Frank Zappa was one of rock's true iconoclasts, and likely one of its only true geniuses: a compositional wunderkind wrapped in a naturally gifted performer wrapped in a studio wizard wrapped in a sharply comic satirist, all with work ethic to spare and an incisive personality to match. I’ve always thought that if you wanted to survey the landscape of American pop culture in the second half of the 20th century, you could do a lot worse than simply listening through the Zappa discography. A mind weaned on pop music, he was one of the first to recognize that musical genres were defined not by the songs themselves but by their listeners, that styles could be spliced and grafted and assembled like Lego, their representations distinguished not by sonic differences but by the times and places they evoked. Consequently, his music became an anomaly, absorbing all the sounds around it and refracting them through a zany, joyfully cynical prism to create a bizarro musical world all its own. Although he spent much of his career satirizing the politics and social groups of the U.S., he also represents the strongest elements of the American spirit: fierce independence, self-sufficiency, a perpetual desire for improvement, and a steadfast opposition to authority. Often imitated but never duplicated, he produced one of the most expansive and imaginative bodies of work in the history of recorded music.
About two years ago I decided to honor the brilliant musical mind by taking a journey through every pre-mortem Frank Zappa / Mothers of Invention / Mothers LP. Life got in the way, and I never fulfilled my original ambition. Consequent to the release of Alex Winter’s new film Zappa, a documentary examining the profane polymath, I’ve now decided to revisit the concept in an attempt to finish what I started. While it may sometimes sound like I'm being harsh on these records, don't get me wrong: I wouldn't give up any of them for the world. Frank Zappa gave us a great gift; at his core, he was just a man who loved music very much, and he shared that love in the most powerful way. And then he thanked us for coming to the show.
60 Francesco Zappa
The absolute nadir. Probably the only Zappa album I might be willing to describe as "worthless". Every other album in Zappa's catalogue merits at least one listen, if only for historical value, but this one limbos below even that bar. Who is this for? It's Frank Zappa's computer playing compositions by someone other than Frank Zappa. There's not a single moment of actual Zappa on this record. I mean, it's not totally unlistenable - it's pleasant enough - but you're basically immersing yourself in the sonic equivalent of a BBC documentary miniseries from 1984. A testament to the mediocre results of Zappa’s dedication to high concepts and process art in the 1980s; sure, it’s funny that there’s an 18th-century composer also named “Frank Zappa”, but I don’t really need an album about it. Effectively pointless.
59 Thing-Fish
This one takes a lot of flak for re-using compositions from earlier albums, but it's still a fun time. At the very least, it's a massive jump in quality from Francesco Zappa. Like most of Zappa's attempts at narrative, it has ideas out the (Grand) wazoo and no cohesion whatsoever; I guess the biggest problem with Thing-Fish is that, more so than 200 Motels or Joe's Garage or Ahead of Their Time, the "story" completely overtakes the music here. Multiple tracks on this LP are little more than extended dialogue sequences over a repetitive vamp, which makes sense given that it was intended as the "Original Cast Recording" of an unproduced Broadway musical. The comedy isn't that funny, and the narrative completely fails to hang together, but when paired with Zappa's always-amusing liner notes, it is an engaging listen. It ends up second-from-the-bottom simply because there's so little actual music on it.
58 London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1
Easily the least interesting of Frank Zappa's classical efforts. In the wake of this album's release Frank talked at length about the number of mistakes made in the performance of these compositions and the number of digital edits he included on the final release. I think this is one of the few times his insane attention to detail hindered rather than helped the final product. Perhaps due to these digital edits, this LP sounds staid and fairly lifeless; maybe a few more mistakes could have added some verve. Its dedication to extended and experimental modes of composition, with few of the recognizable melodic themes he did best, definitely doesn't help.
57 Mystery Disc
Although it wasn't released as a standalone CD until after his death, the Mystery Disc is made up of recordings culled and mastered by Zappa for his Old Masters box sets, which he issued during his 80s wilderness years. There's not much to say about this one; it's essentially a historical artifact designed to shed light on Zappa's development as a composer, producer, and performer throughout the early and mid-60s. Encompassing his early soundtrack efforts, his Studio Z recordings, his preliminary participation in some R&B groups, and the earliest days of the original Mothers, the Mystery Disc recordings amount to what is more or less a musical scrapbook. The first half of this release is assembled from brief excerpts and generic pop tracks that only show hints of Zappa's musical potential, while the second half contains some pretty good early Mothers performances, albeit chopped up and edited down. This is the definition of a "fans-only" release, as its only real intent is to document Zappa's musical background. "Speed-Freak Boogie" sure is a great song title regardless.
56 London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. II
The better of Zappa's two London Symphony Orchestra releases, although neither of them are particularly great realizations of his classical ambitions. This one feels a little more dynamic than Volume I, likely due in large part to the inclusion of the bouncy classics "Bogus Pomp" and "Strictly Genteel". The orchestra seems a little more acclimated to Zappa's non-sequitur compositional approach this time around, providing some more energy. The brass has more zoom, the strings have more zip, and the percussion has more whip. Still, though, this lacks the Zappa whimsy present in Orchestral Favorites and The Yellow Shark. A little bland.
55 The Perfect Stranger
Another classical record near the bottom. Pierre Boulez greatly admired Zappa, and I feel that it shows, with more care and preparation put into the performances on The Perfect Stranger than on either London Symphony Orchestra record. However, the compositions here aren't his most memorable. Zappa draws out his typical combination of pop melody and dissonant experimentation to unwarranted lengths, making his chamber pieces a bit of a dirge. What brings this album above the LSOs are the Synclavier tracks, among Zappa's first. Frank is clearly just beginning to figure out the device, giving the electronic stuff a sense of freewheeling, disorganized enthusiasm that is rarely present in his discography. "Love Story" is a brief joy.
54 The Man From Utopia
The Man From Utopia is a blatant assemblage of castoffs and outtakes. It's all over the place, both in terms of quality and cohesion. This makes it an incredibly frustrating album, because it does contain some of my favorite Zappa tunes: "Cocaine Decisions", "Tink Walks Amok", "Stick Together", "Mōggio", and the incredibly underrated "We Are Not Alone" are Zappa at his absolute funkiest. I've had the latter stuck in my head for months. I even kind of love the bonus track "Luigi & The Wise Guys" because it makes me feel like I'm a character in GoodFellas. The problem is that the other five tracks on this album are weak or downright bad. "SEX" is bottom-of-the-barrel Zappa sex comedy, almost like a piss-poor attempt to follow up the radio success of "Bobby Brown". "The Man from Utopia Meets Mary Lou" is an uninteresting R&B cover that's barely worth mentioning. And the three remaining tracks, "The Radio Is Broken", "The Dangerous Kitchen", and "The Jazz Discharge Party Hats", are the horrifying culmination of Zappa's "sprechstimme" experiments, one of the most ill-advised musical decisions of his career. While sort of conceptually interesting, these are just painful to listen to. Seriously, borderline unbearable. Never really got what he was going for here.
53 Playground Psychotics
Despite its low ranking, this one is much better than its general reception would suggest. The concept is cool: creating an auditory representation of life on the road as a touring band by interspersing live performances with conversations recorded behind the scenes. And while the idea is more interesting than the execution, it's still an alright listen. My biggest issue with this album is its structure; instead of peppering dialogue in between the actual songs, Frank chose to condense all of the "life on the road" sequences into 8-15 minute segments of nothing but vague chatter. The upside of this album is that, once you slog through the talk, the rest of the album contains some solid Flo & Eddie material, provided you're into that stuff. "Diptheria Blues" and "Scum Bag" are some great jams, and the Playground Psychotics version of "Billy the Mountain" may surpass that provided on Just Another Band From L.A.. But the long stretches of monotonous, mostly pointless chitchat keep this near the bottom.
