Upon its release, Captain Beefheart & His Magic Band’s Trout Mask Replica immediately took on a life of its own. Its odd blend of blues, rock, free jazz, and purely avant-garde ideas make it sound more like a work of visual art than a conventional collection of musical songs, and makes you wonder if an album this strange can even be performed. In spite of the cult-like sessions, Trout Mask Replica really is a masterpiece for the ages; Beefheart’s compositions on a piano he couldn’t play truly question the boundaries of music, and each song warps your mind. This Third Man reissue is done 100% correctly: cut by Chris Bellman from hi-res digital files (the original master is unusable and the safeties from which much of this is sourced are incomplete), plated at Pallas, pressed at Third Man Pressing, housed in a Stoughton tip-on gatefold faithful to the original, . - Analogplanet's Best Reissues of the Decade!

180g Double LP Remastered by Bob Ludwig!
Cut by Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering!

Gatefold Stoughton tip-on jacket + booklet

Rolling Stone 500 Greatest Albums of All Time - Rated 60/500!

Trout Mask Replica is a touchstone in the history of recorded music. The mix of dada absurdist blues and previously unexplored experimental avenues has long been praised as one of the greatest albums of all time. As so eloquently put by John Peel, ''If there has been anything in the history of popular music which could be described as a work of art in a way that people who are involved in other areas of art would understand, then Trout Mask Replica is probably that work.''

In full partnership with the Zappa Family Trust and to celebrate the relaunch of the seminal Bizarre label imprint, Third Man Records is proud to announce Captain Beefheart and the Magic Band's Trout Mask Replica.

Out of print on vinyl for nearly 10 years, this remaster was helmed by industry legend Bob Ludwig and cut by the estimable Chris Bellman at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Utilizing crystalline-quality safety masters kept in the Zappa family vault for decades by the trustworthy Joe Travers, the audio here is positively glorious. Every last skronk breathes full life into the room. Every twisted guitar figure uncurls onto paths previously unpaved. Every last bark and howl shines resolute through the vast emptiness of your mind.