Frank Zappa - Them Or Us
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Free Music Notes for Them Or Us
Free Music Review: I *love* Zappa, but this is not his best work
Hit: 3 Stars
I have to agree that this album is perhaps one of Frank's worst efforts. There is virtually no theme or integration to the album. Musically, the most interesting piece is "Ya Honza." The most appealing song here to the general populace is likely "Whipping Post," but Zappa is too talented of a composer to be covering Allman Bros songs.FRANK ZAPPA IS A MUSICAL GENIUS, WHO WILL BE STUDIED LONG AFTER OTHER POP MUSIC OF THE LATE 20TH CENTURY IS FORGOTTEN. Unfortunately, little of that genius is on display here.
Free Music Review: Ick. My personal vote for the worst Zappa effort...
Hit: 2 Stars
Everyone has their own least-favorite Zappa album, with the triumvirate (sp?) of Thing Fish, Man from Utopia, and Them Or Us usually being the three targets. Well, I've never minded Thing Fish (and I like the original MFU before the newer remix, but that's another story), but I absolutely cannot stand Them Or Us. Lemme explain: I really, really dislike Zappa's '84 sound, which is, irkingly enough, the sound he seems to most enjoy, as we have TONS of '84 releases. But I digress. Everything here sounds so ARTIFICIAL, like Frank had a big "I need product" sneer on his face when he was preparing this album, or something. Chad Wackerman's drum sound is at its most artificial, perhaps purposefully so, but that doesn't make it more bearable. Now on to the tracks. "The Closer You Are"...uh, Frank does doo-wop a LOT better on Cruisin', no? And it continues....Stevie's Spanking is a nice riff, but I just don't feel any pull from it whatsoever. "In France" is cute, but the remix on Offended is miles better. Worse, lots of the other tracks cross the line I see between "clever" and "stupid" (thanks, Spinal Tap). "Baby Take..." isn't cute...it's stupid. Same with Frogs, etc. etc. etc...
...gah. This comes off as sounding really bitter, I know. I just am really not enamored of this album. Listen to it through, and see what you think. But step lightly around the Cursed Three!