Difference between revisions of "We're Only In It For The Money"

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The original title of this album was Our Man in Nirvana. Frank initially planned to intersperse Mothers music with monologues by the late, controversial comedian Lenny Bruce.
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__NOTOC__
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<div style="float:right;">
 +
{{Album Release Infobox |
 +
    Home          = [[Album History (by Cover)|Album History]] |
 +
    Previous album = [[Absolutely Free|Previous]] |
 +
    Next album    = [[Lumpy Gravy|Next]] |
 +
    Cover          = were_only_in_it_for_the_money.jpg |
 +
    Name          = We're Only In It For The Money |
 +
    Released      = March 1968 |
 +
    Related        = See also:<br>{{IINKLink|lyrics/We're_Only_In_It_For_The_Money.html}}, {{ZPLink|vinylvscds/money.html}}, {{KURLink|fz-discography/were-only-in-it-for-the-money}}<br>[[The Old Masters, Box I]]<br>[[The Lumpy Money Project/Object]]<br>[[Threesome No. 1]]<br>[[Money Demos]]
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}}
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</div>
  
The only things about Money that distinctly rib Sgt. Pepper are the reprise of “What’s the Ugliest...,” the piano-note conclusion of the final song, the cut-out sheet (which includes a photo of engineer Gary Kellgren), and the front, back and inner covers. That inner gatefold, which was used as the outer for many years due to MGM’s paranoia about possible litigation from EMI (the Beatles’ label), shows the Mothers dressed in drag to replace the pretentious Victorian style that was fashionable in the late ‘60s. Under the Beatles’ libretto, the whole band faces forward except Paul McCartney; below Zappa’s lyrics, the Mothers invert the idea and all show their backs except Motorhead, who at this time is merely the road manager and an occasional sax player (he’ll be more prominent on Uncle Meat).
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[[We're Only In It For The Money]] is a 1968 album by [[The Mothers|The Mothers of Invention]]. The [[cover of We're Only In It For the Money]] spoofed the cover of [[the Beatles]]' 1967 [[Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band]].
 +
==Players==
  
After winning back his old Verve tapes in court, Frank wished to digitally remaster the early albums for release on CD. The tapes had not been stored properly, however. The two-channel master of the Money album was ruined; it was necessary to return to the four, eight or twelve separate tracks (it was a song-by-song case) and completely reconstruct the two-track master, which involved positioning the instruments in the mix all over again and redoing the countless edits. Since this task would have to be undertaken anyway, he decided to replace the drums and bass with new parts played by Chad Wackerman and Arthur Barrow, respectively.
+
[[The Mothers]]:
  Frank had never been crazy about the sound of the original rhythm section; one reason was that the drums had been mono due to the limited number of separate tracks. He was now able to get an excellent stereo drum sound in his own basement studio; he saw no reason why albums from the past had to remain trapped in unsatisfactory sonics. Since the studio was already set up for supplanting the rhythm tracks on Money, he liked the idea of doing the same for his old Ruben songs (the albums had been released back to back, barely a month apart, in late ‘68).
+
*[[Biography|Frank Zappa]] (guitar, piano, lead vocals, "weirdness & editing")
  To Frank’s ears, complaints about the remixes amounted to irrelevant fetishism; but he accommodated those listeners in the case of Money when another two-track master, this one in much better condition, was discovered. The 1995 reissue therefore provided the album as originally heard. Since Frank didn’t touch any of the edits this time, the censored parts unfortunately came along with the original drums and bass.
+
*[[Dick Barber]] ("snorks")
  1985’s Ruben reissue, however, was never replaced with the original master. The CD that’s still available is therefore the one with Chad and Arthur on it, and the overall sound, along with the more clear backing vocals and pristine instrument equalization (one thinks of the acoustic guitar in “Jelly Roll Gum Drop,” finally brought to the forefront in the mix), is a hell of a lot better (to this writer’s ears) than on the old Verve LP. Just because an old fan’s uneasy about change doesn’t mean that he should refuse to give the superior remaster a chance. As Watson writes, “Maybe it’s better just to enjoy Art Barrow’s undeniably beautiful playing.” He quotes Frank from William Ruhlman’s 1/27/89 Goldmine interview: “I think that the material should have a chance to sound as good as you can make it sound, given the technical tools that are at your disposal.” Watson adds, “Zappa obviously resents those who ‘freeze’ his back catalogue to its original technical limitations.”
+
*[[Jimmy Carl Black]] ("Indian of the group", drums, trumpet, vocals)
 +
*[[Roy Estrada]] (electric bass, vocals, "asthma")
 +
*[[Bunk Gardner]] (all woodwinds, "mumbled weirdness")
 +
*[[Billy Mundi]] (drums, vocal, "yak & black lace underwear")
 +
*[[Don Preston]] (keyboards)
 +
*[[Jim "Motorhead" Sherwood|Euclid James Motorhead Sherwood]] (soprano & baritone saxophones, "all purpose weirdness")
 +
*[[Ian Underwood]] (piano, woodwinds, "wholesome")
 +
*[[Pamela Zarubica]] as [[Suzy Creamcheese]] ("telephone")
  
