Album Of The Week (4/30/24) - Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band: Safe As Milk
Album of the week! Captain Beefheart And His Magic Band - Safe As Milk
Gotta get one thing out of the way first. While I’m a complete devotee/ fanatic for Mr Van Vliet’s work (up to and including ‘Trout Mask Replica’), it’s very difficult to reconcile the music with the mental and physical abuse the Magic Band members endured under his leadership.
That being said, this is one of the greatest debuts of them all. Elements of blues, international exotica, soul, and acid fried rock n roll meld into something completely unique. The songs are both accessible and twisted; accessibility perhaps was only achieved successfully once by Beefheart, on this LP.
Much credit is due to Magic Band drummer John French; not only for his jazzy, unique, propulsive drumming, but also for his patience and empathy in the face of ugliness that allowed him to transcribe the Captain’s ideas into music that the Magic Band could actually play. It’s a real tragedy that he wasn’t given the credit he deserved by Don Van Vliet (especially on ‘Trout Mask’). The drumming on ‘Electricity’, one of the most amazing tracks here, goes beyond mere rhythm keeping. John Frnch plays a part that’s so unique, and so crucial to the song, that he deserved a writers credit. Ry Cooder - a Magic Band member for this LP only- lays down some of the rawest slide guitar ever played by a Caucasian here.
‘Safe As Milk’ is one of those albums that sounds both of its time, and also from the future.