Sic Semper Tyrannis

Oh, Frank. How do I love Thee?

Today, a little bit more about Zappa, the longhaired revolutionary who caught my musical imagination. Dearly beloved, if you want your mind blown by some new music, this post is for you. For, what follows is a career overview and some of the key albums that I know. (It’s hard to be a total expert since the man released 63 albums before he died.) A good idea would be to seek out some of this music. But only if you want your mind blown.

Even though there is a “Best Of” compilation for Zappa, it’s not very helpful in trying to figure out the man’s aesthetic because he was very much an eclectic-minded musician. Here’s some help:

Zappa, the musical satirist- his early albums are a direct commentary on pop culture and the politics of the time. One word you would not use to describe the sound is “polished.” Sometimes, the vocals sound like a bunch of drunken buffoons. But there are a lot of ideas being slung around in the midst of it all. Freak Out!, the first album by Frank and The Mothers of Invention, is a good example of this phase in his career. There are catchy pop songs sloppily played on this album, supported by “important”-sounding orchestrations. What was originally the 4th side of the two record set is just madness. Surreal madness. Right after that album, you have Absolutely Free, which is a little bit more up-front with the social critique on hippies and the repression of individualism and a little bit more impressive musicality and more instrumental sections. This is one of my favorite albums of his, just because I hear something new and interesting every time.

After he had deconstructed pop music, he injected a little bit more instrumentalism and odd meters into things with albums like Uncle Meat, Hot Rats, and Burnt Weeny Sandwich. Of the three, I think Hot Rats is a work of jazz-rock genius. Lots of overdubbed saxes and strange harmonies along with some fabulous extended jams. It is impossible to ignore the music on this disc.

Another of my favorite periods is the music he produced while confined to a wheelchair from a stage accident. He took the jazz-rock ideas from Hot Rats and replaced the overdubbed saxes with an actual big band with horns and second guitars and the whole works. From this period, Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo show off his skills as an arranger. Two of my favorite albums by any artist.

Zappa then returned to music a little closer to rock n’ roll with lyrics. Apostrophe(‘) and One Size Fits All are two of my faves from this period. In almost all of Zappa’s music, I must say that there is an element of humor and with his return to satirical lyrical content, he dealt increasingly with sexuality in pretty crude ways. But overall, no topic was safe from skewering by Zappa and in the 80s, the political and cultural landscape of Reaganomics and the rise of televangelism became two of his favorite targets. This period of his  output interests me the least, not because I’m a Reagan fan or a fan of televangelists, but because I’m a fan of music, not politics. Two live albums that document this period, however, display the incredibly tight bands he was able to put together: The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life and Make a Jazz Noise Here.

Another stream of Zappa’s work is orchestral music. He viewed himself as a composer first and rock n’ roll musician second and so it makes sense how frustrated he got with his experiences with orchestral musicians that never seemed to take him seriously. For me, the orchestral stuff is sort of hit or miss, sounding alternatively like cartoon music and darkly avant-garde. The Yellow Shark was his most pleasant encounter with orchestral musicians and it’s full of the dark, avant-garde stuff played by a relatively small group called Ensemble Modern. If you can find it, London Symphony Orchestra Vol. 1 & 2 has the bigger orchestral stuff that is slightly, (only slightly) more accessible.

All right, so I think I’ve said my peace on Zappa. His music is complex and difficult, not just to perform but to take in as a listener, but well worth the effort, in my book. Good day and Happy Thanksgiving, ya’ll. Word.

posted by Mike @ 12:04 PM