Safe As Milk

I’d only listened to Trout Mask Replica and mistakenly thought Captain Beefheart was all like getting poked in the eye. Maybe I’ve been missing out because this was pretty cool.

Very good psychedelic rock album, with hint of weirdness that the band would explored later. Not much else to say, just a fun and interesting take on the sound everybody was doing at the time. Key tracks: Zig Zag Wanderer Dropout Boogie I'm Glad Abba Zabba

Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do 4.4 Zig Zag Wanderer 4.2 Call on Me 4 Dropout Boogie 4 I'm Glad 4.3 Electricity 4.6 Yellow Brick Road 4 Abba Zaba 4.1 Plastic Factory 4.2 Where There's Woman 4 Grown So Ugly 4 Autumn's Child 3.5 Safe as Milk (Take 5) 2.7 On Tomorrow 1.7 Flower Pot 2 Dirty Blue Gene 2.2 Trust Us (Take 9) 2.1 Korn Ring Finger 1.6 Score: 3.422222222

I’m a sucker for blues rock. Loved most of it.

Mostly blues-rock, with a little bit of 69’s psychedelia thrown in. 3.5 stars. Cool but not outstanding.

Seemed weirdly inauthentic

I forgot what I thought about this so I’m giving this a neutral 3 for the moment…

Great record!

Wacky

(3/7) bluesy

I enjoyed this thoroughly, it brings a vibe of fun, which I'm sure it was to make this. It isn't so out there that it pushes me away. This kind of thing seems unforced, just a great psychadelic album with some familiarity and pizzazz.

Bem menos abrasivo que o disco mais conhecido da banda, o infame Trout Mask Replica. Nasce aí o questionamento, sem a infâmia, o que resta da banda? Blues Rock decente, porém em minha opinião, pouco notável. Salvei Im Glad e Abba Zabba e Autumn Child, o resto não me interessou muito. Não gosto das vozinhas, e esse meio-termo entre o tradicional e o esquisito não me faz sentir nada. 3.5/5

Honestly liked this way more than expected. It was fun and the beats were good, would listen again!

I love it and surprised that I never heard of them Would listen again for sure Fav song: zig zag wanderer

Captain Beefheart captured me at the word go. I love this 60s blues. and then they mixed in some Pink Floyd experimental stuff and it's just "chefs kiss" 4.5/5

When it comes to Captain Beefheart, I find myself most drawn to the music and instrumentation. I don’t think I’ll ever fully warm up to Don Van Vliet’s guttural, gritty, and gravelly vocals. This album is deeply rooted in blues rock, but you can definitely hear the psychedelic influences of its time. While it’s probably one of their most accessible albums, it still has that avant-garde, experimental edge. The quirky instrumentation, unusual song structures, odd time signatures, off-kilter rhythms, dissonant chords, and “wrong” notes all add to the playful vibe. If you’re into Frank Zappa, this is the closest you’ll get without it feeling like a direct copy of his sound.

was legit dreading this after Trout Mask Replica a few weeks back. this ain't too bad at all.

Almost ugly, but so beautiful and interesting. I have criticised other 60s records for being pretty standard blues/pop/rock without anything remarkable going on. This almost falls into that trap but then swerves it in such a cool way. I love that voice and that barking delivery style. The instrumentation is somehow so warm and beautiful - similarly slightly rough around the edges but very warm. The songwriting feels almost generic, but with just enough of these beautiful little quirks that add to that character. I love it

Starts bluesy then gets gloriously wacky. So much better than Trout Mask Replica. You can see the direction they're headed though.

This was as least not as crazy as Trout Mask Replica, I was expecting worse. Some songs were cool, some other were ok but not my style

I approached this with a certain amount of trepidation, as their reputation precedes them for being weird and challenging, but actually this was surprisingly enjoyable. Very bluesy, definitely some weirdness, but that actually made it far more interesting than a lot of straighter blues acts of their era. Not sure I would listen to it often though.

Några bra låtar, lite bluesigt, inget jag kommer lyssna på någon mer gång. Konstig. Lite som Zappa ibland.

One of my all time favourites.

Enjoyable stuff, probably wouldn't rush back to it but was worth its inclusion

Magic band, magic album… 4 stars❤️❤️❤️❤️ Tom.

Quite eclectic. Starts off very blues (I liked the opening track). Became more of a mix of soul and rock later on in the album, which on the whole was very decent but quite long and a little disconnected in style.

Pretty terrible. No offense.

Well that was fucking weird! I can't say I didn't like it but I also can't say I did like it? I don't know, I think this is one of those albums that I'd have to listen to more than once. Probably more than twice? It seems more like an art piece than an album at times. I'm gonna stick with a 3 because I think I'm still confused how I feel.

so weird but so much fun

This album got me wondering how safe was milk in 1967. Pasteurisation was invented in 1864, and in the USA standards for pasteurisation was introduced in 1924. So we may assume that since then milk production and consumption was relatively safe. However we can only conclude how safe the subject milk is by the information given to us in the album title; considering there is no mention of if the milk is raw milk, whether the subject milk had been left out in the sun for an extended period, or past its use by date, we can assume the milk in question here would be relatively safe for human consumption

You can tell there’s some decent songs on this album, but it’s difficult because the recording sounds like absolute dogshit. The production choices, especially on the first half, are baffling. It’s the tinniest album I’ve ever heard, it hurts the ears to listen to. The second half’s production is a bit better for some reason, it’s more balanced, but it still doesn’t sound great.

i am lactose

better than the other one but that's not saying much

I actually liked this one, assuming that it came after the absolute chaos of “Trout Mask Replica” because it actually had a point of view and melody. The mash up of influences and styles is certainly something.

Absolutely unique with vocals that seem driven.

Not my favourite Beefheart album, and probably a tough sell for most, but there’s stuff of interest throughout. Favourite track: Dropout Boogie

Groovy

01) Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do - 7,0 02) Zig Zag Wanderer - 6,5 03) Call on Me - 6,5 04) Dropout Boogie - 6,5 05) I'm Glad - 7,0 06) Electricity - 7,0 07) Yellow Brick Road - 7,5 08) Abba Zaba - 6,5 09) Plastic Factory - 6,0 10) Where There's Woman - 6,5 11) Grown So Ugly - 6,0 12) Autumn's Child - 6,5 TOTAL: 6,63 (66/100) Current ranking: 673/1012

A really unique take on American Blues. Very intriguing and had some incredible coordination moments that almost mixed prog-rock and blues genres. It got real hippy-trippy near the end but overall it was a pretty decent album. I'll give it a 6/10

I came into this knowing it might be creative and interesting, but maybe a bit of a DIY art project. I was hooked from SURE NUFF. Had a mix of that southern zydeco and blues. ZIG ZAG WANDERER had a smooth background rhythm section and that funky hippidelic groove that captures my eardrums. All this to say, I enjoyed the mixture of genres and song craftmanship. And where this could've fallen victim to excessive embellishments, I think it kept enough constraint as to not distract.

