Comments for Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band, Safe as Milk

Actually, track 7's not so bad either. Here's some inside info : Ry Cooder plays the cool bass on "Abba Zaba" and the bass & one of the guitars on "Grown So Ugly". There are a few guest musicians such as Taj Mahal playing percussion on track 7. The story is that Beefheart himself plays the theremin on "Electricity" & "Autumn's Child", as well as the bass marimba & of course the harmonica.

The more I listen to this, the more I like it and the more amazed I am by it.

I disagree with you a tiny bit again mcfarsc - no bad tracks here either. "Yellow Brick Road" is a bouncy happy fun song. "I'm Glad" demonstrated that he was a masterful Philadelphia type soul singer. This is tremendous for a first record. Trivia tidbit: On "Electricity," his singing (vocal range) destroyed a microphone.

Years ahead of the competion. "Yellow Brick Road" "Electricity" who else could even contemplate stuff like this in 65-66. The master struck first while everyone else was still doing Bealte harmonies.

Sorry to throw a brickbat, but the good Captain's first album was kind of dopey. The stuff here has more in common with the Monkees than Zappa or any kind of avant-garde art-rock.

This is quite simply one of the best debuts of all time, perhaps THE best. It sounds fresh and inventive thirty years on. It IS pop compared to the avant-garde experimentation of his later work, but left-field nonetheless. Beefheart did everything his way - love songs, the blues, even doo-wop and melody, breathing new life into all types of music whilst coming close to creating a genre all his own. This is breathtaking.