Product Description

The genesis of the first Captain Beefheart album SAFE AS MILK is suitably shrouded in mystery, but the result is a collection of performances that meld blues, R&B, avant garde rock, and West Coast pop in a unique and heady mix that's like nothing else in the Captain's oeuvre. While subsequent outings would emphasise the full-on weirdness of Beefheart and his Magic Band, songs such as "Yellow Brick Road", "Sure 'Nuff'N Yes I Do" and "Abba Zabba", while not without their own sonic quirks, still sound fresh and accessible today.
With uncredited appearances by such luminaries as Taj Mahal andRy Cooder, SAFE AS MILK's overall feel is adventurous, freeflowing, yet with an underlying discipline that Beefheart would throw to the wind on subsequent releases. There's even an attempt at doo-wop harmonies on "I'm So Glad", though theharp-flavoured "Plastic Factory" finds him in more familiarR&B territory. Beefheart would never again sound this conventional, or, some might venture, this coherent.

Track Listing

1. Sure Nuff 'n' Yes I Do
2. Zig Zag Wanderer
3. Call On Me
4. Dropout Boogie
5. I'm Glad
6. Electricity
7. Yellow Brick Road
8. Abba Zaba
9. Plastic Factory
10. Where There's A Woman
11. Grown So Ugly
12. Autumn's Child
13. Safe As Milk
14. On Tomorrow
15. Big Black Baby Shoes
16. Flower Pot
17. Dirty Blue Gene
18. Trust Us
19. Korn Ring Finger

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #3177 in Music
• Released on: 1999-09-04
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
"I may be hungry, but I sure ain't weird," Don Van Vliet, a.k.a. Captain Beefheart, famously intones on this bright-sounding re-mastered version of the 1967 debut by Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band. Safe as Milk is a bold, tough-ass distillation of Delta blues stomp and 1960s garage-punk swagger, fused with a radically polyrhythmic and tempo-shifting style that one might term "art rock". Listening to the delightfully playful, absurdist "Abba Zabba", it's easy to see why Lester Bangs called Beefheart "the only true dadaist in rock"; the song is a good indication of the intricate, rule-breaking music the Magic Band would continue to hone. But there are also formidable ballads (the psychedelic "Autumn's Child", the lachrymose "I'm Glad"), mid-tempo pop-soul tunes (the Otis Redding-ish "Call on Me"), and straight-ahead blues-rock workouts ("Plastic Factory"), all of which showcase the fretwork of a young Ry Cooder. Much has been made of Beefheart's multiple-octave vocal range; he sings menacingly on "Dropout Boogie" and allegedly broke a very expensive microphone on the eerie "Electricity". The last seven tracks on this reissue (for the most part fascinating, unfinished instrumentals) were recorded with a different line-up; they are outtakes from Mirror Man Sessions. --Mike McGonigal

Customer Reviews

A moment in time
Nothing more to add except legend has it that when he was asked by a journalist ... Whats so safe about milk ?? the captain growled back
' Ever tried paraffin on your cornflakes ?? '

The rest is history!!

Safe?
This album is about as safe as a vile of acid. Also filled with flesh eating bacteria. In the mouth of a T-rex. Get where I'm going with this? You do? Then we are on the same level my friend.

This was the first album released by the genius, Captain Beefheart, and it's a great place to start if you are a bit scared of where too. Which, you probably will be after reading some of the stuff people have written about his music. Yes, it is sometimes a little horrible to listen to and, especially on his later albums, you won't always instantly hear the music underneath. This isn't Abba. This isn't even Frank Zappa. Though, if you're a Frank Zappa fan you are bound to like some of this. But, like I said, this was his first album and it is certainly a little less crazy than some of his later ones. Like `Trout Mask Replica', which is the greatest album ever by the way. Get that one too.

Anyway, like some of the songs on this album, I seem to have lost the plot a bit. Except, when it is Beefheart losing the plot, he takes you to a magical place filled with stuff you haven't even conceived of yet and that I won't even try to put into words. Things that will terrify you as much as they'll make you laugh with wonder. And trust me, if you are completely insane that is, this album will do just that to you. And if you're not insane, then that's what this album will do to you.

What separates this album from other versions are the bonus tracks you get with it. Now, normally, I really hate bonus tracks. They are usually crap, boring, and get in the way of the actual music. But, and you knew there was a but coming, didn't you; the bonus tracks you get here are brilliant and genius. Seriously. The first time I heard `Trust Us' my brain melted out of my ears. I also love the early recording of the song `Safe as Milk', which wasn't actually on the original album, I don't think.

Let's talk about the actual songs now. There are quite a few of them thankfully and unlike almost every single album released nowadays, they are all genius and perfect. As far as I'm concerned there isn't a single bad track on this album. I do like this album a lot though, so don't my word for it. They are all brilliant, innovative, and, if you haven't ever listened to music like this before, will change what you think music is forever. Till you buy `Trout Mask Replica' that is...

