Beefheart: Through The Eyes of Magic by John "Drumbo" French
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
A real good companion to [b:The Real Frank Zappa Book|39671|The Real Frank Zappa Book|Frank Zappa|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1348490571s/39671.jpg|1148404], which is often quoted and amplified on here, this is a thorough examination of Captain Beefheart's life to and through the many incarnations of The Magic Band, as well as the many members. Aside most notably perhaps from Moris Tepper, French got the various members to reflect back in detail on their experiences.
Aside from French's Christianity and voluntary exorcism (he is quite eloquent on these points) and his total lack of rock-n-roll excess (no salacious tell-all, here), probably the most incredible thing here is Don Van Vliet as sociopathic brainwasher treating his Magic Band members to isolation, food deprivation, and effective imprisonment in a textbook mind control experiment. Too much of this book echoed the personality destroying mental torture depicted in [b:Perfect Victim: The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|346994|Perfect Victim The True Story of "The Girl in the Box"|Carla Norton|https://d202m5krfqbpi5.cloudfront.net/books/1388622180s/346994.jpg|337292].
This Kindle edition had a few more typos and layout issues (as w/interview dialog) than a buyer should experience.
The book contains extensive track notes and a section of photographs.
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