Difference between revisions of "Popular Records - Pass Aspirin, Please"
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[[Los Angeles Times]]<br> | [[Los Angeles Times]]<br> | ||
Calendar, Sunday, August 7, 1966<br> | Calendar, Sunday, August 7, 1966<br> | ||
| − | (Cited from one in a series of advertisements designed by Frank Zappa in the [[Los Angeles Free Press]] )<br> | + | (Cited from one in a series of advertisements<sup>[[#Note1|[1]]]</sup> designed by Frank Zappa in the [[Los Angeles Free Press]] )<br> |
By [[Pete Johnson]]<br> | By [[Pete Johnson]]<br> | ||
| − | [[The Mothers]] of Invention, a talented but ''warped'' quintet, have fathered an album poetically titled "[[Freak Out!|Freak Out]]" (Verve V-5005-2) which could be | + | [[The Mothers]] of Invention, a talented but ''warped'' quintet, have fathered an album poetically titled "[[Freak Out!|Freak Out]]" (Verve V-5005-2) which could be the greatest stimulus to the aspirin industry since the income tax.<br> |
The two record set, which is selling for the price of one LP as an attraction to teen-agers, contains some potent satire but the group often meanders into excesses of abstraction, ''blunting'' their numbers to pointlessness.<br> | The two record set, which is selling for the price of one LP as an attraction to teen-agers, contains some potent satire but the group often meanders into excesses of abstraction, ''blunting'' their numbers to pointlessness.<br> | ||
| − | "Freaking | + | "Freaking out" is defined, loosely, as free expression inspired by casting off outmoded and ''restrictive'' standards of thinking, dress and etiquette.<br> |
| − | Sources of inspration for the vocalists, listed at length inside the album jacket, include Salvador Dali, Brian Epstein, | + | Sources of inspration for the vocalists, listed at length inside the album jacket, include Salvador Dali, Brian Epstein, Jules ''Feiffer,'' James Joyce, Sacco and Vancetti, J. Arthur Rank, Elvis Presley and sundry other miscellaneous wellsprings.<br> |
| − | Amon the 14 recorded selections are "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," "Wowie Zowie," "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here," "Help, I'm A Rock" and "The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet," a 12 minute 17 second "unfinished ballet in two | + | Amon the 14 recorded selections are "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," "[[Wowie Zowie]]," "[[You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here]]," "[[Help, I'm A Rock]]" and "[[The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet]]," a 12 minute 17 second "unfinished ballet in two tableaux."<br> |
| − | + | All the songs are drivative of rock 'n' roll and one, "[[Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder]]," is a perfect satire of the archetypical woebegone tee-age rhythm and blues ballad. The gibbering falsetto and bass accompaniments set an ideal background for in-ane lyrics about a boy giving his love his high school ring at the root beer stand, having his car reupholstered and his khakis pressed but still being deserted by the girl.<br> | |
| + | A free-form nightmare built from mechanical imagery, '[[Who Are The Brain Police?]]' has the strangest instumental break ever recorded – unidentifiable noises superimposed on top of each other including voices babbling indistinguishably, a bass electric guitar being tortured to death and what sounds like a factory steam whistle chorus.<br> | ||
| + | THere are a few tunes which sound as if they might be semi-serious rock 'n' roll, "[[I Ain't Got No Heart]]" and "[[How Could I Be Such A Fool|How Could I Be Such A Fool?]]," for instance, but most of the tunes are very experimental and are hard on the eardrums and the patience. | ||
| + | ==Notes== | ||
| + | #<div id="Note1">See article [[FREAK OUT! the official News OF THE MOTHERS]]</div> | ||
[[Category:Articles about Zappa]]<br> | [[Category:Articles about Zappa]]<br> | ||
[[Category:Press Reviews]] | [[Category:Press Reviews]] | ||
Revision as of 22:55, 27 April 2007
Los Angeles Times
Calendar, Sunday, August 7, 1966
(Cited from one in a series of advertisements[1] designed by Frank Zappa in the Los Angeles Free Press )
By Pete Johnson
The Mothers of Invention, a talented but warped quintet, have fathered an album poetically titled "Freak Out" (Verve V-5005-2) which could be the greatest stimulus to the aspirin industry since the income tax.
The two record set, which is selling for the price of one LP as an attraction to teen-agers, contains some potent satire but the group often meanders into excesses of abstraction, blunting their numbers to pointlessness.
"Freaking out" is defined, loosely, as free expression inspired by casting off outmoded and restrictive standards of thinking, dress and etiquette.
Sources of inspration for the vocalists, listed at length inside the album jacket, include Salvador Dali, Brian Epstein, Jules Feiffer, James Joyce, Sacco and Vancetti, J. Arthur Rank, Elvis Presley and sundry other miscellaneous wellsprings.
Amon the 14 recorded selections are "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," "Wowie Zowie," "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here," "Help, I'm A Rock" and "The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet," a 12 minute 17 second "unfinished ballet in two tableaux."
All the songs are drivative of rock 'n' roll and one, "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder," is a perfect satire of the archetypical woebegone tee-age rhythm and blues ballad. The gibbering falsetto and bass accompaniments set an ideal background for in-ane lyrics about a boy giving his love his high school ring at the root beer stand, having his car reupholstered and his khakis pressed but still being deserted by the girl.
A free-form nightmare built from mechanical imagery, 'Who Are The Brain Police?' has the strangest instumental break ever recorded – unidentifiable noises superimposed on top of each other including voices babbling indistinguishably, a bass electric guitar being tortured to death and what sounds like a factory steam whistle chorus.
THere are a few tunes which sound as if they might be semi-serious rock 'n' roll, "I Ain't Got No Heart" and "How Could I Be Such A Fool?," for instance, but most of the tunes are very experimental and are hard on the eardrums and the patience.
Notes
- See article FREAK OUT! the official News OF THE MOTHERS
