Frank Zappa - Hot Rats
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Free Music Notes for Hot Rats
Free Music Review: Fire music
Hit: 5 Stars
This is one of the essential Zappa's records in his enormous discography. Believe me. It's easy for the newcomers in the Zappa's Universe to get lost in it and to lose the essential angles of the Zappa's prism (that is what surely you want to get at first). To me Zappa's best works, the ones that you newcomer absolutly should not lose are Hot Rats, Waka Jawaka, Grand Wazoo. Buy these three studio albums first and you'll go deep inside the heart of this man and of his music. These albus are what Kind of blue stand to Miles Davis or what Abbey road means for the Beatles. Forget for your first purchases all the Zappa's albums based more on lyrics, comedy and goofy things. You'll buy those later, if you fell in love with this trilogy. If you don't like this trilogy I doubt you would like other Zappa's records which often are a little bit confusing, less focused, less brilliant, less perfect than the three works I'm talking about. To the guys who are out there trying to figure out what kind of musician this weird man was (I'm saying musician and composer, not sociologist or guru, or comedian) these three albums can clarify you what kind of original vision of music this man had. Some people here talks about Jazz rock. In the case of Hot rats I would not talk about Jazz rock. i don't know. Grand Wazoo is the jazziest of the trilogy, it has some swinging parts (Eat that question, Blessed relief and Grand Wazoo the title track), not in the Count Basie mood obviously, it's in the Miles Davis-Biches Brew seventies vein .. ... Hot rats instead it is more psychedelic, it has a lot of improvisation sure, but it is not Jazz in the sense that this music doesn't swing. And in terms of instruments only in Gumbo variations you have a sax that dominate the scene and that demonstrate a kind of Coltrane-alike kind of language (and it takes you nearer Jazz even if its not swing here too). But Gumbo is more funk than Jazz in a sense, at least this is what it means to me. You don't have complex improvisation over changes which is the thing in Jazz. Moreover Hot rats has a straight rock beat so it's overall very distant from jazz in my opinion. But this its not something to say that this album is less precious less brilliant than Wazoo or Waka simply because it is "less jazz". Absolutly not. It is simply brilliant instrumental music that you absolutly have to know if you love art music. If Hot rats is not essentially Jazz, you can bet it is already art for sure! "It must be a Camel" is another stellar Zappa composition. I mean, the man was so pure as a composer that was able to trascend genres and to create his personal music universe which is expressed the best in these kind of instrumental compositions just as the "Camel". You wouldn't call it Jazz, neither rock maybe, it's Zappa! This to clarify the definition of the album as a "jazz rock" output. I would call it a more or less straight rock album, but with Zappa creativity (a sort of big boost!!!!). The fact that it is instrumental doesn't take this album in the "jazz field" forwhat I am concerned. It is still very rockish, but brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. It will last. Exceptional.Free Music Review: The Pinnacle of Fusion
Hit: 5 Stars
It's amazing to think that in August of 1969, as Miles davis was crafting his jazz/rock fusion masterpiece BITCHES BREW in New York, Frank Zappa was in the throes of producing his at least equally spectacular HOT RATS, which would approach the blending and juxtaposing of the two genres from the other side of the fence, in Los Angeles. Seizing on the advent of sixteen-track recording as his opportunity to commit the full range of his musical imagination to tape, the guitarist/composer/arranger/producer proceded to make what in many people's opinion is his finest album, and one firmly on the cutting edge in conceptual, performing and technical terms to this day.
HOT RATS is an epochal, indeed an essential, musical recording. Like the "Ode to Joy," KIND OF BLUE or Elvis Presley's Sun singles, it can be thoroughly enjoyed and absorbed by just about anyone of any aesthetic while remaining ever new in its ability to surprise and intrigue.
The musical pivots of HOT RATS are Zappa himself and keyboardist/reedsman Ian Underwood, a fellow veteran of the Mothers of Invention. Around, before, behind and between these two men a shifting cast of inspired and energetic players serves up some of the hottest, tightest jams you're ever likely to hear, incorporating elements of nearly every form of Western music. While Zappa is the creator and official auteur of all six pieces here, the sound of the album is probably almost as much a result of one man's work as another's.
