#us experimental

Naujawanan Baidar "Naujawanan Baidar"2020 double LP & CD Afghan - USA Heavy Psych,Experimental,Folk Rock,Political,Middle East,World Music (Compilation with the first two Cassettes releases,Volume 1, from 2018 & Volume 2, from 2019)

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Experimental Afghan-American project formed in the desert of Arizona but now based in Eindhoven, Netherlands. Naujawanan Baidar combines traditional 1960s-1980s Afghan and Pashtun music with layers of noise-rock, psychedelia, and cassette tape manipulation/collage.....~

This compilation includes both of the first two Naujawanan Baidar releases, Volume 1 and Volume 2, remastered by Chris Hardman and spread across two records housed in a beautiful gatefold sleeve featuring new artwork by N.R. Safi. "Dense webs of crunchy distortion, brazen in-the-red mixing, and tape decay all wrap each tune in an alluring cloud of smoke. [...] Such hermetic sonics can induce claustrophobia, but they’re also exhilarating, a synthesis of old and new that forms its own kaleidoscopic ecosystem." - Pitchfork "This music lands you in an interstitial space where rationality seems to shape-shift and melt into something that could be construed as spiritual by those who wish to see it that way." - Fragmented Flaneur....~

Tracklist

Radio Introduction 0:19 Asir-e Jangi 3:40 Chaikhana Transistor 3:13 Khyber Sound (From Kabul To Peshawar In Fullmoon) 4:58 Mohajerin 4:49 Blood Can't Clean Blood 5:17 Aftab Zadagi/Signal Disintegration 9:23 Midnight Procession 1:29 Peshak-e Siyah 4:02 Radio Interference 0:34 Zanjeer 3:02 Symmetry of Knives 7:28 Shakl-e Barqi/Aftab Zadagi (Slight Return) 3:45 Nagin Saaz 3:13 Panj Ruz Pesh 8:20

نوجوانان بیدار  Naujawanan Baidar "Khedmat Be Khalq " 2022  Afghan - USA Heavy Psych,Experimental,Folk Rock,Political,Middle East,World Music

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2023/12/naujawanan-baidar-khedmat-be-khalq-2022.html?view=magazine

Naujawanan Baidar "Naujawanan Baidar"2020 double LP & CD Afghan - USA Heavy Psych,Experimental,Folk Rock,Political,Middle East,World Music (Compilation with the first two Cassettes releases,Volume 1, from 2018 & Volume 2, from 2019)

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2023/12/naujawanan-baidar-naujawanan-baidar2020.html?view=magazine

Alan Watts "This Is IT" 1962 US / UK Spoken Word,Experimental,Free Improvisation,Avant Folk (the first psychedelic LP)

Psychedelic music began with the tiniest possible bang: a minuscule pressing of a self-produced LP by Zen Buddhist scholar Alan Watts. In one cosmic flash of inspiration and group improvisation, the next two decades of musical innovation was pre-supposed: psychedelic rock, spiritual jazz, and even new age. As this micro pressing barely made it out of the ashram, it was Watts’ writings that actually spread his ideas, usually through osmosis: he was profoundly influential on the beat poets and the subsequent counter-culture. He became the forebear of the 1960s counterculture's spirituality, much as William Burroughs was the forebear of its hedonism. Released in 1962, This Is It is an imaginative cacophony of percussion, non-verbal chanting, and free-flowing expression, punctuated occasionally by leisurely passes at a terrestrial piano, marimba, or french horn. It is at once experimental, intellectual, and experiential. Three years before Ken Kesey's inaugural Acid Test, This Is It constitutes the first transmission for a tuned-in counterculture of hippies, beats, and psychedelic revolutionaries of all stripes....~ The record is not easy to describe, and much in line with its theme it remains an aural experience impossible to analyse in a structured way. A key word to suggest its nature might be tribal. Referred to on the back cover as a “spontaneous musical happening”, its relationship with the LSD testimonies in “The Joyous Cosmology” is made clear by explicit mention and extensive quotes from this book.A passage in “The Joyous Cosmology” that is not quoted in the LP notes but seems highly relevant is (p 92). One central conclusion Watts derived from his LSD experiences as presented in the book is the idea of life as goal-less play, which is to be understood in a wider, zen-like context. Within this framework lies the potential for insights, work and creativity. The recording of a semi-improvised music and rapping session can then take on a number of meanings; from good clean fun to a soundtrack for a deep hallucinogenic journey. While there is no direct evidence that “This Is IT” was facilitated with the aid of psychedelics, it was created at a time when Watts’ interest in such was at a peak. The real proof may be in the grooves, and most people who hear it are likely to infer that it’s the outcome of an actual LSD session. It certainly sounds like it. The LP begins with “an explosive dialogue” wherein Watts and associate Roger Somers rap and ramble over a crude piano and percussion backdrop; an extraordinary intensity rapidly builds and culminates in voices screaming and chanting “loveyouloveyouloveyou”, abrutply cut off with a state of the art (for 1962) psychedelic echo effect. It’s too tribal to be avantgarde art, too crude to be free jazz, too freaky to be rock'n'roll - it just is “IT”, and that’s all you can say about IT. We are then greeted by Watts’ delightful voice introducing the “Onion Chant”. The confident mid-Atlantic lecturer tone that was such a hit with Bay Area radio listeners briefly recaps a theme from the acid visions of “The Joyous Cosmology”, namely that the spiritual student finds himself in an infinite regress of self-realization, where he steps out of his phony egos over and over, like peeling the skin of an onion, until he reaches a point wherein there is almost nothing “genuine” left – and the subsequent realization isn’t moksha, but rather the insight that one is a fake. “He is artifice and insincerity, through and through and through…”. This rather harsh message of liberation gives way to an extraordinary uptempo chant with conga drums supporting Watts’ seemingly ad libbed trip into an aboriginal tribesman past. You can pick up the word “LSD” early in the chant, but this may be coincidental. Watts was, among many other things, a great admirer of Japanese culture and tradition, which is echoed in the brief third track of instrumental music. This is followed by an obviously improvised “floating soliloquy” wherein Watts rambles like a true freak about whatever comes through his mind, sounding more like a Shakespeare stage actor zonked on acid than his eloquent lecturer self. “I am so strange in this… queer dark old stewpot…” is just the beginning of the trip, which leads way to some heavy metaphysical poetry about the human body and a rendezvous of friends “high in the sky like the moon”. These “Fingernail pairings”, supported by feeble avant-jazz snips, is as psychedelic as anything you’re ever likely to hear. Side 1 closes with “Umdagumsubudu”, a “controlled accident” with frantic drumming and incomprehensible chanting back and forth, exploring in full the African/Caribbean tribal voodoo feel present throughout the album. It’s spooky like an old Nonesuch field recording, except that this is a bunch of white beatnik heads aboard a Sausalito house-boat in 1962, rather than some age-old initiation rite. Uncontrolled laughter and an outburst of Watts coughing puts the listener right inside their freak scene. Another strand in the colorful ball of “This Is IT” is the influence from religious music of the ecstatic, devotional type. Some of the rants have a tongue-speaking quality, while there is a clear presence of liturgical wailing at the beginning of side 2. This is the “Metamatic Ritual”, a 14-minute “contemplative ritual mounting slowly to ecstasy”. The whole gang joins in with various percussion instruments and chanting voices half-buried in the soundscape, the total impression being very effective and enchanting. Although improvised, it seems obvious that there was a clear group-mind at play here, much like you can find on tribal acidrock albums such as Beat Of The Earth, Yahowha 13 or Furekaaben; some call-response passages also recall the Merry Pranksters recordings from 1965-66. “Metamatic Ritual” is also the track which best displays the quality of the musicians, with some excellent drum/conga interplay. “The End” naturally takes us back to the beginning, as it is partly the same track that opened the LP. There is some atmospheric, low-key wailing from Watts and Roger Somers, before the craziness creeps back in, with eerie piano excursions, percussion and incomprehensible ramblings in invented languages; an excellent use of stereo is demonstrated with the chanting voices taking up one channel each (side 1 is mono). “This Is IT” is an extraordinary album on every level; it must be taken into account in any serious chronicle of psychedelia. Even in 2003 the album appears highly advanced and challenging, its intensity certain to surprise those expecting some bongo-beating beatniks mumbling about nirvana. Timelessness, courage and a sense of absolute freedom makes it a truly essential experience. The fact that it was created by one of the portal figures of the mid-century’s spiritual revolution is just one aspect of its importance and appeal.......by Patrick Lundborg...~ Contrary to what one might read, psychedelia didn’t begin in 1966, and it wasn’t invented by the Beatles or Timothy Leary. Psychedelic research and psychedelic culture had already existed for decades, unknown to most except an esoteric jet-set of researchers, artists and philosophers travelling along the London - Boston/N Y - California axis. The atmosphere could be described as academic-bohemian, incarnated in a few super-educated anglosaxons such as Gerald Heard and Aldous Huxley. These men had the intellectual resources to incorporate the mescaline and LSD experience into their already vast knowledge of Western and Eastern thought, and rather than jolting them out of their tracks it gave them concrete evidence and renewed energy. Expatriate Englishman Alan Watts was already famous in California as an eloquent lecturer and freewheeling thinker when he joined this aristocratic gang of quiet revolutionaries, many of which he knew from Oxbridge/Ivy League circles. Still, he wasn’t quite like them; he was from a younger generation (born 1915) and in touch with the beat generation and its representatives. He wasn’t a “rock'n'roller” but did belong to a post-WWII mindset, while many of his colleagues came out of an earlier T S Eliot/Bloomsbury Group world, with its remnants of classicism and snobbery. When Watts decided to carry the acid torch for a few years this marked an important event for psychedelia, as he was able to bridge vastly different worlds; Oxford and North Beach, London and San Francisco. Allen Ginsberg did a similar effort, coming from the beat camp, and their combined efforts paved way for the merger of psychedelia and pop-culture in the mid-1960s. Alan Watts’ key psychedelic work is the slim volume “The Joyous Cosmology” (see details here), published in 1962. Essentially an extension and variation on Aldous Huxley’s “Doors Of Perception” it is a tremendous reading experience, more concrete and direct than Huxley’s famous work. Both are building blocks in the psychedelic canon. Much less known is the LP Alan Watts recorded and released the same year. Titled “This Is IT” the album is in fact missing from all Watts bibliographies I’ve seen, and it ranks as one of his rarest works. The record’s importance and uniqueness is only now beginning to see recognition, and its earliest advocates were esoteric record collectors rather than Watts admirers or psychedelic archivists. Its rarity is somewhat puzzling as Watts had recorded and released two albums in the same series and on the same label (MEA) in 1958-59, and these aren’t half as obscure....~ In my high school creative-writing class, one day a week was set aside for reading, our choice of material. The hippieish teacher guided those choices, but almost anything worked. It was here, because of her, that I first encountered Alan Watts, specifically his essay collection This Is It. All I remember about the book itself is my teacher dreamily commenting on the title. I picked up a copy because it was short, and because the subtitle—and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience—spoke to me. The idea seemed “cool”—Watts was a forerunner of the counterculture movement—but I must have been too busy with the eternity of high school to focus my attention. I was in college when I was in a car accident that tore a nerve in my shoulder. A botched surgery to repair it severed an artery and released a blood clot that, a week later, caused a massive stroke that left me locked inside my body. I couldn’t move or speak, and the doctors said I would be paralyzed from the eyes down for the rest of my life. Something happened to me in the hospital those first days after the stroke—a sudden unexpected clarity and lightness that occurred in what I later described, in my book, Will & I, as “a liberating flash.” In a geologic instant, my borders fell away to where there was no longer anything—my skin, other surfaces, the distance between them—separating me from everything else. Despite my physical state, it felt like I’d bloomed. Eventually, I gained some movement, and after a year of rehab I returned to college and graduated a few years later. I took a fiction-writing class when I went back to school and decided to turn my experience into a story. I would write a novel about it. I wanted to fictionalize all that had happened to me because it seemed like the only way to understand the sense of unity I continued to feel after leaving the hospital, a sense of wholeness that good fiction also possesses and that I couldn’t account for otherwise. Because of my altered body and weak voice, my last years at college were for the most part miserable, but the sense of being at the center of a living world made me care a little less. But all I found myself writing down was an account of the facts.In my high school creative-writing class, one day a week was set aside for reading, our choice of material. The hippieish teacher guided those choices, but almost anything worked. It was here, because of her, that I first encountered Alan Watts, specifically his essay collection This Is It. All I remember about the book itself is my teacher dreamily commenting on the title. I picked up a copy because it was short, and because the subtitle—and Other Essays on Zen and Spiritual Experience—spoke to me. The idea seemed “cool”—Watts was a forerunner of the counterculture movement—but I must have been too busy with the eternity of high school to focus my attention. I was in college when I was in a car accident that tore a nerve in my shoulder. A botched surgery to repair it severed an artery and released a blood clot that, a week later, caused a massive stroke that left me locked inside my body. I couldn’t move or speak, and the doctors said I would be paralyzed from the eyes down for the rest of my life. Something happened to me in the hospital those first days after the stroke—a sudden unexpected clarity and lightness that occurred in what I later described, in my book, Will & I, as “a liberating flash.” In a geologic instant, my borders fell away to where there was no longer anything—my skin, other surfaces, the distance between them—separating me from everything else. Despite my physical state, it felt like I’d bloomed. Eventually, I gained some movement, and after a year of rehab I returned to college and graduated a few years later. I took a fiction-writing class when I went back to school and decided to turn my experience into a story. I would write a novel about it. I wanted to fictionalize all that had happened to me because it seemed like the only way to understand the sense of unity I continued to feel after leaving the hospital, a sense of wholeness that good fiction also possesses and that I couldn’t account for otherwise. Because of my altered body and weak voice, my last years at college were for the most part miserable, but the sense of being at the center of a living world made me care a little less. But all I found myself writing down was an account of the facts. A few years later, I went to lunch with a childhood friend visiting Alabama from D.C. He began talking about an Alan Watts book, said it was the best thing he’d read in a while, and I recalled the author’s name. At the time, I was living in the lake cabin our family rented a couple of hours south of Birmingham, and when I got back, I decided to give This Is It another try. The title essay is about a spiritual but concrete experience that Watts calls “cosmic consciousness,” something that has happened in varying degrees to people since the beginning of time. It’s basically a “vivid and overwhelming certainty that the universe, precisely as it is at this moment, as a whole and in every one of its parts, is so completely right as to need no explanation or justification beyond what it simply is … The experience has a tendency to arise in situations of total extremity or despair, when the individual finds himself without any alternative but to surrender himself entirely.” I felt an actual tingling in my spine when I read that and immediately recognized it as what had happened to me in the hospital. Watt’s first experience with cosmic consciousness occurred right after he’d begun to study Indian and Chinese philosophy, in which meditation is a key practice. He was trying to get in what he thought was the right frame of mind to meditate in, but he couldn’t do it. “In sheer disgust” he decided to reject all frames of mind. “In the force of throwing them away,” he writes, “it seemed I threw myself away as well … and ‘the problem of life’ simply ceased to exist.” Watts also gives an account of another experience, which he prefaces by describing a fever dream he had when he was eight years old. In the dream, Watts was attached facedown to a steel ball spinning about the earth. He knew with complete certainty he was doomed to spin in this whirl forever, and realizing he had no control, he gave up. “But the moment when I surrendered, the ball seemed to strike against a mountain and disintegrate, and the next thing I knew was that I was sitting on a stretch of warm sand.” Release in extremity, he explains, lies through and not away from a problem. In retrospect, I had also surrendered entirely (though I couldn’t have said this at the time). The “sense of intense relief, freedom, and lightness” that Watts goes on to describe is what I think allowed me to begin moving again. Then it was like someone patting a loose pile of playing cards into a neat deck. I finally had words for an experience I had thought was ineffable, and I’d found the hinge around which everything else in my book revolves....~ With an album cover that looks like its made with the included graphic design software on your brand new Windows 98 PC, Alan shows us all how to empty rooms as well emptying the after-life with some truly horrible,but hilarious primal screaming,ecstatic chanting, and general middle class tomfoolery that would send your soul banging their ghostly fists and screaming to be let in at the gates of Hell.Only to be informed that they were already there,and were victims of all that christian,Islamic,Jewish and Buddhist propaganda.The punchline being that the former underworld of eternal punishment was in fact the best place to be post-mortem.In other words This was NOT....IT! Listening to the opening 'spontaneous musical happening', as Alan calls it, was indeed an experience of great joy on my part.So much so that i simply had to play it again.Hearing university drop outs, expunge all that middle class Caucasian guilt by speaking,or in this case shouting, in tongues to a tabla backbeat, is enough to make one trot along joyously to the nearest new age happening at the local community centre.As well as screaming like a lobotomized buffoon,you can keep one eye open watching your fellow inductees gurning and idiot dancing to a CD of indian percussion.Stifling the wrong kind of laughter.....that is unless they're watching you with one knowing eye open too of course.Which is better,because then you can go down the pub together afterwards and have another laugh.See you next week John?...er...yeah? No spring chicken in the sixties,Alan Watts (RIP) sported a distinguished Guru look,that proved very successful with the ladies...so I am Told....but not surprised.This blog is full of tiresomely similar stories. I may start a cult....it's an earner,no work involved, and you get laid.....,no strings! What's not to like....oh yeah, the fucking awful music! I have a trustafarian Belgian friend, who was the victim of some pretty horrific sexual abuse as a child,and he has tried everything new age that has been invented, or will be invented.He's done Ecstatic Dancing, Primal Scream,re-birthing, and south american 'shrooms;his favourite being the very popular fuck-up magnet,the 'Ayahuasca' experience. Suffice to say that all this has helped the flashbacks not one iota ,yet neither has conventional Psychiatry either,so the logical conclusion is to do neither but use the time honoured, and very unfashionable, male method of 'Not Talking About It'. Build a compartment in your mind ,put all the fucking rubbish in there and throw away the triggers. So my answer to your mental torture is simply to compartmentalize,while playing idiotic proto-hippie nonsense like anything by Alan Watts,and cheer up for fuck's sake! You only live once....and its very short. There was a box set called "The Essential Alan Watts",released after his migration to eternal paradise in 1973. I think the word 'Essential' is some-watt un-essential in this context? The other best track on here is "The End" by the way......~ Psychedelic music all began with the tiniest possible bang: a minuscule pressing of a self-produced LP by Zen Buddhist scholar Alan Watts. In one cosmic flash of inspiration and group improvisation, the next two decades of musical innovation was pre-supposed: psychedelic rock, spiritual jazz, and even new age. As this micro pressing barely made it out of the ashram, it was his writings that actually spread his ideas, usually through osmosis: he was profoundly influential on the beat poets and the subsequent counter-culture. He became the forebear of '60s counter-culture's spirituality, much as William Burroughs was the forebear of its hedonism. Released in 1962, This Is It is an imaginative cacophony of percussion, non-verbal chanting, and free-flowing expression, punctuated occasionally by leisurely passes at a terrestrial piano, marimba, or french horn. It is at once, experimental, intellectual, and experiential. Three years before Ken Kesey's inaugural Acid Test, This Is It constitutes the first transmission for a tuned-in counterculture of hippies, beats, and psychedelic revolutionaries of all stripes. - Numero....~ Its near-essential to understand the background of this record before attempting to assess it - alan watts and his personal spirituality. watts channeled the goghian fascination with the foreign and a yearning for percieved simpler, more in-touch-with-nature eastern cultures into the 20th century with a heavily buddhist and taoist-influenced worldview, subsequently amalgamating this with well-versed knowledge of western esotericism and an academic background. (he was also an alcoholic) with this in mind, especially if you are more susceptible to the influence of occult fetishism and possess your own idiosyncratic weird philosophies, this record takes on a new width. this being said is the reason i hold this record so subjectively close. innovation aside, while this certainly does hold innovation for 1962, the shell shock would come more from a, at the risk of sounding pretentious, view of art in a more "modern, "western"" standard - it may be one of the first catalogued free improvisation releases on the site, but watts is not making (probably not attempting to, at least) a fierce and new, transgressive statement for music - he is adapting pieces of already existing cultures (improvisation in music in this manner with this ethos has existed as long as music has existed, particularly as heard through cultures influencing the tribal aesthetic adopted by watts here) and reconfiguring them into his own artistic syncreticism. nonetheless, as far as the experimentalism of the music itself goes, if i were alive in the 1960s i would certainly be more traditional-minded, seeing as i would be an american living in a small southern town who was not raised by the internet, and finding this in a random record store would expand my mind the same way i first heard this several years ago while stoned out of my mind. alan watts perfectly calls on his inner beast. like a weeaboo keiji haino, he releases stream-of-consciousness raw human nature into loosely-formed sequences of primal scream therapy, tape collage fuckery, and traditional folk instruments used madly in the manner of a physical englishman who is psychologically an aghori shaman. this record has its own breath. no regard for meticulous restraint or careful procedure, watts wants you to reach deep into your subconscious with him. if youre willing enough, you might just enter the astral plane and see white light seperated from black. dont think; feel. embrace your shadow.....bitcoin.....~ Yes, this is that Alan Watts--the British philosopher who acted as an ambassador for Buddhism in 20th century western culture. It's worth understanding a little bit about his ideas and Buddhism in general before listening. He's not a musician and this is very clearly free improvisation. The Ya Ho Wa 13 records are a good comparison and it sounds eerily like the freak folk movement 40 years early. It presents this crucial shift toward intuitive music that would become the crux of psychedelia over the course of the decade. Is it good? It's liberated....echandl2.....~ It deserves credit for being ahead of it's time. It anticipated the occult influences of Coil and ritual ambient at a time when these kinds of topics where much more taboo, and it was apparently one of the first real LSD-influenced records, a good five years or so before psychedelia really blew up in the late 60s. But the fact is most of the first half of the record is rather boring vacuous experimentation that would be completely unremarkable if not for the release date. It's kind of like a much less hardcore, budget version of Cromagnon. But the second half of the record feels much more listenable and coherent, while remaining avant-garde and ahead of its time. It actually suceeds in conveying a real ritualistic atmosphere, which is what the first half should've managed to accomplish.....demonikneumonic.....~

