Okay, I figure I'll crank another review out tonight.
Album Name: Freak Out!
Artist Name: Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention
Album Date: 1966
Okay, so this is, one of my favourite albums.
It is the first album Frank Zappa commercial made, and toured for, with his original band (which he disbanded and re-made several times over his career), The Mothers of Invention.
It is the first album Frank Zappa commercial made, and toured for, with his original band (which he disbanded and re-made several times over his career), The Mothers of Invention.
The album, compared to a lot of Prog Rock, is somewhat similar to the popular musical style of the time (The Beatles, and that sort of Rock'n'Roll), so its a nice starting point for Prog Rock if you like that, it sort-of eases you into it, and then throws you in at the crazy end.
Although it does take the easier route for entry to Prog Rock, with the familiar styling's, it was still revolutionary. It didn't talk about any debatable lyrics, it had Frank's traditional style of lyrics, that leave you wondering why the hell you just listened to a song about someone being a rock and screaming for help. However, some tracks, contain a social commentary on the US of
the time to some degree, which is always nice.
The album contains a wide variety of instruments, with the traditional Zappa solo's that absolutely amaze and astound, not very dominant here, although still present. It contains brass parts, Kazoo's, Piano, tradional Bass Drums, Guitar and Vocals (from several vocalists in each song usually).
The strangest track on the album, by far, is It Can't Happen Here, which consists of the entire band speaking for most of it, to a slight melody which is created by the band, and then has a short instrumental break, before returning to the vocal styling.
Over-all, the album encompasses, to me, the origins of Prog Rock, showing how one of the, if not the, greatest composers, guitarists, and vocalists of the 20th+21st centuries started. It has somewhat simplistic lyrics, often simply concerning love, but presented in the traditional "What the hell???" Zappa style, and it will always hold a place in my playlists.
10/10
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