Cool to see the influence this had on bands I love like the black keys and the kills but absent that it’s not for me

these kinds of albums are tough to rate for me. i didn't mind it but i wasn't engaged at all. i've never heard of this band and upon doing research i see why: their lineage and influence isn't in my wheelhouse either. a generous interpretation is "cool opportunity to explore a band / album / genre that i know little about". however, i'm not feeling the exploration at the moment, so it just kind of feels like an unrecognizable slog. if i was more engaged at another time, i could see this being received much better.

I think it would’ve been better if every musician was doing more a freestyley thing and that they sounded like they weren’t even playing in the same room together and if the singer was growlier and uglier sounding and if the cover was red with a cool fish mask and top hat and

Eh, this doesn't get weird enough for me to really appreciate. I suppose the quirkiness wears off after...what? 50 years? Figures. Not awful, but I got nothing from it.

Catchy blues and soul which grooves. Beefheart, RY Cooder and John French. Tremendous album

1.9, not the best, it was okay for some parts but most songs really dragged on and tested my patience

Hard to believe this is the same mastermind behind trout mask replica. I see some of those elements in this album, but it's infinitely more accessible to the layman. Really good album, I was grooving to it for the full hour. Much better than a lot of the stuff that is on this list.

I've heard bits and pieces of Beefheart in the past, honestly I was ready for far stranger. This was fun.

Outstanding album Loved it.

Some cool stuff, a bit too goofy for a 4. But close

A pretty good 60's psych album

while Captain Beefheart is far from a one-album-wonder, this one’s nowhere near as good as Trout Mask Replica. it's so... normal! Electricity is pretty great though. deserves to be one of the 1001? yea sure

Was very much standard Captain Beefheart for me. Some great songs and some I did not get at all. Overall an ok listen.

Haven't ever dug into Captain Beefheart beyond Trout Mask Replica and kinds just wrote him off as a avant garde weirdo in the Zappa sphere. You know, appreciate what he's doing but it's not for me. But... this is fantastic. The right mix of experimentalism and just good, solid tunes. What a fun listen! Quite the revelation for me.

ragebait

Awful. One song that I liked, otherwise this was just weird for the sake of weird and not even good at it. 1/5

No

In a concert in the bayou among alligators. It did really transport me. Not much my style but for the immersion I give it a 3.

so fire, loving this experimental bluezzz vibe for us, pleasantly surprised

Idk what trout mask replica is but this album was cool R&B rock, weird and interesting. A few songs that were toooo weird I don’t love the monster sounding crooning songs

The recording/mixing on this album is what really lowered the score for me. Its kind of generic rock (probably not when released though) with some strange and interesting parts. The big thing is that the sound quality is so bad that I don't really want to go back and listen again.

Wesentlich zugänglicher als "Trout Mask Replica", sehr abwechslungsreich und unterhaltsam. Mag ich!

Das hat mich überrascht. "Trout Mask Replica" ist mir zu kaputt, aber das hier bekommt einen guten Spagat zwischen schräg und angenehm hin. Neuentdeckung.

mostly oldslop. enjoyed sometimes

I actually liked this one. Experimental but still fundamentally musical, with a sense of humor and just generally fun music.

I braced myself when this popped up, but it ended up being so fun! It's still weird and eccentric, sometimes pushing toward off-putting (the vocals on "Dropout Boogie" had me contemplating the skip button a minute into a two-and-a-half-minute song), but it was an absolute pleasure. (Ry Cooder on guitar helped.)

Not my vibe but I appreciate it being made.

The kind of blues music that you might hear coming from a strange little shack when you've ventured just a little too far into the swamp. I had forgotten that Ry Cooder was on this record! He was only 20 years old. Summary: a fantastic album. I have had this record on both vinyl and CD. The CD is nice because it’s got a bunch of delightful added instrumental weirdness at the end. I generally think that "extended versions" are a waste of time, what with all the remixes and demos and whatnot. But I feel like in this case those were a solid addition, and that's the version I listened to today.

This album came out in 1967 and is considered one of the first avante-garde albums along with Zappa who he grew up with. The first time listening to it was difficult as it was just too weird. However, after listening to it a few times it becomes more accessible. The songs are delta blues, psychedelic rock, R&B and do wop based with strange lyrics and delivery and music. Although not on the original album, the instrumental bonus are tracks are more experimental with good musicianship. Overall, I actually like the album and will listen to more of Captain Beefheart. Favorite songs are Drop Out Boogie, I'm Glad, Electricity and Abba Zaba.

Not bad. Soothing. Happy to play it as some background music. I’m glad is good.

i mean, the whole Captain Beefheart thing is just weird. its so out there, that it actually ends up being fun. it was interesting, and there was some cool songs in there. overall, this one lasted a bit too long, but it was definitely worth exploring in my opinion

So much better than the other Captain Beefheart album we had, but still not that great. There’s a lot of promise in the instrumentals, but then the Captain’s vocals bring you crashing back down. Also enjoyed this one being less weird.

Better than the last Captain Beefheart album. The music is fine but the vocals are rough. It's like ordering a stack of pancakes and topping it with hot sauce.

if 60s america were an album it would be this sonically

maybe it's because I haven't had my coffee yet but this album is really pissing me off.

I wasn't expecting much given that I know Captain Beefheart shows up on the worst rated albums on this list, but apparently it's his other album. This was alright. 60's rock with a bit of quirk. A bit long, but otherwise an ok listen. DNF (3)

Unfortunately I had to listen to this kind of passively but I did enjoy it. It had some dark and weird facets to it that grabbed my attention from time to time. I'll give it 4 stars.

fucked with this album HEAVY! reading about all the music this inspired is awesome. so I hate to say this for this album in particular but can we get some more non white blues artists please… lol

I put this album on and didn't hate it, but I accidentally had it on repeat as I started to leave and return home throughout the day. At some point in my day, it became the ambiance of my home. I felt the mood shift in my sanctuary. I'd relive a hundred heartbreaks before I took another nap to this album. I woke up in a cold sweat, scratching through my flesh. This album isn't fun anymore, someone turn it off. The milk is curdling and I'm still drinking it.

A great day to not be lactose intolerant

Weird. But, like, in a really fun, trippy way. I thought it was instrumentally and sonically solid, and didn’t venture too far off course. Maybe something I’m not gonna crave, but a good listen. An interesting listen.