52 Cruising With Ruben & The Jets
An original Mothers record this low? Am I crazy? I don't know, this record's single-mindedness just doesn't quite draw me in. To some people, the decision to suddenly put out a straightforward doo-wop record after a streak of the most radically experimental releases in rock history is brilliant evidence of the Mothers' dedication to subversion and musical prankery, but to me it's just regression. This isn't a bad album, per se, but it just lacks that Mothers of Invention flair. It's 13 tracks of totally straight-faced 50s R&B with no tomfoolery, no experimentation, and very little Zappa personality, save for the anachronistic wah-wah guitar solo that closes the album. The songs are fun, I'll give you that - Ray Collins's "Anything" is particularly beautiful - but all the repurposed tracks fail to improve on their Freak Out! versions, and the whole album is kind of unmemorable. I guess the biggest knock against this album is that it just doesn't feel like a Zappa record.
51 Tinseltown Rebellion
This is a weird one. Sandwiched in between fan favorites Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar and Joe's Garage, Tinseltown Rebellion is Zappa at his most cynical and misanthropic. It has some really tight performances, including what may be the definitive versions of "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" and "Tell Me You Love Me", but the whole thing feels...I don't know, antagonistic? There are almost 8 minutes of "audience participation" on this album (which is probably too much for any live record, regardless of its quality), and all of it makes Zappa out to be the bitter, disdainful curmudgeon that his doubters claim him to be. With tracks like "Fine Girl", "Panty Rap", and "Bamboozled by Love", I would hazard a guess that many of the accusations of misogyny leveled against Zappa originate from this record. With the exception of "The Blue Light" (the foreboding beginnings of Zappa's "sprechstimme" experiment), the music itself is good though. A solid recording with an oppressive atmosphere.
50 Baby Snakes
The audio-only version of Zappa's concert film of the same name, Baby Snakes is a strange and frustrating release. This description is probably going to be brief, given that the record itself is correspondingly so - it clocks in at just over 36 minutes. And what makes up those 36 minutes? Some decent performances of Zappa's sex-comedy arena-rock, with uncharacteristically weak recording and mixing quality. The rhythm section seems to dominate the mix of this album, burying some nice guitar work from Adrian Belew. The vocals, mostly covered by Frank himself, are sub-par, as he seemingly struck a poor balance between lead guitar, audience entertainment, and mic delivery. I never really got the point of this release, as it fails to cover his best material, and every track here can be found in a better form elsewhere. Which is not to say that it's not a good time, just that it's weirdly unnecessary.
49 200 Motels
Recorded with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, 200 Motels is the soundtrack to Zappa's surrealist-comedy-rock-musical-freak-out film of the same name. For whatever reason - perhaps its lowly status among Zappa aficionados - a lot of fans don't even consider this an "official" Zappa release, a view encouraged by its lack of a CD reissue. I do enjoy this album, although I see it as little more than a brief aside in Zappa's career. It represented his second attempt at classical music after Lumpy Gravy, and like that album, mixed complex orchestral suites with straightforward rock compositions. The latter elements are the best parts of this album; "Mystery Roach", "Lonesome Cowboy Burt", and "What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning" are Zappa classics. However, many of the classical bits, like "Strictly Genteel" and "Would You Like a Snack?" (repurposed from Burnt Weeny Sandwich), can be found performed with more vigor on other recordings. While the massive nature of this album (34 tracks over 86 minutes) allows for a fascinating degree of eclecticism, even for a Zappa project, 200 Motels is inherently hindered by its very nature. These recordings were clearly meant to be accompanied by visuals, and listening to them on their own is somewhat unsatisfying, even if the music ain't half bad.
48 Joe's Garage Acts II & III
This is probably an unusually low ranking for the conclusion of the Joe's Garage saga, but this sloppy, sprawling double album has never come close to Act I for me. It's an album of contradictions: Act II, which comprises the first LP, is way too focused on the story, dedicating 9 minutes(!) to a moronic robot sex skit over a nauseating reggae vamp and countless more minutes to bland parody-pop designed purely to move the "narrative" forward. Meanwhile, Act III pretty much disposes of the story entirely to spend half an hour on almost nothing but guitar solos. Let me put it this way: if this record had just been Act III, it probably would have jumped a good five places up the ranking. When Frank finally decides to let the "plot" go and just wail on "Packard Goose" and "Watermelon in Easter Hay", the results are some of the greatest recordings he's ever released. But Act II holds this record back so much. Joe's Garage Acts II & III can't decide whether it wants to be a goofy rock opera or the fourth volume of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar, and as a result it only barely breaks the top 50. "Watermelon" deserves all the praise it gets though. A truly stunning moment.
47 Return of the Son of Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Unless you're Sergio Leone, the third installment of a trilogy is almost invariably the worst, a trend confirmed by the final release in the Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar series. Given the high praise I just heaped upon Act III of Joe's Garage, it is perhaps a bit surprising that a record composed entirely of extended Zappa guitar solos ends up this low, but I just think this one gets a little old a little fast. In my head, Zappa intended this as a relaxing cool-down to ease listeners out of the searing zaniness of the first two volumes; it has the longest track lengths of any of the releases, with three songs over eight minutes, and features some of Zappa's mellowest solos. To some, the winding, understated improvisation on this record may provide a perfect dose of guitar ambiance, but to me, it's a little too much. I always enjoy hearing Zappa on the fretboards, but this just doesn't hold up against the first two volumes (or Guitar, for that matter). Zappa at his most subdued.
46 Studio Tan
Studio Tan was the second of four albums assembled by Warner Bros. Records out of the rubble of the four-LP Läther project. It's slightly haphazard. There's not a whole lot of cohesion going on here, what with the entire A-side being taken up by a gargantuan story-song sequel to "Billy the Mountain" and the B-side featuring a pop ditty, a dense quasi-chamber composition, and an extended improvisation. The latter two, "Revised Music for Guitar and Low-Budget Orchestra" and "RDNZL", are fantastic, but "Lemme Take You to the Beach" and "The Adventures of Greggery Peccary" are both too long. "Beach" is a one-minute joke extended to three, and "Peccary" is 15 minutes worth of ideas extended to 20. As with most Zappa albums, though, nothing on this record is overtly bad, and it definitely holds up over multiple listens.
45 Guitar
By the late 1980s, Zappa's lead guitar playing had developed from a jazzy, psychedelic thrum to a jagged, angular chisel, and no release better exemplifies his 80s style than this here two-CD set. That's right, nothing but mid-80s Zappa guitar solos for two hours and 12 minutes. It's a lot more enjoyable than one might think; Zappa skillfully weaves his notes in and out of a series of lustful backing tracks, creating his "air sculptures" with the fury and passion of a man possessed. I'd say the most interesting thing here is the contrast. Although Zappa is mostly soloing over bluesy, laid-back vamps, he seems like he's playing with a razor blade for a pick. The solos here are made of pure barbed wire. Overlong, but definitely fun.
