The Official Captain Beefheart Thread

[Chives]

Originally Posted by Howard the Duck

i love Doc, but the second side is just not very interesting

and uh no, not really interested when Don is not singing

That's true. I just enjoy the general sound of the album so I put up with a lack of good material partway through.

Where would we be without Don's beautiful voice to guide us?

[Howard the Duck]

anyways, I agree with Shiny Beast (Bat Chain Puller) - his most accessible and poppy, and the easiest place to start with him

i started with Strictly Personal, which was above average at best

[Rjinn]

As much as I love the bunch of songs I've heard, sadly I don't have any of his records. Best album to start with? I don't really want accessible.

[Howard the Duck]

Originally Posted by Rjinnx

As much as I love the bunch of songs I've heard, sadly I don't have any of his records. Best album to start with? I don't really want accessible.

Doc at the Radar Station, I guess

gateway to his "weird" stuff and his "pop" stuff

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Rjinnx

As much as I love the bunch of songs I've heard, sadly I don't have any of his records. Best album to start with? I don't really want accessible.

If you're not looking for accessibility I'd say to pick from TMR, Lick My Decals Off, Baby, Ice Cream for Crow, and Doc at the Radar Station. If you want a gateway album that is more accessible, however, I'd say to start off with Safe As Milk. If you become a fan of any of the four albums that I listed, I'm sure that you'll want to backtrack through the Captain's discography, though.

[reynard the fox]

Am I the only one thinking that "Safe As Milk" is better than "Trout Mask Replica"?
(Both masterpieces, anyway).

[Howard the Duck]

am i the only one thinking "Safe as Milk" is pretty generic R n B besides its inventive use of theremin?

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by Howard the Duck

am i the only one thinking "Safe as Milk" is pretty generic R n B besides its inventive use of theremin?

I think that the structure on the songs is somewhat innovative. It is a pretty straightforward blues album, though, I'll give you that. On first listen, it does come off as a modern Howlin' Wolf album after he discovered the theremin, but I wouldn't say that it's generic.

[reynard the fox]

Well, maybe I made a bad choice of words.
Saying that it is 'better' underestimates the great creativity and originality which Beefheart shows in TMR. "Safe as Milk" is more traditional, that's true.
I personally prefer the latter, that's it. It has a more straightforward but still feverish attitude towards rhythm, singing and sound which suits me better.

[Frownland]

Originally Posted by reynard the fox

Well, maybe I made a bad choice of words.
Saying that it is 'better' underestimates the great creativity and originality which Beefheart shows in TMR. "Safe as Milk" is more traditional, that's true.
I personally prefer the latter, that's it. It has a more straightforward but still feverish attitude towards rhythm, singing and sound which suits me better.

They're both great albums, and entirely different animals, so it would make sense that there are parties that prefer one to the other in terms of favourites. The production on Safe As Milk is definitely better than the atrocious sound quality on TMR, but I've gotten used to that after a couple hundred listens .