94. Safe as Milk - Captain Beefheart and his Magic Band

Filed with Frank Zappa as an artist I wanted to know, without having to devote the time to actually listen to him, Captain Beefheart's name alone has always intrigued me. Whilst strange that I would not explore them via Trout Mask Replica first, the write up in the book that sparked this whole project intrigued me.

The album was not a commercial success, and did not chart either side of the atlantic, but it did pave the way for the band's future direction, complete with surreal lyrics and experimental rhythms. Ry Cooder was brought in to perform additional guitar parts, and brought a blues-based sensibility to the album. John Peel was a fan, and it is this album that Barry, in the film High Fidelity, refuses to sell to a customer because he is "not in a selling mood today", before being informed that he is a music snob. 

Sure 'Nuff 'n' Yes, I Do has a brittle-yet-fuzzy guitar sound, with a real Blues swagger to it. Beefheart's vocals have a guttural delivery, although I'd slightly question the extreme stereo nature of the vocal panning, which appears overtly artificial. Zig Zag Wanderer is, as Chloe pointed out, straight out of the Austin Powers school of music, but it has a charm to it that allows it to pull off the naive psychedelia. Call On Me is a relatively traditional pop song than most, with a 'more is better' approach to instrumentation, especially on the percussion front. Dropout Boogie has a great mirroring of the vocal and guitar effects, with a density applied to both that is cur through by the odd chiming harmonic. I'm Glad is a pastiche of a 50s high school prom dance, complete with a waltz-y time signature, and overly saccharine backing vocals. Electricity caught my attention the first time through, with its off-kilter timing, and often bizarre vocals, that steps up into a rumbling, driving manifesto of a song. Musically it seems to epitomise the creativity that underpins the group, whilst never losing sight of a fundamentally accessible experience. And it uses a theremin, which is always a winner in my (Physics text)book. Yellow Brick Road is a rattley, wheezy number that gets toes tapping, and imaginations running riot. Abba Zaba is a rhythmically powerful track with exceptionally meaningless lyrics but good delivery, and Plastic Factory sounds like a Bob Dylan track where the LP has warped a bit, but in a good way. Where There's Woman is the standout for me, with its emotionally driven and powerfully delivered chorus, surrounded by squealing guitars, and underpinned by a tight as a nut rhythm section. 

This is, at its heart, a very good pop album. The effects, the bizarre lyrics, the experimental instrumentation, add a layer of obfuscation, but cannot detract from the accessibilty of the music. It is far more blues-y than I had anticipated, and carries with that a real punch of emotion, although it isn't always clear what that emotion actually is. Nonetheless, I enjoyed it for pretty much the whole week, which is a sign of a good album, at the very least.

Chloe's album rating: 7
Chloe's favourite track: 3. Call On Me
Olly's album rating: 7
Olly's favourite track: 10

Next week is our fourth Kink's album - 64. Face to Face. Hopefully it's more Arthur than Something else.