Nah

Great stuff from before they went fully mad

Naw, not feeling it. Far better delta blues type albums out there

Groovy

I thought this was going to be my first 5-star album but the instrumentals really knocked the flow for me. At the time this might have been pretty groundbreaking but I don’t think they’ve quite stood the test of time. I’m Glad is a beautiful song and the vocals are incredible on this song and I really like the tendency to allow the instruments to flow throughout the songs.

eh i liked one i forget the name

This is weird, though not as weird as I apprehended from the name Captain Beefheart. Some songs seem like solid (straightforward) music but with weird vocals on the side hmm, then some of the music is weird in its own psychedelic way. (From reading around, I was taken with the image of Vliet trying to convey musical ideas by yelling and banging on a piano, and others present had to translate those cues into music ...) It's grown on me over repeat listens. Some writers describe this album as vintage RnB (maybe in contrast to Trout Mask Replica), I would note the music is often grungier than I would expect from RnB, that plus weird vocals makes "acid rock" seem a good label for me to use. (I like this quote from Westword: "the music pushed toward the avant-garde while paying homage to the blues".) I also like doo-wop feature (including horns) in I'm Glad. Reading around, Vliet seems like an 'interesting' character. Reading about him and about Zappa (I hadn't realised how connected they were), I'm reflecting that the diversity of music industry in the US in late 60s seems to have had quite a bit of openness to the unusual (some setbacks and some ways forward) - when driven individuals wanted to pursue their own paths, they could sometimes find fellow travellers and audiences, and make enough bucks to keep it rolling, that's interesting. How to rate the album? It's got solid tracks where the vocals/lyrics weirdness is engaging (I'm Glad), other tracks where weirdness is interesting but a bit offputting (Electricity), quite a few aren't rubbish but I can't see when I would choose to play them again. As an album it's interesting, and growing on me over repeat listens, to a point I'll say it's Good, 7/10.

Pretty raw garage rock/blues with some drugs mixed in. I like it.

It's good, and some of the most accessible of Beefheart's music, before he went pretty nuts.

Weird

A little too early Zappa for my silly ass! Give me 70s Beefheart and beyond!

Weird, but just the right amount of weird to make it interesting. I was familiar with 'Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes, I Do' from the excellent cover by Aussie band, The Cruel Sea, but the rest is definitely worth a listen, too.

Didn't mind this, pretty dirty blues. High 2s.

This album is just fine, nothing special. But it really doesn’t need to be on this list. I could have very well gone on without listening to this album. 2/5

This is one of those records that's hard to quantify properly. I've seen it described as "Howlin' Wolf's first ablum after arriving in Hell". While that may be a TAD extreme as there are no overt satanic influences here, there is a DECIDED blues influence with many twists into the experimental side. It is perhaps their most accessible entry point but is still experimental and diverse enough to showcase the uniqueness of what this band does.

Ik hoor vooral het geluid van gitaartjes en daar achter ergens een blues zanger. Ik weet nog niet wat ik er van vind. Klinkt allemaal wat rommelig, maar stoort ook weer niet echt. Het nummer Electricity (waar blijkbaar veel over te doen is) klinkt wel lekker melodieus, maar de tekst is ook hier amper te verstaan. **

This was all a bit dumb and childish.

Peak is on y’all sit your ass down and LISTEN! Though I can see why you’d dislike him beefheart is like licorice. An acquired taste

meeeeeeeee

3.75 A lot more accessible than his notorious other album.

An accessible Captain Beefheart? It's no Trout Mask Replica but it'll do

I only knew Captain Beefheart et al for Trout Mask Replica, which wasn't my cup of tea, so I was pleasantly surprised by their humble beginnings on this quite normal blues-rock album. It's actually at its best and most interesting when it leans into being a little odder - I really like the vocals, which start out nicely gnarly and just get more goblinoid as the album goes on.

Surprised me – expected something weirder like his later albums. I usually think of him being nearer to Frank Zappa than Tom Waits which many of these songs reminded me of. OK I suppose but nothing really stood out.

Just a taste of the madness to come from Captain Beefheart I guess. Absurd, a little unhinged, creepy, and unsettling but all with its roots clearly in Blues and R&B…. Just a taste of the madness to come from Captain Beefheart I guess. Absurd, a little unhinged, creepy, and unsettling but all with its roots clearly in Blues and R&B. Having listened to Trout Mask Replica (which I am guessing is on this list) this was much more enjoyable in my opinion. I enjoyed the tracks Call on me and Autumns child in particular. In summary… Abba Zabba go-zoom Babbette baboon.

Weird hearing something from Captain Beefheart that isn't completely batshit, but still kinda batshit I guess. I really love the fuzzy guitar tone on this record, it's like Love if Arthur Lee was Oscar the Grouch.

Fairly meh. None of it is objectionable, but neither is it all that memorable in a positive way either. The lyrics are shit. Having said that, this is not essential listening. This band was nothing more than a novelty act, not an actual influential force in the evolution of music. If the rumor about the band losing the A&M record contract, after the label heard the demo for "Electricity" is true, I can believe it. Props for being experimental, but hard on the ears, though I did enjoy the theremin outro. To think that Beefheart had the temerity to criticize the music of The Beatles. What a tool. Faves: "Zig Zag Wanderer", "I'm Glad" Probably won't ever listen to this again.

When this is purely blues then I quite like it but an hour of weirdness does not land for me the same way that The Residents did. It feels forced, almost like it goes out of its way to sound bad. 2/5 - would not buy or listen to again.

Not too bad. A bit of a mixed bag. Some I liked, some I really didn’t. 3/5

Trout mask replica is probably the closest I’ve been to giving an album one star…. And this I really enjoyed. Instead of angular skronkiness there’s more of a sense of groove. Yes, it’s off kilter but the songs have a clear structure and you can hear the quality of the playing. They do experiemenf but it stays on the right side of musical. The kind of blues I can get behind

I could be swayed to bump this up, but it's like a "3+" on first listen. Not at all what I expected when I hit play, and it was a pretty wild adventure that made housework more bearable. Will have to circle back at some point.

3.08

Good

Big fun this

Pleasantly surprised, thought it would be bad but I like the style, second half drops off quite a bit though

Master in his bag. Flawless

3.3. I know i am supposed to like captain beefheart. Especially 20 years ago when I was a smug college kid and getting into Zappa and other non mainstream stuff. Bought trout mask replica. Couldn’t do it, I was pleasantly surprised by this album and thought it was going to be my first sub 3 album. Has some flashes of greatness

Always intimidated by beefy boy's back catalogue. This seems fairly accessible though. Nice variety and some fun tunes. Put off by the voice though. Don't think I'll explore further.

Absolutely banging. Ass Milk Safe Safe as Milk Milk Safe Ass

If this album were fully instrumental, it would be a 5/5

Gotta be worth a few points for calling your magic band "Captain Beefheart." Not too sure about the music. This probably should be right up my alley but I didn't find it too inspiring. Goes on quite long for an album from 1967 at over an hour. Last song is "Korn Ring Finger", not sure if this is where Korn got their name?