44 Lumpy Gravy
In 1967, Zappa got the opportunity to record some proper orchestral works for the first time in his career, but instead of releasing the recordings of his gonzo chamber-rock oratorios as is, he chopped them up and edited them into a bizarre half-hour head-trip. His difficult compositions were cross-bred with traditional rock performances, tape noise, and snippets of spoken word, creating a chaotic, psychedelic pastiche of musique concrète. Even alongside the extreme albums that preceded it, Lumpy Gravy represented a massive leap forward both for Zappa as a writer-producer and for rock as an art form. When taken in tandem with Absolutely Free, it elevated the rock songwriter to the level of the genius composer, showing a "rock star" to be capable of academic "art music". While I can respect that level of innovation and imagination, the truth is that Lumpy Gravy just isn't an easy listen. The musical themes are broken up by way, way too much nonsense dialogue. I get that it's a sound collage album - I just wish it was a little more "sound" and a little less "collage". Nonetheless, it is a work of astounding creativity, and a clear milestone in Zappa's discography. This was perhaps as radical and uncompromising as Zappa ever got.
43 Fillmore East - June 1971
That's right, I put a Flo & Eddie album ahead of Lumpy Gravy. It's heresy, I know, but I honestly don't mind this period in Zappa's career as much as everybody else; sex comedy isn't my favorite of Zappa's many hats, but I don't see how the stuff on this record is that much different from Over-Nite Sensation. I don't know, I kind of dig it. Sure, there's far too much spoken word "comedy" on this album, but the music surrounding the skits is pretty great. "Latex Solar Beef" is one of Frank's catchiest tunes, and man, check out the guitar tone on the two-part, double-time version of "Willie the Pimp". The second half may be one of the all-time greatest Zappa guitar performances. The keyboard on "Lonesome Electric Turkey" could peel paint, and I mean that in the best way possible. All around: not incredible, but underappreciated.
42 Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar Some More
The second release of the trilogy also comes in second in my ranking. The performances here are a little more abstract and a little looser than those on the first volume, but not as mellow as those on the third. I guess this is probably the most widely referenced of the three, what with "The Deathless Horsie" and "Pink Napkins", but it still doesn't entertain me as much as the first volume. I don't have much of an explanation for this other than incommunicable personal preference, but I guess I just want a little more guttural energy out of my Zappa solos. Wins out over Guitar due to brevity. "Ship Ahoy" is wicked and alien, like a serpent stalking the surface of Mars.
41 Jazz From Hell
What a strange album. The only instrumental record ever to carry a RIAA Parental Advisory sticker. By this point, Zappa had all but mastered the use of the Synclavier, allowing him to program electronic compositions of unparalleled complexity and rhythmic intricacy. The compositions here, more developed than those on The Perfect Stranger or Meets the Mothers of Prevention, are brimming with buzzes, ticks, bleeps, and bloops that assault your ears on all fronts with MIDI insanity. Because Frank had finally gained complete control over his technology, he was able to produce tracks with the laser-like precision he had always desired, granting these recordings an overly crisp, totally mechanical sheen that alienates a lot of listeners. The warp-speed clicks and clacks barraging your head can coalesce into a hypnotic nightmare that borders on stressful. But I, for one, find the sound engrossing, provided I'm in the right mood. "G-Spot Tornado" is an obvious standout, but I like the wistful "Night School" a lot as well, and the inclusion of a lone human performance with "St. Etienne" is a great way to break up the potential monotony of the record. This is a very good record, but it's way too specific and homogenous to play at any time of day. The musical equivalent of coffee jitters.
40 Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch
Zappa fans are often naturally contrarian, so it makes sense that the album containing his most successful single and most notable contribution to mainstream culture typically gets a bad rep. But if we're setting those perceptions aside, this is honestly a pretty great album. There's a real driving intensity to the rhythm sections on "No Not Now" and "Valley Girl" that anchors their repetitive poppy melodies and keeps them from turning saccharine. "Drowning Witch" and "Envelopes" are Zappa chamber-rock of the highest order, serving as the progressive counterpoint to the accessible leading tracks. The only weak spots are the mock-operatic vocals on "Teen-Age Prostitute" (kind of an irritating song overall) and the ever-aimless "sprechstimme" in the middle portion of "I Come from Nowhere". But even the latter is redeemed by a furious solo. So, the upshot? Really good album.
39 Weasels Ripped My Flesh
I go back and forth on this one all the time. On the one hand, it's gotta be one of the most innovative and extreme statements in the history of rock music. I mean, just look at those genre tags. This thing is INSANE (capitalized, bolded, and italicized), and probably directly precipitated the formation of a whole host of avant-prog bands that would love to tell you about it. But on the other hand, like half of this record's content is just aimless saxophone skronks and noise experiments that go nowhere. It's basically a compilation of tapes Frank had lying around after the original Mothers broke up, so don't expect any sort of cohesion or flow either. It definitely gets extra points for the inclusion of "The Orange County Lumber Truck", possibly my all-time favorite Zappa composition, but it's a sure-fire mess alright. Unbelievably forward-thinking, but I only need to hear it once a year. How do I rate that? I guess I'll put it bluntly: just look at that cover. What you see is what you get. If you want a Zappa record to rip holes in your eardrums, this is your guy.
38 Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar
Of all the "Zappa plays guitar" albums, this one reigns supreme. As a guitarist myself, I can connect with each of those albums on a technical level, but this is the one with which I could most readily envision a non-player connecting emotionally. It's zany, eclectic, and colorful. Each track has a unique tone, a boisterous attitude, and a clear direction. Yet Zappa always keeps his next move a surprise; he snatches notes and flourishes out of the air, perfectly decorating the paint-by-numbers images laid out by his lively rhythm section. It's jazzy. It's psychedelic. It's soulful. It's 35 minutes of nothing but guitar solos, and though its lack of diversity may hold it back a little in the ranking, it's really darn good. Astonishing, isn't it, that Zappa managed to fill five whole LPs with guitar solos. It's even more astonishing that all of them are enjoyable. I guess it's just the unmistakable personality with which he imbues his instrument of choice.
37 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6
We break into the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series with my least favorite of the bunch, the sixth and final volume. This release and the one that preceded it have the same problem: one disc is absolute gold, while the other is nothing truly special. Well, not that special for Zappa, but any Zappa is special, relatively speaking. Anyhow. While the second disc of this set is a brilliantly diverse and energetic career overview that includes some of his best live recordings, the first disc is an hour of the sort of low-brow sex rock that gave him an inaccurate reputation as a "comedy artist". "I'm So Cute", "Ms. Pinky", and "Dinah Moe Humm" were the least interesting songs on their respective studio releases, and they don't stand out performed live either. But man, do the versions of "Black Napkins", "Alien Orifice", "Crew Slut", and "Take Your Clothes off When You Dance" on the second disc smoke. The first disc ain't bad, but it's not the sort of Zappa I prefer. Wish it was all as good as Disc 2.
36 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5
Like I said, this has pretty much the same problem as Vol. 6: one disc is hot to the touch, and the other leaves me a little frosty. Here, it's the second disc that's full of just-okay late-70s and early-80s hard rock. "What's New in Baltimore?" is always a nice inclusion, but "Easy Meat", "Dancin' Fool", and "Doreen" were never my favorites. The first disc is the real treasure here, blowing minds with psychedelic freak-outs and satirical madness from the original Mothers of Invention. "Baked-Bean Boogie" and the '69 recording of "Trouble Every Day" are simply stunning. Another frustrating YCDTOSA release: just merge Disc 1 of this record with Disc 2 of its successor and you'd have a compilation for the ages. This one edges out Vol. 6 purely because I'm a sucker for old-school M.O.I. craziness.
