Museum Musica

USA, 1967, blues rock / psychedelic rock

Captain Beefheart – Safe as Milk: This album doesn’t fit in with the whole Summer of Love image, does it? It’s covered in grit, got spots all over it, and flies under the radar, the kind of music you’d find outside the green where everyone is making daisy chains and dancing in circles and just generally engaging in a “love” fest (all paid for by the parents, by the way). Funny thing about the album title, though: Vliet wanted to name the album after his favorite candy bar but couldn’t get permission, so he changed the name to “Safe as Milk”. Safe, as in not getting sued? Though not the intent of Vliet, I always think of this album as referencing future TMR…compared to that album, this their debut certainly is safe.