While “hung up” is the perfect phrase with which to kick off an album that mocks trend-led kids and their rhetoric, it also refers to the taped phone conversation later on the album, as well as Madge, who appears here in “Harry, You’re a Beast” but who was “on the phone” in “Brown Shoes Don’t Make It” on Absolutely Free.
+
Also:
 +
*[[James "Spider" Barbour|Spider]] ("is the one who wants you to turn your radio around")
 +
*[[Eric Clapton]] ("has graciously consented to speak to you in several critical area")
 +
*[[Gary Kellgren]] ("creepy whispering")
 +
*[[Dick Kunc]] ("cheerful interruptions")
 +
*[[Sid Sharp]] (orchestral segments conductor)
 +
*[[Vicki]] ("telephone ")
 +
*[[Ronnie Williams]] (backwards voice)
  
Engineer Gary Kellgren is the one whispering and enjoying the effect of the reverb on his voice.
+
[[Wikipedia:Overdubbing|Overdubs]] on the 1984 [[Wikipedia:Remix|remix]]:
 +
*[[Arthur Barrow]] (bass)
 +
*[[Chad Wackerman]] (drums)
  
The inverted drummer lays off with his backward pedaling, sticks his head into the foreward presentation like a little kid on a dare and says, “Hi, boys and girls! I’m Jimmy Carl Black! I’m the Indian of the group!” This is a spoof on the introduction of Ringo Starr as Billy Shears on Sgt. Pepper, heard just after that album’s opening piece as well. He comes back during “Concentration Moon,” but his wording’s slightly different: “Hi, boys and girls! I’m Jimmy Carl Black and I’m the Indian of the group!”
+
==Tracks==
  
One major bit of mockery in “Who Needs the Peace Corps?” centers on the hippie who thinks he’s a gypsy but who also says he’s on his own, when in fact gypsies are people who always wander together.
+
{| cellspacing="30"
  
The statement “Oh, my hair’s getting good in the back” updates a similar comment made on Lumpy Gravy. Frank actually heard some kid say this in Sacramento.
+
|valign="top"|<div id="LP"><big>'''LP'''</big></div>
 +
'''Side One'''
 +
#[[Are You Hung Up?]] (1:23)
 +
#[[Who Needs The Peace Corps?]] (2:34)
 +
#[[Concentration Moon]] (2:42)
 +
#[[Mom & Dad]] (2:16)
 +
#[[Bow Tie Daddy]] (1:22)
 +
#[[Harry You're A Beast|Harry, You're a Beast]] (1:22)
 +
#[[What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?]] (1:03)
 +
#[[Absolutely Free (The Track)|Absolutely Free]] (3:26)
 +
#[[Flower Punk]] (3:57)
 +
#[[Hot Poop]] (0:16)
  
The line from “Peace Corps” that says “I will love the police as they kick the shit out of me on the street” was censored by MGM on early pressings of the record. Halfway through “Concentration Moon,” Gary’s heard again. What was censored from all but the earliest pressings of the record was his last line: “I get to work with the Velvet Underground, which is as shitty a group as Frank Zappa’s group.” What’s funny about this is that although the Mothers and their labelmates the Velvet Underground played many shows together, they disliked each other and made no secret of it.
+
'''Side Two'''
 +
#[[Nasal Retentive Calliope Music]] (2:00)
 +
#[[Let's Make The Water Turn Black]] (1:54)
 +
#[[The Idiot Bastard Son]] (3:27)
 +
#[[Lonely Little Girl]] (1:10)
 +
#[[Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance]] (1:33)
 +
#[[What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (Reprise)]] (1:03)
 +
#[[Mother People]] (2:30)
 +
#[[The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny]] (6:30)
  
After “Mom & Dad,a phone rings and we hear, “Operator. Hold for a minute, please.” An edit instantly brings us past the wait, and Frank’s voice is heard giving the operator a number. He hands the phone over to Pamela Zarubica (his occasional girlfriend, who assumed the role of Suzy Creamcheese for promotional purposes during the Mothers’ first European tour, and who introduced Frank to his future wife Gail). Pam tells Frank about a guy in town who might be trying to kill him as she waits for Vicki, her half-sister, to pick up on the other end. She’s then heard trying to quell Vicki’s fears about Pam's father getting the FBI after her for withholding information on Pam’s whereabouts.
+
|valign="top"|<div id="Current CD"><big>'''Current CD'''</big></div>
 +
#[[Are You Hung Up?]] (1:24)
 +
#[[Who Needs The Peace Corps?]] (2:34)
 +
#[[Concentration Moon]] (2:22)
 +
#[[Mom & Dad]] (2:16)
 +
#[[Telephone Conversation]] (0:49)
 +
#[[Bow Tie Daddy]] (0:33)
 +
#[[Harry You're A Beast|Harry, You're a Beast]] (1:21)
 +
#[[What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?]] (1:03)
 +
#[[Absolutely Free (The Track)|Absolutely Free]] (3:24)
 +
#[[Flower Punk]] (3:03)
 +
#[[Hot Poop]] (0:27)
 +
#[[Nasal Retentive Calliope Music]] (2:03)
 +
#[[Let's Make The Water Turn Black]] (2:01)
 +
#[[The Idiot Bastard Son]] (3:19)
 +
#[[Lonely Little Girl]] (1:10)
 +
#[[Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance]] (1:33)
 +
#[[What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (Reprise)]] (1:02)
 +
#[[Mother People]] (2:26)
 +
#[[The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny]] (6:25)
  