35 Ahead of Their Time
Joining the previous two in the mysterious land known as the Realm of Zappa Live Records That Are Half-Okay and Half-Fantastic is Ahead of Their Time, an album that I think doesn't get enough love. It's a perfect slice of late-60s Mothers experimentation, with all the personalities of the original members shining through in fine form. Sure, the first half, a miniature musical play, doesn't make much sense without Frank textually describing what's happening on stage in the liner notes, but provided you have a copy, it makes a fun read-along. The real heart of this album, however, is the second half, which Zappa describes as "a fair - not outstanding - 1968 Mothers of Invention rock concert performance." Oh, I beg to differ, Mr. Zappa. The last 40 minutes of Ahead of Their Time is the M.O.I. at their fiery, unrestrained best, and some of the best live material in the entire official Zappa catalogue. "King Kong" is a towering inferno. "Transylvania Boogie" is an electric monsoon. And holy cow, the closing track. The ten-minute version of "The Orange County Lumber Truck" is a rocket-sled slam-track straight from Mojave to the surface of the sun, a pounding musical hurricane that drives and drives and drives relentlessly until you can't help but fall out of your seat. It's one of the best recordings Zappa ever put on a CD, bar none. Jam of a lifetime.
34 Bongo Fury
Captain Beefheart has always been the yin to Zappa's yang, a sometimes-friend-sometimes-rival who acted as the barbaric warlord to Zappa's mad scientist. So ever since Beefheart showed up on Hot Rats, Zappa fans had been clamoring for an album-length collaboration from the two, with the expectation that the pairing would be as perfect a marriage as chocolate and peanut butter. The final product, Bongo Fury, ended up being more akin to pineapple and pizza: it seems to be a love-it-or-hate-it affair. Personally, I like Bongo Fury a lot. Zappa tailored his songwriting around Beefheart's musical preferences, packing the album full of his most blues- and country-oriented compositions to date. Beefheart being a sort of self-styled bluesman, the end result works pretty brilliantly. One of the most divisive aspects of this album is the dissonance between Zappa's typically calculated, mathematical attitude toward performance and Beefheart's crazed spontaneity, but in response to Beefheart's presence, Zappa's Mothers seem to have loosened up and stretched their legs. The best evidence of this comes on ambling blues jams like "200 Years Old" and the epic "Advance Romance", but the relaxed semi-improvised vamps behind Beefheart's spoken word pieces are a good demonstration as well. When the Captain screams, "I wish I had a pair of bongos! Bongo fury!" on "Sam with the Show Scalp Flat Top", I can't help but agree with him. This album is such a laid-back good time I just want to play along.
33 Them or Us
Released in the mid-80s and jammed in between some of Zappa's most polarizing and widely dismissed projects, Them or Us is a solid Zappa rock record that tends to get overlooked because of the period in which it was released. A lot of people listen to The Man from Utopia or Thing-Fish and just assume everything that came after Drowning Witch and before the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore series isn't worth hearing. So this album tends to be forgotten, which is a shame, because it really deserves more praise. Opening and closing with two excellent covers (echoing Burnt Weeny Sandwich), this 70-minute album covers a great deal of compelling musical territory; "Baby, Take Your Teeth Out", "Planet of My Dreams", and "Be in My Video" do satirical show tunes much better than anything on Thing-Fish or 200 Motels. Meanwhile, you get excellent solos on "Stevie's Spanking", "Marque-son's Chicken", and the title track. Dweezil even makes an appearance on a re-do of "Sharleena" and absolutely kills it. Sure, none of the territory covered on this album is new for Zappa, but all of it is very good, and that's more than you can say about the rest of his mid-80s material.
32 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4
Probably the most casual and eclectic of the You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore releases, you get the impression that Vol. 4 is primarily composed of the music Frank liked to play the most. The 10-minute R&B medley that closes Disc 2, Zappa's most extensive tribute to his favorite pop genre since Ruben & The Jets, is the sort of thing this series was designed for. Although it doesn't hang together in unified form as well as the first three volumes, there's a real wholesome sense of playground fun here; even when it gets goofy, you're in on the joke. There are far fewer extended jams on this album - in fact, 16 of the 34 tracks here are under three minutes in length, so even though it's roughly the same length as the other volumes, it's less of a Zappa endurance test. It doesn't quite reach the transcendent musical heights of Vol. 1- 3, but it does demonstrate that Zappa was a true music lover at heart, and not the cynically bitter parodist some thought him to be.
31 Zoot Allures
Zappa's only album on Warner Bros. Records proper is probably his most straightforward "rock" album. The vocal tracks are verse-chorus-verse all the way through, and even the three instrumental tracks here are rooted in recognizable melodic motifs. The only exception is the unapologetically lethargic "The Torture Never Stops", an ominous crawl that creeps from note to note, perfectly conjuring the dungeon-like atmosphere its lyrics describe. It's one of Frank's best non-comedic rock songs, albeit a bizarre choice for the centerpiece of an otherwise highly accessible record. All the tracks that surround "Torture" share a certain slinky slyness, paired with a catchiness so pervasive I'm honestly surprised at least one of them didn't make it onto the charts. But just because this record is accessible, don't think it doesn't also have ZAPPA written all over it in capital letters. His typical cartoonish humor is on full display here, and what I particularly like about this record's vibe is that the jokes are never too juvenile or cynical. It just feels like a genuinely playful record. The only thing keeping it from climbing higher up this list is the slightly "commercial" sheen my ears can't help but discern.
30 Make a Jazz Noise Here
Perhaps more so than any other live Zappa album, Make a Jazz Noise Here is marked quite blatantly by the period in which it was recorded. That's not just because of its persistent evangelical- and yuppie-bashing, but also because of its musical content. Focusing almost entirely on extended, experimental improvisation and rock interpretations of his chamber pieces, this seems to be a transitionary album designed to connect the dots between You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore and the "serious composer" phase he entered during the final stages of his life. It's a nod to the "highbrow" musical ambitions he's always had lurking beneath the surface of his satire, but couched in a fusion-oriented rock album. Like Jazz From Hell, Make a Jazz Noise Here creates a very, very specific musical world. It just so happens that this jazzy blend of chamber composition and blistering rock performance is a world I seek to inhabit more often. With so much sprawling improvisation, the bus ride there sometimes feels a little long, but absolutely phenomenal performances abound. Special nod to what may be my favorite album artwork in the Zappa canon.
29 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3
The third volume of You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore aims in a similar direction to Make a Jazz Noise Here, but I find the results a tad bit more enjoyable. Featuring just 25 tracks (compared to the 34 of Vol. 4, the 38 of Vol. 5, or the 37 of Vol. 6), this album dedicates far more time to memorable instrumental performances than to brief moments of comedy. Even Zappa's goofiest songs, like "In France" and "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?", become stunning testaments to the talents of his touring bands. But the lengthy tracks, like the 9-minute "Drowning Witch", the 10-minute "Dickie's Such an Asshole", and the monumental 25-minute rendition of "King Kong" are this album's bread and butter, showcasing superb performances that extend far beyond Zappa's own solos. A great showcase of Zappa's skill as a bandleader, and his ability to coalesce groups into unified musical minds.
28 Civilization Phaze III
This one has an atmosphere unlike anything else in the Zappa canon. Completed while he was on his deathbed and released shortly after his passing, there's an undercurrent of apocalyptic foreboding here (bordering on dark ambient) that could only emerge from the mind of a man suddenly facing his own mortality. It's nominally a sequel to Lumpy Gravy, with a dialogue-heavy sound collage approach, except the execution here feels much more purposeful. Instead of comprising random snippets, the spoken word bits are focused entirely on the "piano people" narrative that only occasionally surfaced on Lumpy Gravy, making it much easier to draw conceptual and satirical through-lines from the album. Moreover, the music itself, performed by a mish-mash of rock and chamber ensemble on Lumpy Gravy, has been handed over entirely to the Synclavier. These are some of Frank's darkest, densest, and most challenging compositions, but the album's uniquely somber tone keeps them engrossing all the way through. It's lengthy, but it's one of Zappa's most immersive and singular projects. Maybe it's just the fact that it marked the end of my Zappa journey, but this one got to me: when "Beat the Reaper" transitioned into "Waffenspiel", the final track made up entirely of field recordings, I was a little moved. I could feel Frank Zappa serenely accepting his fate - having dedicated his whole life to music, he was finally exiting his musical planet and looking ahead to whatever lay beyond. Maybe it's confused, maybe it's distant, but it carries with it a very tangible sense of import.
