Frank’s three releases in the year 1970 consisted of Burnt Weenie Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh, recordings by the original Mothers of Invention tweaked and edited by Zappa, plus Chunga’s Revenge, which bridges the gap between the old Mothers and the new version of the band that Zappa would soon unleash.
Hi Michael, thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. I'm not the biggest Zappa fanatic, and I agree that 'Apostrophe' is right in the sweet spot of his best work--as someone who was a big fusion and Weather Report fan, I enjoyed a couple of the records on either side of Apostrophe--Grand Wazoo, All Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All. That's the stuff I'm most likely to listen to.
Thanks for the feedback and memories on this one. Lucky you, with all those albums to listen to, from the top labels of the time. Better than the Record Club! As you suggest, getting a chance to hear so much diverse music was more important than whether you liked it at the the time or not.
Yes, technical prowess was key for Son of Mr. Green Jeans (not really!). He sounds like that one band leader everyone had somewhere along the line who would get in musicians' heads and drive them nuts.
I too discovered Flo & Eddie through Zappa, and I remember seeing them on an episode of Soundstage and loving them-- "Nikki Hoi"and "Thoughts Have Turned" were especially notable. I also memorized 'Eddie are you Kidding' and 'Call Any Vegetable', songs that they first did with Zappa. And of course they threw in 'Elenore' and 'Happy Together.'
Did your Dad bring home copies of the Warner samplers that you used to be able to order off the dust jacket of Warner releases for a buck or two to cover S&H? I love those things--it's a sub-specialty of mine to look for them in records stores or garage sales. I wrote about a couple a long way back--I should get back to those--here and here.
I'm always so happy to have grown up in the era when there was so much great stuff being released and the music biz, rough as it was, was in full swing.
Great overview of this early Zappa era, Marshall! You took me right back to junior high! As many/most of my FR&B readers already know, my dad was in radio, and routinely brought home promo albums from Capitol (Beatles!), Columbia, and Warner Bros.!
As he didn't bring home any Verve/MGM LPs (unless they were jazz, which he kept, adding to his 20,000 LP and 78 collection!) for Zappa's first 1/2-dozen albums, the first Warner/Reprise-distributed Zappa albums he brought home were 1969's "Uncle Meat" and "Hot Rats"! I was 14, and far more interested in MAD Magazine, Archie comics, and the first albums by Alice Cooper (on Frank's WB-distributed Straight Records), Jethro Tull, and Black Sabbath!
Clearly at my age, then, I listened to all those Frank albums, but didn't come close to "liking" any of them! As this was about the time, too, that I was starting to voraciously read the rock press, my musical sensibilities began to take shape as "what I heard" on Zappa's albums was confirmed by those critics in CREEM, Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, et al!
In fact, at one point I read something that seems to confirm what your Napoleon Brock quote above was hinting at (and, paraphrasing from decades ago): Frank used to enjoy composing music that he knew (or even hoped) would challenge his musicians to a breaking point, and he had no problem axing 'em if they couldn't cut it, and he'd simply find someone who could!
His albums were the first place, too, where I heard of The Phlorescent Leach and Eddie, and I eagerly received their first "solo" album in '72 (as a high school junior!), on Reprise/WB, of course! I was thankful that they, personally, weren't about producing music that was mind-numbingly complex and (as you said) "hard to listen to"!!
Anyway, you so clearly encapsulated Frank's 1970 output, and I appreciate the chance (and space) to go back in time....those junior high years, for me, were so fraught with insecurities to the point where my school day refuge, from 3:30 on, was my bedroom with my way-better-than-it-had-a-right-to-be stereo, and my latest weekly armload of promos from Daddy! Whether I ended up liking them or not is, ultimately, immaterial.....I heard them. And, that's why I write.
Thanks for this article on FZ's earlier LPs. When I was in my teens and 20's (and even into my 40s), I was deep into collecting '60s records, and I felt I had to own some Zappa. I must admit, I have all the respect in the world for Zappa, but the only album of his I truly like is his '74 LP, 'Apostrophe.' Others have their moments, but on the whole, they just didn't work their magic on me.
A few years ago I decided to do a bit of a purge on my collection and I relegated the 3 other FZ LPs I had to that sell pile. 'Apostrophe', however, stayed and I still enjoy it from start to finish. I also have good memories of my college roommate and me playing that record very loud! "Excentrifugal Forz," and "Apostrophe," in particular, had some serious volume action going on (no doubt much to the chagrin of our neighbors)!
