Jeff Cotton - From Captain Beefheart to Hawaiian sunsets
interview by
Francesco Nunziata
For those who have always had a soft spot for the most oblique and adventurous music, the name Jeff Cotton shouldn't sound like a mystery. Known at the court of Don Van Vliet/Captain Beefheart by the nickname Antennae Jimmy Semens, the Californian guitarist entered legend above all for having played on “Trout Mask Replica”, one of the most important and influential albums in rock history. Having left behind the fundamental yet exhausting experience with the Captain, Cotton would go on to play, alongside his friend Merrell Fankhauser, in the little-known but fascinating MU, before retiring to private life on a Hawaiian island, where he continues to take care of his guitar.
What follows is the result of a very long long-distance conversation with the good Jeff, who for the first time opens up to an Italian-speaking interviewer.
Hi, Jeff! It's a pleasure to have you here with us! To start, can you tell us what kind of musical background you had?
I was about seven years old when I started singing in harmony with my mother and a friend of hers. My mother had been an entertainer and singer in her early years in Alaska. She had her own weekly radio show and loved every chance she got to sing. I think I was in fourth grade when I was given a little Flutophone, one of those small plastic instruments. Within a few months, I was ready for a real instrument. My grandmother, who I consider my angel for many reasons, bought me a professional wooden Leblanc clarinet, and I played it throughout my twelfth year at school. That's how I started reading music. Then, for my thirteenth birthday, my parents gave me a KAY acoustic archtop guitar. It had been sitting in the attic of my mother's singer friend, and from that day on, I took off! I took four guitar lessons, but then I realized I could teach myself. I learned the lead and rhythm guitar parts from the Ventures' "Walk Don't Run", who were my favorite band at the time. At fourteen, though, I was still playing clarinet in the Antelope Valley High School orchestra. I was also active in the a cappella choir and took every music class available. It was at Antelope Valley High School that I met John French. Then I ran into Mark Boston and Bill Harkleroad, who attended other schools. The four of us played together in Blues In A Bottle, before becoming the band behind "Trout Mask Replica", obviously with the addition of Don Vliet, the Captain himself.
"Well, they sure don't make cars like they used to! Real metal.
This is me just before the terrible twos"
Who were your first musical heroes?
The Beatles were a huge inspiration, and in 1964, with the Exiles, after releasing our first record, we played their songs to a packed hall, wearing wigs and outfits very similar to theirs. That first record of ours reached number 9 on the Valley chart. Then I formed the Intruders and, later, the Allusions, and we often played during lunch breaks in the cafeteria. They'd set up a stage for us and would even ask us to play occasionally at the Gymnasium for Assemblies. I have to say, to some extent, I was drawn to instrumental music. Then there were the Shadows from the UK. And the 13th Floor Elevators, who were way ahead of their time, with spiritually oriented songs. I used to listen to their LP at half speed. I also loved Jimmy Reed and his band, who were my first real introduction to blues. The way he played harmonica in the upper register was fantastic, and the music seemed to float, almost weightless.
What kind of family and social environment did you grow up in? What kind of kid were you?
I was a shy, quiet, sensitive kid. My father was the assistant manager of the Porterville airport in central California, so I spent a few years living at the airport, flying with my parents in our various small planes, and sometimes I'd go up with other pilots. My parents were quiet, open-minded people, and, for the most part, I was basically free to choose my own activities. I caught the model airplane bug and designed and built all kinds of planes. The airport covered a square mile, so I had plenty of room to spread my wings.
Before joining Captain Beefheart's Magic Band, you played both in Merrell and The Exiles, a band led by Merrell Fankhauser, and in Blues In A Bottle, as you already mentioned. What kind of guy was Merrell?
I met Merrell Fankhauser when my father and his father started talking one day at the Lancaster, California airport, in the Mojave Desert. When they found out we were both guitarists, they pushed us to play together. And our first session was so much fun that we decided to form the Exiles. I had only been playing for about a year, while Merrell already had several years of experience, so he brought me up to speed by teaching me the first songs. We played Ventures and Beatles tunes, because we had exceptional vocal harmony. We could also play doo wop. Merrell was much older than me, as was Don Vliet. In fact, the two of them were the same age.
Blues In A Bottle (1966)
When and how did you meet Don, the future Captain Beefheart? What was your first impression of him?