27 Does Humor Belong in Music?
One of Frank's most underappreciated live albums? I tend to think so. With the exception of the earlier stuff - "Trouble Every Day", "Penguin in Bondage, "WPLJ" - every track here is either a great new addition or an enthusiastic, energetic improvement over its original release version. This funk-tinged album has a spark and a vibrancy that showcases everything right about Zappa in the 80s. The band is tight as a drum on the vocal tracks, and when they let loose on instrumentals like "Zoot Allures" and the 16-minute "Let's Move to Cleveland", the spontaneity is irresistible. There's a stargazing, dissonant edge to this album that borders on psychedelic, but in the meantime, Zappa keeps his satire sharp with a personal favorite, "Hot Plate Heaven at the Green Hotel". This may not be a milestone in his career or anything, but there's not much bad I can say about it. Quite fun, and more than a little wonderful.
26 Just Another Band From L.A.
The best expression of the talents of Flo & Eddie as members of The Mothers. I mean, sure, they show up on the slightly better Chunga's Revenge, but that album is over 50% instrumental. On this record, their vocal stylings are the focal point, and boy, what wonders they work. Freed from the burden of groupie-oriented sex comedy, they help Zappa to craft one of his most exuberantly hilarious outings, a whirlwind of psychedelic vaudeville-prog from front to back. Don't be fooled by the consensus, though: the sketch comedy antics of the hysterical story-song "Billy the Mountain" aren't the only thing worth saving here. The band are as fluid and lively as ever, tearing through the definitive versions of "Call Any Vegetable" and "Dog Breath". Seriously infectious stuff here. Impeccable comic timing paired with fiery funk rock of the highest order. Shame it's so overlooked.
25 Waka/Jawaka
Zappa's slightly confused first attempt at big band before honing his skills on The Grand Wazoo, this record is nonetheless some great jazz fusion from the master. The overly lengthy opening and closing tracks may run a little short on ideas, but never on fantastic performances. Sal Marquez's trumpet in particular is a standout throughout. The album is perfectly structured; the two pop tracks in the center of the record break up what could be a tiring half-hour of fusion improv, making it an easy evening listen. The mostly neglected "It Just Might Be a One-Shot Deal" contains one of my all-time favorite Zappa chord progressions, an elegant bit of floaty country guitar that closes the last half of the track. Not as concise as Sleep Dirt, as colorful as The Grand Wazoo, or as perfect as Hot Rats, but the most tranquil of his jazz fusion records. A 36-minute sonic recliner, complete with cracked leather and throw cushion. Nice.
24 Chunga's Revenge
This is easily one of Zappa's most eclectic records outside of the original Mothers of Invention. It plays hopscotch with genres, skipping from fusion to blues to hard rock to comedy to avant-prog, ending with one foot in psychedelic pop and the other in R&B on the beautiful "Sharleena". This one gets flak for kicking off the much-derided Flo & Eddie period, but the truth is that the former Turtles really aren't the focus here. Instead, this album is all about Frank Zappa exploring his influences, reinterpreting and distorting his old favorites into 40 minutes of jolly good-time buffoonery. Every song here is completely different, and the album probably wouldn't even coalesce if they weren't all so great. Each track is just as catchy, groovy, or bizarre as it needs to be. The raucous "The Nancy & Mary Music" and the sinuous, slithering title track are superb.
23 Sleep Dirt
An incredibly solid jazz fusion record. There's not that much more to say than that: it's just seven great testaments to Zappa's skill as an improvisational composer. His guitar slinks its way between jazzy fifths and sevenths, conjuring a delightful musical image of the mischievous little creature wriggling on the cover. Come to think of it, "mischievous" is a pretty appropriate description of this album's aura. It's got a brilliantly sly attitude that places it firmly in the back room of a smoky bar, cheating in a hand of poker. Zappa's notes never quite go where you expect but always remain within sight, leading you on in a game that's endlessly exciting. With a hazy, sinister sway, opener "Filthy Habits" best exemplifies this record's sound. Playful and ingenious, this makes an excellent follow-up to Hot Rats. Apparently there's an unlistenable vocal version of this record; I've never heard it. I'll stick with my instrumentals.
22 Joe's Garage Act I
This record is probably Zappa's greatest attempt at narrative, and one his best works of "pure" satire. Blue-collar recreation, organized religion, naïve teenagers, love songs, the exploitative rock scene, STDs, and even airports all end up in the crosshairs of a series of sharply written, unbelievably catchy pop rock songs. During the three minutes of goofy megaphone narration that open the record, you're skeptical of its ambitions, but by the time "Joe's Garage" and "Catholic Girls" have swept you off of your feet and into your dancing shoes (laughing all the way), you're totally onboard. And it's a good thing, too, because the guitar solos on "Crew Slut" and "On the Bus" are up next, and they're amazing. In the middle is "Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt", a track that could easily be construed as sexist or misogynistic or something, but who cares because it's so excessively funny. As "Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?" and "Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up" close the record, you're hungry for more, which makes it even more disappointing that the second and third acts don't hold a candle to this one. Zappa's latter-period attempts at narrative and satire often devolve into nonsensical self-indulgence, but with Joe's Garage Act I, the man struck gold. Probably still too disjointed and unrestrained for its own good, but something approaching genius nonetheless.
21 Orchestral Favorites
Far and away Zappa's best classical release until The Yellow Shark, Orchestral Favorites features some of the man's most sprightly compositions performed with a vivacious spirit lacking in anything that came out in the 80s. The recordings here shimmer and shine, revealing the rollicking melodic exploration that's hidden beneath the surface on the London Symphony Orchestra albums. For an album that's described as "difficult" and "progressive", there's a remarkably lighthearted sensation to Orchestral Favorites. "Strictly Genteel" and "Duke of Prunes" glisten in the sunlight and "Bogus Pomp" echoes like wind chimes. Even the darker "Naval Aviation in Art?" has the irreverence of a B-horror movie, as opposed to the academic exercise it could become. An extremely enjoyable interpretation of Zappa's genre-bending classical excursions.
20 Zappa in New York
Since most of Zappa's double-disc live records are actually compilations of recordings taken from different performances and tours, it's rare to come across one that draws not only from the same tour, but from the same venue. ZiNY stands alongside only Roxy & Elsewhere and You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 in this respect, and it's easily the loosest and most lighthearted of the three. Several of its lengthier songs, such as "Titties & Beer", "Punky's Whips", and "The Illinois Enema Bandit", are deliberately designed around farcical onstage skits; "The Purple Lagoon/Approximate" and CD-only tracks "Cruisin' for Burgers" and "The Torture Never Stops" act as an instrumental counterbalance, each echoing the comic sketches with extended and free-spirited improvisational performances that maintain a humorous whimsy of their own. Whether vocal or instrumental, Zappa in New York has a cinematic air, conjuring panoramic images that span multiple sides of vinyl. The greatest sonic landscapes arise from a series of fantastic performances by keyboardist Eddie Jobson, percussionist Ruth Underwood, and the 3(!) saxophonists, whose collective vigor allows this album to glow with a radiance not unlike the neon lights on its cover.