I've been trying to decide on a favorite song for this review and I really can't. Picking a favorite would be like trying to decide which member of your family to let the serial killer murder to save the rest. Screw it. Kill em all! Every tack is my favorite.
The previously mentioned `Trust Us' really is a high point though. And, as it is a bonus track, means you need to get this version of the album. It has one of the best opening tunes ever, layered beautifully under the most insane lyrics. It'll really wake you up when it all kicks in for the first time. Also, still talking about `Trust Us', there is this bit at the end that sounds like a choir of Beefheart's all harmonizing in the weirdest way possible. It is just so strange and beautiful that the first time I heard it I just stopped existing and really opened my eyes.
There is also `Electricity', a crazy blues type song with lyrics that probably don't make any sense unless you are as crazy as a crazy person with two heads. Fortunately for me I do have two heads and both of them are mad, so I get it. Also, the song `Electricity' has some of the coolest guitar playing ever. In fact, every song on this album has the coolest guitar playing ever.
`Yellow Brick Road' is a twisted song that draws you into its eerie hell with nice sounding lyrics and a cute and catchy guitar hook before the chorus kicks in and you are dropped with a noose around your neck and then left wondering how you get there.
Equally scary is `Autumn's Child', a song that really does defy categorization. At one point you can hear whipping noises in the background and then later it's like you are being dragged through a forest completely naked and with beautiful trees coming on to you. Weird, I know.

There is one track though that may be my favorite. Or at least, it is sometimes. The track `Abba Zaba' is a song that sounds like you are traveling to a mystical temple just floating casually in the sky. You can feel the guitars under you as you're carried up through the clouds higher and higher, all the while lyrics that I don't think actually mean anything, fill your head, and the shapes the clouds form are all swirling, twisted and golden. Then the chorus suddenly comes in and it is one of those moments. You know, one of those song moments that stops you the first time you hear it and you are left asking, what the heck was that? Something that only last a few seconds but you'll never forget. It just surrounds you and the only thing to do is just let it all wash over you. The magical sounding guitars, the beautiful words, the thumping bass; which is nice and loud throughout, thank Joss Whedon (He's my god!), and the general weirdness combining to make something truly unique and life changing.

So that's it. I can't be bothered to write anymore. I guess the only way you are going to know for sure is to just buy this album.

New favourite band
Amazing. I have found my new favourite band, thanks to seeing the film "Captain Beefheart: Under Review".

This is EXACTLY the kind of music I like. It seems criminal that I should be 29 years old before I hear this music, but at the same time I'm glad because it shows that there are still amazing things to discover.

This music is so groovy yet so complex at the same time that I just find it irresistible. The first track, "Sure 'Nuff N' Yes I Do" is a little throwaway, but once you get to "Zig Zag Wanderer" you're just grooving. It sounds so fresh, and just blows anything else out of the water. I used to think The Doors were good, but compared to this... they just seem so lame!

Since I've been listening to this record it seems I've had a different track in my head each day: "Dropout Boogie", "Abba Zaba", "Yellow Brick Road", "Plastic Factory"... they're all so infectious.

I love the production: vocal in one ear with a spiky clean guitar, and rhythm section in the other ear (for the most part). The performances are on the money - especially Beefheart himself whose combination of blues and soul-like singing with some weird eccentric moments ["Eeeeeelec-tri-city....ngaa-ngaa-ngaaaaa-aaaahh!] are like nothing I've heard before. This music is just audacious. It's so refreshingly brilliant I just found myself laughing out loud at it's genius.

So this CD contains the original 12 tracks from Safe As Milk as well as 7 (I think) bonus tracks - totalling about half an hour each. To experience this record properly I listened just to the album tracks a few times first before trying the bonus tracks. True enough, the bonus tracks aren't up to scratch with the album tracks, but when isolated, they are still original examples of quality work. They just lack the swing and groove that the album has.

So anyway, if you haven't already, discover this now. I know it's not for everyone, I just find it hard to understand how anyone that's into quality, groove-based rock n' roll could not like it.

Postscript: I was wrong about "Sure Nuff N' Yes I Do". I really like it now, it's just not one that sticks in my head. I love the pause every couple of bars when the music kicks in. It's logical, but somehow totally chaotic.

A bit more postscript: "Sure 'Nuff N' Yes I Do" stuck in my head yesterday. I don't usually keep adding to my reviews, but this record just keeps revealing more and more to me as time goes on.

Fat grooves on: "Sure Nuff N' Yes I Do", "Zig Zag Wanderer", "Plastic Factory".

Crazy genius on: "Electricity", "Abba Zaba", "Dropout Boogie".

Incredible singing on: "So Glad Baby", "Autumn's Child".

Great drumming on: "Dropout Boogie", "Electricity".