Safe As Milk

Ok, this is pretty damn brilliant and wild fun. Absurd, but rooted in the familiarity of blues and r&b, so much of the sound is a real romp. I’ll need to give it another listen or two in order to process more of the lyrics. After a second listen, I’m really blown away. Favorite tracks are Sure ‘Nuff Yes I Do, Electricity, Yellow Brick Road, Abba Zaba, and Plastic Factory. Beefheart has an intense, rumbling voice with great charisma. The music is played brilliantly, whether it is a rootsy blues, or a lurching and leaping number with changes in time, tempo, and attitude. Gonna need to spend more time with this band.

Delightfully weird.

The only Beefheart album I knew before this was Trout Mask Replica, so I wasn't expecting something so... accessible? But still, some pretty experimentally fun stuff here!

incomprehensibly pretentious just the way I like it - 10/10

So eclectic, at some points made me feel like I was in one of those dreams where you can't tell if it's a nightmare or not. Like any minute something will go wrong but it never quite does.

I don’t know if “Safe as Milk” means that you’re safe or unsafe

I bought this album a few weeks ago. It's funny because for years, I avoided Captain Beefheart like the plague, just because of the hoax/scam/swindle that Trout Mask Replica is (at least to my ears). I think I'm an open-minded person, but there's a limit to the sort of musical nonsense one should be exposed to. And affecting some sort of conceptual pretension to justify the barrage of sheer crap that this other record is is NOT an acceptable solution for me. I'd rather plug my ears with toilet paper, thank you. In other words, Thelonious Monk, my ass (to refer to a stupid comparison I've often read to describe Beefheart's hoax here). Trout Mask Replica is just an interesting footnote in the pages of music history, not an essential album you must absolutely listen to. I'll fight tooth and nail anyone who says the contrary. Even a genius like David Lynch (who once said he loves this record). The thing is, it was a stupid mistake on my part to start my exploration of Beefheart's repertoire with this particular album. As it turns out, I really like what Beefheart and his "magic band" did before TMR (*Safe As Milk*) and after it (*The Spotlight Kid*). The grassroots yet twisted tunes of *Safe As Milk*, especially, have something quite addictive to them. Beefheart's growl on this collection of blues songs serves them right--as in opener "Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do"--just as said growl nicely contrasts with the stellar musicianship of the band (including a young Ry Cooder, or so I hear). I also enjoy the stylistic asides this record go through, especially the more psychedelic cuts or that mock doo wop soul ballad that "I'm Glad" is. And my oh my! "Electricity". What an incredible track! Here is the sort of experimentation that can be both haunting and mesmerizing. I know David Lynch has been listening to this song as well (there's a literal quote of Von Vliet's delivery of the song's chorus in the Twin Peaks movie, for instance). And here I certainly won't contend with man's genius. This song and its incredible instrumentation is the cherry on the cake here. And its inclusion in *Safe As Milk* finally reconciled me with anything Beefheart. Except Trout Mask Replica, of course. Maybe with more *real* groove and a theremin, as in "Electricity", I would have liked that other album. Too bad Von Vliet never thought of that. Number of albums left to review or just listen to: less than 700, I've temporarily lost count here Number of albums from the list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens:  approximately a half so far (including this one) Albums from the list I *might* include in mine later on: a quarter Albums from the list I will certainly *not* include in mine (many others are more important): the last quarter

Da beef man

6/2 be fart

An hour and a half of agony

I hate Captain Beefheart.

Now this is the kinda music ppl in the 70s did drugs to. Captain Beefheart's Wikipedia page is an interesting read, he was an eccentric guy and a musical innovator. You can hear the early beginnings of punk rock mixed in with blues/jazz. It's such a cool and unique sound, I think this opened the door for a lot of experimental stuff coming in the years after. I'm Glad ❤️❤️❤️ Electricity💜💜 Zigzag Wanderer 💜💜

Got into this a good decade or so ago, needs a couple of listens to appreciate how great it is, while also being pretty accessible straight away. I love the fact that Dropout Boogie is followed immediately by I'm Glad, two songs that couldn't be more different to eachother. The listener settles back and relaxes into the silky soul. And then wham! Electricity wallops them in the face. So many bangers. Fucking magical album.

amazing and inventive

About as good as it gets. First track 'Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do' has one of the greatest opening lines in rock music. The run of 'Electricity', 'Yellow Brick Road', Abba Zabba' and 'Plastic Factory' is remarkable, packing in more than many bands do in their careers. 'Abba Zabba' is one of my favourite songs of all time - there's one point where Ry Cooder's guitar simply glides. Beefheart sounds utterly demented, utterly in control. There was no need for any blues rock after 'Plastic Factory', it's all there, right there.