19 Over-Nite Sensation
I've said before that I'm not the biggest fan of Zappa's sex comedy. So how did this album, plagued by a lyrical obsession with sex jokes, end up so high on my list? Because everything else about it is nearly perfect, that's how. Once you get over the immaturity of the subject matter, you'll discover that nearly every song here is among Zappa's catchiest and most cleverly penned. The songwriting is actually somewhat unusual for a Zappa rock album. Each song is built on a surprisingly simple jazz-rock foundation, with Frank's trademark complex arpeggios and serpentine melodies draped on top. There's a reason this is always recommended as a good starting point for Zappa newcomers; the lead melodies brilliantly showcase his compositional creativity, while the rhythm section is allowed to maintain an accessibly funky groove throughout. The production is fantastically detailed, evoking a sort of musical Rube Goldberg belting out jazz-rock with clockwork precision, and, dubious subject matter aside, the lyrics contain some amusingly inventive wordplay. 33 minutes of sleazy, greasy guilty-pleasure joy.
18 Sheik Yerbouti
Okay, so Frank sold out with this one. He made a play for the arena rock market, and it worked in his favor. I'll give you that. But it doesn't diminish at all the value of this record, which is one of the most listenable, cohesive, and fun records he ever made. On Sheik Yerbouti, all of Zappa's most irritatingly self-indulgent tendencies come together and actually make sense. The sex comedy, the hard rock parody, the two-minute novelty tracks, the endless guitar solos, the carnival barker voices - suddenly, they all just work. This album shouldn't be that good. The songwriting is simple, the lyrical topics are lunkheaded and mean-spirited, and it looks like it's bound to be half an hour too long, but its over-the-top attitude seduces you in no time. It's cheesy and stupid, but it knows it, and uses that to its advantage. Ludicrously tacky keyboards and hard rock riffs barrage you from all sides, but there are some seriously genius progressive touches lurking under the surface, and the energy is undeniable. You'll have "Flakes", "Baby Snakes", and "Tryin' to Grow a Chin" stuck in your head for weeks. If Hot Rats provides a "movie for your ears", Sheik Yerbouti throws them a house party.
17 Broadway the Hard Way
Broadway the Hard Way has a special place in Zappa's discography, simultaneously representing one of his most cynically satirical and one of his most good-natured records. The lyrics, a biting survey of America circa 1988, skewer all the familiar Zappa targets - the music industry, women's liberation, evangelicals, Republicans - with an acerbic edge, but they're balanced out by a sound so cartoonishly zany that it was probably literally inherited from cartoon music, one of Zappa's oldest influences. Sonically, this record is a bit like Make a Jazz Noise Here on a diet (because it's the same band), retaining that record's Technicolor brass and plastic-fantastic keyboards but crushing them down into a set of concise quasi-parody tunes. The album benefits wonderfully from this approach, providing a whirlwind genre roulette that perfectly rides the line between humorous social commentary and gleeful performances. Whether you've got the vinyl LP or the CD, there ain't a single miss here; Zappa tackles every genre on the charts, and comes out with nothing but winners. "Elvis Has Just Left the Building" and the CD-only cover of "Stolen Moments" even sound legitimately tender.
16 You Are What You Is
The finest of Zappa's latter-day satirical efforts, no question. Man, everyone gets the stick on this record, and I don't even know that any of them can get angry about it because every song is so effortlessly catchy and so uproariously funny. At 20 tracks, it should by all rights run out of steam halfway through, but it never does; instead, it sets a relentless comic and musical pace from the get-go, and doesn't let up for 70 minutes. Not only is every track an impeccably written miniature masterwork of Zappa-pop magic, but each one segues seamlessly into the next, effectively creating four side-long suites of searing rock satire. The production is nothing short of genius: crisp, eclectic, lively, simply phosphorescent. Ear candy of the highest order, You Are What You Is is Over-Nite Sensation with a point, Joe's Garage and Thing-Fish without the distracting narrative, Broadway the Hard Way with cohesion. This record may be too bitter and sardonic for some, but for the rest of us, there's nothing quite like it. It's irreverent, offensive, and sprawling. It's Zappa's most potent political statement. It's one of the man's best post- Mothers studio albums. It is what it is.
15 Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention
Frank Zappa's discography has been so thoroughly explored and dissected that it's hard to truly call any of his records "hidden gems", but this one honestly deserves that title. Absurdly overlooked and underappreciated by many who've heard it, Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention is a bizarre collection of odds and ends rushed out the door so Zappa could make some timely commentary on the PMRC hearings. But what lurks within this LP feels like so much more than that. It's the record on which all of his confused, self-indulgent 80s experiments finally come to fruition, where funk gladly takes a seat next to Synclavier noodling, where guitar solos shake hands with R&B satire, where sound collage coexists peacefully with hard rock riffs. In retrospect, it's easy to understand why this record was initially greeted with some confusion: not only was it a motley Frankenstein's monster of an album to begin with, but it was released in two versions, each with a unique track listing. Only the US version contains the stunning 12-minute "Porn Wars", and only the European version contains "I Don't Even Care", "One Man, One Vote", and "H.R. 2911". So get the CD version, because you want everything Frank has to offer here. The Synclavier tracks curl and contort like frenzied invertebrates, pulsing and convulsing with intricacies that leave you slack-jawed even on your twentieth listen while avoiding the frigid precision that makes Jazz From Hell so divisive. "Yo Cats" and "I Don't Even Care" are classic Zappa satire-rock, luring you in with sarcastic wit and keeping you invested with infectious performances. The album's aforementioned centerpiece, "Porn Wars", is incredible, warping the PMRC hearings into an eerie totalitarian sound collage nightmare. And the sentimental guitar piece "What's New in Baltimore?" is a classic, but you probably already knew that from Does Humor Belong in Music? and You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5. Simply a marvelous album.
14 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1
It's almost an accepted fact that the first installment in any long-running series is among the best - hell, in most cases, it's the whole reason the series exists. The original title is the foundation on which all sequels and spin-offs are based, simultaneously serving as both the framework and the high water mark of the whole lineage. And although I'm sure You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 was assembled concurrently with its successors, I can't help but apply that principle here too. This compilation is the funniest, wackiest, slyest, best-paced, hardest-rockin' and most eclectic of the bunch, exhibiting the greatest performances from nearly every lineup in nearly every stage of Zappa's progression. It's a comprehensive career overview that tells you everything Zappa's about in just over two hours. We've got great psychedelic satire from the original Mothers, hilarious sketches from Flo & Eddie, epic jazz-jams from the Roxy band, and sharp political smart-alecking from the 80s bands, plus tons of gems from all the eras in between. It maintains the nonchalant humor of Volumes 4, 5, and 6 without the self-indulgence and showcases the instrumental prowess of Vol. 3 without the jams wearing thin. In a way, You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 is probably one of the best introductions I could recommend to a Zappa newcomer, simply because it's got a little bit of everything and all of it's fantastic. I'm hesitant to say that Frank nailed it on his first go - and I definitely don't want to say that he used up all his best material in the first round - but I think I'm getting close, because this record tops all but one YCDTOSA release. Don't believe me? The towering 20-minute full performance of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow'' is all the proof you need.