Back then there was a venue called Exposition Hall, and most bands, local or otherwise, would play there. I played there with Blues In A Bottle, and sometimes they'd hold a "Battle of the Bands", a contest between bands. Obviously, we were all fascinated by Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band, who were older musicians, dealing with Delta blues rather than the common City blues. I particularly liked their stage props, like a blender on stage, grinding air into nothing during the performance. We usually always lost against them, but on one occasion we ended up blowing them away! After one set, Don came up to me and said: "Hey man, you were really good!". When Don was in a room with you, you could feel a presence that was remarkably different, almost alien or foreign.
Your first recordings with Beefheart were those for "Mirror Man", with Alex St. Clair Snouffer on the other electric guitar. What kind of relationship did you have with him?
Unlike “Trout Mask Replica,” most of the ideas on those tracks were communicated verbally, and we worked them out from there. And of course, that album left a lot of room for improvisation, or jamming. I don't know if you've heard this story… but before we left the Band-house for the sessions, Don told his girlfriend Laurie to spike my tea and John French's with LSD. I remember, as I approached the big doors that opened onto the TTG Studios in Hollywood, those same doors suddenly seemed to me to be almost five meters tall and made of rubber. What a moment! I have to say it was an exhilarating experience, even if unexpected, for both John and me. I still have a vivid memory of kneeling in front of my amplifier while we were improvising “Korn Ring Finger,” which I really liked at the time. As for Alex St. Clair Snouffer, who was actually the founder of the Magic Band, having him as a bandmate was fantastic. Alex was a patient, no-frills person: a friend. I was sorry to see both him and our bassist Jerry Handley leave.
What do you remember, instead, about the “Strictly Personal” period?
“Strictly Personal” was kind of a continuation of “Mirror Man,” but the music was arranged in a tighter way, with a lot less jamming, and it's by far my favorite of the two albums. I even liked the psychedelic “chop chop” that our producer Bob Krasnow used without our permission.
How did you relate, at the time, to the news coming out of Vietnam? If I remember correctly, you yourself ran the risk of being drafted...
I had only recently joined the Magic Band when I received the summons from the draft board for enlistment in the army. Now, you can imagine I wanted nothing to do with it! Aside from the unique opportunity to play in the Magic Band, what bothered me was that I would go to a foreign country and take the lives of innocent men, women and children to satisfy these “armchair warriors” who had infiltrated the US military at the time. I was aware of their plans. But to make a long story short, with the band's help, we managed to get me out of the draft. The guys painted my nails, gave me hashish, speed, strong liquor and, dressed in a scandalous way (compared to what was going on back in 1967), I was promptly taken to LA County General Hospital. They left me there, and I noticed there were a hundred steps or more; maybe even two hundred! Just as I was starting to climb them, I saw two orderlies in white coats at the top. Now, since I love theatrics, I faked a deranged frenzy, waving my arms in the air and ending up falling on the steps. They grabbed me and gave me an injection of Thorazine, and after that I don't remember anything. When I came to, I was already in the living room of the Trout House. I then went to weekly outpatient visits at the Camarillo psychiatric facility and enjoyed the experience. I would sit in front of the psychologist and say things like “a fly just buzzed around you and landed on your back, on your shirt.” It was a bit like “seeing through the eye of a fly.” After a few months I found myself at the Los Angeles induction center, where I started repeating that I had taken LSD “a good thirty-two times.” In the end, I received a letter from the draft board telling me I had been exempted with a 2Y classification, the same as a student deferment.
What do you remember about the 1968 UK tour? And about your appearance at the International European Pop Festival, which was held in Rome in May of that same year?
If I'm not mistaken, the lineup was made up of Don, Jerry Handley, Alex St. Clair, John French and me. For that tour, I remember landing at Heathrow airport, being stopped at customs, arrested and taken down some stairs into a holding cell, for several reasons I believe. First of all, our clothing was “different.” I was wearing a thick leather World War II pilot's coat. I don't remember if I was wearing the yellow plastic construction helmet or the chimney-sweep hat. Maybe the sunglasses, with two little six-shooter pistols pointed at each other along the top rim. I'm sure they thought we were carrying drugs or something like that. Secondly, our manager, Bob Krasnow, didn't have our work permits when we landed. So, a few hours later they decided to deport us to Denmark. The next day, we were allowed into the UK. What I heard at the time was that Brian Epstein, being politically influential, had pulled some strings. And the International Pop Festival was a blast! Everyone was kind and super-friendly, super-high and pretty out of their minds. I remember it took them a while to figure out how to turn the lights on. But it was very exciting. And seeing ourselves on the European news, once we got back to our hotel room, was really something. If I'm not mistaken, there was an audience of around 17 million people on the news channels at the time. And that was the concert where the strap on my guitar broke. So, I quickly but gently knelt down until I touched the floor, before starting to play again. I have to say the most beautiful country I've ever seen, after having been to various parts of Europe, was Italy. Amazing!
