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"
"Abba Zaba."
[
Buddha
's 1999 reissue of
Safe as Milk
contained restored artwork and seven bonus tracks.] ~ Richie Unterberger