13 The Yellow Shark
Look, maybe the beautifully assembled and touchingly heartfelt CD booklet is just affecting my judgement, but for my money, The Yellow Shark is not just Zappa's only genuinely incredible classical LP, but also one of his best records full stop. At long last and just before his untimely death, Zappa was granted the ability to work with a talented ensemble that was truly invested in his music. He took full advantage of the opportunity, furnishing the Ensemble Modern with a set of bold and contemplative arrangements that spanned three decades of composition, collaborating with the performers on a highly personal level, and even stepping up to conduct on "G-Spot Tornado". The dedication shown by both Zappa and the Ensemble Modern is clear throughout this record, which contains the most vibrant and impassioned orchestral recordings Frank Zappa ever released. Alternatively venturing into big-band strut, vast chamber landscapes, and textural explorations, The Yellow Shark demonstrates what aficionados had been suspecting since the beginning: with proper preparation and commitment, Zappa's classical compositions can provoke far more than mild curiosity. This record reveals a composer/conductor capable of work that is veritably thrilling, if not monumental. A dazzling achievement.
12 The Grand Wazoo
In 1971, a fan pushed Frank Zappa off a stage, breaking his back, leg, and neck. Confined to a wheelchair, Zappa found himself unable to tour, a concern that was rendered null (or compounded, depending on how you look at it) when his Flo & Eddie gang struck out on their own. Without a group and physically handicapped, Zappa turned his attention to the studio, pursuing one of his longest-neglected interests: big band. Recruiting dozens of session musicians to decorate his fantastical musical visions, Zappa released two big band fusion records in 1972: Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. While I've already discussed the former, I have yet to delve into the latter - but that's only because I like it so much it very nearly ended up in the top 10. Where its older brother sounds slightly long-winded and disorganized, this one sounds meticulous and precise; the transcendent musical heights for which that one overambitiously reaches, this one achieves without missing a beat. Though both Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo are clearly descended from the overdub-heavy and effects-laden Hot Rats, what stuns here is not the studio wizardry, but the group synthesis. This album sounds a lot like its cover looks: the 20-odd performers march through the compositions in military formation, each blowing their own notes but proceeding forward in a steady (and funky) lockstep that provides this record the improvisational direction its predecessor occasionally lacked. On The Grand Wazoo, it appears that Zappa took all the lessons he learned in making Waka/Jawaka, refined the process, and concentrated the components into his wildest, most excitingly grandiose fusion compositions yet. The way in which "Cletus Awreetus-Awrightus" and "Eat That Question'' build and build to almost comically flamboyant climaxes is beyond belief.
11 You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2
The Roxy Period ('73-'75) saw Frank helming what was arguably the most memorable and widely-loved touring band of his career, a vivacious fusion ensemble built on the beautifully synchronized musical minds of vocalists Napoleon Murphy Brock and George Duke (the latter also handling keyboard duties), guitarist Jeff Simmons, and percussionists Ralph Humphrey, Chester Thompson, and Ruth Underwood. You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 is this group's superlative statement, a colossal prog epic that coalesces Zappa's entire body of work up to that point into a synthesis of hard rock, jazz, chamber music, and psychedelia. Think of it as the "Director's Cut" of Roxy & Elsewhere: it's the same set of songs performed by the same band, but extended, more thoroughly explored, and interwoven with a vast selection of deleted scenes and extras. However easy it may be to compare the two records, though, don't think YCDTOSA, Vol. 2 is simply a supplement: the songs haven't just been elongated, they've been given a wholly unique treatment. Here, they appear in a more robust, contemplative form; the guitars are higher in the mix and improvisation is given priority, turning Roxy's funky jazz-rock into a sort of farcical space rock. During the numerous lengthy jams, Underwood's and Duke's solos flower forth like peacocks' plumage, transporting the listener to the deepest realms of the Zappa universe. The album floats along in some warm corner of the galaxy in which planets are made of xylophone keys and UFOs run on keyboard solos, zooming by on trails of tremolo. It's a wonderful experience, a two-hour fusion odyssey that simultaneously excites and soothes like almost nothing else in Zappa's discography - a singular quality that makes it my favorite of all the YCDTOSA records.
10 Apostrophe (')
Apostrophe (') is one of Frank Zappa's most popular records, and it's easy to understand why. Some may call it "accessible", but in reality, I don't think it's any more conventional than Zappa's other Roxy Period LPs. The fact of the matter is just that it's so jovial, so cohesive, and so consistently enjoyable that it can't help but appeal to even the most casual of Zappa listeners. Apostrophe (') represents Zappa at his most effervescent and enthusiastic; it is very clearly the work of a man who takes not only great pride but also great joy in making special music, joining forces with some of his most treasured collaborators to present his gleefully idiosyncratic view of the world through passionate sonic expression. It may clock in at a meager 32 minutes, but every moment of its running time is treated with precious care, and not a single second is wasted. Each and every track covers new musical and topical ground, packing in comedy, social commentary, guitar experimentation, and a miniature rock opera, all unified in Zappa's animated blend of jazz fusion and soulful blues rock. One of the greatest testaments to Zappa's studio mastery, the crisp and detailed production grants every track a radiant and rich aural palette, and Zappa's fluid guitar leads have rarely been more spirited. Even his infamous political satire, here manifest in the piano ballad "Uncle Remus", takes the form of a tender and moving elegy rather than scornful deprecation. Though not his greatest social, lyrical, musical, or technical achievement in any individual capacity, it is among the single greatest demonstrations of all his talents: composer, producer, lyricist, satirist. A magnificent work that never fails to entertain and affect.
9 Roxy & Elsewhere
The one Roxy to rule them all – well, the live albums anyway. The group gets its name from this album, and why not? It’s a classic for a reason. In keeping with Zappa’s practices up to this point, it’s composed almost entirely of originals, all of them stellar takes on the jazzy funk-rock sound he had developed on Over-Nite Sensation. The Side B suite is among his most enduring works, the anecdotal “Village of the Sun” gradually building into a prog epic as it mutates into “Echidna’s Arf” before giving way to the monumental conclusion of “Don’t You Ever Wash That Thing?” It’s on the latter track that Zappa highlights the performance of Ruth Underwood, whose thrilling percussion work is one of the album’s defining sonic aspects. In fact, almost every band member gets a verbal shout-out on this record, perhaps an affirmation of what many fans would soon come to believe: that this was Zappa’s best band yet, and the man himself knew it. Take it as proof that the two Mothers throwbacks that appear on Side C, extended takes on “Oh No/Orange County” and “Trouble Every Day”, are just about the best they’ve ever been. Zappa’s flanged guitar, Duke’s and Brock’s rousing vocals, and Underwood’s tantalizing timbres singing in lush unison and the heroic brass and keyboards backing it all up, this is the finest realization of the Roxy band’s synchrony in a live context.
8 Freak Out!
Regardless of my own feelings about Zappa’s body of work, it’s likely that Freak Out! will remain his enduring artistic triumph. It’s been cited as the first rock double album, the first prog album, the first punk album, and a foundational album in the development of psychedelic rock. It’s Zappa’s first statement, perhaps his most comprehensive statement, and almost certainly his definitive statement. What astounds most is how fully-formed he and the Mothers of Invention appeared from the get-go: years of tinkering in his own studio, composing scores for Z-movies, and playing R&B clubs all congealed in this record, producing an explosion of creative passion and experimentation. There is certainly an unrefined quality to the album; as precise and calculated as the songwriting is, everything seems to be caked in a layer of grime and grease, possibly a testament to just how far the Mothers were pushing things in ’66. Even the most prominent pop acts of the time were just beginning to use the studio in this way, and out of nowhere emerges an underground rock group playing with tape edits, layering in orchestral flourishes, and creating sound collage compositions. It truly was one of the greatest leaps forward in rock history. But what I personally love so much about the album is the infectious joy that Zappa and company exhibit in finally bringing their vision to fruition. The songs are satirical, sure, but indirectly; they don’t call out and skewer cultural trends as Zappa’s later recordings would. Instead, they bask in them. At this point, Zappa was still writing straightforward R&B songs, just beginning to perform them with tongue planted firmly in cheek. So as clever and sardonic as it may be, it never descends into pure cynicism. It’s a whirlwind of influences and sounds, Frank tipping his hat to each and only thumbing his nose at a few. Contained within are numerous ideas he would refine to perfection later on, the album representing a sort of mission statement for his career. The songs are relatively simple, the production ramshackle, but never again would he produce such an innovative and groundbreaking achievement.