And now we come to the era of “Trout Mask Replica.” What did you think when Beefheart told you that you were going to live in what I like to call the “Trout House”?
It was right on the road that led to our previous house on Golondrina Ave. Not far away at all. We went to see it and we liked it. I especially liked it because it had a decent amount of land. You probably already know there was a giant eucalyptus tree right next to the house, and Don, being paranoid, eventually had a “Tree Doctor” come out to assess the situation. He didn't want it falling on him! We had plenty of space, plenty of tall bushes and, as you can see on the back cover of “Trout Mask Replica,” a little bridge over a little stream. Bill and I often went out into the brush and rehearsed our parts individually, and sometimes we'd play passages together.
Apparently, there was a sinister atmosphere in that house...
I was told many times by people who visited us at that house that the atmosphere was so thick you could almost cut it like butter. That was due to Don's presence, but largely to the huge amount of mental energy and concentration from the four of us musicians. Don showed up very rarely, and he certainly never rehearsed with us.
The “Trout House,” at 4295 Ensenada Drive, in a photo from a few years ago
What did you do when you weren't busy rehearsing?
I spent more hours with Don as a scribe than as a musician rehearsing with the band. Many mornings, after spending the whole night writing lyrics and reciting them to Don, I'd hear Bill and Mark tuning their instruments, while John fiddled with his drums ahead of rehearsal. I spent a lot of time not only learning the various parts, but also rehearsing them with the guys, all while in a kind of virtual dream state.
Don loved giving nicknames to all the musicians who played with him. In your case, he chose Antennae Jimmy Semens…
He'd found out I had a hole in my head, on the right side, from which seeds would occasionally sprout. I wanted the hole to be threaded so they could fit an antenna in it. So I think Don equated the seeds with sperm, and there you have Antennae Jimmy Semens.
Even today, many people talk about Trout Mask Replica as an album marked by a good deal of improvisation. In reality, I know that every single note was memorized by the band, because Beefheart cared a great deal about making sure his musical “vision” wasn't altered.
It's true that Don didn't want his vision altered, yet he really had no idea how to structure the parts he came up with, because his vision was only partial. So John French volunteered and did a great job, and I thank him for it, because I never would have. I was very happy with the lyrics, because I really understood what Don was saying.
What exactly?
Amid so many comic-book images, a sort of acid comic strip. Don tackled the real problems of life. The environment, man's inhumanity to man…
In that house, there were also episodes of violence. In short, Don, when necessary, knew how to impose his leadership by force as well…
Most of the violence was mental, emotional and psychological. The methods Don used were in some way drawn from a book that had been given to him personally by Charles Manson. And you know Manson used acid on his followers. I know for certain that both John French and I were given small doses without our knowledge…
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band at the time of the Trout House
(Jeff Cotton is first from the right)
Frank Zappa originally wanted to make Trout Mask Replica as a kind of “anthropological field recording”, using his sound engineer, Dick Kunc…
It was Frank's idea. Something like: “Let's see if we can make this album on a limited budget”. At that point, all that was left to do was go into the recording studio for the vocal overdubs.
The album was produced by Zappa himself, but from what I understand he didn't do much, aside from drinking coffee, smoking and offering a bit of advice…
As you probably already know, we were so well rehearsed that most of the songs were recorded in a single take, though a few required several. Frank was completely stunned! And you're right: Frank didn't do much, because there wasn't much for him to do. If you remember “Ella Guru”, at one point you can hear me say “hello Moon, hello Moon”. Frank was standing there watching us play, holding his daughter Moon Unit in his arms, who was about a year old at the time, so I said “hello” through the control room glass. Anyway, if Frank had given us decent amplifiers, Trout Mask Replica would have been even better.
Tell us more!
