Frank Zappa "Joe's Garage Act II & III" (1979)

Joe's Garage Act II & III
release date: Nov. 19, 1979
format: digital (2 lp)
[album rate: 2 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "A Token of My Extreme" - 7. "He Used to Cut the Grass" - 10. "A Little Green Rosetta"

No sooner than two months following Joe's Garage Act I, Zappa released Act II & III as a double vinyl album, and having already released the double lp, Sheik Yerbouti and two albums with 1970s unreleased material ("Orchestral Favorites" and "Sleep Dirt") in the year 1979, he was in his most productive period of his musical lifetime. Having said that, I don't think Joe's Garage is all that great. It has it moments, most of which is jazz rock, and I don't really like this style of his repertoire. In 1987 the three parts were released as a triple album box set, Joe's Garage Act I, II & III.

Frank Zappa "Joe's Garage Act I" (1979)

Joe's Garage Act I
release date: Sep. 17, 1979
format: digital
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 2. "Joe's Garage" - 3. "Catholic Girls" - 5. "Fembot in a Wet T-Shirt" (live)

A rock opera or maybe better: a conceptual album in 3 parts. I don't think this is his best work. It appears as 'form over matter' - it seems to me that the story, the conceptual idea, and lyrics became too important.

Frank Zappa "Sheik Yerbouti" (1979)

Sheik Yerbouti (live)
release date: Mar. 3, 1979
format: vinyl 2 lp (gatefold - 88339) / cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5] [3,62]
producer: Frank Zappa
label: CBS Records - nationality: USA

Track highlights: 1. "I Have Been in You" - 2. "Flakes" - 3. "Broken Hearts Are for Assholes" - 6. "What Ever Happened to All the Fun in the World" - 7. "Rat Tomago" - 9. "Bobby Brown" - 11. "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango" - 15. "Dancin' Fool"

A double live album by Frank Zappa is made up of live recordings predominantly from concerts at the Hammersmith Odeon, London, Jan. '78. The recordings have been processed and re-engineered in the studio with over-dubbing. The title is a word-play and should be pronounced 'Shake Your Booty' - allegedly, inspired by KC and the Sunshine Band's disco hit "(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty" from 1976.
I've always been particular fond of this album. Maybe because it was the first that I listened to with Zappa because my older puchased this when it was released. I think, it really displays his great abilities: sharp satire, great pop songwriter, brilliant instrumentalist, and fascinating modern composer.

~ ~ ~

This post is part of MyMusicJourney, which enlists key releases that have shaped my musical taste when growing up and until age 14. Most of these releases come from my parents' and / or my older brother's collection.

Frank Zappa "Apostrophe (')" (1974)

Apostrophe (')
release date: Mar. 22, 1974
format: cd
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" - 2. "Nanook Rubs It" (alt. version) - 5. "Cosmik Debris" - 7. "Apostrophe"

18th studio album by Zappa! And his best selling album.
This is still a fine album, and very much in family with his albums released from 1973, with Over-Nite Sensation, to his last albums of the decade with Joe's Garage II & III (1979). The music is experimental rock with elements of jazz rock / rock fusion, and the ever presence of satire.

Frank Zappa / The Mothers "Over-Nite Sensation" (1973)

Over-Nite Sensation
release date: Sep. 7, 1973
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Camarillo Brillo" - 3. "Dirty Love" - 5. "Zoomby Woof" - 7. "Montana"

Released as 'Frank Zappa & the Mothers'. This was the last Mothers of Invention studio album, although, practically, it's the 17th Frank Zappa album! The album was probably the first big commercial success as it sold Gold in the US. Thematically, it's primarily about sex, and the music is experimental rock, art rock, and fusion rock.

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "Mothermania - The Best of The Mothers" (1969)

Mothermania - The Best of The Mothers (compilation)
release date: Mar. 24, 1969
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

A rather funny album compiled by Zappa. The majority of the tracks may be found on first three albums by Mothers of Invention, however, the tracks on the compilation are alternate tracks with different lyrics and / or playing time.

Frank Zappa "Lumpy Gravy" (1968)

Lumpy Gravy
release date: May 13, 1968
format: cd
[album rate: 2,5 / 5]

Tracklist: A) 1. "Lumpy Gravy I" - - B) 1. "Lumpy Gravy II"

A two-track solo release by Frank Zappa recorded Feb. 1967 (his first solo work after producing Absolutely Free). The album was originally released on Capitol Records as an 8-track album. A lawsuit followed as Zappa had a signed contract with Verve Records (owned by MGM), although, the contract didn't say anything about Zappa conducting others, as he claimed with this album. The music is almost entirely a modern classical experiment of musique concrete inspired by the works of John Cage. This is the altered Verve Records version released as two tracks (virtually one long track) only divided by an A and B-side. Zappa has re-edited this version again later on, which has been released in 1984 on Zappa's own label, Barking Pumpkin.

