I began listening to Captain Beefheart and His Magic Band in May 2023.
Safe as Milk (1967): B
Strictly Personal (1968): C
Trout Mask Replica (1969): C
Safe as Milk (1967):
For their debut, Beefheart and his band take the template of the Mothers of Invention's debut Freak Out! and sub out the doo-wop influence for blues influence, which often comes from the young and immensely talented slide guitarist Ry Cooder. Also in contrast to the Mothers, the Magic Band always keep their songs under four minutes. If there's ever a song that doesn't impress, it falls by the wayside quick enough and Beefheart's funny singing and the guitar are enough to always keep things mildly interesting. I'm just worried about their future now that the Mothers have released Absolutely Free. B
Strictly Personal (1968):
There are some okay melodies here and Beefheart continues to be an interesting vocalist but with Cooder having left the band, the instrumentation isn't nearly as exciting. This is not the carbon copy of the Mothers' Absolutely Free that I feared, but the phasing and reverb added by the producer often makes it as unlistenable. C
Trout Mask Replica (1969):
There is no point in entertaining this as a truly consumable product, especially if it's going to be served by the gallon. C