7 Uncle Meat
If Freak Out! represented Zappa’s mission statement, Uncle Meat was the first revision. After several albums of sound-collage inspired satirical psych-rock and R&B, Zappa released in 1968 his second double album. There were a few pop tracks, but for the most part, Uncle Meat symbolized a radical left turn. Following the Mothers’ tenure in New York, Zappa moved the band back to Los Angeles, where he recorded his second double album; though still invested in the sound-collage pretensions of his earlier records, Uncle Meat largely eschewed traditional rock songs in favor of extended jazz-influenced instrumentals and chamber compositions. The album’s length was not to be overlooked. This was to be the corollary of Freak Out!, a kind of “new beginning” for the Mothers. No longer was Zappa the smart-aleck court jester of psychedelia; he was now its Stravinsky, its mad-scientist-cum-bandleader-extraordinaire. Case in point: the entire D-side of the album is taken up by the sprawling 18-minute fusion suite “King Kong”, each of its six segments demonstrating the improvisational talents of a different Mother. Ian Underwood comes close to stealing the show, not only with his closing interpretation of “King Kong” but also with the fantastic “Ian Underwood Whips It Out”. The other band members keep up, though, Bunk Gardner’s and Motorhead Sherwood’s frenetic sax contributions enlivening the record’s already spastic pandemonium. It’s a chaotic scattershot beast of an album, sure, but that’s the point. No album better showcases the original Mothers as a performing ensemble than this record here.
6 We’re Only in It for the Money
I see this as Freak Out!’s younger, more learned brother. In many ways the two records are similar, both composed primarily of loopy satirical pop songs skewering many of the same targets and both ending with an extended sound collage piece. But this one is more concise, more direct, and more advanced, both in terms of its laser-sharp compositions and its fantastically intricate production. There’s something cathartic about it, too; primarily mocking the psychedelic scene he unintentionally helped to establish, Zappa seems intent on killing off his own creation. That impassioned intensity gives rise to a few of his most expressive and outright sad compositions: “Mom & Dad”, “Lonely Little Girl”, “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black”. As a result, what the Mothers managed to create here was both the most impressively biting spoof of psychedelic rock, and one of the all-time great psychedelic rock records all in one. To many, this is the pinnacle of the Mothers’ satirical oeuvre, the schizophrenic songwriting and patchwork production embodying the disorientation and dehumanization produced by the attention-deficit consumerist culture they hoped to combat.
5 The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life
If there’s one post-Seventies Zappa record you need to hear, I would say this is it. An expansive career overview tackled with ambition and vigor by one of his tightest groups, The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life is my favorite live Zappa album. Littered with both Zappa classics and perverted cover versions, the album is virtually bereft of original material, but that matters little when you get two hours of some of the best live music Frank ever recorded. Note Zappa’s florid, sensitive guitar soloing on “Zoot Allures”; Mike Keneally’s hilarious wailing on “Who Needs the Peace Corps?”, and, of course, the meticulous note-for-note brass arrangement of Jimmy Page’s guitar solo in the closing cover of “Stairway to Heaven”. The ‘80s keyboards and reggae vamps are in full swing here, but they’re utilized to effect. Every performance here is so polished, so fully and colorfully realized, that nearly one rivals or betters its studio counterpart. It’s two hours of pure bliss, jazz-rock goodness, and laughs. What more can one ask of Zappa?
4 One Size Fits All
I would argue that this is the best Zappa ever got as a rock songwriter. The culmination of the sound he had gradually been developing ever since Over-Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All is where the myriad influences of his composition most seamlessly coalesce. There is such a calculated momentum to these songs, the five long tracks in particular; gone are the patchwork medleys of his previous rock albums, replaced by sweeping multipart suites that surge fluidly from segment to segment. The lyrics are suitably linear as well, eschewing the scatalogical humor in favor of zany storytelling and cartoonish character portraits. When combined with the spacious arrangements and slick production, what you get is a series of expansive rock excursions that can stand alongside any of the great prog-rock epics. As soon as I hear the opening notes of “Inca Roads”, I can’t help but listen to the whole thing, such is the joy it brings me. The most fitting eulogy to the “Mothers of Invention” name one could imagine.
3 Hot Rats
Likely the favorite of the majority of Zappa fans, Hot Rats is his most critically recognized album as a solo artist. For many, it’s the point of entry to the world of Zappa, and understandably so: almost entirely instrumental, it’s bereft of the numerous quirks that make Frank such a polarizing artist. No dick jokes, no smarter-than-thou satire, no goofy voices, and no extended reggae vamps, just 43 minutes of jazz-fusion perfection. It’s also Zappa’s greatest achievement as a producer; the vast majority of the album is just him and Ian Underwood, layered over one another with such care and precision that the result sounds like a live performance. Consequently it’s also one of Zappa’s purest and most personal expressions. He describes it in the liner notes as a “movie for your ears”, and few albums could better embody such an ambition. Each track bursts with color and texture; the arrangements are sublime. The solos, not only by Zappa but also by Underwood and Sugarcane Harris, exhibit such vivacity and clarity of direction, their phrasing twisting and turning as though authored like a mystery novel. It’s the sort of album I can put on any time of any day. I’ve listened to it hundreds of times, and still I find something new to enjoy with every listen. Delightful.
2 Absolutely Free
For me, this is Zappa’s opus as a cultural commentator. It’s a flawed masterpiece for sure; it takes everything that made Freak Out! so radically innovative and pushes the envelope even further, and not everything works. But there is no greater leap forward in Zappa’s progression as an artiste than that from his debut to this record. Comprising two side-long suites of orchestrally-augmented psychedelic satire, Absolutely Free is a 38-minute whirlwind of ideas both sonic and conceptual, a progressive rock album before the notion even existed, an epochal rock opera that predates any of its peers by at least half a decade. There’s simply nothing like it, even to this day. Look at side two: Zappa’s satire never got sharper or more complete than “Status Back Baby” or the harrowing “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It”. And on side one: sure, the Mothers improved as improvisers over time, but “Young Pumpkin” may still be their greatest extended jam. “Call Any Vegetable” and “Plastic People” remained setlist mainstays for decades. “The Duke of Prunes” is one of Zappa’s enduring melodies, reworked multiple times over for orchestral treatment. Certainly not Zappa’s most refined record, nor his most influential, nor his most cohesive. But as far as I’m concerned it’s his most cogent and crucial work as a cultural voice.
1 Burnt Weeny Sandwich
A personal pick, I openly admit. I’m not totally sure why I love it so much. Maybe it’s the comically detuned “Overture”, which never fails to crack me up. Maybe it’s the wonderful guitar solo on the title track. Maybe it’s the brilliantly dynamic structure of “Holiday in Berlin”, unfolding in acts like a great work of theatre. Maybe it’s the miniature symphonics of “Aybe Sea”, meticulously arranged despite coming in at under three minutes. Maybe it’s the multi-tentacled instrumental leviathan that is “Little House”, showcasing across its 19 minutes the unique talents of every member of the Mothers. Maybe it’s the two doo-wop covers that bookend the album, performed with both humor and sincerity. I’m not sure. But to me, Burnt Weeny Sandwich represents everything I love about Zappa: the belief in some inherent power within music, something beyond our understanding, but just within our control. I love this album.