I really WANT to like Trout Mask Replica...

the thing about Don Van Vliet that people never seem to grasp is how fucking stiff a human being he really is, despite his apparent charm and his hipness. it's really fucking stiff and dry music, which is what he intended, I guess. I always figured he was juicing up some stuff he wanted to act like he didn't believe in , just like Zappa.

I really think "TMR" and that music is as much French as anyone--he's what makes it all happen. he saw how stiff Don was, really, and being a good Christian he decided to give him his head...

Hmmm, Don doesn't sound still to me on the early singles and Safe as Milk.

or "stiff," rather

In fact, I'm not sure when he does sound stiff. Maybe when he was yelling. Then, his body got rigid? Or that staccato singing on "When Big Joan Sets Up" ("Uh turquoise scarf 'n uh sleeve Rolled up over uh Merc Montclair") - that's kind of herky jerky.

There was certainly a sort of rigidity of purpose about the way Don drilled the TMR band, although he never seems to have applied that level of discipline to himself (and it's certainly not evident in his painting!). To me one of the most extraordinary things about the music is the way it still manages to swing despite the extreme precision involved in the structure - and a great deal of the credit for that must go to Drumbo. Compare Drumbo's style with later Magic Band drummer Robert Williams, who's a great drummer but plays like a robot compared with Drumbo.