Lumpy Gravy

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Release info

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Lumpy Gravy
Released in May 1968


Orchestra recorded: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, February 13 & March 14-16, 1967.
People inside the piano recorded: Apostolic Studios, NYC, October, 1967.
Produced by Frank Zappa.
Original sessions produced by Nick Venet.
Engineered by: Joe, Rex, Pete, Jim, Bob, Gary & Dick Kunc.
Liner put together by Cal Schenkel.

Tracks

Lumpy Gravy Part One (15:48)

  1. The Way I See It, Barry (00:06)
  2. Duodenum (01:32)
  3. Oh No (02:03)
  4. Bit Of Nostalgia (01:35)
  5. It's From Kansas (00:30)
  6. Bored Out 90 Over (00:31)
  7. Almost Chinese (00:25)
  8. Switching Girls (00:29)
  9. Oh No Again (01:13)
  10. At The Gas Station (02:41)
  11. Another Pickup (00:54)
  12. I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again (03:49)

Lumpy Gravy Part Two (15:51)

  1. Very Distraughtening (01:33)
  2. White Ugliness (02:22)
  3. Amen (01:33)
  4. Just One More Time (00:58)
  5. A Vicious Circle (01:12)
  6. King Kong (00:43)
  7. Drums Are Too Noisy (00:58)
  8. Kangaroos (00:57)
  9. Envelops The Bath Tub (03:42)
  10. Take Your Clothes Off (01:53)

Players

Background

Zappa formed the one-off Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra & Chorus to record Lumpy Gravy.

The Chorus was a speaking cast, its members' dialogue taking the place of any sung lyrics. They were recorded conversing with their heads inside a Steinway grand piano during several sessions at Apostolic Studios in New York. The dialogues were improvised, but they followed Zappa’s general thematic guidelines.

Zappa amassed several hours of recorded conversations to edit into Lumpy Gravy; some snippets were heard on following albums, and the original recordings were featured on Civilization Phaze III, which continued the plot from where it left off on Lumpy Gravy, using both old characters from the original sessions and freshly recorded voices.

The album features three Mothers: Bunk Gardner plays woodwinds and brass, while Roy Estrada and Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood, sometimes using the voice of his alter-ego, Larry Fanoga are listed as members of the Chorus. Other parts are played by studio staff members, Louie The Turkey from the Garrick Theater audience and Spider Barbour of Chrysalis, another group recording at Apostolic at the time.

Completed in 1967, this featured the earliest commercial appearance of Frank’s symphonic music. Some of the material was recorded with a fifty-piece Los Angeles orchestra.

The album was commissioned by Nik Venet of Capitol Records, who’d formerly signed the Beach Boys. It had been assumed that Zappa was contractually free to compose and conduct, since MGM had only signed him as a musician and vocalist along with the rest of The Mothers. MGM disagreed, threatened to sue, and finally bought the master tapes. As Capitol’s engineers had reworked Zappa's original edit he had to reconstruct the album, assisted by Gary Kellgren at Mayfair Studios in New York City. This caused the release of the album to be delayed for over a year.

In a 1974 interview for Melody Maker Zappa revealed that the name originally came from a television commercial for Loma Linda Gravy mix. Loma Linda is a town just south of San Bernardino.

The front-cover photo features Zappa wearing a shirt that advertises Pipco - a Santa Barbara pipe company.

Conceptual Continuity

Versions

ZFT # Version # # discs Format Catalog # Release
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Barcode
(EAN-13)
Artwork Comment
3 0
Demo
Acetate
1 LP Capitol
STAO-2719?
Unreleased None   Bootlegs do exist
(see Lumpy Gravy & Elsewhere)
1.1a
Original
Stereo
1 LP MGM Verve
V6-8741
1968-05-13 None   US edition
1.2
Original
Mono
1 LP MGM Verve
V-8741
1968-05? None   US edition
Unknown 1 LP Barking Pumpkin
BPR 7777-4
1985-04-19     Included in The Old Masters, Box I set.
1.1b
Remaster
sounds worse
according
to the
Zappa Patio
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 40024
1986 0144314002425?
0014431002427?
(not printed)
  US edition, coupled with We're Only In It For The Money. Matrix # 818 PUMPKIN RYK-CD40024 SOI01
1 CD Zappa
CDZAP 13
1988-12? 5016583601324   UK edition, coupled with We're Only In It For The Money.
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5023
1994-10-26 4988112405264   Japanese edition, coupled with We're Only In It For The Money.
1.1c
Remaster
sounds best
according
to the
Zappa Patio
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 10504
1995-04-18 0014431050428   US edition. Matrix # IFPI L501 IFPI 8702 DISCTRONICS RCD 10504 01
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5105
1995-09-25 4988112406995   Japanese edition
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5240
1997-02-28 4988112408401   Japanese edition
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 1205
2001-09-21 4988112412613   Japanese edition, mini-album papersleeve
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 10593
2005-07-19 0014431059322   = VideoArts VACK 1205, the barcode is a sticker, the Ryko reference is not printed

See Also