Pork
Chop Blue Around The Rind
by Fast 'n' Bulbous
Cuneiform Records, 2005
CD, Rune 205, $13
Distributor’s website: http://cuneiformrecords.com/index.shtml.
Reviewed by René van Peer
Bachlaan 786, 5011 BS Tilburg, The Netherlands
r.vanpeer@wxs.nl
It was somehow always taken for granted
that Frank Zappa's music deserves a place
in the concert hall, regardless whether
it's performances of classical ensembles
or covers played by former Mothers or
other rock groups. With a few exceptions
the music of his erstwhile companion Captain
Beefheart was hardly considered fit for
that, probably because it was regarded
as too idiosyncratic; and probably also
because his music is often seen as something
that perhaps should be revered and referred
to, but preferably not listened to.
But whereas several renditions of Zappa's
compositions are as dispirited as they
are serious, a rowdy bunch of musicians
has jumped on a collection of Beefheart
pieces with exhilarating gusto. They call
themselves Fast 'n' Bulbous after a snippet
of monologue on the Captain's milestone
Trout Mask Replica album ("A squid
eating dough in a polyethylene bag is
fast and bulbous. Got me?"). The motivator
driving this group is saxophone player
Phillip Johnston. Taking on board guitarist
Gary Lucas, who played on the last two
albums Beefheart recorded and resurrected
the Magic Band around the time when Fast
'n' Bulbous was launched, Johnston selected
and arranged the material, drawing on
the entire span of Beefheart's career,
with the exception of the disastrously
uncharacteristic Bluejeans and Moonbeams
and Unconditionally Guaranteed.
A considerable number of pieces even hail
from Trout Mask Replica, which
had always been regarded as impenetrable,
and unplayable.
In translation the music has lost nothing
of its spike and edge. The four-piece
winds section does, however, add meat
to the bone and place Beefheart into a
very jazzy, and therefore traditionally
American, context. The lusciously dense
brush of sound is a very convincing natural
habitat for this music. In their renderings
they have achieved two contrasting basic
aims: They have remained true to the visceral,
swelteringly swampy spirit of the original
(being a desert man the Captain used to
have a delta and bayou sound) and make
it rock and sweat; but they also have
the vision and courage to break free from
it, and wander off into inspired solos.
There are several eye-openers on this
album, which will make you listen to the
original versions with fresh ears. This
is especially true for the tracks that
were taken from the seminal Trout Mask
Replica, but one of the biggest surprises
for me is Kandy Korn. As on the
other tracks Beefheart's vocals are given
to the winds. In the second part Lucas
only plays the chords, whipping up the
piece like a roaring engine with the help
of drummer Richard Dworkin and bassist
Jesse Krakow. The winds play the lines
of the original guitar duo, merging them
with the vocal lines. Then, at one point,
they become a double choir, bouncing the
melody back and forth between them; and
suddenly, as if a veil is ripped aside,
you look into a more distant source––the
call and response of work songs in the
fields of the American South.
Fast 'n' Bulbous play as if they actually
tapped into the throbbing vein from which
Beefheart's music flowed. Beefheart aficionados
who think they cannot do without his voice
should play his albums. Being a fan of
his music I am delighted that his songs
can live on more than 20 years after he
ended his musical career. And, mind you,
this is just a selection. The band could
easily have made other choices and put
together an album with the same energy
and brilliance. One can only hope that
they will. Hearing this live should be
a thrilling experience.