Alan Watts was a British proponent of Eastern religions, and not so much of a musician. He nevertheless managed to release a few albums of tripped out instrumentals and spoken word to try and increase awareness of Eastern traditions. This one is a pretty abstract affair of throat singing, chants, drones, and percussion. Only with Watts spaced out spoken words does the music peak out of the transcendental aether. Like some of Sun Ra's work from the early 60's, this music is true psychedelia years before popular music began to explore similar avenues. Unfortunately, some of this album also shares the questionable recording quality of some of Sun Ra's recordings. Still, it's perfectly listenable and a fine soundtrack for your backroom opium den. The best place to start with this album is probably with the shorter tracks featuring spoken word. "Onion Chant" and "Fingernail Poem" both feature Watts' Eastern-tinged poetry. The former matches Watts with some percussion and fierce chanting while the latter includes some abstract jazz piano playing. Once you've acclimatized, take a plunge into the long-form freak-outs of the last three tracks. I've got a soft spot for "Metamatic Ritual," but the creepy laughing in "Umdagumsubudu" and speaking in tongues in "The End" is worth hearing if you're up for wild chanting. The end of "The End" kind of frightens me. Although this music doesn't really fit into the realm of rock, the sounds are about as psychedelic as you're going to find. The crazed percussion definitely makes me thing of some of the stuff that Sun Ra was doing around the same time, but the manic chants, Eastern instrumentation, and Watts' poetry help to distinguish this as a wholly unique album...~ Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) Early Years Alan Watts was born in London in January of 1915 at the start of the first World War. At a young age he became fascinated with the arts of the Far East, and by the time he was ten or eleven he began to read thriller stories by Sax Rohmer about about mysterious Oriental villains. This interest led him in turn to the works of Lafcadio Hern, Christmas Humphreys, and DT Suzuki, and by fourteen was writing on Eastern themes, and was published in the Journal of the London Buddhist Lodge before producing his first booklet on Zen in 1932. He moved to New York in 1938 and then to Chicago where he served as an Episcopal priest for six years before leaving the Church. In 1950 he moved to upstate New York, and in late 1950 visited with Joseph Campbell and, composer John Cage, and Luisa Commaraswamy at his Millbrook farmhouse. Then in 1951 at the invitation of Frederic Spiegelberg he moved to San Francisco to teach at the Academy of Asian Studies. Worldview Alan Watts was profoundly influenced by the East Indian philosophies of Vedanta and Buddhism, and by Taoist thought, which is reflected in Zen poetry and the arts of China and Japan. After leaving the Church he never became a member of another organized religion, although he wrote and spoke extensively about Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, and Taoisim. Some American Buddhists criticized him for not sitting regularly in zazen, even though he recorded several guided meditations teaching a variety of mediation techniques. Alan Watts responded simply by saying: “A cat sits until it is done sitting, and then gets up, stretches, and walks away.” 1950′s and early ’60′s After teaching at the Academy of Asian Studies in San Francisco he became Dean, and began to give regular radio talks on KPFA, the Berkeley free radio station. In 1957 he published his bestselling Way of Zen, and in 1958 returned to Europe where he met with CG Jung. He was an early subject in pioneering psychedelic trials, and after recording two seasons of the public television series “Eastern Wisdom and Modern Life” traveled to Japan several times in the early sixties. By the late sixties he had become a counter culture celebrity, and traveled widely to speak at universities and growth centers across the US and Europe. Later Years By the early seventies Alan Watts had become a foremost interpreter of Eastern thought for the West, and was widely published in periodicals including Earth, Elle, Playboy, and Redbook. He appeared on CBS television’s Camera Three in 1969, and in 1971 he recorded a pilot for a new show titled “A Conversation with Myself” for NET, the precursor to PBS. When the series was not produced he recorded the shows in 1972 with his son Mark and his long-time audio archivist Henry Jacobs. Overall Alan Watts developed an extensive audio library of nearly 400 talks and wrote more than 25 books during his lifetime, including his final volume, Tao; the Watercourse Way. Alan died in his sleep in November of 1973 after returning from an intensive international lecture tour....Alexandros Maragos....~