As a big Zappa guy, I am obligated to give my respects to the legendary Captain Beefheart and his quite different world of blues inspired music he put out in the 60s and 70s. He's like Tom Waits's middle career but with an extra helping of Screaming Jay Hawkins and even more eccentric than those two guys possibly combined. I've always defined Captain Beefheart's music as the extreme end of the Blues spectrum (mostly from TMR) that dabbles with absurdism and thus (possible) existentialism. Very bizarre, very cool. Safe as Milk is the more approachable or palatable alternative to Trout Mask Replica (on the list, of course)'s absolute zaniness. The experimentation is that along with Zappa and Velvet Underground, though compared to those two, it's closer to Zappa's similar blues and R&B influences: they went to the same LA high schools together. There's a bunch of weird sounding songs and rhythms on the album (a blink and you'll miss it appearance of Taj Mahal on 'Yellow Brick Road'). These songs and rhythms have never escaped my head since I first heard Beefheart in High School. My favorites being Zig Zag Wonder, Call On Me, Electricity and Abba Zaba. A shoutout to Samuel Hoffman's theremin performances on the album, really rounding out the weirdness of an odd instrument he was very proficient playing in. Safe as Milk is safe as milk. Drink it, and get some weird experimental influence in your music diet. Fucking please, we need this kind of human creativity and wonder when Private Equity and AI are sucking out the souls of human life for sweet hard cash.

I’ve only ever heard the lore of Captain Beefheart, but never an album by him, so I was surprised when the first couple of songs were decent. But then it was like, ohhhhh, yeah, there it is. Rough.

A groovy, guitar-heavy compilation of vey interesting songs. In my head, this is what Alternative music must have sounded like in the 1960’s.

There is simply no reason anyone would need to listen to this ever again. Soulless nonsense that is neither innovative nor interesting. It lacks the deftness and discipline that truly inspired music in this style oozes.

Interesting, whole new flavor of the blues for sure. The album starts off really good, ebjoyed the first few tracks quite a bit, then it took a turn about a third of the way through and spiraled out of control from there. Crazy stuff but I must say the ride was okay, bit rough, but Beefheart kept me interested most of the album. However, the lows on the album are absolutely terrible. There are songs on here that are complete nonsense, just pointless and ridiculous. He must have blown people's minds in 1967, I'll give him that.

Offers nothing to me personally

Uma banda bastante transgressora, não exatamente com esse álbum, mas o que veio a seguir, o trout mask replica. Esse aqui é um álbum de estreia, então foi um bom início, rock clássico, um pouco de folk, umas baladas, dando indícios para um seguimento mais original, elementos próprios característicos da banda que vieram a seguir. Jogaram seguro nesse aqui, e é um bom álbum de estreia

Um folk psicodélico bem legal. Álbum bem tocado e divertido. CVJ Aria.

Good record.

captain beefheart lowkey the best worst band ever. they so obnoxious and awful that they circle around to being brilliant. idk why i like this, i think im just pretentious and contrarian, this this leagues above most rock from this era. far more interesting to listen to imo

Much more approachable than Trout Mask Replica.

Pretty average 60s rock album. Nothing great but nothing bad

6.5/10 - It’s unexpected and weird but in a unique and original way. Wouldn’t keep it in heavy rotation but nice in the scheme of 1001 albums.

This is what happens when Captain Beefheart uses his powers for good and not evil. 8/10

Strange and fun, but time has really removed a lot of the relevance and oddity of this.

Очень крутой альбом, блюзовая вайбовая атмосфэра зашкаливает, полный рокенролл и твэнговый суперстиль.

It took 718 days, but I finally hit my first Captain Beefheart album, and it was actually way less weird than I anticipated. I was expecting pure, unadulterated psychedelia, but it seamlessly blends in a few other genres instead. For example, "I'm Glad" sounds like it's straight out of Motown with its surprisingly sweet, soulful R&B structure. On the rock side of things, the heavy groove on "Dropout Boogie" is fantastic, and I'm pretty sure that riff at the very end is taken straight from "Then He Kissed Me." The unique instrumentation really keeps things interesting, especially with the use of the theremin and some incredibly gritty slide guitar work. The band's rhythm section lays down a remarkably tight blues-rock foundation, which helps ground his raspy, eccentric vocal delivery before things get too chaotic. I'm a huge fan of psychedelic rock, but I just don't know if it's one I'd actively go back to so I give it a 3.

I was a little nervous about this one because I know how challenging Trout Mask Replica is, but this slapped. The perfect blend of weird and accessible. A huge hit for me, I was contemplating a 5, and a few more listens probably get it there.

Definitely a step ahead in sophistication from other mid sixties white blues

It's both really weird for a blues rock album and much more normal than I was expecting from a Captain Beefheart album after hearing Trout Mask Replica. It was an interesting listen and a few tracks were pretty fun but nothing really stood out enough to add to my playlist and I'm not sure if I'll return to this.

Probably will take a couple listens to really digest this one, but what's immediately obvious is just how ridiculously innovative and ahead of its time it is. So freaking intelligent and experimental for '67. For a first run through, it's tough for me to remember many of the tunes and the instrumental stuff in the back half definitely loses me. But my gut tells me this is special. So 4 stars it gets.

A fun album with some great tunes! I can tell that Captain B and Frank Zappa were mates, in fact since childhood and collaborated on Trout Mask Replica.

Usual Beefheart - The good, the bad & the downright weird

suspect i am going to hate this :) Not as mad as i thought but not my thing

The band are attempting some of the latest fashions, but they run the seams in the wrong directions, too many limbs are accounted for, and young Ry Cooder will soon tire of Beefheart throwing buttons in his face. “Electricity” is the arrow to what would make them great, but this is never less than baffling fun.

What a great sounding album - dirty blues guitar, searing slide, DvV's gravelly vocals. Must have sounded like nothing else in 1967. Packed with tunes and ideas, really enjoyed it.

Love the guitar and bass; hate much of the vocals

i liked the last third

Weird and odd. Not as clever as Zappa's music who produced and influenced much of music. A difficult listen

Hmm

better than the other one but still didnt impress me

Wednesday, 24 June, 2026 Side 1 was good. Side 2 lost me a bit. He has an interesting voice. The recording and mix was a bit strange. It’s all very interesting. 1967 must have been quite a year.

Too odd for me.

Tom Waits and Nick Cave owe their careers to Beefheart. 60s riffs, blues influences and a push towards avant garde make this a really interesting album. Surprisingly it’s very accessible with killer hooks.

If you like Captain Beefheart, you are a fucking asshole.

A few bright spots but overall not very captivating.

I was dreading this due to the abysmal reputation on the Reddit Generator sub of their “Trout Mask Replica.” Perhaps inevitably with such low expectations, it exceeded them. I think this is quite creative for the psychedelic rock genre at the time. I really liked the 50’s throwback track. There are some world music elements that hint at Ry Cooder’s future - I wonder if he, at 20, contributed to those arrangements. In any case, his guitar playing is stellar. The lead singer has a pleasant voice at times, even though he usually leans too far into gruff and gutteral. The rest of the band is good at the blues- and psych-rock sounds that overall form the bulk of this record. It’s good if you like this sort of thing. It’s not really for me, though.

