Frank Zappa - Sleep Dirt

Sleep Dirt from 1979 includes music that originally was intended for the double album in 1976 that was pared down to a single release called Zoot Allures. Then Frank Zappa wanted to put out a quadruple album Läther, but was met with resistance from Warner Brothers who demanded four separate records in order to end the contract. Sleep Dirt is one of those records. Original vinyl release was fully instrumental, more in the vein of Hot Rats styled jazz rock (in fact, the album's working title was Hot Rats 3, I kid you not). For the CD re-release Zappa added vocal and new drum overdubs for the more cabaret-jazz influenced numbers that were originally intended to be part of Zappa's unfinished sci-fi musical Hutchentoot. This review concerns the original version and even so I must admit that the tracks like "Time Is Money", "Flambay" and "Spider of Destiny" are not the strongest tracks on the album, although kind of interesting at places. More interesting are the pieces that retain the instrumental status even on the CD.

"Filthy Habits" is an experimental rock instrumental with its feedback drenched (some backwards) guitar sonics and angular riffs and leads. It has a dark vibe and a great rhythm section of Dave Parlato (bass) and Terry Bozzio tearing it up on drums. "Regyptian Strut" is another "Hutchentoot" outtake, as it was actually intended to be an instrumental overture and thus is spared from the vocal dubs. However the CD version adds Chad Wackerman overdub in lieu of the original drums by Chester Thompson. An interesting pompous piece that is somewhat reminiscent of early King Crimson, but without guitar, as Zappa plays percussion on this track. Bruce Fowler's multiple brass parts really add to the piece. For a more uptempo proto-version, check Wazoo (1972 Grand Wazoo orchestra live) for a piece that then was called "Variant I Processional March".

On the second half of the album we have two outstanding tracks. The title track is sublime acoustic guitar duet that shows Zappa at his most introspective and melancholic, which segues directly into "The Ocean Is the Ultimate Solution", an avant-garde rock improvisation with crazy solos from Frank (alternating between acoustic craziness a la "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" and screaming electric leads) as well as Patrick O'Hearn doing a damn good job at double bass. Terry Bozzio kills on the drum set. 13 minutes of superb performance which draws this underrated album to close quite nicely.

Frank Zappa - Wazoo

Frank Zappa spent most of the year 1972 in a wheelchair, after a stage attack in London. During this period he wrote a lot of music, especially for big-band format. In studio, two records in this vein were conceived: Waka/Jawaka and The Grand Wazoo. Having recuperated to a certain point, he assembled an orchestra of 20 musicians (dubbed The Grand Wazoo, naturally) and he went on the road for a small tour. This was followed by another tour with a ten member lineup (The Petit Wazoo), the recordings of which were compiled for Imaginary Diseases in 2006.

In late 2007 the Grand Wazoo lineup also got its archival album. Titled simply Wazoo, it presents a full concert, which was also the last performance of the 20 member orchestra, recorded in Boston, 24th of September, 1972. The stage repertoire, fully instrumental, refers to how amazingly prolific the composer was even during the wheelchair period. Surprisingly little material is performed by the live bigband from the studio big band records. These two studio albums are only represented by "Big Swifty" (with a spiffed-over arrangement and a completely different solo section) and the title track of "The Grand Wazoo". The sole oldie in the set is "Penis Dimension" sans lyrics. Everything else appeared on the record years later.

"Approximate" with its rhythmic-melodic abstration is electrified free-jazz at its best. Its atonal improvisation is colored by its solos, especially Earle Dumler on contrabass sarrusophone and Ian Underwood on synthesizer. Magnum opus "The Adventures of Greggary Peccary" retains its cartoonish edge even without narration (found in extensive liner notes). The given performance, lasting over 30 minutes, is spiced by improvisations. Especially memorable is a "Sketches of Spain" type jam in part two that intensifies to a powerful culmination. Part three contains improvisation that is more post-rock in its unhurried tempo and muted, subdued textures than most of what passes as post-rock these days. The set closes with "Variant I Processional March", a faster paced almost "Peaches En Regalia" like proto-version of a later tune called "Regyptian Strut".

In terms of sound it's amazing how the concurrent recording techniques have managed to capture such a big line up. The sound on the recording is crystal clear and the mastering is well done. Taking that, and the band's wonderful performance (especially by the rhythm section of Dave Parlato on bass and Jim Gordon on drums) into account, Wazoo is a record that is just as fine as Zappa's best recordings and appeals to both younger and older fans.