“Bow-Tie Daddy” was one of the first originals intended as recorded Mothers material. It was written during the same late-1965 period as “Hungry Freaks, Daddy,” “Who Are the Brain Police?” and “Oh No” (at that time called “Oh No, I Don’t Believe It”).
+
|-
  
The nervously fast “Don’t come in me, in me” lines from “Harry, You’re a Beast” were censored from early pressings of the album and played in reverse on later copies (although retaining the rise in pitch and the unaffected words “in me”). The 1986 reissue finally saw the four measures played completely forward. The melody in this section of the song was repeated instrumentally in “The Orange County Lumber Truck” on Weasels Ripped My Flesh (and other albums).
+
|valign="top"|<div id="1986 CD"><big>'''1986 CD,<br>coupled with [[Lumpy Gravy]]'''</big></div>
 +
*Tracks 1 to 19 : [[We're Only In It For The Money#Current CD|Current CD tracks list]]
 +
*Tracks 20 to 21 : [[Lumpy Gravy]] tracks list
  
The voice that says “I don’t do publicity balling for you anymore,” interjected just after the intro to “Absolutely Free,” is Pamela Zarubica’s.
+
|}
  
“The first word in this song is ‘discorporate,’” Frank says in his “poetic hippie” style from the end of “Who Needs the Peace Corps?”. “It means to leave your body.” He’s being a smart-ass, since “discorporate” is made to indicate freeing oneself from corporations in the actual lyrics (“Escape from the weight of your corporate logo”). The line “You’ll be absolutely free only if you want to be” means that you’ll only be an individual if you allow yourself to take charge of your own brain and don’t let fads, pretentiousness or drugs supersede who you truly are. Other lines in the song approach this idea but turn into parodies of “psychedelic” lyrics. The noises often added to ‘60s music just for the sake of including “weirdness” are hilariously lampooned as “BOING!” is exclaimed with heavy echo twice in the song.
+
==Release Notes==
  
The lyrics in “Flower Punk” spoof “Hey Joe,” made popular by Jimi Hendrix (who’s seen on the album cover, holding a little white girl -- Herb Cohen’s daughter Lisa -- in front of a Christmas tree and a pope from a Titian painting in defiance of the traditional religious, racist American family portrait) but originally recorded by the Leaves, whose former bassist, Jim Pons, has played with the Turtles and will, by 1971, join the Mothers.  
+
Originally released in September 1968.
 +
<br>Basic sessions: [[Mayfair Studios]], NYC, August-September, 1967; Engineer: [[Gary Kellgren]].
 +
<br>Final recordings & re-mix: [[Apostolic Studios]], NYC, October, 1967; Engineer: [[Dick Kunc]].
 +
<br>Orchestral segments: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, February, 1967.
 +
<br>Produced by [[Biography|Frank Zappa]].
 +
<br>Executive producer: [[Tom Wilson]].
 +
<br>Photography: [[Jerrold Schatzberg]].
 +
<br>Fashions: [[Tiger Morse]].
 +
<br>Plaster figures & all other artwork: [[Cal Schenkel]].
  
Among the exclamations heard at the end of “Flower Punk” is “Leave my nose alone, please,” which will be used as the cry of a child in a trench in “Drafted Again” on You Are What You Is.
+
==Liner Notes==
  
Most copies of the album (and the 1995 CD version, which returns to the original record master) omit a verse from “Mother People,” including it backwards after “Flower Punk” under the title “Hot Poop.” The verse is excised because of the line “Shut your fuckin’ mouth about the length of my hair.” It’s only heard where it belongs on the ‘86 CD. One of Dick Barber’s snorks caps off the backward part (and the original album-side). The name “Hot Poop” predicts the album title Hot Shit (the second word changed by Frank to a similar exclamation of distress -- “Rats” -- before the cover was even designed, in order to avoid censorship, which was probably the impetus behind removing and playing backwards the “Mother People” verse itself).
+
==Background Information==
    In place of the omitted verse on the applicable versions of the album, a beautiful segment of orchestral music from the end of Lumpy Gravy’s first half is inserted via a needle-zipping sound.
 