I don't know what Frank Zappa, whose music I love, saw in this guy, but to me he is unlistenable.

Spoiled like milk

I hadn't really heard much Beefheart other than probably some of the stuff he did with Frank Zappa. Anyway, it's a little on the odd side, as can be expected from someone with such associations. But not so much as Zappa's stuff usually is. This is definitely more bluesy in general, and there are some seriously groovy tracks, Where There's Woman for example. Could be a 4 if it weren't for the overly experimental misfires, but leaning high 3.

Rock solid, no fuss, three. Good.

No me movio la cotorra

bonus points for that theremin

Weer een beetje saai, maar niet slecht

Bijzonder saaie bluesrock, ga ns weg.

Not at all like Troutmask Replica and surprisingly accessible and coherent. I am still not sure whether that is a good thing.

This was surprisingly accessibly compared to other Beefheart that I’ve listened to. It still has that weird vibe running through it but not so off the wall that it sacrifices its musicality. It’s obviously rooted in blues but I can hear other musical genres coming through at times, from Americana (‘electricity’), classic rock (‘zig zag wanderer’), R&B/soul (I’m glad’) and even hints at krautrock (‘on tomorrow’) all whilst sounding a little like it is just about to fall apart and just about holding it together. Quite enjoyed it though.

I'm not a fan of old bluesy stuff like this.

I liked this well enough, 3 stars

Goblin music

A friend of mine who is on this journey with me recently observed to me that "weird" is an essential element of his musical taste. No surprise, this is the same guy that turned me on to They Might Be Giants when we were kids. They remain one of my favorite bands, but it's hard to imagine trying to get anyone to like them if they haven't had years to marinate in the weirdness. I get the same feeling with Captain Beefheart, except in a psychedelic classic rock palette rather than TMBG's art rock/New Wave sound. Anyway, I recognize the weirdness and enjoy it, but also wonder if this is something you need to listen to many times to get it -- see also fellow travelers Frank Zappa and Tom Waits. I'm into it, but also curious to see if I'll return or not.

Dear god is this obnoxious. And this ain’t even Trout Mask Replica.

Strange, creative, eclectic, and interesting in the way that Frank Zappa is, but with a bit more of a bluesy edge.

Didn't like this, I get that it's somewhat experimental but I can't vibe with this. There's not a point in the album where I feel connected woth this album at all. That being said, it is not awful there is parts to it which work more than others but it doesn't mesh overall. I won't listen to this again, sorry to the big fans of this. Fav Track: Electricity

whole thing felt sarcastic? but i liked it. or am i being sarcastic? what was in that 60s milk

++: Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do, Zig Zag Wanderer, I'm Glad, Electricity, Yellow Brick Road, Plastic Factory, Where There's Woman, Grown So Ugly +: Call on Me, Dropout Boogie, Abba Zaba, Autumn's Child 8,5/10

Went into this with no hope, having suffered through Trout Mask Replica previously as my only intro to this band. Shockingly, I actually enjoyed most of this debut album. It has a distinctly southern bluesy, folk-rock sound. It opens strong and closes less so, but if the band stuck to this style and sound versus the eccentric nonsense that followed, I could’ve been a fan.

Blues for weirdos. Men langt ifra pleb-filteret High Fidelity presenterer det som.

Blues for weirdos ja

לדאבוני לא כזה אהבתי

I like what they attempt to do but not how they do it.

Nada que decir, no me subjugó Nota: 2.7

Oh dear

On "Safe As Milk", Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band use blues as a jumping off point for sonic experimentation. Instead of trying apply a virtuoso approach to the blues (a la Clapton or Jeff Beck), Don Van Vliet and his crew go the other direction, embracing the rattier, dirtier side of the genre in an attempt to innovate by (ironically) adopting a near-primitive approach to the music. Trouble is that it doesn't amount to much, because it's only a half-step and doesn't come anywhere close to the transformative power of what The Cramps or The Gun Club (for example) were able to bring to the form. It also sounds like it was recorded for $5, which doesn't help either.

I have a mate who loves these guys. Don’t get it personally

Never would have chosen this. But it caught me in the right mood. Where it’s good, it’s very very good. But one star knocked off for the 4 or 5 tracks that are just a bit too weird and kept it all going about 20 mins too long.

I remember John Peel talking about Beefheart but never got around to listening, so this was a cool opportunity. A bit too noodly in places here but I'd definitely give some of the other albums a go on the basis of this.

Weird album but a good listen. Went through every musical style and I felt like I was speed running the 1960's.

Totally bonkers and I loved it

This artist deserves both 5 stars and 1 star at the same time. I'm not sure what they were trying to accomplish, but whatever it was they 100% accomplished it.

I used to own this album awhile ago, I liked it but it was never quite as good I wanted it to be. I still feel the same, it's delightfully quirky but maybe not as unhinged as I want it to be. Actually the more I listen to this album the more I enjoy it. It strikes me as Zappa-lite meets Quicksilver Messenger Service. He does have a really interesting voice which adds quite a bit of texture.

Not as weird as I was expecting!

La verdad, no me gustó.

Hits the spot every time. Zig Zag Wanderer is a personal anthem for me. Incredible, dirty, twisted, weird blues album.

Safe as Milk by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band was a fantastic discovery for me. It’s a great listen from start to finish, packed with energy, personality and a brilliant blend of blues and R&B. This album is exactly why I’ve enjoyed doing this challenge. It’s the kind of record I would probably never have listened to otherwise, yet it’s one that I can already tell I’ll be coming back to again and again. Finding albums like this makes the whole journey worthwhile. The musicianship is excellent throughout and the songs are full of character. The lyrics work really well and, surprisingly, much of the album still sounds fresh and modern despite being released in the late 1960s. There’s a raw creativity to it that feels timeless. It’s quirky, inventive and great fun without ever losing sight of the songs themselves. I’m definitely looking forward to exploring more from this band. Favourite tracks: “Sure 'Nuff 'n Yes I Do”, “Electricity”, “Yellow Brick Road”, “Abba Zaba” and “Plastic Factory” Least favourite tracks: Everything here is worth a listen Album artwork: Cool album cover

Keiuna Hnung was das ist, irgendwelcher Sound der nicht einzuordnen ist

Strong 8 to a light 9. Very experimental for 1967 standards and I quite enjoyed it.

Gets a bit too noodley for me at times

ass cheeks

Overall Rating - 3.00/5 (6.00/10). Pretty standard late 60s rock and roll music. Occasionally weird, generally well written and performed.

Just the right amount of freakiness in the blues.

it's average 60s rock n roll, what am i supposed to be saying about this

I can hear the influence

Really enjoyed the psych rock summer vibe - could really hear the influence it's given more current music 😅

Maybe I'm just grumpy today and not in the mood for these shenanigans but this just didn't hit.

Don trying to pretend that this is just a blues or early or r&b crooner album but you can’t lock this man up in some pithy genres! No! The weirdness always prevails and it’s absolutely delightful.