Frank Zappa - Lumpy Gravy

Lumpy Gravy is one of those records which challenges a lot of preconceived notions about music and noise. Essentially, this 1968 Frank Zappa release (his first real solo album) which followed We're Only In It For The Money album, consists of two 16 minute collages of orchestral and otherwise instrumental pieces, studio chatter recorded inside the piano and tape edit sounds in the fashion of musique concrete. It's evident that Zappa is a prime melodist and a skilled arranger judging by the musical segment, but when put next to treated tape sounds and bizarre Dadaist dialogue, the result gives an entirely different meaning to the notion of composition. Originally Zappa wanted to record an all-orchestral piece for Capitol Records, as proposed by a producer for the label. However, there was a thirteen month litigation holding back the release. Meanwhile, FZ had recorded loads of dialog by having people sit under the piano with a sustain pedal depressed, giving the voices the unique ambiance. Putting it all together, we have a record which is not the most accessible Zappa release, but nonetheless features lots of innovative production techniques as well as unbelievable sounds. Not to mention, some of Zappa's best melodies, like "Duodenum", instrumental versions of "Oh No" and "Take Your Clothes Off", as well as a haunting orchestral piece "I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again". Lumpy Gravy presents Zappa at his most radical as a composer, arranger, record producer and conceptualist.

Frank Zappa - Uncle Meat

The first three Mothers of Invention albums were really great and unique. However, on Uncle Meat, Frank Zappa takes the Mothers' sound to an entirely another level. The album retains the psychedelic sound of the previous records and there are still some song-based tunes that match the tuneful psych-pop gems on the earlier Mothers stuff, such as "Dog Breath, In the Year of the Plague" which sounds as catchy as "Who Needs the Peace Corps" from 1968's We're Only In it For Money, but with majesty that presages "Peaches En Regalia" that would appear on Hot Rats. Of other vocal material, "Sleeping In a Jar" is one of the earliest pieces written by Zappa (it was composed in 1958 along with "Pound for a Brown" as a string quartet) here presented as the main melodic block from a piece that was usually performed live as an instrumental. The arrangement is strikingly similar with Soft Machine's Volume Two: tuneful one minute ditty with colorful instrumentation and nonsensical, Dadaist lyrics. "The Air" and "Electric Aunt Jemina" are charming mock-doo-wop numbers and "Mr. Green Genes" is a lovely slice of dreamy low-key psychedelia which is also reminiscent of "Duke Of Prunes". "Cruising For Burgers" is probably the complex of all of these, very reminiscent of WOIIFTM album tracks, but with even more complex instrumentation. Another great one.

Then there are odd tracks that are partially musical jokes (attempt to play "Louie Louie" on Royal Albert Hall's pipe organ, hilarious version of "God Bless America"), spoken-word bits dealing with the microclimate of the Mothers ("Our Bizarre Relationships"), or live recordings mixed with band's history ("Ian Underwood whips it out" starts with Ian's story of his audition for the band and continues with furious sax-driven free-jazz jam in 5/4 time recorded in Copenhagen).

The main meat of Uncle Meat however, are instrumental tunes with either jazz leanings or chamber music instrumentation. "King Kong" is a jazzy monster with several parts that flows and swings effortlessly and has great instrumental interplay: ostinato/drone bass, swinging drums, great work on reeds and keyboards and guitars, that take leads after one another. Complex, yet mesmerizing. "Uncle Meat", "Dog Breath Variations" and "Pound For A Brown" on the other hand are classically influenced (a la Stravinsky) chamber rock pieces with unique instrumentation of clarinets, harpsichord, electric organ, guitar, vibes and sundry other things. The instrumentation is rich and the multi-instrumentation of talented cats like Bunk Gardner and Ian Underwood gives the album the kind of colorful and multi-layered feel which is unique even in Zappa's oeuvre.

The CD version of Uncle Meat tends to be marred with so-called "penalty tracks", which are audio excerpts from the "Uncle Meat" film and a cheesy hard rock song "Tengo Na Minchia Tanta" from 80s. Vinyl version is much recommended if such factors are annoying and subtracting from the album that I'd highly recommend for lovers of complex, yet totally far-out and weird music.

