CAPTAIN BEEFHEART AND HIS MAGIC BAND – Strictly Personal (LP-1968)

Label: Liberty – LBS 83172, Liberty – LBS 83172E

Format: Vinyl, LP, Album / Country: UK / Released: Dec 1968

Style: Blues Rock, Avantgarde

Recorded April 25th - May 2nd, 1968 at Sunset Sound, Hollywood, California.

Art Direction – Tom Wilkes

Photography By – Guy Webster

Arranged By, Written-By – Don Van Vliet

Engineer – Bill Lazerus, Gene Shiveley

Producer – Bob Krasnow

Matrix / Runout (Side A stamped runout): LBS 83172 A//1 420

Matrix / Runout (Side B stamped runout): LBS 83172 B//1 420

LBS 83172 is the catalog number on the spine and labels while LBS 83172E is the catalog number on the back cover.

A1 - Ah Feel Like Ahcid ................................................................... 3:05

A2 - Safe As Milk ............................................................................. 5:20

A3 - Trust Us .................................................................................... 8:05

A4 - Son Of Mirror Man - Mere Man ................................................ 5:20

B1 - On Tomorrow ........................................................................... 3:25

B2 - Beatle Bones N' Smokin Stones ............................................... 3:15

B3 - Gimme Dat Harp Boy ............................................................... 5:00

B4 - Kandy Korn ............................................................................... 5:05

Don Van Vliet – lead vocals, blues harp [mouthharp]

Alex St. Claire – guitar

Jeff Cotton – guitar

Jerry Handley – bass

John French – drums, percussion

"Strictly Personal" is the follow-up to "Safe As Milk" and the band's 2nd official album, recorded at Sunset Sound Recorders between 25th April & 2nd May 1968 and released on the "Blue Thumb" label in October of that year.

After the production of "Safe As Milk" Ry Cooder departed, resulting from an incident at a warm-up 'Magic Mountain' gig at Mount Tamalpas prior to their booking at Monterey. The band thus failed to capitalize on airing the tracks at the all-important Monterey Festival in June '67. Problems further plagued Vliet's new-formed line up of Snouffer, Handley, French and Cotton when they began their European gigs in January '68. Their appearances at the UK's "Middle Earth" and "Speakeasy" clubs were jeopardized by problems at Immigration, where they were accompanied by event organizer (and "The Who" manager) Pete Meaden. This 'lack of UK work permit' fiasco soured UK deals between Meaden, Buddah management and Pye - perhaps beginning the rot that would lead Krasnow, and the band, to depart from Buddah. However, the band completed gigs in Hanover on the 16th, London's two club dates on the 20th & 21st, "The John Peel Sessions" on the 24th, the MIDEM performance on the beach at Cannes on the 27th and the Casino le Croisette with "The Crazy World Of Arthur Brown" on the 28th. They then returned to the US in February, appearing at the Whisky-A-Go-Go from the 1st to the 4th.

By late April a number of compositions, rehearsals and tapes were begun by the band for a second album on Buddah - broadly conceptualized as a double vinyl entitled "It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper". The core of this work took on a new shape when Vliet teamed the band up to an agreement with producer Bob Krasnow. Vliet had considered renaming the band "Blue Thumb", but this became the name of the new label which Krasnow formed. The material was pared-down to a single album and, whilst The Magic Band were appearing and performing this material back in the UK in May '68, Krasnow assembled the album under his own initiative. Much of the work had been created under the Buddah aegis, which may have been one of the reasons the work was reduced to a single album. Phasing and effects were added by Krasnow to the mix and the "Strictly Personal" album emerged as the first release on "Blue Thumb" as BTS 1. The album has also been manufactured & distributed by Liberty, United Artists and EMI.

The band began and ended their European "Strictly Personal" tour at UK's "Middle Earth" on 3rd & 25th May 1968. In between they appeared in Rome, along with UK bands such as "The Trinity" with Auger & Driscoll, "Ten Years After", "Donovan" and "Fairport Convention", plus another "John Peel Session". Dates also encompassed UK colleges, pubs and clubs, including "Frank Freeman's" in Kidderminster on the 19th - some of which can be found on record.

In retrospect, there has been much controversy among Beefheart followers over the merits of Krasnow's additions to the "Strictly Personal" work. 'Un-phazed' material and sessions can be found on such releases as "I May Be Hungry But I Sure Ain't Weird" or "The Mirror Man Sessions", which provide an overview on the birth and existence of "Strictly Personal". The album "It Comes To You In A Plain Brown Wrapper", on the 'Sundazed' label, also plugs gaps in the band's "Strictly Personal" history- onwards to the release of the fifth official album "Mirror Man".

Considered by many to be a substandard effort due to the circumstances of its release (producer Bob Krasnow, the owner of Blue Thumb, the label which debuted with this album, remixed the album while Don Van Vliet and crew were off on a European tour, adding extraneous sound effects like heartbeats and excessive use of psychedelic-era clichés like out-of-phase stereo panning and flanging), 1968's Strictly Personal is actually a terrific album, every bit the equal of Safe As Milk and Trout Mask Replica. Opening with "Ah Feel Like Ahcid," an a cappella blues workout with its roots in Son House's "Death Letter," the brief (barely 35 minutes) album is at the same time simpler and weirder than Safe As Milk had been. Working without another songwriter or arranger for the first time, Captain Beefheart strips his idiosyncratic blues down to the bone, with several of the songs (especially "Son of Mirror Man/Mere Man") having little in the way of lyrics or chords beyond the most primeval stomp. Krasnow's unfortunate sound effects and phasing do detract from the album at points, but the strength of the performances, especially those of drummer John French, make his efforts little more than superfluous window dressing. Strictly Personal is a fascinating, underrated release.

(Review by Stewart Mason)

If you find it, buy this album!