Hi Michael, thanks for reading and taking the time to comment. I'm not the biggest Zappa fanatic, and I agree that 'Apostrophe' is right in the sweet spot of his best work--as someone who was a big fusion and Weather Report fan, I enjoyed a couple of the records on either side of Apostrophe--Grand Wazoo, All Nite Sensation, One Size Fits All. That's the stuff I'm most likely to listen to.
Thanks for the feedback and memories on this one. Lucky you, with all those albums to listen to, from the top labels of the time. Better than the Record Club! As you suggest, getting a chance to hear so much diverse music was more important than whether you liked it at the the time or not.
Yes, technical prowess was key for Son of Mr. Green Jeans (not really!). He sounds like that one band leader everyone had somewhere along the line who would get in musicians' heads and drive them nuts.
I too discovered Flo & Eddie through Zappa, and I remember seeing them on an episode of Soundstage and loving them-- "Nikki Hoi"and "Thoughts Have Turned" were especially notable. I also memorized 'Eddie are you Kidding' and 'Call Any Vegetable', songs that they first did with Zappa. And of course they threw in 'Elenore' and 'Happy Together.'
Did your Dad bring home copies of the Warner samplers that you used to be able to order off the dust jacket of Warner releases for a buck or two to cover S&H? I love those things--it's a sub-specialty of mine to look for them in records stores or garage sales. I wrote about a couple a long way back--I should get back to those--here and here.
I'm always so happy to have grown up in the era when there was so much great stuff being released and the music biz, rough as it was, was in full swing.
Great overview of this early Zappa era, Marshall! You took me right back to junior high! As many/most of my FR&B readers already know, my dad was in radio, and routinely brought home promo albums from Capitol (Beatles!), Columbia, and Warner Bros.!
As he didn't bring home any Verve/MGM LPs (unless they were jazz, which he kept, adding to his 20,000 LP and 78 collection!) for Zappa's first 1/2-dozen albums, the first Warner/Reprise-distributed Zappa albums he brought home were 1969's "Uncle Meat" and "Hot Rats"! I was 14, and far more interested in MAD Magazine, Archie comics, and the first albums by Alice Cooper (on Frank's WB-distributed Straight Records), Jethro Tull, and Black Sabbath!
Clearly at my age, then, I listened to all those Frank albums, but didn't come close to "liking" any of them! As this was about the time, too, that I was starting to voraciously read the rock press, my musical sensibilities began to take shape as "what I heard" on Zappa's albums was confirmed by those critics in CREEM, Rolling Stone, Crawdaddy, et al!
In fact, at one point I read something that seems to confirm what your Napoleon Brock quote above was hinting at (and, paraphrasing from decades ago): Frank used to enjoy composing music that he knew (or even hoped) would challenge his musicians to a breaking point, and he had no problem axing 'em if they couldn't cut it, and he'd simply find someone who could!
His albums were the first place, too, where I heard of The Phlorescent Leach and Eddie, and I eagerly received their first "solo" album in '72 (as a high school junior!), on Reprise/WB, of course! I was thankful that they, personally, weren't about producing music that was mind-numbingly complex and (as you said) "hard to listen to"!!
Anyway, you so clearly encapsulated Frank's 1970 output, and I appreciate the chance (and space) to go back in time....those junior high years, for me, were so fraught with insecurities to the point where my school day refuge, from 3:30 on, was my bedroom with my way-better-than-it-had-a-right-to-be stereo, and my latest weekly armload of promos from Daddy! Whether I ended up liking them or not is, ultimately, immaterial.....I heard them. And, that's why I write.
Thanks again, Marshall!
Thanks for this article on FZ's earlier LPs. When I was in my teens and 20's (and even into my 40s), I was deep into collecting '60s records, and I felt I had to own some Zappa. I must admit, I have all the respect in the world for Zappa, but the only album of his I truly like is his '74 LP, 'Apostrophe.' Others have their moments, but on the whole, they just didn't work their magic on me.
A few years ago I decided to do a bit of a purge on my collection and I relegated the 3 other FZ LPs I had to that sell pile. 'Apostrophe', however, stayed and I still enjoy it from start to finish. I also have good memories of my college roommate and me playing that record very loud! "Excentrifugal Forz," and "Apostrophe," in particular, had some serious volume action going on (no doubt much to the chagrin of our neighbors)!