I felt lucky to even have an amplifier, because we were extremely poor and had to make do. The album could have been so much better if we'd had quality equipment, including our guitars. I could have taken the Gibson hollow body I played on "Trout Mask Replica", held the neck with one hand, pushed on the body of the guitar, and bent it out of tune by more than half a step! A musician needs to spend time with his gear, experimenting to find the best sounds, as well as the right amount of sustain, and so on. We walked into the studio "cold", plugged in amplifiers we'd never used before, and after about fifteen minutes we started cranking out the album!
What kind of person was Frank Zappa? How did he treat you?
Frank was very professional, very focused, and I think he was a good guy. We played at his place in the Canyon and it was fun and, I'd say, pretty cool. I was playing a really sinuous bottleneck riff and he danced around me. A great duo. Recently, I heard from the guys that Frank considered me his favorite musician from Beefheart's circle. I have no idea why!
And what about Laurie, Don's girlfriend at the time?
Laurie was very sweet, she seemed very innocent, and she waited on Don hand and foot. She too was rarely allowed to go her own way. I think she deserved better.
What also makes "Trout Mask Replica" such a monumental album is the interplay between your guitar and Bill Harkleroad's. Can you tell us how the chemistry between you two came about?
Bill and I, going back to our high school days, had a healthy mutual respect for each other's playing. We'd blow each other away. And yet there was never a hint of ego between the two of us, which you know is rare among guitarists! Our styles were so different, and I think we complemented each other.
How did you split up the guitar parts?
The parts we played were given to us by John French. John understood that Bill was the clean, technically precise musician, while I was more interested in feeling and warmth.
Did you make any modifications to your guitars?
No modifications, just very heavy strings. I felt lucky to even have a guitar to play. You couldn't get any poorer than us. And back then, I played so intensely that I'd break a ton of strings during rehearsals. When I joined the band, they asked me to ditch my Fender Jaguar and use a Gibson hollow body, a completely different instrument that severely limited my dexterity, but which, as I quickly realized, turned out to be exactly what the doctor ordered for the feedback I'd use, particularly on "Mirror Man" and "Strictly Personal". It almost sounded like a horn.
Did you use any special tunings?
Just standard tuning.
Which songs on "Trout Mask Replica" were the hardest to learn to play?
That's a hard question to answer, and I hope it makes sense. A lot of the movements/parts in specific songs on "Trout Mask Replica" could have been swapped with parts from another song without much notice. And once you've stripped music down to its essentials, leaving behind concepts of genre as well as their accompanying techniques, it's no longer a matter of difficulty.
For the photo sessions of "Trout Mask Replica" you wore women's clothing and a baseball cap…
Back then, it wasn't about gender. It was about blowing minds, standing up and saying "No" to the System and making a statement. I hope it made a lot of hair stand on end at the time!
Tell us how "The Blimp (mousetrapreplica)" came about, a song where your voice is the star…
It's been so long, I don't remember the details, except that we had just finished it and, since I was "the antenna bird," "the chirper," it came naturally to me to recite it to Frank over the phone. He was wise enough to hit the record button. I have the distinction of being the only person in the history of the Magic Band whom Don Vliet allowed to sing lead vocals on any of his songs. I'd pat myself on the back, but at my age, it's pretty hard to reach back that far!
Master master
This is recorded thru uh flies ear
‘n you have t’ have uh flies eye t’ see it
It’s the thing that’s gonna make Captain Beefheart
And his magic band fat
Frank it’s the big hit
It’s the blimp
It’s the blimp Frank
It’s the blimp
Can you briefly describe the other members of the Magic Band at the time (Mark Boston, Bill Harkleroad, John French and Victor Hayden)?
Mark Boston was a good kid, who thrived playing bass. He was a lot of fun to be around, and whenever we got the chance, we'd get him away from his family home, where things were pretty strict. I think it was a very tough challenge for him.
Bill Harkleroad was laid-back, and you could tell from his playing how much he loved the blues.
John French and I have known each other for a long time and were great friends. I remember going to his rehearsal space, where the drums were set up, and he put on, I think, the 45 of "Fingertips" by Stevie Wonder. I think that was around the time I founded the Allusions. Quite a few really great musicians passed through that band!
