...this is the accessible first work of captain beefheart, and with it's catchy blues-roots should be listenable also to people who roll their eyes when talking about his key-work "trout mask replica" (69). when in june 1977 we celebrated the 18th birthday of my friend daniel waldner, i gave him a c46 tape with 22x "the blimp" on it;-) i own all beefheart albums, but specially like his recordings from 1967-71 and 1978-82...
Underground classic, absolute genius and one of my favourite albums of all time. Crank up the volume. Yes, it's warped and weird but this is easily the most accessible of all of Beefheart's albums. It features a 20 year old Ry Cooder, who is magnificent throughout. There's a real mix on here: "Sure 'Nuff' and Yes I Do" starts off like a straightforward Delta Blues before being amplified and injected with Amphetamine, "Zig Zag Wanderer" has a heavy R&B baseline and the R&B theme continues with what has to be the most "pop" tune he has ever done, "Call on Me". Nothing is mainstream though, there's sharp jangly guitars cutting through the horns gently fading in and out as as the percussion phases from left to right. Then you're hit with the weird, grungy, heavy "Dropout Boogie", the mood totally changes for the sentimental "I'm Glad" with it's Doo-Wop backing harmonies and the side finishes with the weird, high voltage, up tempo "Electricity" which utilises the Theremin to great effect. Side Two starts with the folky- rock "Yellow Brick Road" followed by " the pure psychedelia of "Abba Zabba" - Ry Cooder takes the bass here to great effect. Next comes "Plastic Factory" which sounds like Howlin' Wolf on Acid. "Where There's Women" is a touching tune with beautiful lyrics. "Grown So Ugly" is the only cover on the album and like the opening track is like heavy, psychedelic, Delta Blues. The album closes with the trippy, beautiful "Autumns Child" which again utilises the Thremin. Everyone should know this album.