Neither here nor there on this one. Music was interesting and I think within the context of the time, very forward thinking and experimental. But I also felt that the experiments didn’t always yield easily likeable music so this is rated more for its influence on future bands and music than for it being distinctly great itself.

i still have ptsd from trout mask replica……. while this was sort of better i just couldn’t take it seriously

Best Song: Abba Zaba. Despite myself, I kind of liked the nonsense lyrics here. Worst Song: Electricity. Who wants to hear this pack-a-day smoker wheeze out "electricity" for three minutes? Overall: The kind of experimentalism that I don't like. "Look how goofy and drug-addled we are". Great. Do something interesting with it. Not just a 70 minute slog of slightly silly dad rock.

interesting enough i suppose, the iterations on a blues formula are fun, and some of the guitar work is quite good. the vocals are not doin it for me and the recording quality is a relic of a previous decade in a bad way

Certain albums just don't fucking belong.

If Mick Jaggar sang some of these songs you would have been fooled into thinking it was a Stones album. It also sounds like a mixture of Dr.Hook. This is a good formula. That’s how good some of it is. This isn’t my first dance with these guys but it has me wondering why it’s not a repeat one. They are still weird which holds me back a bit. Choice cut: the first song. I’m not typing it out though I’ve now typed longer than looking back at the title would take.

Milk's shelf live has nothing this album from Mr. Beefheart.

Yeah it was alright, it’s VERY 60’s. instrumentals are great but i don’t really care for beefhearts vocals. I’m gonna drop it below the decent ranking of 3 stars because theres very few tracks of this hour long list that i actually care for. Standouts are zigzag wanderer, i’m glad and dirty blue gene.

Meh.

Boy, this album started so promising... but turns out to be an exercise in disappointment. The opening track is a straight ahead blues tune with some cool slide guitar. I thought sure, I'm on board with this. The following tracks were good in a similar manner. The song Electricity is nice, featuring some Moog synthesizer -- I have to imagine this is some of the first use of it in pop music. But in the same song the singer starts using this whooping vocalization that makes the song virtually unlistenable. The rest of the album falls into endless repetition. There are some instrumental jams on the back half that I would normally be down with, but they aren't very imaginative and aren't played with any particular skill. This is such a contrast with Birth of the Cool yesterday in which improvisation is used, but is thoughtful and features impeccable playing skill. The opening third would be a high 3 even pushing 4. But the back end of this really sounds like they were just padding the decent material with filler to complete an album length release. It's really too bad.

Interesting and eclectic, even if it doesn’t end up something perfectly satisfying, 1 listen Favorite Tracks: I’m Glad, Zig Zag Wanderer

Expectation: -> ??? After listening: -> Interesting group name, for starters. I feel that I can break this album into thirds. A third was really good, a third was decent, and a third was questionable. I would definitely consider coming back to a portion of this album. Shy of a 4 rating but a pleasant surprise. Track ranking: Zig Zag Glad Autumn Call Yellow Woman Abba Nuff Ugly Plastic Electricity Boogie

As stated when the last Captain Beefheart landed on the list. One or two songs are okay but for the most part have no interest in his odd mix of music.

pretty rough, prog rubbish

Deeply weird - but I don't hate it.

It’s fine, but I can’t imagine I’ll think to listen to it again.

What a huge impact this made in 1967….real avant-garde pop Van Vliets voice was so unconventional. If it hadnt been for John Peel playing this on his radio programme we wouldnt have heard it at all. Danced to Yellow Brick Road! Autumns Child has a theramin. Great sounds of my youth!

So it turns out my copy of this is a reissue that inexplicably had two tracks removed. Annoying. As Beefheart's debut, this is no where near as weird as he would get later. I like it a lot, but I am one of those people who think Trout Mask Replica is genius. It's ok not to like it. It's weird and hard. This is much easier. Safe As Milk would serve as a pretty good, accessible introduction to the Captain. If you don't like this you are certainly not going to like his later efforts. Very confused to read people complaining about it being too long. It's twelve tracks clocking in at just under 34 minutes. If you choose to listen to all the bonus tracks that were tacked on to the cd reissue, that's on you.

I didn't like it.

There were parts of this that were legitimately funny to listen to, but musically it was just alright. It was like listening to early Pink Floyd or the Doors but not good. Also what does safe as milk even mean.

Such a fun, eclectic album. His voice just makes this album.

Never listened to Captain Beefheart before. I’d always heard he was pretty far out there. Some of this album is. But I found a lot of it to be interesting. Some very weird tracks I didn’t like that take it from a 4 to a 3 for me. Overall, a fun listen.

First track revealed just how late 60s this was with accepted mysogeny, young girl/woman bating. I like the blues sound, especially since my recent trip to New Orleans.

This list tends to lose me at anything labeled "experimental," but this was surprisingly listenable. Definitely weird AF, but in an interesting way rather than obnoxious. It's pretty long, though.

instrumentalmente muy bueno, muy 60s. guardé una canción :p

I don't really care for this album. But I did quite like "I'm Glad" but that's mostly due to the backups.

Great debut from the maestro Don Vliet

Kolejna z tych długich, zawiłych alternatywnych płyt, które trudno ocenić, bo w tym garze pływa wszystko. Niektóre utwory są niepokojąco pociągające, inne nużące. 6.5/10 równane w dół.

Ok. Yeah. This was fun. I'd like to think that, were old enough for this to be in my zeitgeist, I'd have fallen in love with this album early on. It's sound is definitely a precursor to all the "weird" bands that came out throughout the decades later; Residents, Primus, Ween, etc. It's definitely dated and certainly doesn't have that same punch it has when it came out, but I dug it. Looking forward to putting this one on again.

While this was better than the other album of his that inexplicably made this list, it was a still a double album of unbridled hubris. It wasn't all bad, but I definitely could have died happy without hearing it.

Zzz

More crass imitation of black American blues. Nothing special.

Really likeable. I wasn’t prepared to like it this much.

Reminds me of when I got together with my high school friends in the summer and we noodled around in the basement

I've been meaning to revisit Captain Beefheart's work lately and Safe as Milk seems like a good entry point (well no shit, Jim, it's the debut album!). It's still accessible, especially compared to some of his later work, but it's got that streak of weird, avant garde eccentrism that kinda defines Beefheart. The music itself is pretty down to earth; some of those blues licks are sick as hell (that's a 20 y/o Ry Cooder you're hearing) but some of the lyrics and vocal phrasings are out of this world. John Lennon was said to be a pretty big fan of the album and I can see it. I guess I am, too

He gets weirder and meaner but this is pretty damn good. Beefheart wants so badly to go off track but hasn't quite figured out how to do that which means that this album is particularly punchy in spots where other bands would want to make something pleasant. Not totally revolutionary or uber strange but definitely tilting in that direction.