As for Victor Hayden, he was just Don's cousin. He wasn't a musician, he was a painter, and a pretty eccentric one at that. I'll never know why Don brought him into the band. Maybe out of affection. Having been a clarinet player myself since I was very young, I couldn't really come to terms with the fact that Don would use a non-musician to "screech" a bit and get himself noticed on "Trout Mask Replica". Still, he was a kind person and showed interest in our difficult situation, even though he was pretty embarrassed by the honor of having been chosen.
Don also gave you the job of putting some of his poems down on paper and reciting them back to him aloud when needed…
I volunteered, for a number of reasons, one of which was that I didn't want the job of transcribing the music!
What does it feel like knowing you played on one of the most legendary and influential records of all time, "Trout Mask Replica" itself? An album that, for many fans and critics, is the greatest rock album of all time?
Francesco, I'm honored that there are people in the world who feel this way about "Trout Mask Replica". I can say without a shadow of a doubt that all our fans are truly unique individuals. Still, there aren't that many people willing to look outside the box. All things considered, for the four of us musicians, our work was "a labor of love," and our love and commitment to the music are probably the most important reason we managed to pull it off successfully.
I don't imagine it was easy making a living from your music back then. How much did you usually earn from playing live? Royalties weren't something you could really count on…
Actually, back then we could have made a good living playing live. However, Don, being both mentally and emotionally unstable, didn't understand the importance or the benefits of performing regularly. If we'd accepted the invitation to play at Woodstock, our story would have been very different. I remember Don's comments about Woodstock. "I'm not going to go play for a bunch of hippies in the mud!" As for royalties, due to poor management, there were none for the Magic Band. God's Golf Ball received the royalties (God's Golfball Productions was the name of the company that, in the early Seventies, Don had founded together with manager Grant Gibbs and accountant Al Liefer, ed.).
So, Don didn't much care for hippies — in fact, it seems he actually hated them (he had, for instance, an aversion to Grateful Dead fans)! What was your relationship with them, and with the psychedelic counterculture in general?
Remember: Don was much closer in age to the Beatnik era than to the hippie generation. The four of us were six or seven years younger than him… I remember we played at the Love-in with the Grateful Dead and Timothy Leary and, if I'm not mistaken, Jefferson Airplane. The Dead seemed like good people, from what I could tell. They brought their families, their wives, their kids to their shows. I thought that was great. And I think that, all things considered, the psychedelic community appreciated our band. Have you ever listened to "Trout Mask Replica" while tripping? I'm sure you'll agree with me when I say you'll never look at music the same way again… ever!
Don didn't know music theory and often used gestures or metaphors or whatever it took to make himself understood. What's the strangest request he made trying to get across what he wanted you to play?
Although, as far as I know, nothing came of it for "Trout Mask Replica", there was a period at the Trout House when Don would grab my guitar and, having no technical knowledge of it, pull out harmonics, "clicks" and "pops" and whatever else while slowly rocking back and forth on his stool. Then he'd ask me to reproduce them. That was all fine when we were playing at a snail's pace, but imagine doing that at the tempo of "Hair Pie" or "When Big Joan Sets Up"! I later developed my own style of "clicks" and "pops", which you can hear on one of our favorite tracks, "Ant Man Bee".
At a certain point, you were kicked out of the band. What was your reaction? How did you feel?
Honestly, it was a huge relief to be free. Free to do what I wanted, and above all to start writing music again. It was a creatively fertile period for me, because I was able to pick up where I'd left off back in the Blues In A Bottle days.
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band during the Trout House era
(Jeff Cotton is second from the right)
As soon as you left the Magic Band, did you go straight into playing with Merrell Fankhauser's MU, or did you have other musical experiences in the meantime?
Only a few months after leaving the band and after moving back to the desert. A dear friend of mine, Charlie Aston, rented an old house and property out in the desert, halfway between Lancaster and Edwards Air Force Base. It was an old farmhouse in High Vista, miles from civilization and modern comforts like electricity. This house was fully furnished with feather beds, a hand-crank phonograph, and a cistern on the roof to collect water, on the rare occasion it rained. At the time, Merrell was living in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles. Some time later, I moved there too, and with the support of Randy Wimer on drums and Larry Willey on bass and vocals, MU started to take shape. New music began pouring out of me effortlessly. Now I had a band that could actually play, and was also strong vocally and harmonically.
