The first two are more actively maintained than the third.
AllMusic Guide (AMG), a resource I use frequently, has a Beefheart bio & discography.
In addition to the newsgroup <news:alt.fan.capt-beefheart> there's also a Beefheart mailing-list, Fire Party with an archive. Its members are profiled at Benjamin Horrendous' Fire Party People.
Steal Softly thru Snow is a British Beefheart (print) fanzine.
Don Van Vliet, Skeleton Breath, Scorpion Blush,
Verlag Gachnang & Springer, 1987, 96pp, ISBN 3-906127-15-X.
"A beautiful book featuring 16 of Don's paintings and 16 of his lyrics or
poems."
Recommended
Search for this out-of-print book at
AddALL or
BookFinder.
W.C. Bamberger, Riding Some Kind of Unusual Skull Sleigh: On the
Arts of Don Van Vliet, Alap Editions, 28 Oct 1999, ISBN 0-917453-35-2.
$17.00 Amazon
Reviews
Bill Harkleroad with Billy
James, Lunar Notes: Zoot Horn Rollo's Captain Beefheart
Experience, SAF Publishing Ltd, Nov 1998, ISBN 0-946719-21-7.
$11.49 AllDirect
$12.56 Amazon
Reviews
Harkleroad is something of a whiner and his book, although providing the interesting perspective of a TMR-era Magic Band member, is considerably less insightful--and less well edited--than Bamberger's book, which I recommend.
Even better is
Mike Barnes' biography, Captain Beefheart, Quartet
Books, London, Jul 2000, 396pp, ISBN 0-7043-8073-0 (pb).
£11.20 Amazon.co.uk
Barnes' book was finally published in the US in Feb/Mar 2002 as
Captain Beefheart: The Biography,
Cooper Square Press, Feb
2002, 416pp, ISBN 0-8154-1190-1 (hc). Compared to the paperback UK
edition, the US dust-jacketed hardcover has "36 textual emendations" and a
six-page photo insert.
$16.17 AllDirect
$18.86 Amazon
Info & reviews
Kurt Loder, Bat Chain Puller: Rock & Roll in the Age of
Celebrity, St. Martin's Press, 1990, xx+377pp, ISBN 0-312-04588-3.
This is an anthology of Loder's Rolling Stone pieces, with
two relevant chapters (and three about FZ, the first of which, Chapter 10,
also mentions DVV).
Colin David Webb, Captain Beefheart: The Man & His Music,
Katawba Press, 1st ed. 1987; 2nd ed. 1989, ISBN 0-906110-61-0.
Recommended
John Muir (ed.), The Lives And Times Of Captain Beefheart 2nd ed.,
Babylon Books, ISBN 0-907188-03-6.
Recommended
Ben Cruikshank, Fast & Bulbous: The Captain Beefheart Story,
Agenda, Jul 1996, 86pp, ISBN 1-899882-25-1.
Not recommended
Ken Brooks, Captain Beefheart Tin Teardrop,
Agenda, 2000, ISBN 1-899882-11-1.
£7.99 Amazon.co.uk
Not recommended
John French, AKA Drumbo, a Magic Band alum, reportedly is writing a book with working title Beefheart: Through The Eyes Of Magic.
The Fire Party mailing-list polled its subscribers a while back and arrived at this ranking of the merits of the 12 original Captain Beefheart albums:
My own list is approximately this, with the second column showing the Fire Party ranking:
Here is a coarser, but more stable, version of my ranking:
Prices & availability as of Fri 1 Mar 2002 06:10 UTC.
Key: $=USD; £=GBP=UKP; B/O=Back-ordered; O/S=Out-of-Stock; SpO=Special Order; wks=weeks, hrs=hours; AMG=AllMusic Guide; El=Electricity; HPR=Home Page Replica; RS=Radar Station.
Disclaimer: Caveat emptor!
Safe as Milk (1967) [Remastered+Bonus Tracks]
BMG/Buddah 99605 [1 Jun 1999]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Safe As Milk [06/01/1999]
Mirror Man Sessions (1967-8) [Remastered+Bonus Tracks]
BMG/Buddah 99606 [1 Jun 1999]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: The Mirror Man Sessions [06/01/1999]
Strictly Personal (1968)
EMI/Liberty 7243 8 29654 2 8; PID 358072 [Import; 16 Dec 1997]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Strictly Personal [12/16/1997]
PriceSCAN: Strictly Personal [n/a]
Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Warner/Reprise 2027-2 [14 Mar 1989]
TMR detailed track listing, Jasper Leach
Three Decades inside the Mask, Byron Coley
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Trout Mask Replica [03/14/1989]
Lick My Decals Off, Baby (1970)
WB 3755 [Japanese import]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Lick My Decals Off, Baby [11/05/1991]
The Spotlight Kid (1971) / Clear Spot (1972) [2-on-1]
Warner/Reprise 9 26249-2 [27 Nov 1990]
Info/Reviews: HPR [TSK]
| HPR [CS]
| El [TSK]
| El [CS]
| RS [TSK]
| RS [CS]
| AMG [TSK]
| AMG [CS]
| AMG [TSK/CS]
PriceSCAN: The Spotlight Kid/Clear Spot [11/27/1990]
Unconditionally Guaranteed (1974)
Virgin CDV 2014; MSI 38521 [16 May 2000]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Unconditionally Guaranteed [05/08/1990]
Bluejeans & Moonbeams (1974)
Virgin CDV 2023 [12 Jan 2000]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Bluejeans & Moonbeams [05/08/1990]
Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) (1976/8)
Virgin CDV2149; RER 3756 [German import: 11 Jan 1996]; MSI 3756 [Import: 16 May 2000]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Shiny Beast [11/05/1991]
Doc at the Radar Station (1980)
Virgin/Caroline 1824-2 [18 Mar 1992]; Virgin 307600 [German import: 15 Jul 1999]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Doc At The Radar Station [03/10/1992]
Ice Cream for Crow (1982)
Virgin/Caroline 1632-2 [23 Apr 1990]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Ice Cream For Crow [05/08/1990]
In Aug 1999, Rhino Records released an excellent 2-CD retrospective of CB's entire 1966--1982 recording career entitled Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band: The Dust Blows Forward (An Anthology). It's really very good and includes a couple of rarities.