Frank Zappa - Studio Tan

How many albums released only to fill contractual obligation sound as solid as this one? This contains music originally intended to be included on quadruple LP set Läther, but disagreements with Warner Bros led to a host of single albums, which were just spat out, so to say. Cover art is questionable, the hired a hack artist to design its cover. Disregarding its cover, the music on Studio Tan is nothing short of great. The album consists of a side long epic composition "The Adventures of Greggary Peccary" and three shorter pieces. Most of the music is recorded within the 1974-1975 time frame, when Zappa's Roxy and Elsewhere period (which began in 1973) was drawing to close. It contains much of the same personnel (George Duke, Fowler brothers, Chester Thompson and Ruth Underwood), and more. There's even bits of the 1975 Orchestral Favorites sessions integrated into the mix. And not surprisingly, most of the album presents Zappa's classicist direction, although mixed with jazz-rock fusion elements. The sole exception to all of the above parameters is "Lemme Take You To The Beach", a multi-year track that has seventies synth sounds mixed with high pitched vocals alluding to Zoot Allures and Sheik Yerbouti, but has a decidedly sixties sensibility and groove. Basic track was done in 1969 with guitars, bass, drums; vocals, synth and bongos were added in 1976. The result is a quirky surf-rock parody with doo wop sensibility reminiscent of Ruben & The Jets album.

Zappa also revises his "Music For Low Budget Orchestra" composition, that was originally composed in late sixties and was recorded for a Jean Luc Ponty album of Zappa interpretations. The original version was a nineteen minute showcase for electric violin integrated with an 11-piece band conducted by Ian Underwood; with inserts from Zappa themes such as "Duke of Prunes" and "Pound For A Brown". The original version was very interesting, but often quite sprawling. Zappa tightened the piece here with a line up that may not be as low budget as the band on the 1969 recording, as it sounds fuller and more involved. Zappa adds great guitar playing into the mix and there are new sections on this piece which make this revised version totally dissimilar to the original version from about 4:30 mark onwards. "Revised Music For Guitar and Low Budget Orchestra" showcases Zappa's integration of classical, jazz and rock influences at its most mature and polished. "RDNZL" does something similar for a stripped down lineup featuring just bass, drums, keyboards, mallet percussion and guitar. It was a live staple for the 1973-74 band and that piece too was originally very different. What used to be a four minute piece with lots of solos and sectional changes crammed into it, is now an expansive, polished multi-part epic starting with virtuoso synth and marimba display, leading to an electrifying Zappa guitar solo which leads way to a couple of pompous melodic blocks, a nice jazz waltz section, a piano solo and some more deliberately bombastic sounding themes which close the composition. A great display for the virtuoso musicianship of Duke and Ruth Underwood as well as Zappa's stinging guitar solo, everything held together well by the tight rhythm section.

"The Adventures of Greggary Peccary" is an expansion of the ideas represented in the above-mentioned instrumentals into a 20 minute epic, that also adds satire in the mix. This is a surreal satirical tale of a peccary (a species of pig) working as a copywriter specializing in inventing trends, who invents the calendar. The combination of music that amounts for 20 minutes and the tale mixing surreal fiction and social satire alludes to "Billy The Mountain" (that is quoted in the piece actually), but is more complex and orchestral. Whereas "Billy The Mountain" was performed live and recorded as such by the 1971 Mothers, "Greggary Peccary" is a studio-centric piece. Which is confirmed by the fact that Zappa himself does virtually all the voices, voicing the peccary character by the tape speed alteration technique he already used in late sixties. Musically it's all over the place with loads of instruments and instrumental sections which could form a basis for compositions worth a double album. As a result, it often feels sprawling, but the piece is still involving overall. Zappa's sped up peccary voice is hilarious and the overall effect is cartoonish and surreal. By the way, the 1972 Grand Wazoo orchestra played an early, instrumental version of it live. The proto-version is now released on the archival album Wazoo.

Studio Tan is a record for Zappa fans more into his orchestral and jazzy works, such as 200 Motels, Uncle Meat, The Grand Wazoo and Roxy & Elsewhere. This under-rated record is every bit as worthwhile, as any of the above-mentioned records, but more polished and even more sophisticated. The pieces work great both as a single album, and as part of the vast and eclectic Läther set that was eventually unleashed as a triple CD in 1996.

