Safe as Milk

by Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band, Captain Beefheart

Overview

Beefheart's first proper studio album is a much more accessible, pop-inflected brand of blues-rock than the efforts that followed in the late '60s -- which isn't to say that it's exactly normal and straightforward. Featuring Ry Cooder on guitar, this is blues-rock gone slightly askew, with jagged, fractured rhythms, soulful, twisting vocals from Van Vliet, and more doo wop, soul, straight blues, and folk-rock influences than he would employ on his more avant-garde outings. "Zig Zag Wanderer," "Call on Me," and "Yellow Brick Road" are some of his most enduring and riff-driven songs, although there's plenty of weirdness on tracks like "Electricity" and "Abba Zaba." [Buddha's 1999 reissue of Safe as Milk contained restored artwork and seven bonus tracks.] ~ Richie Unterberger

Product Details

Release Date:	06/01/1999
Label:	Bmg / Bmg / Sony Music
UPC:	0886978829023

Tracks

1. Sure 'Nuff 'N' Yes, I Do
2. Zig Zag Wanderer
3. Call on Me
4. Dropout Boogie
5. I'm Glad
6. Electricity
7. Yellow Brick Road
8. Abba Zaba
9. Plastic Factory
10. Where There's Woman
11. Grown So Ugly
12. Autumn's Child
13. Safe as Milk [Take 5]
14. On Tomorrow [Take 5]
15. Big Black Baby Shoes [Instrumental Version]
16. Flower Pot
17. Dirty Blue Gene [Instrumental Version]
18. Trust Us (Take 9)
19. Korn Ring Finger

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Captain Beefheart   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals,Marimba,Harmonica
Captain Beefheart & the Magic Band   Primary Artist
Taj Mahal   Guest Artist,Percussion
Milt Holland   Percussion,Log Drums
Alex St. Clair   Guitar
Antennae Jimmy Semens   Guitar
Samson Hoffman   Theremin
Jerry Handley   Bass,Guitar (Bass)
Jeff Cotton   Guitar
Sam Hoffman   Theremin
Ry Cooder   Bass,Guitar,Guitar (Bass)
Russ Titelman   Guitar
John French   Drums
Don Van Vliet   Vocals,Marimba,Harmonica

Technical Credits

Joe Foster   Producer,Recreation
Guy Webster   Photography
Don Paulsen   Archivist,Archival Materials
Arlessa Barnes   Project Coordinator
David Richman   Redesign
Joanne Feltman   Archivist
Felicia Gearhart   Project Coordinator
Tom Tierney   Archivist
Laura Gregory   Project Coordinator
Robin Diamond   Project Coordinator
Steve Strauss   Project Coordinator
Glenn Delgado   Project Coordinator
Gary Marker   Engineer
Jerry Handley   Composer
Tom Wilkes   Graphic Design
Lisa Butler   Project Coordinator
Glenn Korman   Archivist
Dana Renert   Project Coordinator
John Platt   Annotation,Liner Notes,Reissue Producer
Catherine Seligman   Project Coordinator
Christina DeSimone   Project Coordinator
Mandana Eidgah   Production Coordination
Larry Parra   Project Coordinator
Claudia Depkin   Archivist
Andy Morten   Design,Artwork,Producer
Bob Krasnow   Producer
Jimmy Murphy   Composer
Kris Needs   Liner Notes
Jeremy Holiday   Project Coordinator
Richard Perry   Producer
Frankie Trumbauer   Composer
Ry Cooder   Arranger
Don Van Vliet   Arranger,Composer
Robert Pete Williams   Composer
Leo Wood   Composer
Ed Osborne   Project Coordinator
Robin Manning   Project Coordinator
Mike Ragogna   Reissue Producer
Elliott Federman   Mastering
Hank Cicalo   Engineer
Herb Bermann   Composer
Bruce Pollock   Project Coordinator