The MOTHERS OF INVENTION Debut Album

Original released on Double LP Verve V6 5005-2

(US 1966, June 27)

One of the most ambitious debuts in rock history, "Freak Out!" was a seminal concept album that somehow foreshadowed both art rock and punk at the same time. Its four LP sides deconstruct rock conventions right and left, eventually pushing into territory inspired by avant-garde classical composers. Yet the album is sequenced in an accessibly logical progression; the first half is dedicated to catchy, satirical pop/rock songs that question assumptions about pop music, setting the tone for the radical new directions of the second half. Opening with the nonconformist call to arms "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," "Freak Out!" quickly posits the Mothers of Invention as the antithesis of teen-idol bands, often with sneering mockeries of the teen-romance songs that had long been rock's commercial stock-in-trade. Despite his genuine emotional alienation and dissatisfaction with pop conventions, though, Frank Zappa was actually a skilled pop composer; even with the raw performances and his stinging guitar work, there's a subtle sophistication apparent in his unorthodox arrangements and tight, unpredictable melodicism. 

After returning to social criticism on the first song of the second half, the perceptive Watts riot protest "Trouble Every Day," Zappa exchanges pop song structure for experiments with musique concrète, amelodic dissonance, shifting time signatures, and studio effects. It's the first salvo in his career-long project of synthesizing popular and art music, high and low culture; while these pieces can meander, they virtually explode the limits of what can appear on a rock album, and effectively illustrate "Freak Out!"'s underlying principles: acceptance of differences and free individual expression. Zappa would spend much of his career developing and exploring ideas - both musical and conceptual - first put forth here; while his myriad directions often produced more sophisticated work, "Freak Out!" contains at least the rudiments of almost everything that followed, and few of Zappa's records can match its excitement over its own sense of possibility. (Steve Huey in AllMusic)

THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: "Cruising With Ruben & The Jets"

Original released on LP Verve V6-5055X

(US, November 1968)

Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote ("Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962). "Cruising with Ruben & the Jets", the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals (some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins). To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" may sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics - all wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets. A handful of songs from the group's 1966 debut, "Freak Out", were rearranged ("How Could I Be Such a Fool" and "Anyway the Wind Blows" give the weirdest results), and old material predating the Mothers was recycled ("Fountain of Love"). "Love of My Life" and "You Didn't Try to Call Me" became live staples. (François Couture in AllMusic)

FRANK ZAPPA: "Hot Rats"

Original released on LP Bizarre RS 6356

(US 1969, October 10)

Aside from the experimental side project "Lumpy Gravy", "Hot Rats" was the first album Frank Zappa recorded as a solo artist sans the Mothers, though he continued to employ previous musical collaborators, most notably multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood. Other than another side project - the doo wop tribute Cruising With Ruben and the Jets - "Hot Rats" was also the first time Zappa focused his efforts in one general area, namely jazz-rock. The result is a classic of the genre. "Hot Rats"' genius lies in the way it fuses the compositional sophistication of jazz with rock's down-and-dirty attitude - there's a real looseness and grit to the three lengthy jams, and a surprising, wry elegance to the three shorter, tightly arranged numbers (particularly the sumptuous "Peaches en Regalia"). Perhaps the biggest revelation isn't the straightforward presentation, or the intricately shifting instrumental voices in Zappa's arrangements - it's his own virtuosity on the electric guitar, recorded during extended improvisational workouts for the first time here. His wonderfully scuzzy, distorted tone is an especially good fit on "Willie the Pimp," with its greasy blues riffs and guest vocalist Captain Beefheart's Howlin' Wolf theatrics. Elsewhere, his skill as a melodist was in full flower, whether dominating an entire piece or providing a memorable theme as a jumping-off point. In addition to Underwood, the backing band featured contributions from Jean-Luc Ponty, Lowell George, and Don "Sugarcane" Harris, among others; still, Zappa is unquestionably the star of the show. "Hot Rats" still sizzles; few albums originating on the rock side of jazz-rock fusion flowed so freely between both sides of the equation, or achieved such unwavering excitement and energy. (Steve Huey in AllMusic)

WALLPAPER: "Hot Rats"