  
Cream guitarist Eric Clapton is the one asking, from inside the piano at Apostolic during the Lumpy Gravy sessions, “Are you hung up?”; he’s also the person giggling at the beginning of “Nasal-Retentive Calliope Music” and joking about seeing God. Eric told Frank that he wanted to imitate Eric Burdon (of the Animals) being high on LSD. The snippet of surf music during this piece comes from Frank’s Studio Z days in Cucamonga (it’s the beginning of the Zappa-produced 1964 song “Heavies” by the Rotations, exhibiting a fitting enough title under this album’s circumstances).
+
[[Image:Woiftmad.jpg|right|thumb|Comic book advertising for the album]]
  
Frank called “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black” a “folk song.” It’s about Ronnie and Kenny Williams, Frank’s childhood friends. Dink was their father’s actual nickname. The lines “I still remember mama with her apron and her pad/feeding all the boys at Ed’s Cafe,” a reference to Ronnie and Kenny's mother, was censored from early pressings because some twisted schmuck at MGM thought that the lady in the song was feeding the customers her sanitary napkins. The tune ends with a click followed by an old recording of Ronnie talking like a DJ: “This would be a little bit of vocal teenage heaven right here on Earth!” His bluesy scatting, originally recorded to Frank’s guitar accompaniment in the Williamses’ living room, is then played backwards. Frontwards, the voice was one of the animals at the beginning of Lumpy Gravy’s second half.
+
Zappa said that they began this album with the song "[[Mom & Dad]]".<ref>[[Pop Chronicles interview]], p. 7.</ref>
  
“The Idiot Bastard Son” is about a kid born to parents who don’t care about him; the father turns out to be one of the Nazi-like politicians in “Plastic People” on Absolutely Free and the mother’s a hooker. The title works in two ways, as it describes the boy in technical terms while also sarcastically labeling him as he’s seen through authorities’ eyes. A kid who’s told he’s an idiot will act like one and eventually truly be one; it’s no coincidence that this song follows the one about the Williams brothers. In fact, they wind up “raising” the bastard (he’s an incarnation of the combined characteristics of the two brothers) and stashing him away in a jar. This most likely refers to one of the mason jars into which the Williamses and their friends urinated while playing poker in the Williams’ garage, the bastard being correlated with “Kenny’s little creatures on display” from the prior song, the tadpole-like things found in the urine after it had all been ceremoniously dumped into a big crock pot that had then been covered with a board and left to sit for a long time.
+
Cover art: the "[[:Category:We're Only In It For the Money (The List)|Money List!]]".
    The backward voices amid the cacophony halfway through the song are saying “Uh-oh!” and “You showed ‘em!”. One of the normal voices predicts the Mothers’ cover of “WPLJ” (“White Port and Lemon Juice”) on Burnt Weeny Sandwich. Ronnie’s scatting is heard backwards again, and an even more sped-up voice than the others comes out of the crowd and analyzes the kid: “Very strange.” The 1975 song “The Adventures of Greggery Peccary,” heard on the 1979 album Sleep Dirt (and on ‘77’s Läther once it’s finally released in ‘96), will have as its main character a pig who talks in a high voice like the one that says “Very strange” here. Greggery will consider local kids and their outdoor parties to be “very strange” in that long piece.  
 
  
The alternate title of “Lonely Little Girl” is “It’s His Voice on the Radio,” as can be read on the original Verve label (and in the libretto).
+
==Conceptual Continuity==
  
“Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance” started as an instrumental Studio Z song called “Never on Sunday.”
+
==Alternate Covers==
  
Ronnie’s the one growling “Do it again! Do it again!” after the “Ugliest” reprise and Dick’s snork. A ticking update on the reversed drum pedaling at the album’s opening is heard just before “Mother People” starts.
+
===Initial release===
  
As Frank’s response to the armageddon that concludes “A Day in the Life” on Sgt. Pepper, his own closing piece, “The Chrome-Plated Megaphone of Destiny” (named humorously: It’s the small, circular wind hole in place of the genitalia on the common toy doll), offers its own final sustained note, but it’s delivered differently. The lone piano pitch (as opposed to the Beatles’ majestic chord) is made to sound as if it’s been struck just before the tape recorder’s been turned on; it then undulates from speaker to speaker as it fades.
+
Originally intended as the picture inside the cover but used (because [[MGM Records|MGM]] feared litigation by [[EMI]]) as the outer sleeve image for the initial release. 
 +
[[Image:Woiiftm.jpg|none|thumb|300px|We're Only In It For The Money]]
 +
 
 +
===Subsequent issues===
 +
 
 +
Later releases would switch the cover images back as originally intended.
 +
 
 +
[[Image:UDCD_764.jpg|none|thumb|150px|We're Only In It For The Money ([[Wikipedia:Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab|MFSL]]<br>UDCD 764)]]
 +
 