The Dust Blows Forward (An Anthology)
Rhino R2 75863 [2-CD; 3 Aug 1999]
Info/Reviews: El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: The Dust Blows Forward [08/17/1999]
In Jun 1999, John Fahey's Revenant Records released the 5-CD Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band: Grow Fins: Rarities [1965-1982]. It's primarily of historical and contextual interest and is for hard-core fans.
Grow Fins: Rarities [1965-1982]
Revenant 210 [5-CD; 22 Jun 1999]
Info/Reviews: El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Grow Fins: Rarities 1965-82 [05/18/1999]
Legendary A & M Sessions (1965)
Edsel BLIMPCD902; MSI 3758 [16 May 2000]
Info/Reviews: HPR
| El
| RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: The Legendary A&M Sessions [11/10/1998]
I'm Going To Do What I Wanna Do: Live At My Father's Place 1978
Rhino Handmade RHM2 7741: Limited Edition of 5,000 Copies; 2-CDs w/ 12-pg booklet
Info/Reviews: RS
| HPR
| El
| El
| AMG
Mersey Trout Live 1980
Ozit 4003 [16 Nov 2000]
Info/Reviews: RS
| El
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Mersey Trout Live 1980 [08/01/2000]
Pearls before Swine [120-pg booklet + MiniCD]
Info/Reviews: El
Frank Zappa: Hot Rats (1969)
Rykodisc RCD 10508 [28 Apr 1995]
Info/Reviews: RS
| HPR
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Hot Rats [05/02/1995]
Zappa/Beefheart/Mothers of Invention: Bongo Fury (1975)
Rykodisc RCD 10522 [28 Apr 1995]
Info/Reviews: RS
| HPR
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Bongo Fury [05/02/1995]
Frank Zappa: The Lost Episodes (1958-1979) [w/ 52-pg booklet]
Rykodisc RCD 40573 [27 Feb 1996]
Info/Reviews: RS
| HPR
| AMG
PriceSCAN: The Lost Episodes [02/27/1996]
Frank Zappa: Mystery Disc (1962-1969, 1972) [w/ 32-pg booklet]
Rykodisc RCD 10580 [14 Sep 1998] [77:44]
Info/Reviews: RS
| El
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Mystery Disc [09/15/1998]
Frank Zappa: Cheap Thrills (28 Apr 1998)
Rykodisc RCD 10579 [28 Apr 1998] [49:51]
Info/Reviews: AMG
PriceSCAN: Cheap Thrills [04/28/1998]
Frank Zappa: Zoot Allures (29 Oct 1976)
Rykodisc RCD 10523 [28 Apr 1995] [41:32]
Info/Reviews: AMG
| RS
PriceSCAN: Zoot Allures [05/02/1995]
Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention: One Size Fits All (25 Jun 1975)
Rykodisc RCD 10521 [28 Apr 1995] [42:52]
Info/Reviews: AMG
| RS
PriceSCAN: One Size Fits All [05/02/1995]
Mallard was formed in 1975 by Magic Band alums Mark Boston (Rockette Morton), Bill Harkleroad (Zoot Horn Rollo), and Art Tripp (Ed Marimba). The group lasted only a couple of years and released just two albums, Mallard and In a Different Climate.
Mallard:
Mallard (1975) / In a Different Climate (1977) [2-on-1]
Virgin CDOVD 442
Info/Reviews: HPR
| HPR
| RS
| AMG [M]
| AMG [IaDC]
| AMG [M/IaDC]
PriceSCAN: Mallard/In A Different Climate [04/07/1994]
Guitarist Gary Lucas is an alum of the latter-days Magic Band who went on to a solo career.
Gary Lucas:
Improve The Shining Hour
Knitting Factory Works 265 [28 Mar 2000]
Info/Reviews: AMG
| RS
PriceSCAN: Improve The Shining Hour [03/28/2000]
A very good CD:
Meridian Arts Ensemble:
Prime Meridian (Music of Zappa, Beefheart, Babbitt, Stravinsky, et al.)
Channel Crossings
CCS 8195 [15 Aug 1995] [70:25]
Info/Reviews: RS
| AMG
PriceSCAN: Prime Meridian / Meridian Arts Ensemble [08/1995]
Patrick Neve's Splat's Zappa Page has more about the Meridian Arts Ensemble.