And what a sound it is! Abounding in downright brilliant moments, HOT RATS in fact has no weak stretches and the whole comes off as a remarkably sustained statement of artistic intent and possibility.
The elegant, multicolored power of "Peaches en Regalia," at once so carefully composed and so wide open, sets the intelligently ass-kicking tone of the LP; more than thirty-five years later, it still sounds like nothing you've ever heard before but also like something which should have existed from the beginning of time.
Zappa makes full use of the then-new equipment available to him, augmenting the power and range of excellent ensemble tracks with an array of overdubs and atmospheric effects. The rapturously stacked organ and piano runs on "Little Umbrellas"; the awe-inspiring guitar solo wagging the dog in "Willie the Pimp"; and the magnificent interplay of the entire band on "The Gumbo Variations" (which also features a powerhouse solo by violinist Sugar Cane Harris) are just some of the pleasures of this truly remarkable achievement. And with state-of-the-art sound now as then (Zappa repeatedly remastered this and his other albums over the years, producing a final version months before his death in 1993), all are revealed with the fullest clarity.
HOT RATS is not only the greatest of jazz-rock fusion albums, but also one of the finest albums in either genre independent of the other. I cannot recommend it too highly, and once you've come to understand why I'd recommend BURNT WEENY SANDWICH as a follow-up.
Free Music Review: A superb tour de force
Hit: 5 Stars
'the present day composer refuses to die' was the quotation from Edgar Varese which graced each of the Mothers albums as I remember from the vinyl releases in England.This particular album made such an impression on a group of young people in Sunderland that they renamed their "disco" in the Londonderry Hotel on Saturday evenings after it. Played some pretty neat music there too.
This album is in many ways the one which represents the huge body of work that Frank Zappa, composer and musician, created all within the original confines of 45 minutes available on a long playing record.
Working in the rock field can often be limiting for the serious musician due to the varying degrees of snobbery which exist between 'real' musicians and rock stars. Zappa was one of the very few who drew respect from all quarters for his work.
From the outset on this album one can find traces of all of his work, the catchy Peaches en Regalia leads the field, the warm up for the title track with the redoubtable Don Van Vliet exercising his vocal chords with some of the most immortal lyrics in rock history before letting Zappa present a showcase of his considerable guitar playing talents. As usual the maestro assembled a team of the highest musical talents to assist him on this journey and on Willie the Pimp, Don 'Sugarcane' Harris provides a taster of things to come later on the Gumbo Variations, very reminiscent of his work on 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh'. Acclaimed by many as THE outstanding track on the album, Willie the Pimp' is distinguished by those awesome vocals but musically the performance is equalled if not bettered by the subsequent tracks.
'Son of Mr. Green Genes' is also another showcase for the Zappa guitar talent but here the playing is more restrained and is contained within exquisite performances by Ian Underwood in particular. Where is he today, I wonder? The run towards the end of the composition is excellent and the interplay between Zappa and Underwood displays a great deal of understanding between the two musicians.
All of the tracks on this album have, as another reviewer has noted, memorable tunes. What is also noticeable are some of the themes which appear on other albums such as the Grand Wazoo and Waka Jawaka as well as the earlier Mothers albums and the later works such as the Yellow Shark. That Zappa was in tune with the classical world is undeniable but he was clearly interested in serious music of all forms as evidenced by the recurring themes which later became the trademark of Terry Riley as well as Philip Glass.
Hot Rats is a veritable goldmine of music which can be listened to again and again and again without being totally depleted. To me this album demonstrates the genius that was Frank Zappa and his untimely death has deprived humanity of a significant musical talent.
Free Music Review: "...This movie for your ears..."
Hit: 5 Stars
This is FZ's second solo effort, but in many ways, it's considered his first. "Lumpy Gravy" was an experimental recording, but it was mostly sound textures, dialogue, and sound effects. He was mainly a classical composer and jazz musician, but this effort is purely jazz-rock fusion, and very powerful-sounding music, at that.
