bondagewound's Full Review: Hot Rats by Frank Zappa
This album is often the simplest of creatures; for a fairly large chunk of it's playing time it is just improvisation by one player or another (most often by Sugar Cane Harris and Zappa). Almost as often the tunes have parts that make me dizzy; they also make me frustrated to an ungodly degree whenever I try to play them (see that keyboard part at the end of "Peaches En Regalia"). However, it is never difficult to understand what is going on. Zappa's wandering sense of melody and composition structure make portions that are extremely rigid (like the whole of "Peaches") feel loose and breezy, as if the whole band were just improvising and just happened to play those notes at those times. Those portions with lengthy solos always maintain that similar melodic structure (though understandably looser). Zappa himself once said that when soloing he wasn't trying to play notes from a scale that would fit, rather he was trying to come up with an "instant composition," a little piece all it's own.
The albums opening cut is the aforementioned "Peaches En Regalia" and has become the standard Zappa instrumental over the years. The mix is dense and swinging. Zappa's clucky guitar melds with organ and saxophone parts to form fast moving chords that alternate with single instrument parts that are played with unbelievable dexterity. All of the music was composed, arranged, and directed by Zappa, who also produced the album. He shares Sir George Martin's sense of how build a track up and make sure that you are always hearing something new. The end of the track is just a reprise of the opening lines but there are so many new crossing paths that it feels completely new, yet appropriate for the closing of a song.
There are two numbers based on lengthy improvisation. One is the seedy, slithery, and sleazy original ode to pimping "Willie the Pimp." The only vocals on the album are here and are performed by Captain Beefheart with throat-cut growl. Most of the track is a platform on which Zappa allows himself to stretch out and feel what is around him. He commands an axe in very powerful stereo, sounding like the back alleys of a film noir set in Heaven; it's gritty but warm and enveloping. The whole thing is set to an impossible funky strut. Cool.
"The Gumbo Variations" is the other Track With A Long Solo. This time it's sax a violin. This track goes on for about seventeen minutes. It's stuffed to bursting with Sugar Cane Harris' distorted, virtuoso violin playing and Ian Underwood's gummy sax mewling. This track suffers from over indulgence though and I understand anyone who would complain about it being too long. However, if you are going to complain about something like that then you probably aren't even thinking about buying this record. I personally love this song in all it's masturbatory glory. There is a wealth of thought put into it and the production is wonderful. I am never bored. I find it driving and powerful and a really great listen.
Zappa can also do the quiet stuff two. Some feel that what he does best are quirky little skatey pieces that can't keep still, but keep a low volume. "Little Umbrellas" and "It Must Be A Camel" are like that; they are the pieces that come closest to pure jazz. One might find them similar to the compositions of Eric Dolphy. They seem there to cussion the listener from the weight of the giant tracks that come before and after. Tracks like "Son of Mr. Green Genes." This is my favorite track on the album and I feel that it as one of Zappa's best solos. It also has amazing pacing and shows off Zappa's ability to take a simple phrase and turn it into a speech. While the arrangement is denser than ten symphonies, there is still room for Zappa's powerful guitar. This song strikes a balance between the free improv and the rigid orchestration that comprises the rest of the album. Zappa solos and follows the written path at the same time. This wouldn’t be half so impressive if the track weren't musically interesting. To put it mildly, this song makes my pants get tighter; it's catchy as Hell. This is really true of every song on this record, but "Green Genes" is the strongest example.
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.