Credits

Congas – Leah Ananda Drums, Voice [Chanting] – Roger Somers Marimba [Bass], Performer [Lujon] – William Loughborough* Piano, French Horn – Henry Jacobs Vocals [Falsetto], Voice [Evocations] – Joel Andrews Voice [Incantations] – Alan Watts Tracklist: Side 1 1. Love You 2. Onion Giant 3. Gagaku-ku 4. Fingernail Poem 5. Umdagumsubudu Side 2 6. Metamatic Ritual 7. The End

Alan Watts "This Is IT" 1962 US / UK Spoken Word,Experimental,Free Improvisation,Avant Folk (the first psychedelic LP)

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2022/12/alan-watts-this-is-it-1962-uk-us-spoken.html

GTO's "Permanent Damage" 1969 US Psych Pop Rock,Avante Garde,Experimental,Spoken Word (produced by Frank Zappa &  featuring uncredited performances by Jeff Beck,Ry Cooder,Nicky Hopkins, Lowell George,Rod Stewart  & members of the Faces and The Mothers)

I'm 64 years old, had heard about this girl group decades ago, was very curious about them, and finally bought their only CD from 1969 from Amazon and I received it a day or two ago and got a big bang out of it. The one I got is an import made in England and I gave it five stars because I enjoy offbeat, eccentric music by artists like Ivor Cutler, Lol Coxhill, White Noise, Frank Zappa, Captain Beefheart, and many others in addition to mainstream music. Only two members of the GTO's are still living and the other members died of drug overdoses, AIDS, and cancer. There is a lot of fascinating info on this group on internet, plus on the Alice Cooper documentary Super Duper Alice Cooper there is info on them too when Alice Cooper met the GTO's in 1968 when they moved to Los Angeles from Phoenix and met Frank Zappa and the GTO's who helped start the music career of Alice Cooper. All of this CD is weird songs, spoken word, and other peculiar stuff that is highly entertaining. I read on internet recently that one month after this recording came out fifty years ago when I was 14 the GTO's were arrested for drug possession. I LOVE THIS CD and listened to it for first time a day or two ago. This is hilarious bizarre insanity that you may get a big bang out of too. There will NEVER be another group like the GTO's again and this is unique history from 1969.... Mark R England....~ Frank Zappa had a keen eye for wierd, stupid, esoteric music. Besides Capt. Beefhart and Larry Wildman Fischer, Frank found the GTO's. A so-called girl-group (in which all members are most probably dead by now). I haven't heard the whole cd but I did get to hear 3 or 4 songs. And I think these babes (if, in fact, they were babes)had a really cool 60s/70s hippie/stoner sound, laced with a little bit of ... action. Anybody who enjoys the wierd psychedelic-type of music that overwhelmed underground FM during this time will most assuredly appreciate the GTOs and what they stood for. And if any of the GTOs are still around, feel free to email me. You people kicked [something]!... R.M.K....~ Human nature being what it is, there's a tendency to gloss over the bad things and try to focus on the good ... How often have we all heard people refer to the 'good old days'. Chances are they really weren't that good. The same is true with art and music. With the benefit of hindsight, some folks seem to think everything recorded in the 1960s was wonderful. I beg to differ and as evidence I'd like to present the sole album recorded by The GTO's (Girls Together Outrageously)". For anyone interested, Miss Pamela's written a number of books that discuss the GTO's and her life as a 1960s groupie. For anyone interested she usually has a couple of signed copies available on eBay. There's also a ton of online information to be found about the group so I'm just going to hit the highlights. The late 1960s found Christine Frka (aka Miss Christine), Judith Edra Peters (aka Miss Mercy), Pamela Ann Miller (aka Miss Pamela), Linda Sue Parker (aka Miss Sparky), and Sandra Lynn Rowe (aka Miss Sandra) living and working in Hollywood. Frka briefly served as a nanny to Frank Zappa's two older children (her startling image graces the cover of Zappa's 1969 album "Hot Rats"). She was replaced as nanny by Miller. Together with Parker, Peters and Rowe the group decided to try their luck at the arts, forming The Laurel Canyon Ballet Company they dabbled in a mixture of dance, singing, and theatrics. With the addition of Cynthia Wells (aka Miss Cynderella), the group found a mentor and financial backer in the form of Zappa who suggested a name change resulting in The GTO's. Always on the lookout for the unusual, Zappa signed the group to his Warner Brothers associated Straight label, producing 1969's "Permanently Damage" with help from Lowell George and help from several of the Mothers of Invention. I've own quite a bit of Zappa weirdness in my collection, but have to tell you that this hodgepodge of spoken word segments=, phone snippets, and songs (I'm using the term loosely) was strange beyond description. Having listened to the album a couple of times over the years I've got to tell you that I don't have a clue what their talents were. With the possible exception of the Lowell George penned 'Do Me In Once And I'll Be Sad, Do Me In Twice And I'll Know Better (Circular Circulation)', none of the 'songs' was particular worthwhile and the spoken word segments were simply depressing. Hearing these women talk about stuffing their bras, being picked up by dirty old men, and other demeaning experiences leaves you thinking how young and naive they sounded. That said, this makes for a goofy timepiece with cameos from a big chunk of The Mothers, The Jeff Back Group, and even Monkee Davy Jones (who co-wrote two tracks). - Here's how 'The Eureka Springs Garbage Lady' is described - "This song is about a school teacher with a college degree in a small Ozark town who wanted to get it on with the local blacksmith (Harry). She was too shy to let Harry in on the idea so, in order to get a little closer to her dream goal, she became a garbage collection .. just so she could pick up Harry's trash. This is a true story according to Cinderella': One of their stabs at a true song, this underscored one of the album's fundamental problems - none of the women could sing to save their lives. Christine handled the lead vocal and the results sounded like a cat being strangled. Jeff Beck provided the guitar solo. rating: ** stars (for the Beck solo) - A spoken word segment, 'Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky discuss STUFFED BRAS and some of their early gym class experiences' pretty much said it all. rating: * star - 'Who's Jim Sox? was another brief spoken word segment. - 'Kansas and the BTO's' was described as: "Mr. Kansas was formerly road technician for The Mothers. He happened to be in the studio one night while I was working with the GTO's. I asked him to conduct this interview from the standpoint of Mr. and Mrs. Middle America." Wasn't particularly insightful, or interesting. rating: * stars - Written by the Monkees Davy Jones, 'The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes' was another stab at a song. The liner notes described it as: 'This is a song about a pair of crazed shoes Captain Beefheart wears." rating: * stars - 'Wouldn't It Be Sad If There Were No Cones?' featured Pamela and Sparky talking about African American men coming on to them - "Miss Pamela and Spark discuss the manner in which local Hollywood soul brothers make sexual advances in front of the Whiskey A Go-Go." Guess those brothers were pretty desperate if they were hitting on this collection. rating: * stars - Don't get me wrong, sung by Miss Pamela in a cloying little girl voice, 'Do Me In Once And I'll Be Sad, Do Me In Twice And I'll Know Better (Circular Circulation)' was far from a great performance. That said, Lowell George at least provided the GTO's with a decent country-rock melody (though they didn't have a clue what to do with it). Wonder what the song would have sounded like with a real singer ... rating: *** stars - 'The Moche Monster' featured Miss Pamela and Sparky talking about some of their hitch hiking experiences. Hard to imagine a young woman doing stuff like this today. rating: * star - Written by Don Preston, the brief and ominous 'T.V. Lives' was described as: "This song is nearly as absurd as the medium it describes." rating: ** stars - I'm guessing 'Rodney' was intended to showcase the girl's theatrical sides. "Rodney Bingenheimer is one of the more unique figures of contemporary social history. The GTO's have put together an unusual piece which includes the voice of Mr. Bingenheimer as he comments on the lyrics which had been written about his particular exploits. This 'song' might give you a broad view of the scene in Hollywood as it relates to the Sunset Strip's foremost make groupie." About all I can say is Bingenheimer comes off as a major pathetic figure. rating: ** stars - Another Lowell George composition, 'I Have A Paintbrush In My Hand To Color A Triangle' was at least recognizable as a song, though Miss Mercy's vocal managed to wipe out every last trace of appeal the song might have had. Another one that would have sounded pretty good with a decent singer. It was described as: "This is a song about a lovers' triangle which involves Brian Jonesm Bernardo BTO and Mercy." rating: ** stars - 'Miss Christine's First Conversation With The Plaster Casters Of Chicago' was a brief snippet of a phone conversation between Miss Christine and Cynthia Plaster Caster ... too weird. rating: * star - 'The Original GTO's' was a short harpsichord propelled segment described as "Miss Lucy and Miss Johna were the originators of the GTO.sim two years ago, In this sequence we find them inside a piano kissing each other & having a cosmic-level discussion." Can't speak for the location, but I can tell you my five year old has deeper conversations than these two airheads. rating: * star - Described as "Miss Mercy explains her personal philosophy" 'The Ghost Chained To The Past, Present, And Future (Shock Treatment)' was actually interesting for the Rod Stewart vocal. rating: *** stars - Maybe it's just me, but hearing The GTO's talk on 'Love On An Eleven Year Old Level' was plain creepy. In this day and age they'd probably be thrown in jail for attempted child abuse. "For some reason the GTO's are preoccupied by the memory of Brian Jones. In this song they discuss their mutual admiration for an 11 year old boy who happens to look like Brian Jones .. and also has a couple of things going for him." rating: * star - 'Miss Pamela's First Conversation With The Plaster Casters Of Chicago' was another snippet of phone conversation. Life was apparent very tough as a 1960s groupie with a wild crush on Noel Redding. rating: * star - 'I'm In Love With The Ooo-Ooo Man' was another Davy Jones composition with Miss Pamela responsible for the lyrics (hard to imagine she'd want to be associated with this song ...) The liner notes described it as: "In real life the ooo-ooo man is Nicky St. Nicholas from Steppenwolf. Miss Pamela sings the leas vocal in this very special song of love." Technically I guess you could call it singing. but barely. Hum, guess St. Nicholas was her first big love, but it apparently didn't work out all that well since she ended up marrying Michael Des Barres. rating: ** stars Hard to imagine, but Straight actually tapped the album for a single: - 1969's 'Circular Circulation' b/w 'Mercy's Tune' (Straight catalog number STS 104) The album attracted some publicity which allowed the group to continue working for awhile, though the set did nothing commercially. They also expanded their performing roster with the addition of Lucy Offerall (aka Miss Lucy)......Scott Blackerby...~ Discover "Permanent Damage", the only album by the a cappela girl group from Los Angeles & The Sunset Strip scene: The GTOs (Girls Together Outrageously). Produced by Frank Zappa, this psychedelic rock album was released in 1969. The group was only active for two and a half years (1968-1970). The members were connected by their association with Zappa, who encouraged their artistic endeavours despite their limited vocal skills. The group performed live “only 4 or 5 times”, although they created a strong impression at their December 1968 performance at the Shrine Auditorium opening for The Mothers of Invention, Alice Cooper and Wild Man Fischer. A mix of theatrics, singing, dancing, wild costumes, and unusual lyrical content were staples of their act. Their only album, Permanent Damage, (Straight Records) was produced in 1969 by Zappa with the assistance of Lowell George and Russ Titelman (tracks 7 and 11). The latter track also features Titelman's brother-in-law, guitarist Ry Cooder, both of whom appear on Captain Beefheart's Safe As Milk album. Track 5 "The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes" is a GTO comment on Beefheart's taste in footwear (his cousin Victor Hayden had introduced him to Pamela Des Barres). The songs are mixed in with conversations between the members of the group, friends, and others, including Cynthia Plaster Caster and Rodney Bingenheimer. The album features songwriting contributions from Lowell George, Jeff Beck and Davy Jones. A young Rod Stewart (Jeff Beck's singer at the time) pops up on track 14.....~ This 17-track aural document is arguably more sociological than musical in nature. Frank Zappa's insatiable curiosity into human behavior -- especially with regard to all manner of sexual deviance and the so-called "lunatic fringe" -- became the subject of several releases on his ironically titled Straight Records vanity label. However, Permanent Damage (1969) is additionally unique for including an interesting aggregate of late-'60s musical talent, ranging from Monkee Davy Jones to Lowell George. The moniker G.T.O.'s stands for "Girls Together Outrageously," which describes the ragtag group whose stated primary directive was to bed as many pop and rock stars as they possibly could. Such is the subject matter of the vast majority of both the spoken word and musical numbers on the album. As is the case with most Zappa-related projects, the results vacillate wildly between the ridiculous "Miss Christine's First Conversation With the Plaster Casters of Chicago" and "Miss Pamela's First Conversation With the Plaster Casters of Chicago" to the comparatively sublime "Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes," a tribute to Captain Beefheart's odd choice of footwear. Concurrent Mothers of Invention keyboardist Don Preston also contributes a darkly beautiful musical arrangement on "TV Lives." Additionally, there are a few non-musical inclusions, such as "Wouldn't It Be Sad if There Were No Cones?" and "Moche Monster," both of which provide a unique, if not somewhat inspired, perspective into the young ladies' social interactions. While a majority of the G.T.O.'s garnered no further significant successes, the most infamous member to have come through the ranks is Miss Pamela (aka Pamela des Barres), whose tell-all novel I'm With the Band (1987) was an international bestseller.....by Lindsay Planer.....~ Before approaching this odd collection of spoken word & off-key singing I cannot recommend enough that listeners first read I'm With The Band, the tell-all book written by Pamela des Barres (née Miller). She became the most famous GTO for writing about her exploits as the ultimate mega-groupie mini-mama of the late 60s LA scene, being concubine to legends like Noel Redding and Jimmy Page (to name just two). Along with its revelations of rock-n-roll 'heavy petting', her book sheds a lot of light on what the GTOs were about, which is valuable context to comprehending what the hell the mess of Permanent Damage is all about. Des Barres' book describes in detail how the GTOs formed, all of them groupie chicks of the Laurel Canyon area of LA, all protegées of Frank & Gail Zappa who discovered that the girls babysitting their kids were avid diary & poetry writers. Zappa encouraged them to write material for this album & then produced it. Des Barres' book explained for me for eg: who Rodney Bingenheimer is/was; what a 'Moche Monster' and a 'Cone' is; who the "Oooo-Oooo Man" was (he was the guy des Barres lost her virginity to); and who Miss Pamela and the 'Plaster Casters' were actually talking about on the phone (ie: Noel Redding of the Jimi Hendrix Experience). Des Barres' book also explains why all the GTOs were referred to as 'Miss': it stemmed from their friendship with Tiny Tim who, with his proper manners, would always refer to each of them as 'Miss Lucy', 'Miss Christine', 'Miss Mercy', etc. Anyone listening to Permanent Damage for the first time who doesn't know this stuff may not get much out of the experience. All they may hear is a bunch of whiny, out-of-tune chicks wailing in a bad highschool musical, one which just happens to feature a few Jeff Beck solos. There's many shaky spoken word pieces sounding like quasi-smutty girl's locker room patty-cake stuff. But armed with the background story it's more intriguing, it becomes instead a mildly interesting musical & spoken document of the unique time and place that the late 60s LA groupie scene represented. The opening track "Eureka Springs Garbage Lady" is really off-putting with its gargling off-kilter 'singing'. But try to keep listening. My highlights come after, including the spoken pieces of Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky describing their butch gym teacher, sweaty socks and "the cracks of backs hitting cement floors", not to mention their slightly weird crush on eleven year-old Bart Baker. The silliness is at its funnest in the tongue-in-cheek recitation of "Wouldn't It Be Sad If There Were No Cones", and I always laugh at their descriptions of the sleazebag 'moche monsters': "there's more of those than there are sane people". Singing-wise, well it's a definite teeth-grind to do repeat listens to any of them, but "The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes" and "I'm in Love With the Oooo-Oooo Man" are standing up better than others, and the guitaring is at least a little interesting in "I Have a Paintbrush in My Hand to Colour a Triangle". That's about it though. Basically, yes, you could easily dismiss Permanent Damage as merely the gratuitous indulgences of silly groupies who happened to be lucky enough to be in the right place at the right time, knowing Frank Zappa (and that's pretty much what it is). But there's a story behind it that's worth knowing, too, so I say take it in context and then it's not too bad. Bad, yes. But not too bad....batfink...~ “OK, this album is going to be produced by Frank Zappa-” “You’ve got me interested already, who’s playing on it?” “We’ve got Jeff Beck and Ry Cooder On guitar-” “Beck and Cooder? Wow!” “Nicky Hopkins on piano-” “Nice!” “And Rod Stewart’s coming in to do some backing vocals.” “Awesome! But who’s the central artist for the project?” “Oh, you know Zappa’s babysitters Christine and Pamela?” “Uh-” “Well them and five friends who keep hanging out and shagging the members of the Alice Cooper band in Zappa’s basement. They’re in charge.” “I see.” Permanent Damage will not be too unfamiliar to those steeped in the ways of Zappa as he gathers a fairly random group of people into a studio, pushes record and releases whatever comes out the other end. It’s a rambling, dirty record focused on satirizing popular music and being lyrically transgressive. PD is half sarcastic, intentionally bad/naive songs, and half various configurations of the seven all female members chatting about lesbian gym teachers, performing questionable impersonations of black men, unusual masturbation habits and at one point offering their twelve year old sister in exchange for a meeting with Mick Jagger. There’s an uneasy ambiguity over whether this is a group of liberated women expressing themselves without censorship, or if they’re being exploited for the aural voyeurism of Zappa and friends. (One questions the album’s title given the continual lyrical focus on groupies- who is being permanently damaged and how?) But if you’re a gonzo listener who’s willing to let whatever come out of their speakers, it’s charmingly unpredictable and the GTOs have a lot of charisma, getting the listener onside through their silly, frequently tuneless singing performances and sometimes it’s quite enjoyable. The country rock of Do Me In Once And I’ll Be Sad Do Me In Twice And I’ll Know Better in particular is perversely catchy. It’s a conflicting album - a lot of it is fun, but a lot of it is also deeply uncomfortable, it being uncertain whether its flippant portrayal of sexual inequality is pointed or just flippant. As a result the free, joyous side is tainted by a grubbiness, the intentionality of which isn't clear. A messy, dubious record that works more as an interesting document of the counter-culture than as an album.....Matt_K....~ Hit and miss but above all an interesting artefact of the Laurel Canyon freak scene with a bunch of intriguingly bizarre in-jokes and references all over the lyrics and dialogue. Can they sing? No, but that doesn't stop many of the songs from being downright delightful. Come on, "The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes" sounds like a goddamn Christmas Carol! And it's about Captain Beefheart's choice of footwear! Then we have "Circular Circulation" which is one lost gem and-a-half of West Coast pop. Some of the spoken tracks could have done with trimming - though this album is still short as hell even with them, and it would indeed be sad if there were no cones.....HorseMouth.....~