 +
==Versions==
 +
 
 +
{| {{Versions Table Header}}
 +
| rowspan="29" align="center" | 4
 +
| align="center" | '''0<br>[[wikipedia:Acetate_disc|Demo<br>Acetate]]'''
 +
| align="center" | 1?
 +
| align="center" | [[wikipedia:Long playing record|LP]]
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Unreleased
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Bootlegs do exist<br>(see [[Money Demos]])
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="2" align="center" | 1.1<br>Original<br>[[wikipedia:Stereophonic sound|Stereo]],<br>Heavily<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315">For details on censorship, see [http://home.westbrabant.net/~hades/Phase315ofWOIIFTMcensorship.htm Phase 315 of WOIIFTM censorship] by Harry de Swart.  (DEAD LINK - [https://archive.is/YTIc Archived here])</ref>
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| [[MGM Records|MGM]] [[Verve Records|Verve]]<br>V6-5045X
 +
| 1968-03-04
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition. Blue Verve label. [[Matrix Numbers|Matrix #]]<br>Side1: V6-5045 SIDE-1 MGS-1250-REV F '''34 (stamped)''' ·<br>Side2: V6-5045 SIDE-2 MGS-1251-REV F '''23 or 25 (stamped)''' ·
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| MGM Verve<br>SVLP&nbsp;9199
 +
| 1968-06 or<ref name="Release">Depending on the source, released June 1968 (Martin C. Strong, 2004, ''The Great Rock Discography'', p. 1720) or October 1968 ([[External Links#Tour/Trading Related|Zappa Patio]]).</ref><br> 1968-10
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| UK edition.
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="2" align="center" | 1.2<br>Original<br>[[wikipedia:Monaural|Mono]],<br>Heavily<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| MGM Verve<br>V-5045
 +
| 1968-03-04?
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| MGM Verve<br>VLP&nbsp;9199
 +
| 1968-06 or<ref name="Release"/><br>1968-10
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| UK edition.
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="2" align="center" | '''1.3<br>Original<br>Stereo,<br>Partly<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>'''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| MGM Verve<br>V6-5045X
 +
| ?
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US 2<sup>nd</sup> edition. Blue or Black Verve label.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| MGM Verve/[[Wikipedia:Polydor Records|Polydor]]<br>2317&nbsp;034
 +
| 1972-06<ref name="MStrong">Martin C. Strong, 2004, ''The Great Rock Discography'', p. 1720.</ref>
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| UK 2<sup>nd</sup> edition.
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="5" align="center" | 2.1<br>Important<br>[[wikipedia:Remix|Remix]],<br>Uncensored<ref name="Phase315"/>
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| [[Barking Pumpkin Records|Barking Pumpkin]]<br>BPR&nbsp;7777-3
 +
| 1985-04-19
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Included in [[The Old Masters, Box I]] set.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | [[Wikipedia:Compact disc|CD]]
 +
| [[Rykodisc]]<br>RCD&nbsp;40024
 +
| 1986
 +
| 0144314002425?<br>0014431002427?<br>(not printed)
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition, [[wikipedia:SPARS Code|AAD]], coupled with [[Lumpy Gravy]].<br>[[Matrix Numbers|Matrix #]] 818 PUMPKIN RYK-CD40024 SOI01
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| [[Zappa Records|Zappa]]<br>CDZAP&nbsp;13
 +
| 1988-12?
 +
| 5016583601324
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| UK edition, coupled with [[Lumpy Gravy]].
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | [[Wikipedia:Compact disc|CD]]
 +
| [https://www.discogs.com/label/734889-MSI-2 MSI]<br>RCD&nbsp;40024
 +
| 1990
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition, [[wikipedia:SPARS Code|AAD]], coupled with [[Lumpy Gravy]].<br>Includes "The Book of We're Only In It For The Money", coupled with "[[wikipedia:In the Penal Colony|In der Strafkolonie]]" (by [[Franz Kafka]]).
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| [[VideoArts]]<br>VACK&nbsp;5023
 +
| 1994-10-26
 +
| 4988112405264
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition, coupled with [[Lumpy Gravy]].
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="8" align="center" | '''1.3<br>Original<br>[[wikipedia:Stereophonic sound|Stereo]],<br>Partly<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>'''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Rykodisc<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|586882|RCD&nbsp;10503}}
 +
| 1995-04-18
 +
| 0014431050329
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition. made from original edited master and other raw mix segments (for better sonics). 1993.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | [[wikipedia:Compact audio cassette|CS]]
 +
| Rykodisc<br>RAC&nbsp;10503
 +
| 1995-04-18
 +
| 0014431050343
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| Rykodisc<br>RALP&nbsp;10503
 +
| 1995-05-02
 +
| 0014431050312?
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| VideoArts<br>VACK&nbsp;5104
 +
| 1995-09-25
 +
| 4988112406988
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| VideoArts<br>VACK&nbsp;5239
 +
| 1996-05-24
 +
| 4988112408395
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition = Rykodisc RCD&nbsp;10503 repackaged with an [[wikipedia:obi strip|obi strip]] and extra liner notes in Japanese
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| VideoArts<br>{{MLPLink|zappa-frank/we-re-only-in-it-for-vack-1206/lyric-book-6009|VACK&nbsp;1206}}
 +
| 2001-09-21
 +
| 4988112412620
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition, mini-album papersleeve.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Rykodisc<br>RCD&nbsp;40582/3
 +
| 2002-03-21
 +
| None