Weird lil

The parts of this that work for me work really well and the parts that don't are easy enough to ignore. I'd probably rate this lower on a different day but after a few listens it really grew on me.

not nearly as bad as I was expecting / hoping, pretty decent actually

Mediocre

I was nervous about this, having read about the reputation of Trout Mask Replica. This is actually not bad, in fact it is rather accessible, despite the muddy vocals. But I don’t think I’ll ever come back to it. Electricity is weird, but it’s still music, albeit experimental. Let’s say 3 stars.

Y'know when you kind of recognize an album, but not really? This is one of those. Anyway, holy shit how strong it starts! With the boogieing and the musicality and the experimentation in the first two thirds of the album I thought I was listening to an easy 5/5 if it could be kept up. That being said, it devolves into a bit fine but generic blues by the end. Still, I imagine will definitely be replaying the first seven or eight tracks from the album.

schwach

This album started out in the hole because I hate Trout Mask Replica so much. The guy’s stupid Wolfman Jack voice also didn’t do it any favors. Wikipedia says he sings in five octaves or whatever but I don’t know what an octave is and I think his voice sucks. All that being said, this was pretty inoffensive blues rock, so I didn’t hate it too much. But still, fuck Captain Beefheart.

this was FUNN abba zabba has to be my favourite, i believe. Its so ominous and silly at the same time

This was weird.

First listen 2 second listen 3. Gravelly ass

I just loved this. It's a sound in rock that I always look for, not so many have it, and feeling that they might be one of the pioneers was moving, shaking, rocking.

Kinda cool, quite forgettable.

Começou, olhei pra caixa de som esquerda e pensei "que isso, cara?". Nunca ouvi essa banda na vida, mas achei muito massa o som deles. Animado, voz estranha diferenciada uhauhuhaa. Começou bem, depois começou a ficar chato, repetitivo, podia ter acabado o álbum antes e ser melhor.

Num curti não, achei cansativo, barulhento. Na primeira música eu até achei que tinha potencial, eu até que curto o estilo, mas aí as músicas foram ficando mais bagunçadas, barulhentas mesmo. Achei paia. PS: Exageraram pra cacete no stereo também, de modo que chegou a me incomodar, tipo tacavam 100% do vocal pra um lado só, por exemplo. Apesar de obviamente esse esquema stereo ser comum, e geralmente deixar a música muito mais rica, acho que normalmente as músicas não jogam tanto assim pra um lado só, porque me gerou uma sensação mó esquisita, de desequilibrio.

Bro, this album aged like milk Definitely not my style. I did like one song, but it felt like a chore to get through

weird is all I can say. I won't listen again, I won't buy it, I will take if off the turntable if someone puts it on

Love Captain Beefheart

this album was super good!!

This is unabashedly odd, and something I really wish I liked. That being said, I was not into it 4 months ago, and I don't think I've come around on it since then. It is cool though, respect to Captain Beefheart and also his magic band. If you're looking for a litmus test from the album, throw on Electricty.

An odd one. Something about it made me not hate it

1967, l'année où le rock a décidé de se coller des paillettes sur le fion et de chanter la paix universelle en bouffant des buvards. Tout le monde plane à San Francisco, les Beatles jouent de la trompette en costume de carnaval, et les Doors se prennent pour des poètes maudits dans des pantalons en cuir trop serrés. Et puis, au milieu de ce grand déballage de bons sentiments sous perfusion de LSD, débarque un type qui ressemble à un vendeur de voitures d'occasion ayant fait une mauvaise chute dans le désert de Mojave. Don Van Vliet, alias Captain Beefheart, un nom qui sonne comme une marque de pâtée pour chien ou un super-héros raté. Pourtant, ce qui sort de ce premier album, *Safe As Milk*, c’est tout sauf de la came pour les gentils hippies qui veulent sauver les baleines. Dès les premières secondes, on comprend que le Capitaine ne vient pas pour nous faire des câlins. On parle d’un disque qui se veut "sûr comme du lait", mais c’est du lait caillé, oublié sur un radiateur en plein mois d’août. C’est un disque qui pue la poussière, la sueur et le blues poisseux du Delta, mais passé à la moulinette d’un cerveau qui fonctionne avec des circuits électriques complètement cramés. Ce qui saute aux oreilles, avant même les instruments, c’est cette voix car Van Vliet possède quatre octaves et demi de pure menace. On dirait un croisement entre Howlin' Wolf et un orage qui aurait décidé de prendre des cours de diction. Il grogne, il éructe, il vocifère des paroles qui oscillent entre le surréalisme de bazar et le génie pur. Le mec nous parle d'électricité, de routes en briques jaunes et de vagabonds en zigzag avec une conviction qui frise la démence. Rien que pour cette performance vocale, le disque mérite qu'on s'y arrête, même si on a envie de se boucher les oreilles de temps en temps. Mais le Capitaine n'est pas seul dans son délire car il a son "Magic Band". Et en 1967, le groupe est une machine de guerre, bien plus disciplinée qu’elle ne le sera plus tard quand Don décidera de devenir un dictateur domestique enfermant ses musiciens dans une baraque pour les forcer à manger du soja. Ici, on a encore de la structure et surtout, on a Ry Cooder. Le gamin n’a pas vingt ans, mais il joue de la slide guitar comme s'il avait vendu son âme à un carrefour en 1930. Sa guitare glisse, elle grince, elle apporte une ossature bluesy indispensable au chaos ambiant. C’est Cooder qui rend ce disque écoutable pour le commun des mortels et sans lui, le navire aurait probablement coulé avant de quitter le port de Los Angeles. L’album est un mélange foutraque. C’est du blues, mais déformé dans un miroir de fête foraine. C’est du rock garage, mais joué par des mecs qui ont oublié comment on fait un accord de sol majeur. C’est psychédélique, mais sans les fioritures chiantes et les solos de sitar qui durent quinze minutes. C’est court, c’est sec, et ça va droit au but. On est loin de la fluidité des groupes de l'époque. Ici, ça saccade, ça s'arrête brusquement, ça repart comme une vieille bagnole qui a des ratés. Et c’est précisément ce qui fait le charme de l’objet. Pourtant, malgré tout ce génie latent, je ne peux pas monter au-dessus de 3 sur 5. Pourquoi ? Parce que le titre n’est pas qu’une blague : c’est une réalité. L’album est encore trop "safe". On sent que Beefheart et son producteur de l'époque, Richard Perry, ont essayé de faire un disque qui pourrait passer à la radio entre deux tubes de Motown. Il y a des moments de pure pop, ou presque. "I'm Glad", par exemple. C’est une ballade soul. C’est joli, d’accord. Van Vliet montre qu’il sait chanter "normalement". Mais honnêtement, on s’en fout. On n’écoute pas Beefheart pour l’entendre jouer les crooners de kermesse. On l’écoute pour qu’il nous malmène le cerveau. Ce côté "cul entre deux chaises" est ce qui m'agace un peu sur la longueur. On passe d’un truc monstrueux comme "Electricity" – qui est un sommet absolu de rock abrasif avec son Theremin strident – à des morceaux beaucoup plus conventionnels, presque banals pour l'époque. On sent que le Capitaine n’a pas encore osé couper totalement le cordon avec le format chanson. Il essaie de plaire, il essaie de rentrer dans le moule, même s'il le fait exploser de l'intérieur par moments. C’est un disque de compromis, et dans mon monde, le compromis, c’est souvent le début de l’ennui. Alors oui, "Dropout Boogie" a un riff qui pourrait faire passer Mick Jagger pour un enfant de chœur et "Abba Zaba" joue avec des rythmes africains et des lignes de basse qui vous retournent l’estomac. Tout ça est techniquement brillant et historiquement majeur et on voit bien que sans ce disque, toute la scène post-punk des années 80 n’aurait jamais existé. Pas de Beefheart, pas de Pere Ubu, pas de Devo, pas de Public Image Ltd. C’est la pierre angulaire de tout ce qui est "bizarre" dans le rock. Mais être une influence ne suffit pas à faire un chef-d'œuvre absolu. Le son de l’album est aussi un peu daté et la production manque de couilles. C’est un peu plat, un peu étriqué et on aurait aimé que ça sature plus, que ce soit plus sale, plus organique. On sent la patte des studios de Los Angeles qui essaient de polir un diamant brut pour qu'il brille dans les vitrines. Mais Beefheart n'est pas un diamant, c'est un morceau de charbon radioactif. Plus on essaie de le nettoyer, plus on perd ce qui fait sa force. Au final, *Safe As Milk* reste une curiosité fascinante. C’est l’album où l’on découvre le potentiel destructeur de Don Van Vliet sans pour autant se prendre la déflagration totale en pleine gueule (ça, ça viendra plus tard, et ce sera beaucoup plus douloureux). C’est un disque qui se laisse écouter sans trop d’effort, ce qui est à la fois sa plus grande qualité et son plus grand défaut. C’est du blues-rock de haut vol, avec une pincée de folie, mais ça reste du rock. On n'est pas encore dans l'abstraction totale, dans la déconstruction systématique du rythme et de la mélodie. C’est le disque parfait pour frimer en soirée sans pour autant faire fuir tous vos invités après trois morceaux. C’est l’entrée de gamme du génie. Un apéritif corsé avant un plat de résistance qui s’avérera immangeable pour la plupart. J’aime ce disque pour ses éclairs, pour la guitare de Cooder, pour les grognements de Van Vliet, mais je ne peux pas m’empêcher de penser qu’ils auraient pu aller beaucoup plus loin s’ils n’avaient pas eu cette envie de décrocher un hit. C’est un 3/5, ferme et définitif. Un "bon" album, nécessaire pour comprendre la suite, mais qui manque de cette étincelle suicidaire qui fait les grands disques. On est dans la suggestion de la folie, pas encore dans l'immersion. Le Capitaine nous montre la porte de l'asile, mais il n'a pas encore jeté les clés par la fenêtre. On apprécie la visite guidée, on admire les murs capitonnés, mais on ressort de là en se disant que c'était presque trop poli. Un peu plus de fiel et un peu moins de lait, et on tenait le Graal. En l'état, c'est juste un excellent brouillon d'apocalypse.