The GTOs (not to be confused with the all male group who recorded for Parkway Records) were a "groupie group" that consisted of Miss Pamela (Pamela Ann Miller, later Pamela Des Barres), Miss Sparky (Linda Sue Parker), Miss Lucy (Lucy Offerall, later Lucy McLaren), Miss Christine (Christine Frka), Miss Sandra (Sandra Lynn Rowe, later Sandra Leano), Miss Mercy (Mercy Fontenot, aka Judith Edra Peters) and Miss Cynderella (Cynthia Wells, later Cynthia Cale-Binion). The group hailed from the area around Los Angeles in the late 1960s, with most of the girls being denizens of the Sunset Strip scene. Their only album, Permanent Damage, was released in 1969. Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky met while attending Cleveland High School. Miss Christine had travelled to Los Angeles from San Pedro with Miss Sandra, and both lived in the basement of Frank Zappa's log cabin in the mid-1960s. Miss Christine was the live-in nanny for Zappa's eldest two children, Dweezil and Moon Unit, before Miss Pamela took over the position during the late 1960s. Miss Mercy had emigrated from the Haight Ashbury hippie scene to LA due to "boredom", alleging she "couldn't be a hippie forever." Miss Cynderella was an addition to the group brought by Mercy after the nucleus of the group had been formed. This accounts for Cynderella's presence in some, but not all of the GTOs' publicity shots. Miss Lucy was also not an original member and joined after the recording of Permanent Damage. Originally known as "The Laurel Canyon Ballet Company," they changed their name to The GTOs on the advice of Frank Zappa, their financial supporter and producer. The new name is an acronym which, as Stanley Booth wrote, could mean "Girls Together Outrageously or Orally or anything else starting with O." The acronym has also been defined as “Girls Together Occasionally”, “Girls Together Often” and “Girls Together Only”. Miss Lucy stated in a filmed interview that the latter name is what it stood for. The members were connected by their association with Zappa, a complex musician who encouraged their artistic endeavors, despite their limited vocal skills. Performances by the group were infrequent, although they created a strong impression at their 1968 performance at the Shrine Auditorium. A mix of theatrics, singing, and dance were staples of their act. Their only album, Permanent Damage, (Straight Records) was produced in 1969 by Frank Zappa with the assistance of Lowell George and Russ Titelman (tracks 7 and 11). The latter track also features Titelman's brother-in-law, guitarist Ry Cooder, both of whom appear on Captain Beefheart's Safe As Milk album. Track 5 "The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes" is a GTO comment on Beefheart's taste in footwear (his cousin Victor Hayden had also effected Beefheart's introduction to Pamela Des Barres). The songs are mixed in with conversations between the members of the group, friends, and others, including Cynthia Plaster Caster and Rodney Bingenheimer. The album features songwriting contributions from Lowell George, Jeff Beck and Davy Jones. A young Rod Stewart also pops up on the vocals of one track. Permanent Damage was re-issued on CD in 1989 by Enigma Retro. Miss Pamela (born September 9, 1948) is the most famous and commercially successful of the GTO's. Prior to joining the group, she had been a member of Vito Paulekis' dancing troupe. Des Barres is the author of three memoirs, the first, I'm With The Band (1987), is based primarily on a diary she secretly kept from her high school years all the way through her marriage, due in part to the encouragement she received from her group's future producer, Frank Zappa. The book spent several weeks in the US top ten best sellers list. The books contains different perspectives on the author's life during the 1960s and, in particular, the groupie scene - a scene which Des Barres defends in her 2007 book, Let's Spend the Night Together, a collection of interviews with fellow rock groupies. Miss Pamela married British actor/musician Michael Des Barres (he would eventually take the place of singer Robert Palmer in the 1980s rock band The Power Station). Together they have a son, Nicholas Des Barres, who is now an editor for a video game magazine in Tokyo, Japan, where he currently resides. Miss Mercy (born February 15, 1949) was born in Burbank, California. She has been referred to by Miss Pamela as "the human facsimile". Having moved to Florida with her parents and older sister at an early age, the family eventually settled in San Mateo, California. Then, in 1964 (when she was 15), she dropped out of high school and told her parents she was ready to become legally independent. Despite their disapproval, she filed for emancipation, becoming a ward of the court within a couple of weeks. Miss Mercy went to live with a group of friends in the Haight-Ashbury district of San Francisco, California. Some of their neighbors included members of the Grateful Dead, Janis Joplin, and a young Charles Manson. Eventually, Miss Mercy and Miss Pamela heard that Los Angeles was the mecca for meeting entertainers and especially rock & roll musicians. In addition, Miss Pamela wanted to pursue her acting career in Hollywood, and in early 1969, they moved south, immersing themselves into the local scene. Then, one of Miss Pamela's childhood friends, Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart), took the girls to a large castle-like compound in Laurel Canyon where they were introduced to musician Frank Zappa. Soon after the breakup of the GTO's she became romantically involved with blues guitar prodigy Shuggie Otis, the son of rhythm & blues pioneer Johnny Otis. They married and had a son, Lucky Otis, who became a world-renowned multi-instrumentalist / musician in the likeness of his father and grandfather. A few years later, Miss Mercy and Shuggie divorced. For the next 15 to 20 years she moved around northern and southern California, living a life of heavy drug use and sporadic public appearances. Miss Mercy remarried in 1991 and in 2000 divorced her second husband and quit all hard drugs and cigarettes. She has been clean and sober ever since. Miss Mercy currently resides in downtown Los Angeles and works for a thrift store in Hollywood. A chapter of "I'm With the Band", entitled "Miss Mercy's Blues", is an account of her life. She has worked for five decades in magazines, books, radio and television, and contributing to award-winning feature-length documentaries. She had a ten-minute segment dedicated to her life in the cult hit The Mayor Of Sunset Strip starring alternative rock pioneer KROQ disc jockey Rodney Bingenheimer, who is a close longtime friend of the GTO's. Miss Mercy and Miss Pamela remain close friends. As of 2011, Miss Mercy is working closely with an author / biographer to help document her life. Miss Cynderella married John Cale of Velvet Underground in 1971, but the marriage was rocky. Cale's song "Guts" opens with the line, "The bugger in the short sleeves fucked my wife" (referring to Kevin Ayers' sleeping with Miss Cindy in 1974). They divorced in 1975. Miss Cynderella died on February 19, 1997, in Palm Desert, California; however, her death was not widely reported until 2007, when Pamela Des Barres mentioned it in her book Let's Spend the Night Together (where she inadvertently listed the wrong death year). Miss Christine appeared on the front cover of Frank Zappa's 1969 album Hot Rats. She is shown halfway through emerging from an empty swimming pool on the infamous Errol Flynn estates in the Hollywood Hills. She also dated rock and roll singer Alice Cooper, as well as Todd Rundgren from Utopia fame and a member of the Flying Burrito Brothers. Miss Christine died on November 5, 1972, of a heroin overdose in a house in Cohasset, Massachusetts, which at the time was being rented out by musician Jonathan Richman and his original group, The Modern Lovers. Her death occurred shortly after she had spent nearly a year in a full body cast to correct a crooked spine. Miss Lucy appeared in Frank Zappa's underground film 200 Motels. in which she had a moderately sized role in portraying a promiscuous groupie. She was married to the late Gordon McLaren (bassist for the New York City group called, coincidentally, The Groupies from 1975 to 1981), with whom she had a son, Coleman. Years later, she was impregnated by a close friend and bore another son named Dallas, only to find that she had contracted AIDS, still a fairly new and little-known disease for that time. Miss Lucy died in 1991. Dallas died at the age of ten, having been born with ARC (opportunistic diseases related to AIDS virus), in 1991 of complications from AIDS. Miss Sandra was in the group only a short while before becoming pregnant by Frank Zappa's official artist-in-residence, Cal Schenkel, with whom she had a daughter named Raven. She soon moved back to her hometown of San Pedro, California with the infant Raven, and after the GTO's breakup she met and married Bradley Harris. They had three children. Miss Sandra died in Albion, California of cancer on April 23, 1991. Miss Sparky recorded a vocal track (credited under the pseudonym "Sharkie Barker") on the song "Disco Boy" on Frank Zappa's album Zoot Allures (1976), and was once employed by the Walt Disney Corporation.....~