Oh Captain my Captain! The thing that really annoys me about Trout Mask is that is completely overshadows the rest of his his exceptional output. Lennon loved this record and for two good reasons: great song writing and a great performance by the band. He sets the template for so much pop music to come, he's got a fine ear for melody does Don, but he also know how to create the right feel through the performance. We often think about the context in which these 60's records appear, and this must have sounded amazing to 1967 ears. So much of what he's doing with each and every genre on this record has now become part of the modern soundscape, but back then, oy vey! Ry Cooder is Al Kooper's music doppelganger, whenever he pops up, he does to great effect. I don't think he's ever been on a bad record, what a player. And who has been listening to this record in their sheds eh? I'd count young Tommy Waits and those two kids from Akron Ohio known as the Black Keys as dedicated fans of this album amongst many others. And I wonder if Georgie Harrison started thinking about doing his thing on the slide after listening to this (might be why he asked Delaney to show him how to do it). Each song is splendid, a truly great record.

Quite the introduction to Captain Beefheart. Definitely need to hear more of him. This shit is cool.

First album of Captain Beefheart might be his best. Combination of blues and psychedelic rock: very accessible but still far from being straightforward. Favourite track: Electricity.

Pretty good, but I sure they'll never make a dime. 4 stars.

good album, I can understand its importance

It's Capt Beefy - has to be 5 stars.

Nasteeee as shit! But on a good way and I loved it!

1967. Blues. Folk Rock. Acid Rock. 9/10 Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do/Zig Zag Wanderer/ Call On Me/. Dropout Boogie/I'm Glad/Electricity/Yellow Brick Road/Abba Zaba/Plastic Factory/Where There's Woman/Grown So Ugly/Autumn's Child

Wow it's so cool to listen to bands who have influenced your favorite bands I can definitely hear how early Grateful Dead was influenced by Caption Beefheart & His Magic Band. What a joy listening to Chicago blues and psychedelic rock fusion.

goofy. dinky. fun music. thank you beefheart

Incredibly fun to listen to. It’s like a virtuoso Gremlin got really into delta blues and psychedelic rock and threw an album together.

Epic

Discazo. Nunca lo había escuchado, ni sabía de su existencia, y me pareció una barbaridad. No me imagino lo que fue esto en los sesenta.

A masterpiece. Just such a fun and unique album.

I kind of loved this one. The name of Beefheart was familiar through collaborations with Frank Zappa, but I had never heard his music before. It's sort of a wild mix based on blues rock but also with touches of what would later be known as sludge, southern americana, grunge even. At times, this albums also sounds something of a predecessor to the kind of southern-influenced-mash-up indie rock that is still popular today (think Counting Crows and Black Keys). In any case, this was vastly ahead of it's time, and fantastic throughout in terms of musicianship.

i love this album. Captain Beef is severely underrated in my opinion.

Till now, the only Beefheart album I'd ever listened to was "Trout Mask Replica", and like most, I always found it intriguing but inaccessible and impenetrable, no matter how many times I subjected myself to it. This album, though, is solid. Actual tunes, great bluesy vocals with a hefty dose of soul, and some excellent guitar riffs. I'll becoming back to this one.

Always wanted to listen to Captain Beefheart so this is a fantastic opportunity! This is wonderful blues rock with an artsy bend to it that clearly influenced a lot of following acts, including his contemporary Frank Zappa. Long live Beefheart!

this is built for more than background music and I might have to come back to it. but even tired, this is interesting and fun to listen to :)

Blues rocks master work, one of the best

Catchy, anarchic blues.

Trip friendly. 70s before 70s. Very weird panning but very cool and great all around.

Might revisit

For a second was scared it was Trout Mask Replica - then realised this is the record I like - it’s stellar start to finish. Love this album.