No. 162 I don't understand what it means to be safe as milk. I don't understand a lot of things about this album.

Interesting rock music, very vintage, somehow I enjoyed the sound of the instrumental ones

Not my style

Is it typical 60s rock band? Is it a folk album? Is it a blues / soul album? Is it country? I'm not too sure. this album is all over the place in its consistency. it's not fun to listen to. The individual songs are decent, but it just feels like 19 songs randomly picked to be put onto an LP.

pretty good for an old song

I think I probably had the same experience as a lot of people - told that Trout Mask Replica will change your life, you listen, nothing has changed apart from never revisiting the album and live your life safe in the knowledge that Captain Beefheart made art you just didn't enjoy. Well, I enjoyed this one. It made *sense*. I got it. It clicked. There's some songs on here which are undoubtedly brilliant. A lot of them are interesting at best, but now I'm safe knowing I CAN explore if I wanted to. Thanks Captain.

I don’t know how to describe it but I liked it!

Not keen on this. Did not enjoy.

An album I didn’t like when I first listened to it. But after a couple more listens upon receiving it here, I am now giving it 5 stars. It’s weird and unique in such a good way This album has a strange yet satisfying way of being both accessible and inaccessible at the same time! Favorite track: Autumn’s Child

Captain Bee Fart the weirdo you are x

Surprisingly good until it's surprisingly long

Bluesy goodness

I genuinely don’t know where to start with this album. It’s kind of a hodge podge of genres and styles; some better, some worse. Clearly talented, but I’d say I enjoyed maybe half the songs and didn’t really engage with the other half.

This was alright

Maso

Prefer trout mask

An old favourite of mine. It’s a bit of a mixed bag but there’s some real bangers on here.

Unique.

No. 393/1001 Sure 'Nuff'n'Yes, I Do 3/5 Zig Zag Wanderer 4/5 Call On Me 3/5 Dropout Boogie 2/5 I'm Glad 4/5 Electricity 2/5 Yellow Brick Road 3/5 Abba Zaba 3/5 Plastic Factory 2/5 Where There's Woman 3/5 Grown So Ugly 3/5 Autumn's Cild 3/5 Average: 2,92 Hard to pin this record. Some songs I enjoyed quite a bit. Others were really grating.

I can't trust these guys or milk. Like, at all.

utter slop

it would seem than an avant-garde bluesy rock album should sound interesting but damn it's just boring.

Estuvo guay

Pretty unhinged but I think I like it

I…. Like this a lot. Somewhat familiar with a few tunes before. More penetrable than Trout Mask and I still think I’ll learn more as I listen more. 4 stars now and maybe a 4 1/2 with a little more time.

Very gravely, mix between twangy and metal - odd. I didn't hate it but it wasn't great.

Eh

I gotta admit, normal Beefheart goes harder than I expected. this is a real interesting album with some slappers. Thoroughly enjoyed.

A unique twist to 60’s groove rock. This pushes the envelope on the genre, while still staying within bounds.

this was great at the beginning but by the middle I was ready for it to be over

Strong start then lost interest

Listened while in the car, so I was not givingthe music my full attention. What I heard was variable, a strong start which petered out. John Peel was a huge fan while at his most influential. But not really for me.

I found this album so mixed. I found myself drifting away in Blues only to be suddenly woken by some harsh lyrics. Not sure I can cope with the inconsistency.

I'm going full school report on this one. 4* for effort in pushing the boundaries of rock. But 1* for attainment on the basis that I really can't listen to the last few tracks again before I die. And in the final analysis, that's all that matters. 1*

This was a cool album. It is really all over the place as far as genres.