Frank Zappa - The Grand Wazoo

The legendary musician and composer Frank Zappa (1940-93) was many things to many people. Commonly known for his controversial antics, his crude sense of humor and his biting guitar work, he was also a serious composer with advanced sense of rhythm and melody and a knack for arrangements to reach quintessence. The Grand Wazoo, conceived in 1972 while he was recovering from the serious stage attack at Rainbow Theatre in London, showcases the composer and arranger side of Frank Zappa. Vocals are kept at bare minimum and guitar work remains mostly subtle. Horns and woodwinds are dominant instruments giving the album an impeccable big band jazz-rock sound. Even if this isn't the most accessible Zappa album, it's close to the sort of music he preferred to perform as the man had been dreaming of assembling a large electric big-band for several years. Zappa later returned to big ensemble ambitions in 1975 for the sessions that spawned Orchestral Favorites and close to his death while working with Ensemble Modern.

The title track is quintessential instrumental Zappa, blending anthemic exuberant melodicism with impeccable improvisational prowess. "For Calvin (And His Next Two Hitchhikers)" features vocals, however it is uncompromisingly angular, leaning heavily on the avant garde side of the fence. Take the theme of "Penis Dimension" and multiply the result with "Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbeque" and you'll get some idea. "Cleetus Awreetus Awrightus" is deranged fun with wordless vocals, bombastic horns and rollicking piano arpeggios. "Eat That Question" begins with groovy electric piano from George Duke, going into a blistering guitar solo and ending with a bombastic finale with brass and martial rhythms . Album closer "Blessed Relief" is one of Zappa's most gorgeous instrumentals ever, sounding very romantic, in a very blissful way. Organic guitar tones, breezy horns and tinkling electric pianos give it an ambiance I don't think Zappa ever recaptured subsequently. The work of musicians is great throughout the whole album and carries out Zappa's unique vision very well.

Frank Zappa - Imaginary Diseases

Imaginary Diseases, an archival release including various live tracks dating from October to December in 1972 presents Frank Zappa at his artistic peak. This is the Petit Wazoo tour documentation. Ten piece group with 6 horn men. Entirely instrumental tracks with truly inspired performances. Impeccable drumming, fantastic horn work, ripping guitar solos and tasteful bass playing is what makes up performances on this, arguably the best Frank Zappa archival release.

The first track "Oddients" is, as the title suggests, an odd piece of improv with some audience participation. Which leads to "Rollo". The only flaw this album has is that the version included here is in edited form, without the vocals section like it used to have during the Petit Wazoo tour, and thus we only get the infamous finale that was later added to "Don't Eat The Yellow Snow" suite for the late 1970s performances. Nonetheless, this instrumental coda is a striking piece of music, with some sad and heart-wrenching oboe used to good effect and also mixed in well with the brass, that tackle the atonal, yet oddly beautiful melodies. "Been To Kansas City In A-Minor" follows as a 10 minute blues jam that logically follows the blues rock orientation of the earlier Mothers line ups, but far more sophisticated thanks to the horn section.

The highlight, though, is the fourth piece. "Farther O'Blivion" suite has been previously unreleased, yet it's an amalgam of several distinct Zappa themes that later became compositions on their own. First part is the "Steno Pool" section from "The Adventures of Greggary Peccary", including a nice tuba solo, followed by the proto-version of "Be Bop Tango". While Bruce Fowler's trombone solo is as magnificent as it was on the Roxy and Elsewhere album (that man can really blow the horn!), it is drummer Jim Gordon who is the most surprising instrumentalist there. He proves to be a proficient jazz drummer and his solo is surprisingly listenable too. Usually I don't care for drum solos but his at least doesn't sound like a bunch of arrhythmic doodling, as could be said about most drum solos. Finally the band rounds it off with an instrumental version of "Cucamonga", much more involving than the later vocal rework on Bongo Fury. Overall, great sixteen minutes.

Fifth track "DC Boogie" starts out as hypnotic fuzz toned psychedelic jam with a heavy guitar solo, but during the middle, after Zappa's interaction with the audience, this improvised tune turns into...yup you guessed it, boogie! "Imaginary Diseases" is another composed tune, with the exuberant brass playing a theme reminiscent of a 70s cop movie on top of funky rhythm section. Frank again turns the tune into guitar fiesta until the head is restated again. "Montreal" is more inspired psyche/blues jamming from the group and is a fine ending to this 63 minute album.