Having heard Trout Mask Replica before this album, this one seems almost genteel with something resembling conventional form for a lot of the album. You can see the demon horns of experimentation start to peek its way in right from the beginning, but hasn't gone off the deep end until Frank Zappa's guidance with Trout Mask Replica. Heavily blues influenced, with some R&B variation thrown in. Some of it feels like it could be Psychedelic but it lacks the reverb-spacey sound for the guitar. Among my faves: I'm Glad sounds almost doo-wop/50's soul.... Yellow Brick Road sounds kind of like CCR... Autumn Child sounds the most like a psychedelic song... The 3 instrumentals: On Tomorrow, Big Black Baby Shoes, and Dirty Blue Gene, as well as Trust Us, all start showing that going off the deep end that was greatly explored in the next album.

I was introduced to Capt Beefheart in college through Trout Mask Replica, which I anticipate seeing in this list. Weird, challenging album. Entirely unique and honestly haven't heard it in ages. I was introduced to Safe as Milk about a year afterwards (2005 or so). I was shell shocked by how much more accessible the album was and truthfully genius. You can clearly here where the band is going and where their influences came from. A wonderful blues album that gets slightly more acid laced psychedelic as it goes on. The CD reissue tracks are clearly unfinished but if you wrap the album up after the Autumns Child you have a wonderful and cohesive 12 song run. The Grown So Ugly cover also inspired me to listen to the Black Keys, which is definitely a positive for the early Black Keys work. Top Tracks, Zig Zag Wanderer, Where there's woman, Grown so ugly

What. A. Ride. Did not expect what came through my headphones when I put this on. I’m a sucker for a steel slide guitar and a gravelly blues voice. Loved how the songs seemed to grow organically, like they all sat down and someone came up with a riff or had a little fragment they were fiddling with and suddenly there’s a full blown jam session. 5/5 magic beefhearts

What a blast this album is. Putting this on high rotation for sure. Fave track is easily Electricity. Zig Zag Wanderer, and Abba Zaba are highlights too. I can see why people seem to be into I'm Glad and I'm sure it'll grow on me.

Oh man, I really tarred this with the "Trout Mask Replica" brush and have barely listened to it, on the assumption it's avant-garde AF. It's actually really accessible and I'm digging it a lot! Will definitely be revisiting. Fave tracks - "Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do" and "Zig Zag Wanderer" are great openers. "Electricity" and "Abba Zabba" are the true highlights though.

This is one of my favourites, I had already heard this plenty of times, but it's so delightfully off-kilter, him being best mates with Frank Zappa means Beefheart is more than a bit out there in his musical approach. This is classic 60s avant-garde rock, but don't take that to mean it's hard to enjoy, the music is fantastic all the way through.

Amazing album I never knew existed. Reminds me of Ty Segall or KGLW

On the surface, it can seem like this album is solid blues inspired rock. A closer listen will reveal experimental rhythms, chromaticism, and avant garde lyrics. This album feels like a joyous fever dream and is very much a product of its time. Having said that, I think this album is brilliant. Its grooves pull you in and its, melodies and rhythms keep you there. I'm not sure what to make out of much of the lyrics, but I suppose that's the fun of avant garde music.

This is the only Captain Beefheart album I thoroughly enjoy. Stuff like Trout Mask Replica is too experimental for me. I like him more when his weirdness is tethered to traditional form. Here he’s still strange and unique and unpredictable, but he’s matched with songs that are catchy and flat out rock. This is one of my favorites of the Nuggets psychedelic garage rock era.

Beatles-lite. Great jams.

"Zig Zag Wanderer" - a bop, "I'm Glad" - a sad banger. Cpt. Beefheart & His (indeed) Magic Band had absolute range with this album. Loved loved it!

Its a great album, altough it can be a little hard to listen if the person are not used to prog/jazz/experimental. But for me its amazing.

I only knew "so glad" which is a song I really liked, but the rest of the album was great too! Seems like quite a progressive sound for 1967, I can see how it has gone on to be very influential.

A very pleasant mix of the Doors, Animals, and Ben E. King. Got completed for playing it and will definitely listen again. 4.75

A great Blues Rock record. I like the energetic first half of the record more but the rest is still fantastic!