This release opens with "Peaches En Regalia," a fairly short instrumental, but so full of textures and variations, it's hard to believe it's less than four minutes long. It runs the gamut, with a hard rock edge throughout, but hard rock usually doesn't have percussion, flutes, saxophones, and countless other arrangements thrown in. Like so much of his other work, you can't really classify this. "Willie The Pimp" is an extended guitar jam, and the whole band is running on all eight cylinders the whole time. The Captain Beefheart vocal is a case of perfect casting. So gritty and raw, a perfect offset to the jazz-influenced rock sound. "Son Of Green Genes" is the same kind of object as "Peaches," layer upon layer of orchestration, but with contemporary instruments, and one hears new arrangements with each listen. "Little Umbrellas" slows things down a little, stand-up bass, drums played with brushes, flutes and clarinets carrying the melody, sort of a ballroom feel. This is followed with a "For Musicians, From Musicians" segment, "The Gumbo Variations;" a very long jam in one key with FZ on guitar, Don Harris on organ and violin, and Ian Underwood on tenor sax. The rhythm section pushes on furiously, while the three lead players cut loose on their respective instruments, and listening to this, it is easy to hear that there was a very high level of energy the night(?) they recorded this. He closes the book with "It Must Be A Camel," pure jazz. Although it's note-perfect, it has an icy coldness to it that seems to be put in to wind the proceedings down after the furious jam that precedes it.
When I listen to "Hot Rats," I know it's a Frank Zappa record, but the man of the hour is actually Ian Underwood. All the instrumentation you hear is rendered by him. Different drummers and bassists throughout supply the necessary rhythm section, and Zappa treats us with very good guitar playing, as well as some interesting percussion, and Beefheart is a force all its own, but all the layers upon layers of arrangements are supplied compliments of Underwood. Zappa got lucky when he found this man, and his body of work is better for it.
In all, I would tell you, if you are interested in a crash course in Frank Zappa, "Hot Rats" is a pretty good starting point.
Free Music Review: the cornerstone of my zappa fanaticism
Hit: 5 Stars
i started with the CD version from ryko. i liked it a lot. then, in a massive vinyl score, i discovered a first pressing of this vinyl, popped it on, and was blown away! the whole thing is different! i really like the vinyl version of "willie the pimp" even with frank's SG fading in and out while the captain is still "spinging" (that i think, is speaking and singing)
ok no more digression. peaches en regalia, as many have said, is quite catchy. i always imagined the sitcom based on my life would feature peaches as my opening tune. then again i was 10 when i made that decision, so what can i say? i saw a betamax copy of "peaches" as performed on SNL in '76 i think, and it was one of the songs that got me exploring zappa. again and again i try to whistle it complete, but fail. need to tone up those buccinators.
i love willie the pimp. captain beefheart is a madman with a four-and-a-half octave vocal range. what a blast listening to this song is, it has a gritty, dirty edge to it, punctuated by frank's screaming SG weaving in and out like a drunk through traffic. it seems that the audio mix featured every tweak available at the time, 16 tracks, flangers, phasers, the LP version runs the gamut as far as classic audio manipulation is concerned. frank was borderline obsessive in the studio, and it shows, even after 35 years, this vinyl sounds better than most DDA or DDD recordings made today.
son of mr. green genes is somehow about lumpy branham, the guy who played mr. green jeans on "captain kangaroo". this track is a monstrous instrumental, and was a staple of the mother's performance before it was recorded. i heard frank describe it at a show in paris in 1968. he said some pretty awful things about mr. green jeans, and then relates it to american mothers and fathers' ineptitude in the job and home. awwww, frank! i think he knew full well what all this 60's counterculture was breeding. a bunch of baby boomin', reagan era, overpriveleged, flashback having ex hippies. ha!
this whole album stands out as the rosetta stone of zappa recordings. minimal, yet full with sound, simple, yet replete with nuance. classic rock as a whole took some valuable cues from mr. zappa. i insist that those interested in straightforward rock music that will kick your arse and curl your toes and have you giddy, sitting in the sweet spot in front of the hifi watching a blessed piece of vinyl spin 'round, should check this out! give one to your child, your brother, your cousin, play it for gramma, rock it in the car, tell your friends.
viva la zappa!