Benac Frank Zappa

1966-1979 Every Album, Every Song
1. Auflage 2025
ISBN: 978-1-78952-383-6
Verlag: Sonicbond Publishing
Format: EPUB
Kopierschutz: 0 - No protection

E-Book, Englisch, 160 Seiten

Frank Zappa is one of the few rock and roll musicians who can truly be labelled a genius. With a career that spanned four decades, before his untimely death in 1993, Zappa broke all the rules of composition and production and did things his way. No other rock performer composed in as many idioms or wrote music of such sublime complexity and beauty.
In this in-depth album guide, the most crucial part of Zappa's discography is examined in-depth, to provide readers with the ultimate guide to the man's recorded work. Each album is discussed in detail, including its historical context, an examination of each of its songs and full details of the musicians who played them. The book will begin with Zappa's 60s albums with The Mothers of Invention, before delving into his prolific 70s solo career, typified by Hot Rats, Apostrophe(') and Sheik Yerbouti.
Throughout this period, his albums remained complex musically, while the subject matter was often both satirical and controversial. Fans of Zappa's 60s and 70s work will appreciate the level of detail, research, and depth provided in each review, making this the most comprehensive guide to this enigmatic musician's music yet written.

The Author: Eric Benac is a freelance writer. He has over a decade of experience as a professional writer, including three years as a journalist and ten years as a marketing and blogging expert. Beyond his paid work, Eric enjoys writing poetry, short stories, novels, plays, and music reviews. A huge fan of Zappa and his work, Eric has written extensively about him. In his spare time, Eric records Zappa and Cardiacs-influenced electronic pop as Gergy 12. He lives in Traverse City, Michigan, USA.

Autoren/Hrsg.

Benac, Eric

Leseproben

Chapter 2

Freak Out! (1966)

Personnel:

Frank Zappa: composer, guitar, conductor, vocals

Jimmy Carl Black: percussion, drums, vocals

Ray Collins: vocals, harmonica, cymbals, sound effects, tambourine, finger cymbals, bobby pin & tweezers

Roy Estrada: bass, guitarrón, boy soprano

Elliot Ingber: alternate lead & rhythm guitar with clear white light

Recorded between March 9 and March 12, 1966

Released on June 27, 1966

Producer: Tom Wilson with arrangements by Frank Zappa

Engineer: Ami, Tom, and Val Valentin

Peak Position: US Billboard Chart: 130

In many ways, Freak Out! is the definitive Zappa album. Though mostly critically lambasted upon its release, it was an underground cult smash and has become regarded as one of the best albums of all time. For example, 2003 placed it on their ‘500 Greatest Albums of All Time’ list at 243, a spot in the 2006 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die, and a place in Classic Rock magazine’s ‘50 Albums That Built Prog Rock.’ And in 1999, it received a Grammy.

These accolades are more than deserved. Though it lacks some of Zappa’s later composition and arrangement intricacy, it successfully synthesizes every element of his music. There are rock songs with doo-wop vocals, talking blues songs with satirical lyrics, difficult avant pieces based on percussion sounds, brief glimpses of scatological humor, and experiments in sound that still resonate over 50 years later. The amazing thing about this album is that it comes from the hands of such inauspicious players. The early Mothers of Invention originated as a cover group, The Soul Giants, that Zappa joined as a guitar player through the friendship of singer Ray Collins. Zappa tried to get the R&B-oriented band to perform his originals, claiming that they would make the group famous. Original leader and saxophone player Davy Coronado did not agree and left under pressure from the rest of the band.

The Soul Giants were unique because of their multi-racial lineup, as Jimmy Carl Black was a Native American and Roy Estrada was a Mexican American. Later on, in the band’s career, Estrada would lament this fact because he believed that the band lost gigs due to his racial background, a fear later parodied on the live album Ahead of Their Time, a 1968 show released in 1993. Zappa convinced the band to move to Los Angeles in early 1965 and found them a contract with Herb Cohen, who found them consistent club work. During this period, Zappa worked to transform the primitive playing of his band. As the band’s reputation grew, their behavior became more outrageous. For example, the term The Mothers is a shortened version of ‘motherfuckers,’ a compliment given to great bands. Zappa later had this to say about the band name:

...it was kind of presumptuous to name the band that, because we weren’t that good musicians...by bar-band standards in the area, we were light- years ahead of our competition, but in terms of real musicianship, I just suppose we were right down there in the swamp

Regardless, the band’s unique improvisational chemistry mixed with Zappa’s originals to create an increasingly popular live experience. Their reputation caused Tom Wilson of MGM to check out a gig. He had the chance to hear ‘Trouble Every Day’ and was suitably impressed to offer them a record deal with Verve Records in 1966. Once the band started recording, Wilson quickly realized that he had signed something much different than a blues band. The band recorded the upbeat ballad ‘Any Way the Wind Blows’ and followed it up with the heavy and bizarre ‘Who Are the Brain Police?’ which was years ahead of its time. Zappa later joked that he saw Wilson ‘...scrambling toward the phone to call his boss – probably saying: “Well, uh, not exactly a ‘white blues band’, but ... sort of.”’