Didn't expect it to like it this much. Sounded raw and heavy and at other times like soul. Good stuff.

Spot on

Great

Safe as Milk.

Safe As Milk is probably the most accessible Captain Beefheart I’ve listened to but that doesn’t mean it lacks weird. I’ve always enjoyed this album, bluesy, Jammy, quirky. Beefheart even slows it down and gets romantic on I’m so Glad. This is a 5 star

I've heard of Captain Beefheart a lot but had not ever listened and expected something much weirder. This is a charming, fairly unweird, blues-rock album and I liked it very much.

I debated whether to listen to the stereo or mono releases of this album and then decided to try both. I was surprised at the difference - the stereo presentation opens up the songs and I the difference was a lot more than I expected. This is one of those bands I kept hearing of over the years but I didn’t have any sense of what their music was like. The blues are strong here and I liked that part, but the more rock guitars and other interesting bits (like a theremin!) really hooked me. I didn’t think this was my style of music but Captain Beefheart may have made that thought obsolete. I guess I like my blues with a hit of acid. I listened to this four times in a row and each time liked this more and more. Fantastic!

This album stands the test of time! Straight ahead blues rock Crank it up and ENJOY the Captain!!!

COOLIO DADDY

Absolutely fantastic album. Five stars. Gets a pretty regular rotation from me.

Didn’t know what to expect, loved this.

excellent!

Rock n roll once again

I kinda put this one off, because I wasn’t getting a great vibe. But it’s groovy and bluesy. Consistently pretty solid. Feel like I recognize it as a record utilized in turntablism a fair bit

Not as weird as I was expecting, but I liked it.

Strange cosmic blues. This must've been before the LSD got out of control

Bluesy roots rock? Pretty fun, but did get rambly

Bluesy and fun as hell

So fun!

Blues rock that isn’t afraid to let its freak flag fly. The production is pretty rough and the band sounds like they haven’t overthought or over-produced anything here. They captured a great energy — crunchy blues riffs with stranger sounds and psychedelia mixed in. I really enjoyed the last Captain Beefheart album on this list, “Trout Mask Replica,” and I remember noting that some of the songs were essentially blues songs buried underneath noise and experimentation. Hearing their debut album and realizing they were more or less a blues rock outfit at the start makes a lot of sense.

This was weird, eclectic, goofy, and really fun to listen to.

It's a bit rough but super fun and weird. Very 60's. Definitely I would put it on again. If I had one big knock I would criticize the recording/production. Maybe another complaint would be it's a bit on the silly side (druggy side?).

I wasn't sure about this at first—it seemed like the quaint first offering of a band that had yet to find its voice—but it grew on me. I liked how varied it was, and they're having a good time. I don't know that it's a masterpiece, but it's better than I expected. I prefer my Beefheart weirder, but this is still pretty badass.

I dug this! A couple songs sounded vaguely familiar and I only heard of Captain Beefheart bc if his Zappa connection. 1967…what a year!

What a mood, what an interesting mood. Blues but wonky.

A much much better Captain Beefheart album. Very much 1960s bluesy rock n roll. I enjoyed this quite a bit.

First thing that stood out to me was that incredible bass in Zig Zag Wanderer. The entire album is a fun blues inspired whole.

Surprisingly enjoyable. Knew the name but don't think I ever listened to any of his music (not deliberately anyway). Worth 4 stars.

Big bag of fun. Favorite: Abba Zaba. Plenty interesting enough to belong on this list, on its own merits and as a item of cultural import. A bit much to be regular listening, though.

This was pretty cool. A little goofy at times, but groovy enough to hold it together. Quite reminiscent of The Who. 4/5 Highlights: Zig Zag Wanderer Electricity

I had heard a little Beefheart before this. I like this, the blues foundation makes it all very listenable

Wasn’t totally feeling the first two songs, but I ended up really enjoying this. A little all over the place, but I love this kind of 60s weirdness. Some of it gave me Scott Walker vibes, who I love. My favorite songs are “Call On Me,” “Dropout Boogie,” “I’m Glad,” and “Yellow Brick Road.” Solid album overall.

