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 Captain Beefheart & The Magic Band Safe As Milk (1967) Rating (Out of 10): 8 Tracklisting: 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 Ulgy/Autumn’s Child Captain Beefheart has got to be one of the most original artists ever to have made records. Otherwise known as Don Van Vliet, Captain Beefheart had a recording career as singer, lyricist and saxophone player with the Magic band from the mid 60’s to the early 80’s. His music was very original and innovative and widely known for it’s surreal lyrics and song titles. ‘Big Eyed Beans From Venus’ and 'My House Is My Only Home Unless It Rains’ are two such titles which illustrates the humour that Beefheart injected into many of his songs. But don’t mistake Captain Beefheart for a novelty act. His name may sound very humorous (and reportedly comes from his pet name for his private parts!), and there may be a certain amount of humour in his lyrics, but the music of Captain Beefheart is definitely not comedy, it is serious music. It is very intelligent, artistic, and creative. It is the sort of music that pushes back boundaries and thinks outside the box whilst at the same time being fun and entertaining. Van Vliet went to school with another innovative musician, Frank Zappa, and the two of them collaborated on Beefheart’s most famous album ‘Trout Mask Replica’. Beefheart joined up with the already formed Magic Band in the mid 60’s and more or less took over giving them a very distinct musical direction. Members of the band have come and gone throughout the years and they are currently still making music although Don Van Vliet retired in 1982 to concentrate on his paintings. Hs is now a successful artist living in a semi-reclusive state and is rumoured to be suffering from multiple sclerosis. The music of Captain Beefheart has a reputation for being very arty to the point of being inaccessible, and while that may be the case for a couple of his albums, particularly ‘Trout Mask Replica’, the majority of his music is very good and worth listening to. It is different to the majority of music around, but that’s what makes it so good. ‘Safe as Milk’ is probably a very good place to start if you are new to Beefheart. There are albums which are more accessible, such as ‘Bluejeans & Moonbeams’, but those albums aren’t really characteristic of his music, whereas ‘Safe As Milk’ is strange, and different and fun without being too inaccessible. When you first listen to ‘Safe As Milk’, the first track, ‘Sure ‘Nuff ‘N Yes I Do, won’t fail to put a smile on your face. The vocal styling on it is very strange and funny, and it is one of the more light hearted songs on the album. There is a very special moment about a third of the way through ‘Safe As Milk’. In the midst of all this arty, creative innovative music there is a very special song indeed. ‘I’m Glad' is a glorious understated love song’ with beautiful vocal harmonies which demonstrates Beefheart’s diversity and capability of creating something on the more ‘normal’ side of things. It is definitely something you don’t expect on an otherwise experimental album. ‘Electricity’ is the best song on the album for me. It is a very strange, very experimental track. Van Vliet sounds very Tim Buckley circa ‘Lorca’ and ‘Starsailor’, using his voice as an instrument, making all sorts of vocal noises and creating something very individual and special. When ‘Safe As Milk’ was first released in 1967, it was light years ahead of it’s time. It still sounds very different now, so at the time, it must have caused quite a stir. Unfortunately this album and most other Captain Beefheart albums didn’t achieve much commercial success. This is probably got a lot to do with his refusal to pander to popular demands and the experimental nature of his music. It’s a shame that ‘Safe As Milk’ didn’t achieve more success. It is an audacious debut album from someone who definitely stood out from the crowd and wasn’t afraid to push himself as an artist. Send A Comment |