  line up 1 - Miss Christine (aka Christine Frka) (RIP 1972 -- - Miss Mercy (aka Mercy Fontentot, aka Judith Edra Peters) - Miss Pamela (aka Pamela Ann Miller, aka Pamela Des Barres) -- - Miss Sandra (aka Sandra Lynn Rowe, aka Sandra Leano) (1991) - Miss Sparky (aka Linda Sue Parker -- line up 2 - Miss Christine (aka Christine Frka) (RIP 1972) -- NEW - Miss Cynderella (aka Cynthia Wells, aka Cynthia Cale-Binion) (RIP 1997) -- - Miss Mercy (aka Mercy Fontentot, aka Judith Edra Peters) - Miss Pamela (aka Pamela Ann Miller, aka Pamela Des Barres) -- - Miss Sandra (aka Sandra Lynn Rowe, aka Sandra Leano) (1991) - Miss Sparky (aka Linda Sue Parker -- line up 3 - Miss Christine (aka Christine Frka) (RIP 1972 -- - Miss Cynderella (aka Cynthia Wells, aka Cynthia Cale-Binion) (RIP 1997) -- NEW - Miss Lucy (ake Lucy Offerall, aka Luch McLaren) (RIP 1991)-- - Miss Mercy (aka Mercy Fontentot, aka Judith Edra Peters) - Miss Pamela (aka Pamela Ann Miller, aka Pamela Des Barres) -- - Miss Sandra (aka Sandra Lynn Rowe, aka Sandra Leano) (1991) -- - Miss Sparky (aka Linda Sue Parker -- supporting musicians: - Jeff Beck -- lead guitar - Jimmy Carl Black -- - Craig Doerge -- bass - Nicky Hopkins -- keyboards - Roy Estrada -- - Don Preston -- - Rod Stewart -- vocals - Ian Underwood -- - Frank Zappa -- percussion Tracklist

(side 1) 1.) The Eureka Springs Garbage Lady (Cinderella - Craig Doerge - Nicky St. Nichols) - 3:472.) Miss Pamela and Miss Sparky discuss STUFFED BRAS and some of their early gym class experiences - 2:103.) Who's Jim Sox? (Christine - Sandra - Cinderella) - 0:18) 4.) Kansas and the BTO's - 1:12 5.) The Captain's Fat Theresa Shoes (Pamela - Sparky - Christine - Sandra - Cinderella) - 1:56 6.) Wouldn't It Be Sad If There Were No Cones? (Pamela - Sparky) - 1:11 7.) Do Me In Once And I'll Be Sad, Do Me In Twice And I'll Know Better (Circular Circulation) (Sandra - Lowell) - (2:19 8.) The Moche Monster (Pamela - Sparky) - 1:46 9.) TV Lives (Christine - Don Preston) - 1:03 (side 2) 1.) Rodney (Christine - Sandra - Sparky - Pamela - Cinderella - Lucy) - (3:42)2.) I Have A Paintbrush In My Hand To Color A Triangle Lowell George - Mercy) - 2:113.) Miss Christine's First Conversation With The Plaster Casters Of Chicago - 0:57 4.) The Original GTO's - 1:05 5.) The Ghost Chained To The Past, Present, And Future (Shock Treatment) (Mercy - Cinderella) - 1:45 6.) Love On An Eleven Year Old Level (Christine - Sandra - Sparky - Pamela - Cinderella - Lucy) - 1:18 7.) Miss Pamela's First Conversation With The Plaster Casters Of Chicago - 1:31 8.) I'm In Love With The Ooo-Ooo Man (Davy Jones - Pamela) - 3:27 As a group the GTO's have had a high mortality rate. - Miss Christine died of a heroin overdose in November 1972. - Miss Lucy died of AIDS in 1991 - Miss Sandra died of ovarian cancer in 1991. - With virtually no public notice, Miss Cynderella died in 1997.

GTO's "Permanent Damage" 1969 US Psych Pop Rock,Avante Garde,Experimental,Spoken Word (produced by Frank Zappa &  featuring uncredited performances by Jeff Beck,Ry Cooder,Nicky Hopkins, Lowell George,Rod Stewart  & members of the Faces and The Mothers)

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2022/12/gtos-permanent-damage1969-us-psych-pop.html

https://johnkatsmc5.tumblr.com/post/703980471156195328/gtos-permanent-damage-1969-us-psych-pop

Camel Heads “Barefoot” 2015 US Psych Rock,Experimental

University Of Dallas ‎”Tabula Rasa Annual” 1972 US Private Psych Rock,Experimental

Tracklist 

A1 Strawberry Jam A2 When Autumn Lays Me Down A3 The Contract A4 Pianissimo Sandwich With Relish A5 Eau De Cafe A6 The Lonely Nights B1 Howdja B2 Traveling Song B3 Often B4 Stricken B5 If You Knew

University Of Dallas ‎”Tabula Rasa Annual” 1972 US Private Psych Rock,Experimental

https://johnkatsmc5.blogspot.com/2021/06/university-of-dallas-tabula-rasa-annual.html

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Rabbit Rabbit Radio“Rabbit Rabbit Radio,Volume 4 - The Animal I Am" 2021 US Prog Rock,Experrimental,Avant Garde,Art Rock

