How does it compare to the artist's other releases
Average
Value for Money
Excellent
Advantages:
A wonderfully weird album
Disadvantages:
Perhaps a bit to weird for some?
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
The Mothers first album it never had commercial potential, it even says that in the sleeve notes, though I love it and think it's ground breaking. The sleeve notes are interesting to read too telling a lot about the band.
To like this album you'd have to love Frank Zappa and psychadelic rock, if you're not into the genre it will bore you stupid and "freak you out", with it's weird audio montages and drum tracks, which is probably the point.
Many of the songs on it a parodies of the sappy love songs of the time like "anyway the wind blows", and you "Didn't try to call me". But there are classic psychadelic weird songs too like "Who are the Brain police?" and "Help I'm a Rock!" that crack me up every time, I also like the song "are you hung up".
Zappa's musical genius is still revealing itself at this point and I think he was being very experimental at this time, and it's not as political as some of his later albums or as musically advanced. Zappa's cutting lyrics are present though, It's evocative of though not quite as weird as "Trout mask replica" by Captain Beefheart".
The tracks are often very long so you get a lot for your money, and there's weird quoteworthy lines to freak your friends with like "Suzy cream cheese, what's gotten into ya'?" and "are you hung up?".
in summary if there's someone you don't like and want revenge on, spike them with LSD and play them this!
More details
How does it rate alongside the competition
Outstanding
Cover / Inlay Design and Content
Outstanding
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