Captain Beefheart - Strictly Personal [1968]

‘Strictly Personal’ became something of a cause celebre in Captain Beefheart’s oeuvre- the man himself disowned the album due to the psychedelic period production trappings added to the mix by producer Bob Krasnow, in order to make the music a little bit more palatable to a demographic used to the psychedelic sound. In retrospect, Krasnow’s decision was understandable- in its original state, this music was not easy to categorise and, therefore, sell to the general public. However, Beefheart’s music is definitely not psychedelia and nowadays, perhaps the music sounds more of its time than it may have done. Nevertheless, ‘Strictly Personal’ remains an excellent entree into the world of Captain Beefheart, being a little less avant garde than the follow-up ‘Trout Mask Replica’, but also a little bit more abstract than 1967′s ‘Safe As Milk’.

                                                                Enjoy!