After brief thought, I think I know exactly where my love for anything that people may regard as “odd” may come from. They call it odd, I call it genius. I’m right; they are wrong.

It all comes from one artist, specifically one artist. Captain Beefheart. The guy was an absolute genius. Everything he did was a work of art. Offbeat, out of sync- who cares? The guy created one of the most distinctive sounds EVER. He also released one of the greatest debut albums ever in 1967. If I was around when this first came out, I reckon nothing in my world would have ever been the same. Nothing would mean anything.

I listen to it now as often as I can (yeah, I listen to it a lot) and I wish I was around back then. Those times seem much better for music. It had true substance then. Now? Well, there’s a severe lack of it. You have to look much harder for it, not that I mind spending my days finding music that blows my mind. It’s the best feeling ever.

Safe As Milk was released in 1967. It mixes blues with a highly psychedelic feel. It’s got this brutal tone to it that I have only ever found in one other band since. It’s no surprise that this band is influenced by Captain Beefheart. Of course, it is The Kills. The brutal beats and vicious vocals that Captain aka Don Van Vliet posses stay with you forever. You listen to Safe As Milk and damn near nothing will be the same again. I don’t care if this kind of music isn’t your thing, with one listen; your world will change. It’s always best to be an outsider because nobody ever expects us underdogs to do anything of worth. Oh how wrong you are Society, how very wrong you are. You see, if you leave someone to their own devices and they are highly creative- they will make something you fear. Fear is good in music; it’s a very good thing. If a band can scare you shitless or provoke ugly feelings then it is a job well done.

Safe As Milk is on the same level as the Velvet Underground’s debut album- extremely bluesy and just takes you off elsewhere. It’s beautiful, it’s poetic and best of all; Safe As Milk is scattered. It’s everywhere. Those that don’t get Music will just say it’s a mess. Those who can see the genius within it know it is a masterpiece. Don wasn’t exactly known for being the sanest man in the world. But they knew he was a genius. His vocals stay with you and his words are instantly etched upon your heart. Some of the frustrations that fall out of his songs jus tug at your heartstrings. This is what it is like to have your mind well and truly blown. Safe As Milk takes you on an unforgettable journey when you first listen to it. When you come to listen to it again and again (REPEAT!) you will be taken to that place straight away. It must be highly acknowledged that the album features THE greatest slide-guitarists of all time, Ry Cooder. He was only 20 years old when the album was recorded.

The arrangement on the album and the sharp yet strange lyrics on the album became Captain Beefheart’s sound; this is what he was known for. Now, a lot that knew of him probably listened. They probably just saw him as some oddball and didn’t pay him any attention. Oh I hope you feel foolish for your errors. Safe As Milk is a dirty, raw record. Typically, when it was released hardly anyone gave a damn about it. I don’t understand how an album like this could not be greeted with welcoming ears. It’s everything you want. You rant blues? This record has it. You want obscurity? This album oozes it. You want something that bamboozles you? Safe As Milk will do that to you, with every single listen.

Grown So Ugly, Call On Me, Dropout Boogie; seriously, these are tracks you need in your life. Safe As Milk is an album you need oh so urgently in your life. You know how life can be tedious and mundane? People like Captain Beefheart existed so we could escape all of that. He’s given us music that fucks with our heads (in a good way) and sends us off into a lucid dream. That’s needed, it really is.

The album opens with Sure ‘Nuff ‘n Yes I Do which is heavily influenced by the Delta blues sound. Gradually the album becomes more and more strange; but it doesn’t deter you at all. It keeps you locked in. that’s what happens with every record by Captain Beefheart. Starts quite bluesy then just mashes up your head, you wouldn’t have it any other way. Why settle for something sane and boring when you can have this. The psychotic sound here is something that cannot be replicated, just admired.