Overall, a fine posthumous, archival release from Zappa. With none of the juvenile sophomoric humor so present in many FZ's work as it is entirely instrumental, and as this is the first release to document the 1972 live band; this is essential and highly recommended.

Frank Zappa - Everything is Healing Nicely

Everything Is Healing Nicely is a collection of sessions and rehearsals with the Ensemble Modern (the chamber orchestra playing on The Yellow Shark) from 1991-2 that contains some of Frank Zappa's more accessible classical stuff. Even aside the more melodic pieces, some of his more atonal stuff is spiced up with humorous monologues and improvisation. You can tell the players were having fun when they were performing those compositions. Therefore, if The Yellow Shark album was too heavy to take, one might as well go with this album to get some idea about Zappa's work during his final years. Highlights include "This Is A Test", which harks back to some of Zappa's chamber music work from Burnt Weeny Sandwich era, "T'Mershi Duween" in its orchestral glory and two standout compositions which manage to be both experimental and accessible. "Roland's Big Event/Strat Vindaloo" is an improvisation over a brooding slow groove beginning with a rapid fire clarinet solo followed by a low key duet between FZ and the guest violinist Shankar. As the guitarist was already seriously ill, it was obvious that the glory days of fast'n'furious guitar solos was over once and for all for Zappa, so he wisely opts to play minimal notes and dialogue with the violinist. "9/8 Objects" however is one hell of a number: a four-meter reggae-ish drum pattern supports variety of contrapuntal lines played on cello, marimba, brass and woodwinds, several of them in 9/8 time signature which are played against the overall straight tempo. Mind-blowing! Very reminiscent of some hypnotic Eastern music. Shankar again improvises on violin in this number. Even some of the less accessible pieces feature interesting elements in them. "Nap Time" can well work as a mellow ambient composition. "Master Ringo" and "Wonderful Tattoo" have hilarious monologues on them. Recommended if you want to get the idea of Zappa's avant garde classical work.

Frank Zappa - Orchestral Favorites

Orchestral Favorites features several Frank Zappa's instrumental melodies rendered by a very large big band bordering on classical orchestra combining electric combo (bass, drums, electric keyboards) with the vast array of woodwinds, brass, strings and percussion. The 37 piece lineup is known as Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Orchestra (a tag FZ also used for the entire line up on Lumpy Gravy album). This is a fairly inventive fusion of orchestral music and electric sonorities of rock. Not only does the listener get electric organs and synthesizer along with electric bass and a guitar solo during one of the numbers, there are also touches like wah pedal on viola and creative stereo-panning. This is one of the outstanding examples of Zappa's skills regarding musical synthesis.

The drummer here is none other than Terry Bozzio, having already appeared on the Bongo Fury tour in Spring 1975. Apparently this was where he proved to be the true monster drummer for the first time. A critic, blown away by his drumming during the orchestral shows in September 1975, called him the drummer with a future. And it shows. Not only is Bozzio providing strong and loaded backbeat to the majestically arranged "Duke of Prunes" (which also features a feedback heavy guitar solo in the middle), but he also fights himself through the advanced rhythmical labyrynths on the denser numbers such as the ultra-dissonant "Pedro's Dowry" or the multi-sectioned "Bogus Pomp". This 13 minute piece blends several items from the 200 Motels album (off which a fine instrumental version of "Strictly Genteel" is also included) and is made up from several sections ranging from dissonance and atonalism to accessible and memorable melodies. It's also said to be a parody of movie music clichès. Actually the entire album suggests how Zappa might have scored a soundtrack for films, given not only the cinematic qualities of orchestration, but also the inclusion of material Zappa had used in movies (200 Motels material, plus "Duke of Prunes" was originally featured in "Run Home Slow" film). The dissonant pieces could also work well in a soundtrack for a horror movie or a motion picture about some ecological disaster or something (years later FZ wrote a piece called "Outrage At Valdez" which indeed was used in a documentary regarding pollution). The music on this album is very vivid and are played accordingly by musicians. Essential orchestral Zappa.

