I thought I’d add one more thing, regarding the stupid lyrics in some of Zappa’s songs (actually, I generally find his lyrics quite amusing) from FZ himself:
–FZ, quoted from The Real Frank Zappa Book.
In other words, don’t let his lyrics get in the way of his music.
Actually, apart from “Greggery Peccary” (which is mostly narration–sort of Zappa’s equivalent of Peter and the Wolf–with only a few short passages of actual singing) and “Lemme Take You to the Beach,” the album consists of two lengthy, and exquisite, instrumentals: “RDNZL” and “Revised Music for Guitar and Low Budget Orchestra.” The latter is a reworking of an orchestral piece originally composed for Jean-Luc Ponty, and features Bruce Fowler’s breathtaking multi-overdubbed trombone doubling and harmonizing an improvised Zappa solo.
Cabbage wrote
Honestly, though I did listen to all three all the way through, I don’t really recall much other than the xylaphone and the performance-art theatric stuff. I thought the third was the one with John Belushi, but maybe that’s not correct. I’ll see if I can check out Hot Rats though.
Yeah, the first one (I’m the Slime) was with Don Pardo, the second one (Lagoon, I believe) was with Belushi, and the third one (Peaches en Regalia) was (in my opinion) the best and entirely instrumental.
I must say, that’s an impressive memory you’ve got there, Cabbage.
That would have been Jimmy Carl Black who went on the form “The Grandmothers” consisting of old members of The Mothers of Invention after the original group broke up.
Yes, the thematic style of the album is pretty dated these days and you do have to listen to it in context of the times it was made in. Considering this, it was pretty advanced for it’s time. Parts of it are still advanced now!
And I also have to mention Don “Sugar Cane” Harris who Zappa rescued from obscurity for a little bit. Zappa was one of the first to include a violinist in a straight rock band (i.e., not a “progressive” rock band.) However, he ended up hating Jean Luc-Ponty because he always ended his solos in exactly the same way and Zappa didn’t feel he was getting any real creativity out of him.
Not really, I just watched it this past Saturday night! 
I don’t really get Zappa, either. Maybe when I was fourteen, songs about yellow snow would have been right up my alley, but now it’s just… kinda embarassing, really.
I guess that sums up exactly why I’ll never be a Frank Zappa fan.
Can I just drop in here to recommend that you listen, at some point, to “Sheik Yerbouti” and especially “Tinseltown Rebellion”? I can’t think of a better description for either, than stellar.
Although Frank did a great volume of single work, my favorite is from his days with the Mothers of Invention, in which they did a spoof on do-wop 50s music, entitled Cruisin’ With Ruben and the Jets. His Phi Zappa Krappa poster is high art also!
Zappa is the man. Here’s what you need to listen to:
Hot Rats is the greatest album ever made. Not much for lyrics, but the songs are stellar.
If you like Hot Rats, Grand Wazoo is also a good. I call it the poor man’s Hot Rats.
The guy released 50 albums, many of which are acquired (and varying) tastes, so just randomly picking something will get you an experience similar to the one you had with We’re Only In It For The Money.
Here’s my very favorite Zappa albums grouped by genre and ranked inside each group in descending order of favorites first.:
Hot Rats
Grand Wazoo
Roxy & Elsewhere (“Village of the Sun” is simply too good. I can’t not sing to it.)
Joe’s Garage
Them Or Us
Apostrophe
You Are What You Is
One Size Fits All
Overnite Sensation
Zoot Allures
Sheik Yerbouti
Baby Snakes
The Man From Utopia
Läther (Posthumous collection of previously unreleased material from the Joe’s Garage era.)
Chunga’s Revenge
Just Another Band From LA
Fillmore East, June 1971
You Can’t Do Than On Stage Anymore 3
You Can’t Do Than On Stage Anymore 4
You Can’t Do Than On Stage Anymore 2 (My favorite, but it’s better if you know Roxy & Elsewhere first. The extended Pygmy Twylyte is awesome in context.)
Absolutely Free
We’re Only In It For The Money
Freak Out
Thingfish
Uncle Meat
Jazz from Hell
(Not a fan of Tinseltown Rebellion, personally, but I love Cruisin’ With Reuben And The Jets.)
I guess we know your answer to Zappa’s age-old question: “Does Humor Belong In Music?”
For those who don’t like humor in their music, I’d say you will have given Frank a completely fair shake if you only listen to Hot Rats and Roxy & Elsewhere. If you like them, you might like his other stuff as well, but even if you only ever listen to those two, that’s enough to be able to say you gave his stuff a chance. But one simply can’t dismiss his work after only listening to We’re Only In It… and his SNL performance. (Was that the one with Dumb All Over? Not my favorite performance, to be sure. I don’t particularly like any live version of that song, though the studio version on You Are What You Is is pretty good.)
He did something called “Broadway the Hard Way” that I thought was pretty good, as well. Kick-ass band on that (as usual) too.
The neat thing about these albums, and a few other ones, is that they were put together using parts recorded live at various shows and reconstructed in the studio. One song might have been put together from ten different shows. Thats one of the reasons FZ hated bootleggers so much. Live versions of songs would be bootlegged before Zappa even had a chance to finish them in the studio.
Late period FZ (Sheik Yerbouti and after) is my favorite is my favorite FZ since thats what I grew up on.
Most dopers who haven’t heard FZ would probably enjoy You Are What You Is. He takes on the religious right, politicians, fat girls, high society, hell…just about everyone takes a hit on this record. It also contains my favorite FZ words of wisdom: “Remember, there’s a big difference between kneeling down and bending over”.
Another thing about FZ is his whole conceptual continuity thing. From Freak Out to his post mortem albums, he would revisit themes, characters and concepts, creating his own Zappa universe that reached its peak on the three record set Thing Fish
Also, if you’re old enough to remember the PMRC hearings, you have to hear “Porn Wars” from FZ Meets The Mothers Of Prevention
I just wanted to chime in and mention that the drummer on this album is the incredible Ralph Humphrey. He was later one of the heads of the percussion department at the Musician’s Institute in Hollywood, where I studied. He also taught (appropriately enough) odd time and polyrythmns, as well as a class in studio drumming.
He never gets the same credit that Vinnie, Chad, or Terry does, which is sad. His contribution to Zappa’s music was quite notable.
I don’t have a problem with humor in music at all. It’s just that I don’t find Zappa to be funny.
I was thinking about this post all morning, because it reminds me that Terry actually sang one or two songs, most notably I’m So Cute from Sheik Yerbouti. I enjoy that song immensely, especially the rationale for why being so cute is so necessary:
*Ugly is bad,
and bad is wrong,
and wrong is sinful,
and sin leads to eternal damnation,
and HOT BURNING FIRE! (SCREAMS of Agony)
ah renn-enn-enn ah renn-enn-enn ah renn-enn-enn ah renn ah!
ah renn-enn-enn ah renn-enn-enn ah renn ah renn ah rah!"*
So good. I have to go listen to that song now. Right now. You wish you could be, but you’re so homely, at home and lonely, that you will never, get to be.