bongo fury (1975) –zappa/beefheart mothers: discreet records, ds-2234

History has this neat little quirk where often times there will be several key players in the same field, at the same time, in the same general area. Hector and Achilles, Newton and Leibniz, Gaugin and Van Gogh, Mussolini and Hitler, the Beatles and the Stones, Watson and Crick. You get the idea. For some reason life’s currents seem to bring like-minded people doing the same thing together. Sort of like how convergent evolution sees two different populations independently evolve similar traits in order to adapt to similar environmental situations. The dorsal fin of sharks and porpoises is an example.

So, we really ought not to be surprised that fate would throw both Don Van Vliet and Frank Zappa together in the desert outskirts of Southern California back in the late 50’s. Nor that these two would bond over a shared taste in music and eventually become two of the pillars of experimental rock.

The story of Frank and Don is as old as time itself: two awkward teens bond over a shared affinity for blues and r&b and dream about becoming musicians. Both eventually achieve their goal, but their careers take different trajectories, and they grow apart. Finally, they come together one last time and create something that brings out the best in both, but which also marks the effective end of their friendship.

That’s the very brief, and very superficial story of Bongo Fury, which was recorded during a couple of live performances featuring Zappa and Captain Beefheart (Van Vliet). And to paraphrase an old saying, the candle that burns with two searing flames, burns only half as long.

Side 1: Debra Kadabra Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy Sam With The Showing Scalp Flat Top Poofter’s Froth Wyoming Plans Ahead 200 Years Old
Side 2: Cucamonga Advance Romance Man With The Woman Head Muffin Man

Beefheart first appeared with Zappa on Hot Rats, providing the vocals for Willie the Pimp, but otherwise the two only collaborated behind the scenes, with Zappa acting as producer for some of Beefheart’s stuff. Except, of course, for this album.

There are many stories about how Zappa and Beefheart had their falling out, including tales of friction during the recording of the epic Trout Mask Replica album. However, regardless of why the two grew apart, it’s a sad thing, because this album really showed how good they could be if they ever managed to find a way to get together.

For all of their shared history, common background, and early influence, Zappa and Beefheart’s music was quite different. Beefheart was more beat poetry, while Zappa was more cohesive structure. And this difference is quite evident in Bongo Fury, where the styles are almost as distinctly identifiable with one of the other as water is from air. Debra Kadabra, Sam With The Showing-Scalp Flat Top, and Man With The Woman Head are clearly more Beefheart, while the rest are unequivocally Zappa. Only Poofter's Froth comes off as an actual collaboration.

But that’s really oversimplifying things, because the Zappa-ness of the music is present on the “Beefheart” songs. Even during the jazzy coffee-house music behind the Beefheart spoken word Sam or Man With The Woman Head the music is unmistakably Zappa, down to the trumpet farts and guitar noodling.

In the end, as I was listening this time, I came to feel that as good as Bongo Fury is (and it really is a spectacular album), it suffers from this disjointed quality. The Zappa songs Carolina Hard-Core Ecstasy and 200 Years, show a clear relationship to the more guitar-rock centered stuff found on the albums Over-Nite Sensation and Apostrophe (‘). Advance Romance provides a foreshadowing of the upcoming Zoot Allures, sounding very much like the fraternal twin of The Torture Never Stops. Meanwhile, Muffin Man actually predicts the end of Joe's Garage. Yet, the addition of the Beefheart material – particularly the spoken word interludes – makes the ride just a bit too bumpy. In fact, support for the notion that this album is really a distinct collection of Zappa stuff and Beefheart stuff is given by the anecdotal stories that during the performances, Beefheart would actually be sitting off on the side of the stage, scribbling sketches or smoking during the Zappa-centric songs. Come to think of it, the alleged conflict between the two would go a long way to explaining the awkward cover photo where the two men share a table in obvious discomfort.

But that doesn’t mean the Beefheart addition is bad, or ruins the album. Far from it. One just wonders whether the Beefheart element would have been integrated with more elegance into the Zappa element if the two were on better terms. Because, as both Debra Kadabra and Poofter’s Froth showed, adding a little Beefheart to Zappa (and vice versa) could be sublime.

Up next: Just another band from East LA