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Included in the [[Threesome No. 1]] box set. Matrix # IFPI L502 IFPI 8736 DISCTRONICS RCD 10503 02
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Rykodisc<br>RCD&nbsp;10594
 +
| 2005-07-19
 +
| 0014431059421
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| = VideoArts VACK 1206, the barcode is a sticker, the Ryko reference is not printed.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | '''1.3'''a<ref name="PatioMFSL">According to the [[External Links#Tour/Trading Related|Zappa Patio]], the [[Wikipedia:Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab|MFSL]] UDCD 764 Gold CD was made from the [[Rykodisc|Ryko]] tapes but has a different [[Wikipedia:Equalization|equalization]].</ref><ref name="MFSL">"All [''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab|MFSL]]''] releases are made from the first generation master tape and mastered at half-speed, allowing for an improved sound quality" — Wikipedia, ''[[wikipedia:MFSL|MFSL article]]''.</ref><br>Original<br>Stereo<br>Slight<br>[[wikipedia:Remaster|Remaster]],<br>Partly<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| [[Wikipedia:Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab|MFSL]]<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|1317267|UDCD&nbsp;764}}
 +
| 2005-08-23
 +
| 0821797076463
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| 24 [[wikipedia:Carat (purity)|Karat]] Gold CD.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | Unknown
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| VideoArts<br>VACK&nbsp;1320
 +
| 2008-05-21
 +
| 4988112417649
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition,<br>mini-album papersleeve.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | '''2.2<br>Important<br>Remix,<br>Improved<br>Quality<ref>Enhanced [[wikipedia:Dynamic range|dynamic range]] and [[wikipedia:Frequency response|frequency response]].</ref>,<br>Uncensored<ref name="Phase315"/>'''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Zappa<br>ZR&nbsp;20008 (CD1)
 +
| 2009-01-21
 +
| n/a
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition, included in [[The Lumpy Money Project/Object]].<br>Matrix # CD1: IFPI 4150 ZR200081 2A 01 V IFPI L245
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | '''1.4<br>Original<br>Mono,<br>Partly<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>'''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Zappa<br>ZR&nbsp;20008 (CD2)
 +
| 2009-01-21
 +
| n/a
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition, included in [[The Lumpy Money Project/Object]].<br>Matrix # CD2: IFPI 4121 ZR200082 2A 01 V IFPI L245
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="5" align="center" | '''1.3<br>Original<br>[[wikipedia:Stereophonic sound|Stereo]],<br>Partly<br>Censored<ref name="Phase315"/>'''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Zappa/[[wikipedia:Universal Music Enterprises|UMe]]<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|5323090|ZR&nbsp;3837}}
 +
| 2012-07-31
 +
| 0824302383728
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition, manufactured and distributed by UMe<ref name="ZFTEmail">Email announcement by the [[Zappa Family Trust|ZFT]] on July 31<sup>st</sup>, 2012.</ref>.<br>Source: 1993 [[wikipedia:U-matic|1630]] Digital Master.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Zappa/[[wikipedia:Universal Music Group|UMG&nbsp;Intl]]<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|4885802|0238372}}
 +
| 2012-07-31
 +
| 0824302383728
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| EU edition = Zappa/UMe ZR&nbsp;3837, manufactured in Germany.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | CD
 +
| Zappa/[http://www.universal-music.co.jp/ Universal Music Japan]<br>UICY-75353
 +
| 2012-11-28
 +
| 4988005737526
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| Japanese edition, audiophile [[wikipedia:Super High Material CD|SHM-CD]], mini-album papersleeve with an obi strip and liner notes in Japanese.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP<br>(180&nbsp;g)
 +
| Zappa/UMe<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|9486338|ZR&nbsp;3837-1}}
 +
| 2016-12-09<ref name="ZFTAnnouncement">[https://www.zappa.com/five-monumental-frank-zappa-mothers-invention-albums-be-reissued-vinyl/#/ Official announcement at zappa.com]</ref>
 +
| 0824302383711
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US edition, pressed in Germany by [http://pallasusa.com Pallas-USA]. Source: 1993 [[wikipedia:U-matic|1630]] Digital Master. Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, 2016.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP<br>(180&nbsp;g?)
 +
| Zappa/UMG&nbsp;Intl<br>{{DiscogsPicLink|9528857|ZR&nbsp;3837-1}}
 +
| 2016-12-09
 +
| 0824302383711
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| EU edition = Zappa/UMe ZR&nbsp;3837-1.
 +
|-
 +
| rowspan="2" align="center" | 4M
 +
| rowspan="2" align="center" | ''Unknown mono version''
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| Zappa/UMe<br>BPR1232
 +
| 2018-11-23
 +
| 0824302383780
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| US limited edition (4000 copies<ref name="USSticker">The US sticker mentions, 'This package randomly contains one of four different picture discs featuring unseen art from the [[The Vault|Vault]]!'</ref>), picture disc. Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, 2018.
 +
|-
 +
| align="center" | 1
 +
| align="center" | LP
 +
| Zappa/UMG&nbsp;Intl<br>BPR1232
 +
| 2018-11-23
 +
| 0824302383780
 +
| &nbsp;
 +
| EU edition, picture disc<ref name="UKEUSticker">The UK/EU sticker mentions, 'This picture disc variant is exclusive to the UK & Europe and features unseen art from the Vault (different from the U.S. versions!)'</ref>.
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
==Notes==
 +
 