Wilson said: ‘Zappa, without exception, is the biggest talent I have ever come across...’ and when asked if the band were a ‘joke’ stated that ‘They are a joke to this extent in that they – and Frank in particular – regard the pop music of the ‘50s on which the current Anglo-American pop scene is largely based, as a joke.’ His statement is spot on, as a large portion of the songs recorded for the album were satirical parodies. However, this is no Weird Al album (as much as I love Mr. Yankovich). Each song is written flawlessly, with gorgeous melodies and strong lyrics. And though there is a strong streak of parody and satire on the album, songs like ‘Anyway the Wind Blows’ are based on real- life experiences, as Zappa wrote that song to ease his pain during his divorce. And while the Mothers of Invention played the backing tracks with skill and aplomb, a large number of guest musicians were brought in to expand the sound. Many members of the skilled Wrecking Crew, such as Carole Kaye and Mac Rebennack (Dr. John) contributed.

Sometime later, Kaye would claim that only ‘the drummer and bass player,’ i.e., Estrada and Black, played on the album while the guitar work was handled by the Wrecking Crew. It seems unlikely that Zappa and Ingber didn’t play at all, though clearly much 12-string guitar was added by Kaye and other musicians. Kaye, however, did praise Zappa and claimed that, of all the rock musicians in Los Angeles, only he and Brian Wilson wrote their own arrangements. Orchestral embellishments were added to several songs, all playing with Zappa arrangements and under his supervision. This freedom provided Zappa with the chance to express himself on just about every song. This type of goodwill did not extend to future albums, however, and even ended on this album as the band was denied more studio time to finish ‘The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet.’

A huge promotional push by the label resulted in sales disappointment (a mere 130 spot on the Billboard Chart), critical aggression, and listener indifference. However, other musicians were listening. For example, Paul McCartney later stated that Sgt. Peppers was The Beatles’ version of Freak Out! And at 60 minutes, it was one of the first double albums and the very first double-album debut by a rock band. The record’s influence would seep into the burgeoning hippie culture and gave Zappa the impetus he needed to expand his sound even further.

‘Hungry Freaks Daddy’ (Frank Zappa)

This sharp opening track reveals the depth of Zappa’s writing and arranging skills. The layered opening guitar parts are not only memorable but playing harmonic, rather than unison, lines. The verses feature Zappa singing mournful lyrics regarding the indifference of older generations. Though mostly based on guitar, touches of vibraphone pop up. The structure of this song is not verse- chorus-verse but features a refrain at the end of each verse. Each verse is taken in a different key to give the song more musical variation. And the presence of kazoos during the refrain adds an unpredictable, surreal, and silly touch.

‘I Ain’t Got No Heart’ (Frank Zappa)

The sharp-tongued parodies begin with this track, which features an amazing first verse:

I sit and laugh at fools in love There ain’t no such thing as love No angels singing up above today In a time when a majority of pop and rock music focused heavily on love thematic themes, this direct attack still resounds. The excellent opening riff replays and shifts through a few keys. The bridge features a touch of psychedelic-like screams and droning vocals over heavy acid guitar. And when the orchestra pops up to embellish the ending melodic themes, it’s not hard to feel like you’ve been on a prog-like journey in a mere 2:34!

‘Who are the Brain Police’ (Frank Zappa)

This song is a sharp departure from previous songs, one that Zappa claimed came to him in a dream. It features lyrics such as ‘What will you do if we let you go home and the plastic’s all melted and so is the chrome? Who are the brain police?’ This type of paranoia was brewing across the ‘60s rock scene but came to an early peak here.

The music mostly consists of drones and dirges that became popular with later musicians, but while these psychedelic wanderers claimed influence from Indian and Middle Eastern music, Zappa’s seem rooted in more traditional Western theory. The song takes a drastic turn with a ‘pounding and screaming’ bridge similar to ‘I Ain’t Got No Heart.’

‘Go Cry on Somebody Else’s Shoulder’ (Frank Zappa and Ray Collins)

Zappa’s love of doo-wop balladry comes to the fore. Though the lyrics retain a satirical edge, the melody is intricate and catchy enough to be a standard and features the same type of varied writing and arrangement that is typical of Zappa. For example, there are more instruments on this song than you would find in a typical doo-wop standard. There are some guitar countermelodies and piano parts but, in spite of these embellishments, this is one of the more straightforward songs here.

‘Motherly Love’ (Frank Zappa)

‘Motherly Love’ was the fourth single released from Freak Out! and is one of a...