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "We're Only in It for the Money" (1968)

We're Only in It for the Money
release date: Mar. 1968
format: digital
[album rate: 3,5 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Are You Hung Up?" - 2. "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" - 3. "Concentration Moon" - 9. "Absolutely Free" - 10. "Flower Punk" - 12. "Nasal Rententive Calliope Music" - 19. "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny"

The Mothers of Invention release. Back to musique concrete, or almost industrial, despite the style wasn't called that, and you can also tell from where Pink Floyd got their inspiration. This is hilarious and intelligent music, and also known as a satire on The Beatles and their Sgt. Pepper... album (just watch the German cover here). "Eh, are you hung-up?... Strung-up!... Outta sight, yeah!". Preceding The Orb and their "Fluffy Little Clouds", you know.
The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

German cover
with reference
to The Beatles

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "Absolutely Free" (1967)

Absolutely Free
release date: May 26, 1967
format: digital
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 1. "Plastic People" - 5. "Call Any Vegetable" - 7. "Soft-Sell Conclusion" - 10. "America Drinks" - 14. "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" (live in Copenhagen) - 15. "America Drinks & Goes Home"
[ full album ]

2nd Mothers of Invention album and very much in line with the previous album, although the music here is more in the jazz-rock genre instead of musique concrete. Best track is "Brown Shoes Don't Make It".

Frank Zappa / The Mothers of Invention "Freak Out!" (1966)

Freak Out! [debut]
release date: Jun. 27, 1966
format: cd
[album rate: 3 / 5]

Track highlights: 3. "Who Are the Brain Police" - 4. "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" - 7. "Wowie Zowie" - 9. "Any Way the Wind Blows" - 12. "Trouble Every Day" - 13. "Help, I'm a Rock"

Studio debut album released by The Mothers of Invention. Actually, the band members had named the band The Mothers, it was the record company (Verve Records) who added the 'of Invention' to the name. This album is highly experimental and the musical style is unpreceded as Zappa wrote the majority of the tracks as his own combination of classical upbringing with musique concrete (Stockhausen, Varèse, Cage) and experimental, psychedelic art rock bringing it all together in satiric texts criticizing the consumer mentality of America in 1960s as a wake-up call to what is termed pop. Some of the songs like "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder" and "Wowie Zowie" are almost traditional doo wop, "Any Way the Wind Blows" sounds like The Beatles together with Beach Boys, "You Didn't Try to Call Me", and "Trouble Every Day" are like The Who meets Hendrix, whereas "Who Are the Brain Police", "Help, I'm a Rock" and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" are out-of-this-world-experiments by Zappa and noting else! The album secured Zappa a considerable crowd of fans, partly in Europe, partly in USA, but a vast majority simply didn't buy his albums, perhaps because the music is highly original and experimental drawing on modern classical compositional theory. Anyway, it's not really music you put on as background sound for a romantic dinner. It's something that needs a mature ear, and broad acceptance. No wonder The Beatles were able to experiment a lot on Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (1967), this album inspired many, including The Fab Four. The album is enlisted in "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die".

Frank Zappa

~ ~ ~

Frank Zappa: (birthname: Frank Vincent Zappa; Dec. 21, 1940 - Dec. 4, 1993) was born in Baltimore (MD), USA, and died in Los Angeles, USA, from incurable (prostate) cancer. He's son of a French-Italian mother and Italian father (from Partinico, Sicily).
I believe, I must have been about 14 when I heard of Frank Zappa the first time. My elder brother had bought the Sheik Yerbouti (1979) album, and I remember that I really enjoyed "Bobby Brown" and "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango". Apart from that, I just thought it was really weird music. It didn't fit with ABBA or Boney M or Deep Purple, which must have been the most adult hard rock I listened to at that time just before realizing punk rock came about. The '79 album was also the first album that I got. When my brother moved to his own apartment, he gave me a big bunch of his old vinyl albums, including this brilliant gem.
Zappa is almost pseudonymous with The Mothers of Invention as he wrote, composed and conducted their music before studio recordings. Band members of The Mothers of Invention (1965-69): Frank Zappa (guitar, vocals), Ray Collins (vocals, harmonica, percussion, 1965-68), Roy Estrada (bass, vocals), Jimmy Carl Black (drums, percussion), Henry Vestine (guitar, 1965-66), Don Preston (keyboards, piano, Moog, 1966-69), Elliot Ingber (guitar, 1966), Jim Fielder (bass, guitar, 1966-67), Bunk Gardner (saxophone, woodwinds, 1966-69), Billy Mundi (drums, percussion, 1966-67), Jim 'Motorhead' Sherwood (saxophone, woodwinds, tambourine, 1967-69), Ian Underwood (piano, keyboards, woodwinds, 1967-69), Arthur Tripp (drums, percussion, 1967-69), Lowell George (guitar, vocals, 1968-69), Buzz Gardner (trumpet, 1968-69), Don 'Sugercane' Harris (violin, 1969). For a few years he established the band Ruben and the Jets (1967-68) with members of The Mothers, and he played with Captain Beefheart in the mid '70s calling themselves Zappa/Beefheart/Mothers.
Throughout his career, Zappa was often referred to as some kind of 'acid wreck' of the '60s and a left-wing provocateur who wrote unamerican texts, or wrote and said what was characterized as harmful matter because of his satiric texts on American consumerism. However, in his last 10 years as a musician he experienced how most of America praised him as one of the 20th century's most important American composers.
[ wikipedia has extensive info on Frank Zappa ]

~ ~ ~