 +
<references/>
 +
 
 +
==See Also==
 +
 
 +
In 2008, a Dutch magazine Wah-Wah asked some people which record they would like to take to a desert island - for some unexplained reason. The Dutch philosopher, author and philosophy teacher at the University of Rotterdam Jos de Mul and the Belgian author Annelies Verbeke both chose this record.
 +
 
 +
[[Category:Discography]]
 +
[[Category:Original Albums]]
 +
[[Category:The Real Frank Zappa Book (The List)]]
 +
[[Category:Pop Chronicles (The List)]]
 +
[[Category:1968]]

Latest revision as of 14:54, 16 December 2022

Album History
Previous Next
We're Only In It For The Money
Released March 1968
See also:
IINK, Patio, KUR
The Old Masters, Box I
The Lumpy Money Project/Object
Threesome No. 1
Money Demos

We're Only In It For The Money is a 1968 album by The Mothers of Invention. The cover of We're Only In It For the Money spoofed the cover of the Beatles' 1967 Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

Players

The Mothers:

Also:

Overdubs on the 1984 remix:

Tracks

LP

Side One

  1. Are You Hung Up? (1:23)
  2. Who Needs The Peace Corps? (2:34)
  3. Concentration Moon (2:42)
  4. Mom & Dad (2:16)
  5. Bow Tie Daddy (1:22)
  6. Harry, You're a Beast (1:22)
  7. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (1:03)
  8. Absolutely Free (3:26)
  9. Flower Punk (3:57)
  10. Hot Poop (0:16)

Side Two

  1. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music (2:00)
  2. Let's Make The Water Turn Black (1:54)
  3. The Idiot Bastard Son (3:27)
  4. Lonely Little Girl (1:10)
  5. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (1:33)
  6. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (Reprise) (1:03)
  7. Mother People (2:30)
  8. The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny (6:30)
Current CD
  1. Are You Hung Up? (1:24)
  2. Who Needs The Peace Corps? (2:34)
  3. Concentration Moon (2:22)
  4. Mom & Dad (2:16)
  5. Telephone Conversation (0:49)
  6. Bow Tie Daddy (0:33)
  7. Harry, You're a Beast (1:21)
  8. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (1:03)
  9. Absolutely Free (3:24)
  10. Flower Punk (3:03)
  11. Hot Poop (0:27)
  12. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music (2:03)
  13. Let's Make The Water Turn Black (2:01)
  14. The Idiot Bastard Son (3:19)
  15. Lonely Little Girl (1:10)
  16. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (1:33)
  17. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (Reprise) (1:02)
  18. Mother People (2:26)
  19. The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny (6:25)
1986 CD,
coupled with Lumpy Gravy

Release Notes

Originally released in September 1968.
Basic sessions: Mayfair Studios, NYC, August-September, 1967; Engineer: Gary Kellgren.
Final recordings & re-mix: Apostolic Studios, NYC, October, 1967; Engineer: Dick Kunc.
Orchestral segments: Capitol Studios, Hollywood, February, 1967.
Produced by Frank Zappa.
Executive producer: Tom Wilson.
Photography: Jerrold Schatzberg.
Fashions: Tiger Morse.
Plaster figures & all other artwork: Cal Schenkel.

Liner Notes

Background Information

Comic book advertising for the album

Zappa said that they began this album with the song "Mom & Dad".[1]

Cover art: the "Money List!".

Conceptual Continuity

Alternate Covers

Initial release

Originally intended as the picture inside the cover but used (because MGM feared litigation by EMI) as the outer sleeve image for the initial release.

We're Only In It For The Money

Subsequent issues

Later releases would switch the cover images back as originally intended.

We're Only In It For The Money (MFSL
UDCD 764)

