There is an appreciation thread here:
http://smileysmile.net/board/index.php/topic,94.0.htmlBut you're hardly the only one that doesn't like the guys music, I'd say you'd be in the majority there.
For me, Beefheart is a true original , his work bursts out with incredible vitality. Beefheart said he didn't write songs but spells. He's by far my favourite expressionist artist. There would be something missing in the world if he'd never created his amazing preposterous works.
Trout Mask is actually one of the albums of his I listen to least. It was really important as it was a break through album in his artistic development, but I preferred the albums where he consolidated his artistic space particularly:
Shiny Beast Bat Chain Puller: The first album of his I got, what a revelation, full of fruity brass and percussion and an amazing collection of songs The Floppy Boot Stomp, Ode to Alex, Bat Chain Puller. I also loved the drawings that came with it on the original lyric sheet.
Clear Spot: Really joyful, not nearly as jarring as Trout Mask. Big eyed Beans from Venus has some of the most amazing guitar work ever recorded, that is one steaming hot song!
Doc at the Radar Station: Startling, his voice has lost some of its suppleness, but these songs are MAGIC to me, his band were amazing. This is music from a different world.
But if you don't get it you don't get it. That's the way it works, I can accept Tom Waits is an amazing artist but I just don't appreciate his work. Each to their own.