Few bands manage to conjure so many things in such novel ways. Rabbit Rabbit Radio keep refining their craft, exploring different directions over the course of Volume 4 – The Animal I Am. Today, myself and fellow writer Xander Paul will be looking at length into the newest album of an absolutely wonderful and equally weird band. Joint reviews aren’t something necessarily common around here, however, they are a welcome break within the classic and personal stream-of-consciousness-type format. Rabbit Rabbit Radio is the riveting duo comprised of Carla Kihlstedt and Matthias Bossi, accompanied by whichever musicians will join them on their journeys. Together, they are founding members of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Tin Hat, 2 Foot Yard, Causing a Tiger, The Book of Knots, and Fred Frith’s Cosa Brava. Drawing on their love of both art and folk song, industrial and improvised music, along with heart-wrenching balladry, their music is raw, stunning, dramatic, and rich. Robert: Hey Xander, what’s going on? What do you think about this new Rabbit Rabbit Radio record? Xander: Hey, it’s all good, I’ve listened to the record a few times and I’ll for sure give it a couple more close listens to let it sink in further. R: Yeah, I also gave it a few proper spins and I’m looking forward to getting into it. I’ve been a fan of Rabbit Rabbit Radio for a few years now: I think it’s been like three or four years now. Anyway, I discovered them through a good friend who sent me a link to “Hush Hush” (one of their songs from an earlier record) and I was instantly struck by this band. I only later discovered that actually the members were the founders of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, one of my all-time favorite avant-metal acts. I was obviously surprised to see an album drop out of nowhere like this, but it was great news nonetheless. X: I didn’t realize you had such a history with Rabbit Rabbit Radio, and with Carla Kihlstedt’s and Matthias Bossi’s work more broadly! I can’t say that I have the same experience, so I have been playing catch-up in terms of trying to understand where this new release fits in within the broader chronology of Rabbit Rabbit Radio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, and the wide-ranging Carla-and-Matthias universe. Needless to say, there’s so much material out there, it’s been difficult to figure out where to start with these folks. Their musical output is incredibly comprehensive, and draws from such a wide variety of sounds and influences, that it has been difficult for a newcomer like me to draw connections between their different works. As a consequence of that, I have personally been having difficulty with placing Volume 4 within the broader sequence of Kihlstedt’s and Bossi’s output. As a long-term listener, have you found that Volume 4 – The Animal I Am does, indeed, fit snugly within their other works? R: You’ll have a very good time going through their repertoire, I’ll tell you that much. Now for the question you just asked – it’s one of those ‘well yes but actually no’ kind of cases. I’m not too well acquainted with the duo’s output aside from Rabbit Rabbit Radio and Sleepytime Gorilla Museum: I only sparingly listened to some things, as they don’t quite tickle me the same way as these two outfits do. For starters, Volume 4 – The Animal I Am is noticeably more relaxed in terms of instrumentation and delivery. If you’re taking Black Inscription (the predecessor and one of my favorites) as a reference point, this becomes quite obvious. I also feel that the quirkiness/weirdness/eeriness is visibly toned down in terms of breadth, albeit that its essence is still there. It’s kind of like that otherworldly and uneasy feeling that pervades every Kayo Dot record, even if basically every one is a different style and delivery. The essence – it still being here – that’s the most reassuring fact of all to me. X: I totally understand the comparison, which is probably even more appropriate here given that Kayo Dot evolved from another, entirely distinct group (maudlin of the Well). It’s tough, even for some of the most talented, historically significant groups, to try something that sounds completely new while staying true to the heart and soul of what made them worth listening to in the first place – dare I sully the holy name of Opeth? I respect artists who take on the challenge of creating novel pieces of work that don’t sound like their back catalogue, yet retain the essential spirit that defines their sound. To turn the conversation back to Rabbit Rabbit Radio, I want to highlight the three elements that you mentioned are toned down in Volume 4 – The Animal I Am. As soon as “Carapace” hit, I was taken quite quickly with the eerie, quirky, and weird atmosphere Kihlstedt’s vocals enact. I found the record on the whole to be haunting, but in a subdued and subtle way. I’d say Volume 4 didn’t quite unnerve like, say, a Sunn O))) album would, and the record certainly isn’t as quirky as a Mr. Bungle LP, but it’s still decidedly off-center. R: I agree with basically everything you said. Also, you literally stole the words from my mouth – I was about to make a case for the whole haunted vibe and how it’s subdued and subtle. Although, I would like to point out that my case would be made for the diminished dramatic impact – at least when compared to previous works. Of course, the drama is still there, especially when taking consideration of the note at the bottom of the track listing on Bandcamp: ‘This album is about love. It is more thorn than rose‘. I just love the poetic undertone of that succinct remark and how neatly it encompasses the essence of the record. It stays quite true to our ‘subdued and subtle’ assessment too. While I do feel that the oddly languid and uncanny approach doesn’t do justice to the musical lineage of the group, it is articulated with enough of their musical hallmark so that it makes sense at the end of the day as a member of their repertoire. Honestly, I can’t say I feel the same way about “Carapace” – not when I have other examples, like the aforementioned “Hush Hush”, which blew a hole clean through any of these other songs – strictly in terms of vocal performance. I will, however, concur that indeed the vocals maintain the same emotive qualities as before, even if in a different manner. I don’t think it’s necessarily fair to compare Volume 4 – The Animal I Am with a Sunn O))) record or a Mr. Bungle one, but I do see your point. I think what throws me off the most is how easily digestible the opening songs off the album are. All the way up to “The Animal I Am” included, I was feeling kind of cheated, frankly speaking. I felt like the band I knew disappeared and a great sadness came over me. However, I was reassured moving on. “The Linen Sea” was one of the first ones to reassure me, and by “All We Have of You” I was certain that the record would go well. Another thing that throws me off – but in a good way this time around – is how, stylistically speaking, we’re looking at a very similar blend as other records if we look strictly at what makes up the build. In terms of the proportions between the stylistic elements, things definitely stand differently. I will always respect bands for going in different directions in order to stay away from the pitfall of repetition/redundancy, and especially self-complacency/self-indulgence from an artistic point of view. I’ll circle back a little to the Kayo Dot comparison for this as they are an excellent example. They basically never made the same album twice, and less so in the years that followed since Hubardo. X: Your description of the group’s ‘liner note’ on Bandcamp touches on what was, for me, one of the most salient characteristics of Volume 4 – The Animal I Am: the lyrics can be positively theatrical at points. Take one of the more overtly spooky tracks, “Spines”, as an example: ‘Winter has come, Put this picture in a box and Seal it in between the walls So you’ll find the elegance in these, My sad, pathetic falls from grace’ It sends icily cold shivers down my spine. Again, to reference the Bandcamp note, Kihlstedt sings about love for most of the album, but she isn’t just treading down a well-worn path. The lyrics, which are well worth reading even without listening to the music due to their poetic cadences and complex symbolic language, evoke deep feelings of pain, love, hope, and despair. Combined with Kihlstedt’s performances (my personal favorite of which is on “Leaning and Falling”), it’s difficult to listen to Volume 4 and not be consumed by the powerful pathos she exhibits. I feel quite connected to Kihlstedt after repeated listens, but the intricate web she spins on certain tracks, such as the barrage of mostly inanimate objects she alludes to just after halfway through “All We Have of You”, suggests that I have many more listens ahead of me if I want to engage with the material even deeper. On this note, I’m interested in discussing what you termed the ‘easily digestible’ nature of the opening tracks, especially relative to the middle and latter half of the album. I did notice a tonal shift around “The Linen Sea” as well, and I wonder if this at all has to do with the band’s musical release patterns. For those who may not be aware, Rabbit Rabbit Radio release songs in a somewhat piecemeal fashion to paying subscribers. The group writes and records songs and releases them on an individual basis and, at least in the case of Volume 4 – The Animal I Am, compiles all of the songs together at the year’s end, makes a few modifications, and releases the finished product to the general public. Do you feel that this strategy at all affects the group’s songwriting process? Would you perhaps attribute the tonal difference between the album’s first couple tracks and its latter parts to the fact that songs are released one at a time, or do you think Rabbit Rabbit Radio smooth out unintentional inconsistencies in tone upon compiling the tracks into one record? That is, is the journey from more approachable tracks early on to songs that might be more familiar to long-time fans of Rabbit Rabbit Radio an intentional one? R: Well I mean, I wouldn’t expect the lyrics to be otherwise with such a thespian air surrounding the whole backlog of music. Since you mentioned “Spines” and “Leaning and Falling”, I want to also add “Paradise” to the bunch and underline how they make a very fitting ending, how they really remind me of what makes this band great, as well as where the scintillations of its magical charm have the most propensity to touch the listener. I also feel connected to Kihlstedt’s parts in the music but more within the context of past works rather than within the frame of this album. By ‘easily digestible’, I meant that both musically and emotionally there’s nothing that feels particularly dense or heavily layered in any way within the opening section of the album. While musically the density is rather consistent and doesn’t go out of its way though, things shift towards a heavier baggage in the realm of emotions as we advance in the journey. You make a great point with the band’s process of creating an album, so at least as far as I’m concerned, it might just be the very reason for which we’re seeing the finished product as it is – oddly joined together from certain viewpoints. There’s something organic and disparate in the way the record flows, as do the others, which can also be attributed to this. It can, however, be attributed as well to the nature of the music and how it veers ever so gently into the surreal and the arcane. It may also equally and simply be the fact that the overall layout is a deliberate and meticulously laid out architectural plan for the music, and we’re just splitting hairs in a way that starts to pick up on philosophical leanings. Who knows? Maybe we’re both wrong and it’s just an unintentional characteristic that crystallizes itself as a consequence of the creative artistic process. X: Those final three tracks are a doozy, aren’t they? “Paradise” in particular stands out, with dense lyrics, an almost aggressive tone due to Kihlstedt sharing the vocal duties, and some muscular guitar work. On a slightly unrelated note, I wanted to highlight the complicated rhyming schemes Rabbit Rabbit Radio employ every so often, using “Paradise” as an example: ‘Leper colony certificate, Epileptic reconnaissance bullshit. Enduring pockets of recompense, A ghoulish cipher of innocence.’ I’m still figuring out exactly what this might mean, but it rolls off the tongue so fluidly while still managing to sound menacing. This tight balance between darkness and beauty (the aforementioned ‘more thorn than rose‘ note comes to mind) is part of what made me dig this record so much. I find the juxtaposition between love and love’s dark side a fruitful thematic playground for artists to explore, if a delicate one. Seeing Rabbit Rabbit Radio succeed in this challenging endeavor, especially over the last few tracks, has been a rewarding listening experience. I definitely agree that it’s quite possible that we are over-analyzing the structure of Volume 4, and that the tonal shifts that unfold throughout the record are entirely organic. It’s this organic aspect of the music that enhances its mystical, otherworldly qualities though, and for me, that’s a huge part of what makes the album an interesting piece of art. To illustrate, consider “Loving You”, an earlier track. The track is – at first listen – undeniably buoyant, and I would certainly agree that, as a representative of the beginning of the album, the song is somewhat straightforward in terms of the sonic palate from which it draws, especially in comparison to some of the later cuts. However, some of the motifs that contribute quite strongly to the album’s mystical atmosphere are present here – if in small doses. The multi-layered vocal harmonies and cryptic lyrics that totter on the edge of violence (‘So set a trap, stand back/Whistle when it springs/I’ll come, I’ll come, I’ll come dig in‘) are definitely notable here. With this all being said, and in thinking about Rabbit Rabbit Radio’s songwriting/release process as we’ve discussed it, I wonder if it would be reading too much into the artist and their psyche to say that the album’s transition from less dense/complex tracks into more opaque material could mirror a broader philosophical comment on how people deal with love or with losing love. I hesitate to dive too much into this discussion here, because there’s just so much to unpack or, worse, to misinterpret. When all is said and done, I’m certainly satisfied in that Rabbit Rabbit Radio have created something that has allowed a new listener like me to dive in so thoroughly. R: I’m glad you brought up the lyrical content and exemplified it along with your thoughts so appropriately. I have something of a tendency to stay away from lyrics in music, due to the fact that – in my view – they either add nothing to the music (or worse in some cases, devalue the music), or that they are so masterfully put together that they can overshadow the music. There’s little in between, at least from what I noticed. I return, yet again, to Kayo Dot, and especially its former incarnation, maudlin of the Well, for a parallel. They’re a great example, just like Rabbit Rabbit Radio, to show us how an album can be made to a high standard with fitting lyrics. Although, I’d wager there are some unique instances where the words dwarf the sounds, but I feel like that’s straying too much from the subject at hand. This would be the other one particular reason I avoid discussing lyrics, even briefly. Lyrics, from my point of view, and within the context of their respective songs, are either to be brought to something of an epitomic form or at exhaustive lengths. Neither is accessible (or appropriate) for our format here. I usually like to discuss such things at absurd – or philosophical lengths – depending on whichever phrasing you prefer. The way I do it in close quarters opens up another world within the magic of such works of art, which I’m sure requires no kind of introduction, especially for those who engage in similar or identical habits. I do, however, think that for the sake of the object of our discussion we’re probably reading too much into this, although I’d say it’s a very real possibility that the broad structure of the record may as well (whether intentionally or not) mirror this philosophical comment you speak of. X: I definitely agree with your point regarding the lyrics and their tenuous relationship with the music itself. It’s undoubtedly apparent that my strongest reactions to Volume 4 – The Animal I Am have emerged from my reactions to the vocal performance, and I felt it would be remiss of me to not pay a bit of tribute to the lyrics given their complexity and firm ties to the record’s thematic milieu. Aside from the vocal performance, is there another aspect of the album you’d wish to discuss? I really dug in with the lyrics for a bit but, again, that is probably the part of Volume 4 that caught my interest the strongest. R: Honestly, I’d probably give something more to chew on in regards to instrumentation and actual music – for the sake of balance – but I do believe that we’ve covered what is fundamental for an experience with Rabbit Rabbit Radio. This isn’t something to be treated lightly, like some shallow offering, nor is it something to be undersold in the relatively unseen aspects of it, and I am convinced we cut to the core of what really counts. That’s pretty much it for me. Would you have anything else to add? X: Gotcha! I totally see your point, and I definitely agree. For the sake of illustrating that, in reading music reviews on other sites I tend to get bothered when I feel the reviewers miss the whole point of the work in favor of some obligation to describe the same old riffs, drum fills, etc. I agree that we got to the heart of the matter and I’m cool with leaving things where they are......By Robert Miklos...everything is noise......~ Album's Line-up: - Carla Kihlstedt - Matthias Bossi - Jeremy Flower - Jon Evans Tracklist

The Mothers Of Invention"We're Only In It For The Money"1968 US Avant Garde,Experimental,Psych Rock (The 40 Greatest Psychedelic Albums of All Time,The 40 Trippiest Albums Ever, Mojo magazine)