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh

While this post-disbandment Mothers of Invention album from 1970 is definitely not Zappa's best, it's certainly an odd album. It plays with dual juxtapositions. What we have here is melody vs noise, straight beats vs odd time signatures, avant garde experimentalism vs pop leanings, beauty vs ugliness, accessibility vs acquired taste, instrumental vs vocal approach, improvisation vs writing and live vs studio. Quite spread out! While Zappa has flirted with all those extremes on many of his albums, this is the one where polarities serve to define its identity in total. Take "Toads of the Short Forest" for instance, an exquisite instrumental guitar ditty segues into harsh free-jazz jam with everybody playing in alternate time signatures. Or take "Didya Get Any Onja": on-stage atonalist assault being juxtaposed to polished R&B cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart To you" with Sugarcane Harris on vocals and electric violin; and then back to madness with "Prelude to An Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask". Anyone who has enough patience to run through will be rewarded with track sequence 8-10. "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" is a groovy horn-and-guitar driven rock song with intricate Hot Rats like middle section to boot, "Oh No" as an eccentric jazz shuffle with Ray Collins delivering some strong vocals and "Orange Country Lumber Truck" with its cheerful upbeat melody segueing into guitar solo: only to end without warning and segue into the title track: basically what sounded like an ending of Mothers' concerts back then, is now a demonstrative track on its own. Its cathartic white noise could be seen as a fitting finale as it also could mark the end of the original Mothers of Invention era, as Zappa's next album "Chunga's Revenge" would feature a wholly new line-up and would be a 180 degrees departure from original Mothers' sound.

Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

After Mother Superior Frank Zappa, fed up with various stressful aspects about being the leader of the zany avant-rock collective Mothers of Invention, had decided to break up the original MOI lineup in August 1969, he first went on to produce an album on his own. The sessions in August-September 1969 with several LA studio cats along with the former Mother, talented multi-instrumental genius Ian Underwood, who FZ retained for his virtuosity on keyboards and several woodwind instruments; proved to be fruitful and shortly thereafter, Hot Rats was unleashed to the wider public.

While the original Mothers already had shown signs of serious jazz-rock innovation that rivalled what other big acts in the field had done (check out "King Kong" on Uncle Meat album, which the MOI performed onstage as early as 1967), Zappa on his own took it even further on this album with added finesse (especially thanks to the fine rhythm section work and the absence of the overbearing weirdness characterizing earlier Mothers albums) and the textural polish, as the 16-track recording technology allowed to add multiple layered overdubs in the mix. Ian Underwood adds many sax, clarinet and keyboard overdubs, at times sounding like a small one man orchestra backed by a jazzy rhythm section. Zappa himself adds electronically treated, often sped up percussion overdubs. The result is a timeless classic that embodies two disparate aspects of jazz fusion: the elaborate arrangements and orchestration; and grittier improvisational side.

The orchestrated side shows up right on the album opener, "Peaches En Regalia". It's a multi-layered, concise and colorful composition with several memorable melodic sections along with shifting textural focus, from the classic sped-up bass guitar intro to tight horn riffs to guitar-and-flute led section and so on. Three minutes of prime Zappa melodicism. "Willie The Pimp", with Captain Beefheart cameo along with a lengthy guitar solo shows the gritty, blues-infused approach. "Son of Mr Green Genes", a reprise of "Mr Green Genes" off Uncle Meat, combines the colorful orchestration with guitar-based improvisation. Zappa's guitar is entirely absent from "Little Umbrellas", an under-rated jazz ballad with haunting melodies, complex keyboard layers in the middle section and that larger than life sounding one-man-big-band-horns finale. This is Ian Underwood's showcase all the way, as he's only backed up by the rhythm section. 17-minute (13 minute edit was heard on the original vinyl, CD version restores the full version) "Gumbo Variations" offers long tenor sax, violin (from Don Sugarcane Harris) and guitar solos over a funky one-chord vamp. "It Must Be A Camel" might not be as instantly memorable as the previous compositions, but it's still a rewarding listen on its own right with its sax, clarinet, keyboard and guitar parts. Jean Luc Ponty (who would join a later Mothers conglomeration in 1973) makes a cameo on violin.

In 1969, this album was a true landmark. While jazz influences would continue to inform his sound later on (and he would return to Hot Rats type instrumentation and compositional approach on Waka/Jawaka and Grand Wazoo in 1972), Hot Rats is an island on its own in the vast discographic landscape of Frank Zappa, with or without the Mothers.