Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

Our Price: $29.99
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Buy Used: from $19.95 (click here)
Category: Music CD
See more new music releases

Music CD Cover

Free Music Notes for Hot Rats

Free Music Review: A labor of love
Hit: 5 Stars

Other guest appearances include famous jazz violinist Jean Luc-Ponty in his first of several appearances on an FZ album. He plays a small part on "It Must Be a Camel." Johnny Otis's son, Shuggie Otis, who plays bass on "Peaches En Regalia," and last, but by no measure at all least, Captain Beefheart.

The opener, PEACHES EN REGALIA, needs no real introduction. Now a jazz standard, its probably Zappa's best known song. And for a good reason. It is among the most efficiently and intelligently composed, succinct pieces that he ever wrote. This version, with FZ and Underwood's painstaking arrangement, is the first and best of its incarnations. But if you came for that marvelous gem, you'll stay for WILLIE THE PIMP. This monster features the incomparable four-and-a-half octave range Capt. Beefheart howling out in the most incredible manner the only vocals on the album, after which FZ blasts into a 7 minute guitar solo.

This is the first album in which Zappa takes his guitar playing seriously -- this solo, the first of many lengthy explosions on this album, is the kind of solo only a guitar player, perhaps, could fully appreciate. There's little of the burning-quick fretwork and pretentious high-register runs one associates with rock guitar. Instead, Zappa's solo, here and on the rest of the album, is methodical, heavy on rhythm and clinging strongly to the melody. Technique takes the place of speed, and meaningless spurts are replaced by what seems like incredible spontaneous composition. This kind of solo is what separates Zappa from the Jimmy Pages of the world.

The next piece, SON OF MR. GREEN GENES, is remembered most now for having started the (false) rumor that FZ was the son of the children's TV personality. Its the same as Mr. Green Genes on the Uncle Meat album, but arranged for a small wind ensemble and serving as a vehicle for another beautiful FZ solo -- this one considerably less aggressive than in Willie, but with no less merit. LITTLE UMBRELLAS is akin to Peaches, in that its a short, to-the-point jazz piece. Its a lethargic, loungy number with a strange quality, and an even more bizarre percussion run. An absolutely beautiful piece that never seems to get the attention it deserves.

The 17 minute GUMBO VARIATIONS (expanded 5 minutes in digital remix from the original vinyl) is straight jazz, each member of Zappa's combo getting their solo, starting with a furious 7 minute onslaught by Underwood on sax, followed by a fiery Sugarcan Harris violin solo, an acidic, cut-throat Zappa solo, and a bass/drum duet with Bennet and Guerin. The closer, IT MUST BE A CAMEL, is a bit like Peaches or Umbrellas, but with a Zappa twist. This is a short jazz piece mutated with abrupt rests, odd tempo changes, and a difficult time signiture. The hero of this piece is Ian Underwood, with some remarkable sax and keyboard playing. John Guerin gets some spotlight too, with some short, sporadic drum solos, accompanied by FZ's percussion.

This is an incredible album, accessible to almost everyone (Its true that this is the "FZ album that even people who hate FZ like"). One of the great masterpieces of Jazz fusion of all time and, although Zappa made several more masterpieces in the genre (One Size Fits All, Roxy, Grand Wazoo, Waka/Jawaka...) none of those albums, even if the music on some of them is technically more impressive, touch on a certain quality that this album has. Hot Rats sounds like a musician's labor of love, and is a unique masterpiece in FZ's catalogue. I love this album -- and though it was the first of the 50+ albums I've purchased, its still the one I play the most.

Absolutely essential, not just for Zappa fans. Play it until you know the solos by heart, or your CD player burns out.

Classic Rock Music CDs

• Music > Styles
• Hard Rock & Metal
• Jazz
• New Age
• Pop
• Rock