In the late ’60s, when rock music was exploding in countless, new creative directions, when musicians were testing all of the limits—in the studio, onstage and in life—the Mothers of Invention proudly declared themselves freaks. And their leader, Frank Zappa, was the freakiest freak of all. He’d first come to the attention of the public in a small way in 1963, when he appeared, as a young man with a greasy pompadour, on The Steve Allen Show—“playing” a bicycle. (Scroll to the bottom to check out the video.) For rock fans though, it was the Mothers’ debut LP, appropriately titled Freak Out!, that first opened our eyes and ears. Released on Verve Records in June 1966, it was only rock’s second double album (preceded by Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde), but the fact that it was recorded by a band unknown outside of the Los Angeles club circuit made it an instant curiosity—especially when DJs and fans heard what kind of outrageousness these crazy-looking Mothers were up to. Freak Out! was unlike any other rock album that had come before. Produced by Tom Wilson—whose other clients included Bob Dylan, the Velvet Underground, Simon and Garfunkel and many notable jazz artists—it threw into a crockpot all manner of oddness: avant-garde experimentalism, blistering psychedelic rock (although Zappa eschewed drugs), doo-wop, blues and more, with songs, often satirical, pointing fingers at authoritarianism, hypocrisy and, in “Trouble Every Day,” the very real horror of race riots plaguing the Watts section of Los Angeles. The album ended with a side-long, 12-minute freeform jam called “The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux)” that established the Mothers of Invention as some of the most gifted and boundary-busting musicians in rock. On album number two, Absolutely Free, released just days before the Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club band, the expanded group, now eight musicians including horn players, fine-tuned its ideas, with barbed commentary on society (“Plastic People,” “Brown Shoes Don’t Make it”), absurdly surreal musings (“The Duke of Prunes,” “Call Any Vegetable”) and more of that brilliant musicianship. But it wasn’t until their third release (actually Zappa’s fourth, as it followed his solo opus Lumpy Gravy) that the Mothers truly found their footing: We’re Only In It for the Money, released on Verve in March 1968, would become Zappa’s highest-charting album for six years (it reached #30), even while the band remained defiantly and resolutely anti-commercial in its scope. In fact, it was initially conceived as part of a larger Zappa project titled No Commercial Potential, which ultimately encompassed three other diverse albums: the aforementioned Lumpy Gravy, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets and Uncle Meat. There is some question regarding who exactly plays on WOIIFTM. The front cover shows seven Mothers, including Zappa. The liner notes list, and picture, eight: guitarist, pianist and vocalist Zappa; drummer Jimmy Carl Black (who famously declares himself to be the “Indian of the group” at the end of the lumbering, foreboding Musique concrete opener, “Are You Hung Up?,” one of two numbers featuring minor spoken parts by Eric Clapton); another drummer, Billy Mundi; bassist Roy Estrada; woodwinds player Bunk Gardner; another woodwinds musician, Ian Underwood, who also played piano; and Euclid James “Motorhead” Sherwood, who plays baritone and soprano saxophones. Don Preston, a multi-instrumentalist who had played on Absolutely Free, and would work with Zappa for several more years, is listed as “retired.” What confuses the issue is that later re-releases of the album state, in their liner notes, that, “All musical duties on the album were performed by Frank Zappa, Ian Underwood, Roy Estrada and Billy Mundi. Jimmy Carl Black, Don Preston, Bunk Gardner and Euclid James ‘Motorhead’ Sherwood were all featured in some capacity on the record.” Regardless of who did what, Money, produced by Zappa, is indisputably a ’60s classic and, for many, the apex of Zappa’s early years, if not his entire career. It was a concept album, owing to but simultaneously parodying Sgt. Pepper. Its inside gatefold photo was a carefully choreographed takeoff on that previous year’s game-changer. Originally intended for the front cover, an idea nixed by the record label due to photo licensing issues (a portrait of the band in drag—Zappa wearing pigtails and a mini-skirt—adorned the outside instead), the Mothers’ Pepper parody was created by Cal Schenkel, with photography by Jerry Schatzberg. It found the band members surrounded by a seemingly random collage of people and objects, ranging from President Lyndon Johnson to the Statue of Liberty, Lee Harvey Oswald to Jimi Hendrix, the latter actually present for the photo shoot. Where the Beatles had had their name spelled out in flowers, the Mothers used vegetables and watermelons. The humor displayed in the album art carried over to the music, but We’re Only In It for the Money also had its share of rather serious, biting moments as well. Its patchwork of musical elements—more of that patented avant-weirdness, doo-wop harmonies and deliberately funny voices, found sounds (including snorts, whispered dialogue from engineer Gary Kellgren and a telephone conversation in which a female caller, ostensibly Pamela Zarubica, a.k.a. Suzy Creamcheese, tells the other party, “He’s gonna bump you off, yeah; he’s got a gun, you know”)—was matched to Zappa’s sharpest lyrics to date; its 18 tracks, many of which segued abruptly into the next, were somewhat connected lyrically, albeit loosely at times. In a few songs, Zappa bravely lampooned a sizable segment of his own audience, who adhered to the blossoming flower children/hippie ethos: “Flower Punk,” a takeoff on the oft-recorded “Hey Joe”—played at a breakneck pace in convoluted time signatures—asked, “Hey, punk, where you goin’ with that flower in your hand?”; “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance” instructed listeners to free their minds and bodies and do just that; and, most notably “Who Needs the Peace Corps?” savaged the burgeoning youth migration to San Francisco at the time with lines like, “I’m hippy and I’m trippy, I’m a gypsy on my own, I’ll stay a week and get the crabs and take a bus back home, I’m really just a phony but forgive me ’cause I’m stoned.” On the other hand, Zappa certainly had no love for the vapid suburban lifestyle of the hippies’ parents. “Bow Tie Daddy,” appropriately set to a giddy vaudeville-style melody, cautioned, “Don’t try to do no thinkin’, just go on with your drinkin’, just have your fun, you old son of a gun, then drive home in your Lincoln,” while the acerbic “The Idiot Bastard Son” spoke of a father who’s “a Nazi in Congress today” and a mother who’s “a hooker somewhere in L.A.” Zappa’s focus often shifted to the frayed relationships between adults and their nonconformist children—in “Lonely Little Girl,” he wrote, “The things they say just hurt your heart, it’s too late now for them to start to understand.” Being Zappa there was both frivolity and outright darkness, sometimes in the same song: “What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?,” set to a balladic, sing-along doo-wop melody, proposed nothing beyond that question (“Some say your nose, some say your toes, but I think it’s your mind”). Another, “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black,” was truly otherworldly, with its descriptions of Kenny’s “little creatures on display” and Ronnie saving “his numies on a window in his room,” not to mention “Mama with her apron and her pad, feeding all the boys at Ed’s Café, whizzing and pasting and pooting through the day”). But several of Money’s songs induced palpable shudders among the young who encountered them upon the album’s release. Zappa’s political statements didn’t hold back, and he spoke openly to the paranoia and fear that was in the air during that game-changing year of assassinations, domestic strife and the escalation of the Vietnam War. In “Concentration Moon,” the ballad near the top of the track list, Zappa described deadly attacks on young people who posed a threat to the powers-that-be in the ’60s: “American way, how did it start?, thousands of creeps, killed in the park, American way, try and explain, scab of a nation driven insane.” The kids, he suggests, may soon have regrets that they ever left home: “Concentration moon, wish I was back in the alley, with all of my friends, still running free, hair growing out every hole in me.” Directly following it was the mournful and equally dismal “Mom & Dad,” which continued the harrowing theme: “Someone said they made some noise, the cops have shot some girls and boys, you’ll sit home and drink all night, they looked too weird… it served them right.” “Harry, You’re a Beast” was, perhaps, the album’s most chilling of all, a graphic depiction of male dominance and the ritual abuse of women. Set to an awkwardly chirpy melody, Harry informs Madge, presumably his wife, that she’s “phony on top and phony underneath,” after which he rapes her: “Madge, I want your body! Harry, get back! Madge, it’s not merely physical! Harry, you’re a beast!” The album’s printed lyrics follow the depiction of the incident with several instances of the word “censored,” but a later remix of the album by Zappa (which is best avoided—Zappa inexplicably re-recorded bass and drum tracks) reveals those censored words—among several segments of the original recording either altered reluctantly by Zappa or excised by the label—to be “Don’t come in me, in me,” repeated several times. Madge, as the song concludes, is still sobbing as Harry proclaims, “Madge, I couldn’t help it, doggone it.” Needless to say, rock music had never before addressed this sort of despicable behavior so openly. (A reference to comic Lenny Bruce was cut from the final track.) Each of these songs, up through the self-deprecating “Mother People,” the final vocal number (with its x-rated stanza,“Better look around before you say you don’t care, shut your fucking mouth about the length of my hair, how would you survive, if you were alive, shitty little person?”), contained a plethora of words to consider, and bulged with innovative musical ideas, yet the vast majority of Money’s songs were extremely short, ranging from under a minute to a little over two, with three tunes falling between three and four minutes. Only the album-closing “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny,” one of three tracks featuring the Sid Sharp-conducted Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra and Chorus—the liner notes instructed listeners to read Franz Kafka’s In the Penal Colony before proceeding with this one—flirted with serious length, clocking in at six-and-a-half minutes, nearly all of it experimental noodling. The whole of We’re Only In it for the Money is just under 40 minutes total, encompassing uptempo tracks, ballads and the aforementioned studio explorations. It goes by briskly though, stopping and starting and shifting gears constantly and unexpectedly to what might seem dizzying effect at first but quickly settles into its own groove. Frank Zappa, both with and without the Mothers of Invention, would never stop seeking new ways to express himself, until the end of his life. He recorded more than 60 albums in all, some exceedingly brilliant, others disappointing to an alarming degree. But it was on this early release, We’re Only In it for the Money, when he helped make it clear that anything was possible in rock music, that Frank Zappa confirmed his true genius.....by Jeff Tamarkin......~ From the beginning, Frank Zappa cultivated a role as voice of the freaks -- imaginative outsiders who didn't fit comfortably into any group. We're Only in It for the Money is the ultimate expression of that sensibility, a satirical masterpiece that simultaneously skewered the hippies and the straights as prisoners of the same narrow-minded, superficial phoniness. Zappa's barbs were vicious and perceptive, and not just humorously so: his seemingly paranoid vision of authoritarian violence against the counterculture was borne out two years later by the Kent State killings. Like Freak Out, We're Only in It for the Money essentially devotes its first half to satire, and its second half to presenting alternatives. Despite some specific references, the first-half suite is still wickedly funny, since its targets remain immediately recognizable. The second half shows where his sympathies lie, with character sketches of Zappa's real-life freak acquaintances, a carefree utopia in "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," and the strident, unironic protest "Mother People." Regardless of how dark the subject matter, there's a pervasively surreal, whimsical flavor to the music, sort of like Sgt. Pepper as a creepy nightmare. Some of the instruments and most of the vocals have been manipulated to produce odd textures and cartoonish voices; most songs are abbreviated, segue into others through edited snippets of music and dialogue, or are broken into fragments by more snippets, consistently interrupting the album's continuity. Compositionally, though, the music reveals itself as exceptionally strong, and Zappa's politics and satirical instinct have rarely been so focused and relevant, making We're Only in It for the Money quite probably his greatest achievement....by Steve Huey....~ We’re Only in It for the Money, which was released on March 4, 1968, is even more unconventional than the previous two Mothers albums. Its 18 songs – ranging in length from the just-over-a-minute-long "What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" to the six-minute closer – take aim at nearly every corner of late-‘60s culture, from political blowhards to hippie simplicity. The music, a difficult but rewarding mix of intricately structured and played art-rock and symphonic pop, is just as biting. Not so surprisingly, it went over the heads of most of the general record-buying public. We’re Only in It for the Money still managed to reach No. 30 – Zappa’s best showing until Apostrophe became his only Top 10 album in 1974 – and build a small reputation as a counterculture classic. Several of its songs – including "Are You Hung Up?," "Who Needs the Peace Corps?," "Absolutely Free," "Let’s Make the Water Turn Black" and "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" – rank among Zappa’s best. The album, a companion piece to the era more than one to Sgt. Pepper, stands as the Mothers’ finest. It’s not an easy record to get into, but its complexities reveal a strange, trippy masterpiece – just like the Beatles classic. ......~ Don't buy this if you just like Zappa for his jazz-fusion. This is not that music. This is the earlier Frank Zappa and the Mothers. Zappa was totally irreverent towards the Beatles, the hippie movement, and the American culture in general on this album. The first time I heard this album (about 1970) I kept trying to close the album cover backwards so it looked like Sgt. Pepper, which is how Frank actually wanted it. The cover of this version of the album is finally how he wanted it. This also has everything (as I remember it) from my original copy, without being censored like later versions. This sounds great on my turntable. My earlier copy is in no condition for comparison, but I was not disappointed. To me, what is on the album is more important than the quality of the recording, but this recording sounds good too.... John T....~ Cover Story – Frank Zappa's "We're Only In It For The Money", cover by Jerry Schatzberg Subject – Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention – We're Only In It For The Money - Released in 1968 on Verve/Bizarre Records, with cover photography by Jerry Schatzberg. Sticking with out “psychedelic” theme another week, this week’s Cover Story is on one of the best from the era – Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention’s fantastic spoof of everything and everyone involved in making (and promoting) that genre’s music titled We’re Only In It For The Money. Using an overall style of songwriting that would serve for many years as Zappa and The Mother’s trademark – sparing no subject, touching on all aspects of that subject that made it a joke in the songwriter’s mind, and then delivering this material via bound-to-be-censored lyrics, memorable melodies and with superb musicianship and studio craftsmanship – this record made more people laugh uncomfortably than any other I know of (until the Sex Pistols released Never Mind The Bullocks… 10 years later. The record parodied everything that the Hippie/Flower Power movement stood for and used as its symbols – from songs such as “Who Needs the Peace Corps” , “Flower Punk”, “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance”, to the finale of “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny” – and was Zappa’s conscious effort to get the youth of the day to stop a minute and look at how silly everything was. After The Beatles had released their widely-praised concept record Sgt. Pepper’s, Zappa wanted to show the world both that he’d mastered many technical aspects of the modern recording studio and that, perhaps, some of the widely praised concepts were, in fact, nonsensical, superficial and often meaningless in the long run. The record did have some decent commercial success, hitting #30 on the Billboard Album charts in 1968, but it has had its greatest impact when viewed historically by fans of rock music. Rolling Stone Magazine included it in its "Top 100 Albums" list in its 20th Anniversary issue in 1987, commenting on how mercilessly – and with great talent - a band from that era could spoof its musical brethren of the time (it also came in at #296 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the "Top 500 Albums of All Time"). Of course, one of the most-memorable aspects of the record was the packaging. Here again, The Beatles and Sgt. Pepper's stood for what was in vogue at the time, and so Zappa and his crew felt that it was important to use their newly-famous imagery as a starting point for their parody. Famed photographer and (film-maker) Jerry Schatzberg was called in to aid in this “homage to the collage” of Sir Peter Blake and Michael Cooper, creating the first of what would be many parodies of that work (I particularly liked the one done on The Simpsons in the 90s). How it all came together is addressed in today’s Cover Story…. In the words of the photographer, Jerry Schatzberg (interviewed September, 2007) – “I had shot a photograph for the Rolling Stones in drag for the U.K. release of their single “Have You Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow?". Zappa had seen that and after seeing the cover of Sgt. Peppers, he had the idea the he wanted to do a spoof of that image, with the principals in drag. I had met Zappa a couple of times before that, but we’d never worked together, so I was intrigued when I was told that this was going to be the cover of his next record. We had a couple of weeks to produce this, and keeping the Sgt. Pepper’s cover in mind – with its elaborate costumes, flower-filled foreground, and its amazing cast of celebrity guests who were featured on the cover, both of our staffs set out to find the clothes, the props and some “celebrities” who would be part of the final composition. We all agreed that it’d be very funny if we’d use fruit and vegetables and other junk in the foreground (instead of flowers), and since both of us knew Jimi Hendrix, we asked him to take part (you’ll find a real-live Jimi Hendrix on the far right-hand side of the shot, the second person to the right of Zappa, who’s posed in a mini-skirt). Zappa and his record company then decided on the rest of the background imagery and then a series of photos were taken. I submitted all of my tests over the two weeks and then the final one was selected. No special effects or lenses were used – the final photograph contains just the props and the people you see. Everyone was very happy with the results.” On the original Sgt. Pepper's record package, the collage was the cover, a photo of the band with Paul standing with his back to the viewer (“Paul Is Dead?”) was on the back cover, and the inside gatefold image (quite strange for a single LP) showed the band in costume on a bright yellow background, spread across both panels. For the Zappa version, we shot a back cover photo of the band with only one member facing the viewer, and then a gatefold portrait of the band – in costume/drag – standing in front of a bright yellow background.Zappaonlymoneyin1s When the record was first released, a lot of the songs were censored, and so the record company decided to make changes to the packaging, too, and basically turned the package inside-out, with the gatefold image presented as the front cover and the collage on the inside. Years later, when the record was re-released on CD, the original cover was returned to its proper position. .....