Why did you leave MU at a certain point? If I understood correctly, you also ended up converting to Christianity…
We moved to Maui in 1973. And yes, after a few years in secret societies, I converted to Jesus Christ. I had started seeing the Light. And toward the end of 1974, our musical paths had begun to diverge. Merrell was gradually moving toward a more commercial style, while I, still influenced to some extent by my two and a half years in the Magic Band, had started looking toward the avant-garde. The other two members were more interested in following my musical direction. Then I fell in love with a beautiful Hawaiian woman, and it was time to move on, to start a family (I have three children I love very much) and follow that new path that was quickly opening up before me.
Jeff Cotton, front and center, performing live with MU
And after that... did you keep playing?
My wife and I moved into our honeymoon cottage in Huelo, the area where the first hippies had settled. Our house was on the tropical side of Maui, twenty feet from the cliff edge and a hundred feet above the ocean. Absolutely breathtaking! There we started writing music together like crazy. She was a hugely creative writer: she played mandolin and keyboards and backed me up with vocal harmonies. In the Seventies, Eighties and Nineties we played some great shows. Erna was an original artist and put on numerous performances on the islands where we played. She was also a professional belly dancer, and we staged some great shows in Hawaii. I also played several concerts with my then brother-in-law, famous for writing "Moonlight Lady" and "Hula Lady", genuine contemporary standards.
In 1976, we moved to the island of Kauai, just a few acres from the breathtaking spot where the famous film "South Pacific" (1958) was shot. Then, toward the end of 1977, the two of us, with our year-and-a-half-old daughter, decided to set off as self-sufficient missionary healers. We traveled through the state of Hawaii, along the West Coast and up into Alberta, Canada. We used acupressure, massage, chiropractic, as well as iridology (iris diagnosis) and, of course, prayer. From 1980 onward, I started a commercial services business (credit card processing) and also an ATM business, which gave me a lot of freedom. Erna opened the first modeling agency in Maui, right as the film industry there was just starting to take off. I also opened a successful hardwood floor refinishing business, and in 1985 I bought a small cleaning business, grew it, and then sold it.
Was there ever a chance of rejoining the Magic Band, before Beefheart left music and retired from public life?
Honestly, I had no desire to fall back into that trap. As you probably know, while the remaining members of the Magic Band played with Don on and off for a few years, and also gave numerous interviews, I chose to step back, and then, in 2021, I finally broke my silence, agreeing to an interview with Samuel Andreyev.
When did you last see Don?
I think the last time our paths crossed was, toward the end of 1979, at a 7-Eleven in Lancaster, California. Don came up to me and said: "I know what you've been up to, man. I've been keeping track of what you've been doing." And then: "Did you hear John Wayne died? So now I'm smoking a pipe."
Do you remember the day Don died?
I found out watching the news broadcast... I thought he was too young: he was only 69. I'll always have a special place in my heart for "the Captain"!
And today... what is Jeff Cotton up to?
These days, I'm semi-retired. I still have my little businesses, though, which allow me to write, record and keep growing musically. "The Fantasy Of Reality" came out at the end of 2021 and, if you haven't heard it, it's a work on which I played every instrument myself. The album is a blend of seven genres, made up of twenty-two songs, and gathers together fifty years' worth of material. It was released by the label Madfish, a division of Snapper Music, based just outside London. My second album is finished, except for a few drum tracks. John French has agreed to record drums on one of the instrumentals, a jazz piece with lead bottleneck guitar, soprano sax and bass clarinet. Bill Harkleroad has also agreed to play guitar on one of the tracks. I can't wait to hear their contributions. As for the rest, I'm still not sure whether to go with a record label or self-fund the release. Either way, I'd like to put it out this year. It will be called "The Roaring Twenties".
To wrap up, give us the list of your ten favorite albums...
Not necessarily in this order:
John Coltrane – Kulu Se Mama (1966)
The Rolling Stones – The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
The Ventures – Walk, Don’t Run (1960)
The Beatles – Rubber Soul (1965)
Son House – Father Of The Delta Blues: The Complete 1965 Sessions (1992)
13th Floor Elevators – The Psychedelic Sounds Of The 13th Floor Elevators (1966)
Jimi Hendrix – Voodoo Chile (1971)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Strictly Personal (1968)
Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band – Trout Mask Replica (1969)
Miles Davis – Sketches Of Spain (1960)
Ride the wave of great music
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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Francesco Nunziata, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.
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