with eyes that had seen everything. A shamen.
One of those perfect comings together happened in 1990 at the Reading Festival. John Peel was there to introduce The Fall, and to announce his own arrival gave the crowd a salvo Ice-Cream for Crow. Standing in the sun, listening to the Magic Band over the speakers, pinging with anticipation for The Fall was just a beautiful moment.
Most of the full on Beefheart fans rave about Trout Mask Replica but for me that is a work I can more easily admire than love. It's with Ice Cream for Crow that my heart lies.
No comments:
Post a Comment