Release Date: April 22, 1974
Label: DiscReet Records
this is Frank Zappa's thirteenth album, and quite arguably one of his best. It's a combination of rock, avant garde, jazz, and so much more. Contrary to some artists and bands today, this strange mix isn't for a chaotic effect, but more of "wtf? did you just hear that? That was awesome!". Still, there's a large amount of melodies, riff
age and overall catchiness that would make even the most stubborn rock fan stand up and take notice. also noteworthy is the instrumentation, which takes various left turns at many given moments.
Something interesting i found about this cd is that the first half follows an underlying story:
Quote:
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Originally Posted by wikipedia
“Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” tells of a dream the singer had where he saw himself as an eskimo named Nanook. A fur trapper comes up from behind Nanook’s igloo and begins to assault a baby seal. Nanook responds by rubbing yellow snow (that is, snow which had been urinated on by huskies) in his eyes, blinding him. The fur trapper remembers an ancient eskimo legend ("Wherein it is written,") and travels to “the parish of St. Alfonzo”. At this point the album takes an unexpected turn and instead tells of rambunctious antics (“wheedled on the bingo cards in lieu of the latrine”) and follows with a scenario in which a leprechaun “stroked it;” another line talks of "abused the sausage patty" followed by a short musical interlude that includes high-pitched orgasmic screaming. Interestingly, the complete suite is not available, missing the final movement, "Rollo."
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In the end, this is a great album, not only for Frank Zappa, but for music itself.
9.6/10
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow-one of his most famous songs, and one of my first experiences with his music. if you've only hear the single version, listen to the true version on the album. it gets up to the part of "watch out where the huskies go, and don't you eat the yellow snow" before going into Nanook Rubs it. overall this is grooving and just gooooood.
Nanook Rubs It-i like the instrumental/musical touch on this song, especially the trumpet and guitar. here they provide some tasty jazz lines that make the overall feel of the song.
St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast-xylophone attack!! you'll hear alot of that in this song. this is moreso a theme style song, with various instruments coming out of nowhere. if you don't like songs like this, then why are you listening to Frank Zappa?
Father O’Blivion-my favorite song on the cd. seriously. basically from St. Alfonzo, it picks the hell up in a real dancable way.
Cosmik Debris-a damn good song, though not the most conventional. Zappa sings this song in a deep, slow manner, and then comes in his backup singers, who do a really good job on this song, i may add. some lines in this song harks back to older songs, such as "the dust of The Grand Wazoo". this is really a song where listening to the lyrics'd help alot, haha.
Excentrifugal Forz-shortest track on here, and when i first listened to the album, not something that really grabbed me. possibly a low point on this track.
Apostrophe'-An instrumental jam featuring former Cream bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Jim Gordon. while he was credited for the bass parts on here, Bruce said in an interview that Zappa only gave him the cello parts, haha, while Frank said in another interview said Bruce played bass, but was "too busy" for his tastes.
Uncle Remus-this song is about the black civil rights movement, and not the first time Mr. Zappa has talked about race relations; the first instance would be the song "Trouble Every Day" on the Mothers of Invention debut, Freak Out!. It sounds like something that'd be sung at a Gospel Church, and a bit of a sad feeling listening to this song. one of the best songs on here.
Stink-Foot-a straight(well almost) rock song with a smooth solo in the middle and end. this song is about a place where they keep the "imaginary diseases", including one named bromadrosis, a.k.a.,
SSSTIIIINKFOOOOT. the reference to disease and germs can refer back to Frank's childhood, where exposure to mustard gas(living near a chemical warfare facility) was the cause of a number of his diseases. at the end the singing seems to take a chanting direction, although not so much that it's bad in any way.
here's some of the music, for your listening pleasure
YouTube - Frank Zappa Don't Eat The Yellow Snow, Nanook Rubs It, St. Alphonzos Pancake Breakfeast, Father O'Blivion -the first 4 songs
YouTube - Frank Zappa - "Cosmik Debris" (subtÃ*tulos en español)
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Apostrophe
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Uncle Remus (apostrophe)
YouTube - Frank Zappa - Stink-Foot