Rush! Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Is anyone here a fan of him and his Magic Band? I'm just getting into him, he's so awesome! Some of his stuff blows Zappa weirdness right out of the water IMO. Also, a couple of weeks ago, PuppetKing2112 was kind enough to send me the entire Gilmour's On An Island CD on the computer because I was so desperate to hear it. Well now I bought the CD myself, but I'm keeping it on my comp just for reference. I was wondering if any Beefheart fans here own his 1967 debut album "Safe As Milk" ? If so, if you could send me the entire album to my comp, I really would appreciate it. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Test4VitalSigns Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Talk to Goob....he's a major fan.... Goob started a thread about his album Trout Mask Replica here... http://www.therushforum.com/index.php?show...ptain+beefheart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PuppetKing2112 Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 QUOTE (Rush! @ Mar 21 2006, 05:50 PM) I was wondering if any Beefheart fans here own his 1967 debut album "Safe As Milk" ? If so, if you could send me the entire album to my comp, I really would appreciate it. Thanks If you have iTunes, you can rip all your CDs very easily. If you need help, get me on AIM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Safe As Milk is a bit schizophrenic, and it's certainly not entirely consistent, but it's still a GREAT psychedelic album, and probably the most accessible of his early works. To say it's his most accessible though is a VERY relative term as by normal standards it's really out there. Mostly it's his voice. This is the first Beefheart album I ever picked up when I was 17 or 18, and I thought it was absolutely horrible on first listen, even offensive. Thankfully, I had the presence of mind to put it away for awhile before dumping it, and when I listened again I realized its brilliance. Don Van Vilet (aka Captain Beefheart) has a REALLY odd and really DEEP voice, but with a lot of range and a lot of style and distinctiveness. His voice might put off some, but so will the music. Some of the music on this album is very strange indeed, and songs like Drop Out Boogie and Abba Zaba will test some people's tolearnce of how weird a song they can handle. For those with fortitude and are open to such weirdnesses (like me ), they'll flip over it. Electricity is simply one of the greatest psychedelic songs of all time, and the way he sings the word Electricity almost has to be heard to be believed. Rumor has it that he even accidentally broke a very expensive microphone while singing it. Other great songs include the more bluesly Yellow Brick Road and Sure 'Nuff 'N Yes I Do. On the surface these songs are slightly more normal, but they're really not - I mean that voice! Most of this is pretty edgy in one way or another, save for a couple of more filler tracks like Call On Me and I'm Glad. Filler tracks or not though (and even those aren't too bad), the rest is either very, very good or better, so it's an essential purchase for those who are into this kind of thing. Jeez, this thing even had a shot at mainstream success if he wasn't such a weirdo. That he did get some success with the even weirder Trout Mask Replica two years later is a marvel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 If you really want a treat, pick up his lesser known second album Strictly Personal from 1968. http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/pics/strctpercover.jpg In this one he abandons all pretense of even the vague possibility of a hit song to go full-tilt, out on a limb into his own bizarre territory, and ended up with an album that's very bluesy, acidic and twisted. There something about his band here - the bass and drums give it a really odd sound and quirkiness that is very unique. In fact, the bassist has such a distinctive style that I heard him in another band (Mu) and it reminded me strongly of Captain Beefheart, even though the rest of it musically was completely different! I wish I could describe the sound of this album better, but since there are no real great points of comparison, even among other Beefheart albums, you just have to hear it for yourself. Still, it's not as weird as Trout Mask Replica the following year by a mile, but this was about as far as he could take things while still being called psychedelic. By the following album, we're really more in avant-garde territory. Can something be SO weird to you can't even rightly call it psychedelic any more? Yes, it's called Trout Mask Replica. It should be noted that apparently the good captain was very upset that some sound effects (mostly phasing) were added to Strictly Personal to make it a little more psychedelic without his permission. While he was understandably upset, I think all the additions were great, and they don't overwhelm the album or anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thestand Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 This is one of those bands that I found on a tangent off of another band. I wanted to know who Jack White of the White Stripes was influenced by, and other then all of the blues artists, he's said that this is one of his biggest influences. Actually, in a recent photoshoot, he replicated the Trout Mask Replica cover. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mustard Death Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 TMR is brilliant... I have yet to pick up any other albums. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rushgoober Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 Following Trout Mask Replica was 1970's "Lick Off My Decals, Baby". There is a fair contingent of Beefheart fans who somehow rate this as their favorite Beefheart album, but I'm not one of them. http://www.dustygroove.com/images/products/c/captainbeef_lickmydec_101b.jpg Don't get me wrong, it's a very, very good album, but to me it sounds like a more polished and pre-meditated version of Trout Mask Replica, and consequently it misses out on a lot of the rawness and spontaneity of TMR, both lyrically and musically. Even though Beefheart had his group rehearse the TMR material endlessly for months before going in the studio, it was recorded pretty quickly, managing to somehow give it a spontaneous feel. Lick Off My Decals, Baby sounds like a very polished, produced and well thought out version of TMR, not exactly a sound that lends itself easily to becoming a formula. Some people must think that's an improvement, but many like I do not. Still, it's a must have for Beefheart fans. Check out some of the song titles: I love You, You Big Dummy I Wanna Find a Woman That'll Hold My Big Toe Till I Have To Go The Clouds Are Full of Wine (not Whiskey or Rye) Flash Gordon's Ape Pre-established Beefheart fans will very much enjoy this album as it's still great, still weird and still incredibly non-mainstream. As long as you're not expecting Trout Mask Replica part 2, you should very much enjoy this album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rush! Posted March 26, 2006 Author Share Posted March 26, 2006 http://www.beefheart.com/datharp/albums/official/pics/tmrband.jpg Captain Beefheart's band for Trout Mask Replica, circa 1969 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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