Versions

ZFT # Version # # discs Format Catalog # Release
(YYYY-MM-DD)
Barcode
(EAN-13)
Artwork Comment
4 0
Demo
Acetate
1? LP   Unreleased None   Bootlegs do exist
(see Money Demos)
1.1
Original
Stereo,
Heavily
Censored[2]
1 LP MGM Verve
V6-5045X
1968-03-04 None   US edition. Blue Verve label. Matrix #
Side1: V6-5045 SIDE-1 MGS-1250-REV F 34 (stamped) ·
Side2: V6-5045 SIDE-2 MGS-1251-REV F 23 or 25 (stamped) ·
1 LP MGM Verve
SVLP 9199
1968-06 or[3]
1968-10
None   UK edition.
1.2
Original
Mono,
Heavily
Censored[2]
1 LP MGM Verve
V-5045
1968-03-04? None   US edition.
1 LP MGM Verve
VLP 9199
1968-06 or[3]
1968-10
None   UK edition.
1.3
Original
Stereo,
Partly
Censored[2]
1 LP MGM Verve
V6-5045X
? None   US 2nd edition. Blue or Black Verve label.
1 LP MGM Verve/Polydor
2317 034
1972-06[4] None   UK 2nd edition.
2.1
Important
Remix,
Uncensored[2]
1 LP Barking Pumpkin
BPR 7777-3
1985-04-19     Included in The Old Masters, Box I set.
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 40024
1986 0144314002425?
0014431002427?
(not printed)
  US edition, AAD, coupled with Lumpy Gravy.
Matrix # 818 PUMPKIN RYK-CD40024 SOI01
1 CD Zappa
CDZAP 13
1988-12? 5016583601324   UK edition, coupled with Lumpy Gravy.
1 CD MSI
RCD 40024
1990     Japanese edition, AAD, coupled with Lumpy Gravy.
Includes "The Book of We're Only In It For The Money", coupled with "In der Strafkolonie" (by Franz Kafka).
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5023
1994-10-26 4988112405264   Japanese edition, coupled with Lumpy Gravy.
1.3
Original
Stereo,
Partly
Censored[2]
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 10503
1995-04-18 0014431050329   US edition. made from original edited master and other raw mix segments (for better sonics). 1993.
1 CS Rykodisc
RAC 10503
1995-04-18 0014431050343   US edition.
1 LP Rykodisc
RALP 10503
1995-05-02 0014431050312?   US edition.
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5104
1995-09-25 4988112406988   Japanese edition.
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 5239
1996-05-24 4988112408395   Japanese edition = Rykodisc RCD 10503 repackaged with an obi strip and extra liner notes in Japanese
1 CD VideoArts
VACK 1206
2001-09-21 4988112412620   Japanese edition, mini-album papersleeve.
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 40582/3
2002-03-21 None   Included in the Threesome No. 1 box set. Matrix # IFPI L502 IFPI 8736 DISCTRONICS RCD 10503 02
1 CD Rykodisc
RCD 10594
2005-07-19 0014431059421   = VideoArts VACK 1206, the barcode is a sticker, the Ryko reference is not printed.
1.3a[5][6]
Original
Stereo
Slight
Remaster,
Partly
Censored[2]
1 CD MFSL
UDCD 764
2005-08-23 0821797076463   24 Karat Gold CD.
Unknown 1 CD VideoArts
VACK 1320
2008-05-21 4988112417649   Japanese edition,
mini-album papersleeve.
2.2
Important
Remix,
Improved
Quality[7],
Uncensored[2]
1 CD Zappa
ZR 20008 (CD1)
2009-01-21 n/a   US edition, included in The Lumpy Money Project/Object.
Matrix # CD1: IFPI 4150 ZR200081 2A 01 V IFPI L245
1.4
Original
Mono,
Partly
Censored[2]
1 CD Zappa
ZR 20008 (CD2)
2009-01-21 n/a   US edition, included in The Lumpy Money Project/Object.
Matrix # CD2: IFPI 4121 ZR200082 2A 01 V IFPI L245
1.3
Original
Stereo,
Partly
Censored[2]
1 CD Zappa/UMe
ZR 3837
2012-07-31 0824302383728   US edition, manufactured and distributed by UMe[8].
Source: 1993 1630 Digital Master.
1 CD Zappa/UMG Intl
0238372
2012-07-31 0824302383728   EU edition = Zappa/UMe ZR 3837, manufactured in Germany.
1 CD Zappa/Universal Music Japan
UICY-75353
2012-11-28 4988005737526   Japanese edition, audiophile SHM-CD, mini-album papersleeve with an obi strip and liner notes in Japanese.
1 LP
(180 g)
Zappa/UMe
ZR 3837-1
2016-12-09[9] 0824302383711   US edition, pressed in Germany by Pallas-USA. Source: 1993 1630 Digital Master. Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, 2016.
1 LP
(180 g?)
Zappa/UMG Intl
ZR 3837-1
2016-12-09 0824302383711   EU edition = Zappa/UMe ZR 3837-1.
4M Unknown mono version 1 LP Zappa/UMe
BPR1232
2018-11-23 0824302383780   US limited edition (4000 copies[10]), picture disc. Mastered by Bernie Grundman, Bernie Grundman Mastering, 2018.
1 LP Zappa/UMG Intl
BPR1232
2018-11-23 0824302383780   EU edition, picture disc[11].

Notes

  1. Pop Chronicles interview, p. 7.
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 2.8 For details on censorship, see Phase 315 of WOIIFTM censorship by Harry de Swart. (DEAD LINK - Archived here)
  3. 3.0 3.1 Depending on the source, released June 1968 (Martin C. Strong, 2004, The Great Rock Discography, p. 1720) or October 1968 (Zappa Patio).
  4. Martin C. Strong, 2004, The Great Rock Discography, p. 1720.
  5. According to the Zappa Patio, the MFSL UDCD 764 Gold CD was made from the Ryko tapes but has a different equalization.
  6. "All [MFSL] releases are made from the first generation master tape and mastered at half-speed, allowing for an improved sound quality" — Wikipedia, MFSL article.
  7. Enhanced dynamic range and frequency response.
  8. Email announcement by the ZFT on July 31st, 2012.
  9. Official announcement at zappa.com
  10. The US sticker mentions, 'This package randomly contains one of four different picture discs featuring unseen art from the Vault!'
  11. The UK/EU sticker mentions, 'This picture disc variant is exclusive to the UK & Europe and features unseen art from the Vault (different from the U.S. versions!)'

See Also

In 2008, a Dutch magazine Wah-Wah asked some people which record they would like to take to a desert island - for some unexplained reason. The Dutch philosopher, author and philosophy teacher at the University of Rotterdam Jos de Mul and the Belgian author Annelies Verbeke both chose this record.