Safe As Milk 7
Sky‐thought
Don Van Vliet comes across as a retiring man, so at this distance likely we’ll never know truths. But what’s out there on the web is uneven, and in it’s tales misleading. The setup was complex. And nobody talked or talks much about the Magic Band, except a few professionals who felt and feel bound to review the records. The Magic Band are a cult item. And the Captain Beefheart music has zero relevance to modern pop. The band existed, right, with their handful of fans? This is music relegated to archivism. ‘Safe As Milk’ in particular is noted as something, but a first step.
Alright, but ‘Safe As Milk’ was one of the first out‐there albums I ever bought. Ever since I bought it, I’ve played it. I wrapped the album in a clear vinyl sleeve to keep it protected. Aside from Van Vliet’s other work, I’ve always liked it. From comments I find, I suspect I’m not the only one. This album has a special place. And I’d say there are reasons. There are hints everywhere. The album is not only a Van Vliet work. The band at the time was a collective, Art Tripp’s interview with Mike Barnes speculated, “…the Safe As Milk group… mostly all had their own ideas, and would not put up with any attempts to dominate.” Ok, perhaps the Captain got more out there in some phases, but perhaps you like a more organic process. Perhaps you like the grapple with melody—The Captain abandoned melody often in later phases. ‘Safe As Milk’ was composed with another person writing lyrics and, however like his own songs and part of his own thoughts, Van Vliet would never have written a song like ‘Zigzag Wanderer’, a character sketch about stoners, or a song like ‘Electricity’, a spiritual delve into the power‐source. It may be you are fond of Herb Bermann’s wider interests.
Also the album has space for work by other artists. However Van Vliet‐modified, ‘Call On Me’ it is now believed was written by one of the first drummers, Vic Mortensen. And however proto‐Van Vliet, ‘Grown So Ugly’ is an old Blues song. Others are involved in the recording. Taj Mahal is on tambourine (‘Yellow Brick Road’), a guy called Sam Hoffman was brought in on theremin (The Captain claimed the theremin work on ‘Electricity’ caused the band to be dropped by the record company), and throughout is notable if brief involvement by known guitarist, Ry Cooder. The album was provoked, engineered and finished by record‐company employees who went on to big things. That’s not the end of it, because the Herb Bermann interview makes it clear that though poor and isolated, the band at that time were part of a culture. People listened to the Magic Band at gigs, talked of them in bars, and Herb Bermann noted that Leonard Bernstein telegrammed them words of encouragement.
All of which means ‘Safe As Milk’ recordings were created by a construction process never later replicated. A process difficult to replicate at any time. The album stands alone, product of an era—if it means something for you, you have reason.
References
Wikipedia, here more comprehensive than other sources,
Interview with the man who wrote lyrics, Herb Bermann,
http://www.beefheart.com/i-was-a-scribe-for-captain-beefheart-herb-bermann-speaks-part-1/
Robert Christgau addresses Beefheart (‘Safe As Milk’ not covered),
‘Captain Beefheart, The Biography’, by Mike Barnes,
http://www.beefheart.com/captain-beefheart-the-biography-by-mike-barnes/
Blacktop cover of ‘Here I Am, I Always Am’,