Was Cruising With Ruben and The Jets Frank’s Sgt. Pepper?
I bought the album years ago during my college days, but I don’t remember if it was a “concept” album, and I was about to purchase it on CD.
What do y’all say?
Quasi
Oh, I dunno. I guess I always considered WOIIFTM to be Zappa’s “Sgt. Pepper.”
IIRC the cover would support that.
Well Cruising with Ruben and the Jets is certainly a “concept” album in that it is a parody/tribute ( and a superb one ) to 50’s and early 60’s bubblegum pop and doo-wap. Sorta Zappa does Sha-Na-Na. A must-have IMHO ( I love his take on the genre ), but YMMV.
- Tamerlane
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IIRC the cover would support that. **
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Now that you guys have brought it to my attention, I think what confused me (not that it takes a lot!) was the name change, i.e. Frank and the Mothers became Ruben and The Jets for that album only.
And yes, the cover art of We’re Only In It… is the one that got me thinking Sgt. Pepper.
Thanks for the clarification!
Q
Yes, but included in the Sgt. Pepper parody cover of WOIIFTM is a parody of the Rolling Stones as well. The Mothers are all in drag with one of them (was it Bunk?) in a wheelchair. This was a send up of the picture sleeve of the Stones single “Have You Seen Your Mother Baby” where they were all in drag with one of them in a wheelchair.
Have you seen your mother, baby indeed.
Zappa’s** Sgt.Pepper** was indeed We’re Only In It For thr Money. The Beatles parody on the WOIFTM cover was on the inside of the original gatefold cover. Verve Records feared thet the Beatles might sue if it was on the outside.
Zappa stated in an interview that Cruising With Ruben and The Jets was a tribute, not a parody.
Zappa’s song Oh No makes fun of the peace and love idea of the 1960’s. It parodys the Beatles’ All You Need Is Love and Within You Without You.
Help, I’m Iraq! Help, I’m Iraq!
And who could forget the warm cameraderie with which he engaged his audience, matched only Mile Davis.
I saw him live every chance I got, in a number of different places. Without fail, he would cheerfully encourage the audience to call out thier favorites…
And never once played one.
I bought a Zappa album once. Got it back home, played it, and found some minor irregularities in it. For example, although the back of the CD case said there were only around fifteen tracks, my CD player said it had close to thirty. Also, the first six tracks were blank. Also, instead of Frank Zappa, the other twenty four tracks were Korean pop-music. Perhaps unfairly, I haven’t purchased any more Frank Zappa albums.
I always hated * Ruben and the Jets. *
It’s true that the songs weren’t a parody of the late 50s/early 60s sound. They were a tribute, and that’s the problem. The songs weren’t that good at all. Zappa really did churn out a fair share of crap in his day.
True, Ruben and the Jets is my least favorite Zappa album, I wouldn’t call it crap. I can only listen to about 3 or 4 songs like that brfore I get tired of them.