Damn, another from Captain Beefheart and it bangs again. Quirky rock with enough of an edge to stand out from the pack some 50-60 years later. Looks like they get the last laugh, eh? Favorite tracks: Sure Nuff, Zig Zag Wanderer, I'm Glad, Electricity, Plastic Factory, Dirty Blue Gene, Korn Ring Finger. Album art: Very unassuming, nondescript, especially for a weirdo band of this stature. Unsurprising given it was their debut, but still unfortunate because just seeing this I would've never been intrigued enough to play it. 4/5

This was weirdly more accessible than I expected. A good level of complexity and blend here. Nice to listen to and a bit challenging if you're listening in for it.

This is surprising me. An interesting mix of the Blues and psychedelic rock of the 1960s. There might be too much here. I'll probably dive into to this again.

Quite enjoyed this album. It was only a matter of time before I stumbled on Beefheart; surprisingly hadn't listened to much of him before. Listenable with some great musicianship.

3.6

Much more accessible than the trout album, actually really enjoyed this one, a few of the instrumental songs went on a bit, but the rest was right up my street.

First song has my attention. I’m not sure if I had ever heard any of their music. Not hat I was expecting. All I knew was the band’s name. And Ry Cooder is one of the guitar players! A Zappa buddy! Almost a perfect album for its time. This band could’ve made at least Major.

Ran out of time yesterday so I haven't gathered enough thoughts on 'Safe As Milk,' the debut record from Captain Beefheart. But I've listened to this record a few times, having done a re-listen just a few months ago and concluded that it is indeed enjoyable and perhaps BETTER than 'Trout Mask Replica' but nowhere near as fun to think about. I don't know, something about Captain Beefheart's whole DEAL, his attitude, his swagger. When a nerd can still walk into any room and own the place while letting his freak flag fly high, it gives mere mortals like us a supercharge of confidence. I'll have to credit Captain Beefheart for creating such stunning images with words and pairing them so deliciously with sounds. I don't know he managed to make a whole career of it, but he did. You listen to his Howlin' Wolf-soaked-in-bourbon vocals and think, "yeah, that sounds like someone called Captain Beefheart." You listen to 'Trout Mask Replica' from 1969, widely considered to be inaccessible to the grand majority but a work of genius for a small yet influential minority, and think, "yes, this sounds like whatever a trout mask replica is and whoever would make such a thing and find it useful." The song "Zig Zag Wanderer" makes wonderful use of panning at the very beginning to echo the hard left and right momentum in the song's title. I'm not sure if Captain Beefheart could read the writing on the wall about the dairy-based diet back in 1967, but given that he was always a forward-thinker, it doesn't surprise me if his introduction to the world was an album that leaves its listeners satisfied yet a tiny bit unsettled. 'Safe as Milk.' Anyway. The drums in "Electricity" is probably my favourite moment of the record so hats off to John French and hats of to Ry Cooder whose guitar playing does flesh the album's contours quite nicely. A-

This starts off great - really enjoyable bluesy blues. It doesn't feel exploitative, like so much white boy blues.

Groovy and driving and one's glad to have made this record's acquaintance. Certainly one prefers the controlled (but still rough-on-the-edges) flow and the referencable song structures (e.g., "I'm Glad") here to the artier and more out there aspects of Trout Mask Replica. Though not exactly one's cup of tea, it's not hard to recognize the orginality and willingness to be different (even if it times it can seem a bit willful and forced). "Where There's Woman" sounds authentically swampy, as do other of the country-bluesy cuts. Again, the quality (including "Yellow Brick Road" and "Trust Us") suffers under the weight of the unnecessary quantity. Indeed the several effective instrumentals suggests they might have succeeded by staying deep in that particular groove. One knows their reputation for being "a huge influence on ..." but one is somewhat skeptical and wishes there was a reliable or more precise way to quantify other than editors' claims.

Before things got really freaky, this debut album by Captain Beefheart demands much less from the listener than some later work will. Some of it may even be familiar as music to your ears.

A safer CB album. My dad would be proud at my four star ranking.

Cool. Fun

A dirty, fun blues/psych rock record from the 60's. I like that this has the personality of the band and captain beefheart with none of the artsy, avant garde stuff from trout mask replica. While that album may be more unique and technically impressive, it's good to know they still have the capability to write instant catchy songs as well and makes me appreciate them more.