~ Review by Certif1ed We're only in it for a rollercoaster of quality fun Truly an Excellent addition to any prog rock collection - but not "prog" as we know it - a masterpiece of its own genre. So why do I not award the full 5 stars? Simply for that reason - it is NOT a masterpiece of Progressive Rock in the sense that "Court of the Crimson King" or "Foxtrot" are masters of the genre. A fine line, perhaps - but although this is progressive rock music without the capitalisation, it is the genre itself we are considering. Now that you understand "prog" perfectly, onwards to a track-by-track analysis... No! Wait! What is the point, when we are considering a concept which contains many ideas rather than a simple collection of individual ideas - a work of art rather than a pop record; There are stand out tracks, such as "Concentration Moon", "Flower Punk", "Lonely Little Girl", "Take Your Clothes off When You Dance" and "Mother People" - but that's not what this album is about; it is joined together as a complete concept should be, even if tenuously in places. There is the satirical theme running through the album, from the cover which mocks "Sgt Pepper" (although that's the only thing about this album which does), to "Flower Punk", which directly mocks Hendrix's lyrics and attitude, while shying away from mocking his phenomenal talent - Zappa clearly had respect for other great musicians even if he did loathe what they stood for. In between, we find attacks on the hippie movement in general and the type of middle class Americans it attracted, who tended to be "weekend hippies" with dark private lives at odds with the ideals of the movement. It's not just these people, but also their families, corporations and the American Way that comes under Zappa's fire. We also find a lot of musical experimentation - by playing with the popular styles of the day, Zappa embroiders them with his own personal style, humour and a super-rich production which gives this album a timeless feel musically. Use of electronics and reverse tapes (e.g. "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music") add a distinctly futuristic sound. I have always been particularly impressed by the sound of the bass on this album - and yes, it sounds like that on the original vinyl. The burbling noises and spoken snippets range from the amusing to the downright irritating - some actually make me feel a little sick - but there's still no doubt that the overall collage that is "WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY" is a work of art by a genius. Buy it, and live in awe. ......~ Review by belz Wow, yet another weird and even weirder album! At first I thought it was disappointing, but after some listenings I am beginning to appreciate it. This is hardly real prog music, but the rhythms are entertaining and I think the satire on this album (the sleeve itself is a Beatles parody) is much better than what have been done before. From a musical point, however, this is far from been an essential album. It's good, but the interesting beats do not last long enough to be fully appreciated. Still, interesting to listen to! 2.9/5.0 .....~ Review by The Wizard This is the ultimate bashing of all the phonies that America was dealing with at those turbulent times which were the sixties. Not only does Zappa bash the hippies, he bashes there parent's, the music industry and the squares also. He comes across as not denouncing the whole movement, but there lack of organization and not being strong enough to do something about the problems America faces. The music on this album doesnt have many electric guitars. It's mostly Horns and Pianos that carry the melodies. It's also very experimental. Lost of psychedelic sound effects and sound collages show up here. At times it can be difficult to listen to, but it's still great stuff. The strength of the album comes in the songwriting rather the instrumentation though. It's truly a hilarious album that never fails to entertain. It's psychotic, fun and deranged humor that carries important messages about society. An excellent addition to a prog collection, but not really a prog rock album. ....~ Review by con safo A brilliant and insane observation of the "culture" that evolved around the hippie lifestyle. This is in my opinion one of Zappa's finest albums, and one of his most outrageous and hilarious satirical peices. The album is made up 19 shorter tracks, so it goes without saying that it is an album that is meant to be listened to as a whole. The music on this album is all over the place, and does feature the "cut and paste" style of alot of Zappa's earlier work. This will surely be a difficult album to digest for the Zappa novice - definitely not a good place to start if you are interested in Zappa. But once you are ready - this is a real treat. Biting and intelligent (not to mention hilarious) commentary on the hippie movement, all backed by the very style of music the hippie movement so much enjoyed. An absolute masterpeice! -.....~ Review by Mellotron Storm It's not surprising that this record is very funny and that Frank uses a lot of satire. What surprised me was "who" he was making fun of in 1968. People like THE BEATLES, hippies, Woodstock and middle class America. Ok, middle class America I can see, but it just shows that no one is off limits from Zappa's parody. The front album cover of the band dressed up as women is one of the funniest pictures i've ever seen. And add to that the fact they are lampooning the "Sgt.Pepper's Lonely Heartsclub Band" album cover, well it's priceless. "Who Needs The Peace Corps" is about fake hippies, and is so funny especially the line "I will love the police as they kick the sh$#t out of me". "Concentration Moon" is another hilarious song about middle class America and their attitude towards hippies. How they would love to send them all away on a bus and "smash every creep in the face with a rock". "Mom And Dad" is a mellow, catchy tune that is almost prophetic about the violence against young people by authorities, as like what happened in Ohio. "Harry, Your A Beast" is very BEATLES sounding. "Flower Punk" is a mockery of Woodstock, and is so funny. "Let's Make The Water Turn Black" is a brilliant, well done song. Yeah, it's funny too."The Idiot Bastard Son" made me laugh right out loud at work when I was listening to this. Some nice guitar in "Lonely Little Girl" while "The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny" is experimental sounding and really quite good. All in all this is about the lyrics more than the music, but it's just so well done. And especially when you consider the year and the people Zappa was making fun of. ......~ Review by 1800iareyay We're Only In It For the Money is the highlight of the Zappa with the Mothers of Invention. He would go on to write better albums after ditching the Mothers, but this still stands as his first triumph. This album is built upon the concept of satirizing the 60s. While Zappa aims a few hits at other artists (the cover mocks the Sgt. Pepper artwork, while "Flower Punk" attacks Hendrix based on his lyrics and rock-star attitude), he generally stops short of attacking the talent of the aforementioned bands, as Mark already said. Frank mocks the attitude of sonic exploration by using mainly electronics over conventional instruments. However, he does so in a way that makes the album musical, moreso than many LSD-fueled experimentations of contemporary bands. Zappa's gift of humor pervades the album, particularly on songs like "Who Need the Peace Corps?," which tears apart the hippie culture. If you don't laugh when Frank mocks the hippie attitude when he says "I will love everyone, I will love the police as they kick the s**t out of me on the street," then you're dead inside. "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" is one of countless innuendo-filled tunes. When you listen to AC/DC, later-day Rolling Stones, and a host of other like minded bands, you have Frank to thank. I'll spare you a track by track review; suffice to say the album drips with some of the smartest lyrics of the decade. Really the only serious song is "Mom & Dad," which deals with a teen being shot by police. Think of it as Zappa's "Ohio." Every other song is filled with biting satire, and countless effects that make Sgt. Pepper's seem conventional by comparison. As wonderful as this album is, it can't be listened to repeatedly; I have to give breaks in between listens. It's probably the most progressive album of the 60s, save perhaps In the Court of the Crimson King, and at least that fit melodies. Zappa fans should start with Apostrophe and Over-nite Sensation before braving this great but inacessible gem. .....~ Review by UMUR This is one of the best known Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention albums. It´s a favorite of mine in his discography and if you haven´t listened to Zappa before this is one of the albums you should start with. This is one of the most progressive yet accessible rock albums from the sixties that I have heard. Strange sounds and tape recordings of conversations spliced together mixed with pop/ rock songs with memorable and even beautiful melodies. This is topped of by some of the most provocative and clever lyrics written for a rock album ever. This is simply put one of my all time favorite albums. It´s fantastic! no less. The lyrics are funny, provocative and clever as I mentioned above. A line like: What´s the Ugliest Part Of Your Body, some Say Your Nose, some Say Your Toes, But I think it´s Your Mind, sung in fifties style doo voop is just fantastic and the sexual explicit lyrics in Harry You´re a Beast are so hilarious and I can only say tuché to the american womanhood. There is a kind of backwards sounding vocal part which is just beautiful to the twisted mind ( I am one). It seems like censorship noise but I´m sure Zappa did this on purpose and to great effect I might add. The song starts with the vocal line: I´m gonna tell you the way it is, and I´m not gonna be kind or easy, your whole attitude sticks I say, and the Life you lead is completely empty. I´ll just let that stand there for a while. This was of course very provocative in 1968 as it is the american womanhood Zappa is talking about, but as bitingly sarcastic and provocative Zappa could be, he could be just as socially aware. Songs like Concentration Moon and Mom & Dad proves this fully. Thoughful and clever lyrics. A lot of the lyrics are about what Zappa saw as fake hippy ideals, society´s expectations to young people and Zappa´s favorite subject hypocricy and bigotry. The music is for the most part little pop/ rock songs with lots of twists, there are a few examples of the more noisy avant garde side of The Mothers Of Invention in Nasal Retentive Calliope Music and The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny but the rest of the album is in a more conventional format. All the songs seque together though and the album ends up being a kind of concept album. There are also strong classical influences on the album even though there are no classical music parts as such. The incarnation of The Mothers of Invention who played on various parts of this album was perhaps the best lineup they ever had. Frank Zappa on Vocals and Guitar, Roy Estrada on Vocals ( The high pitched notes) and Bass, two drummers in Billy Mundi and Jimmy Carl Black. Jimmy Carl Black also adds vocals, but they are mostly spoken. Don Preston on keyboards and the classical trained Ian Underwood on winds and keyboards/ Piano, Euclid James `Motorhead` Sherwood on winds and finally Bunk Gardner on winds. All very talented musicians who could play almost anything. The production is worth a whole review for itself as it is fantastic and innovative. Frank Zappa was not only an outstanding musician but also a brilliant producer. It seems I can´t praise this album enough, but I´m sure you get the picture, without me going on about the many qualities this album have. All I want to say here in my conclusion is that this is a milestone album in prog rock and in Zappa´s discography and it deserves 5 stars more than any other album in prog archives. .....~ Review by horsewithteeth11 s Oddly enough, this was the first Zappa album I ever heard. For most people, starting with Zappa here would probably turn them off, or in some cases send them running into the streets screaming in terror. The issue with this album, as a reviewer said awhile ago, is that one must understand the inner workings of Zappa's mind before one can truly "get" this album. Even though this was the first Zappa album I ever heard, I actually wasn't turned off by the lyrics or psychedelic, eclectic music. The lyrics weren't an issue for me because I had been a (now former) long time Weird Al Yankovic fan, where strange lyrics are to be expected. Since there are 19 tracks, I won't bother going through each one, and even if I did, it wouldn't tell you all that much about the music. It's better to think of each song as a segment of the album as a whole. The humor fits quite well on this album actually, and even though it does seem over the top at times, it's countered by a few more serious sections. Overall this is an album that is hard to describe unless you've actually listened to it. However, I think this album is an absolute essential from one of the master producers and guitarists of progressive rock. If it isn't in your collection you'll want to get it eventually, but not until you've at least heard some other Zappa, particularly Hot Rats or another one of his masterpieces. Still though, I think this album is deserving of a 5 star rating because it's Zappa at one of his best moments. .....~ Review by Warthur The ultimate musical "a curse on all your houses", before Altamont, before the National Guard shooting students in Ohio, before the chaos at the 1968 Democratic convention and the victory of Richard Nixon, Zappa and the Mothers were there, right in the thick of the summer of love, exposing it for the sham that it is whilst refusing to let the establishment off the hook at the same time. Lyrically bang on target, the album expresses Zappa's anger as the momentum of the civil rights movement and all the movements for progressive social change that had built up in the earlier part of the decade is squandered by naive hippies espousing incoherent, vacuous philosophies and showing more interest in taking drugs and getting laid than genuinely changing the world. Along with Love's "Forever Changes" and *maybe* the work of the Doors, this ranks amongst the very first albums to suggest that the Age of Aquarius might, in fact, simply be a washout. Musically speaking, it's a bit less schizophrenic than Absolutely Free, partially because of the unity of the concept. Between the tape effects and whisperings at the edge of the recording, some of which hide the inner thoughts of the hippy musicians the band are parodying, the music begins with a strident, almost militant tone with "who needs the peace corps", takes pot-shots at the establishment with "Bow-Tie Daddy" and "Mom and Dad", and as the 60s generation gets gradually consumed by Vietnam amidst the fairytale gadding about of "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" the music - like the movement it is criticising - breaks down and gives way to the incoherence musique concrete of The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny. This and "Absolutely Free" are the two major statements of the early Mothers of Invention; Zappa's later music would be more progressive, but the satire would never be quite as finely targeted. ....~ Review by Neu!mann Frank Zappa's anti-Flower Power parody was one of those self-consciously wacky albums that was probably more fun to write and record that it was to play back afterward (at least after the first, hilarious exposure). It was released in answer to what Zappa saw as the commercial mainstreaming of the counterculture after the Summer of Love (hence the cynical title). But talk about easy targets: picking on the hippies must have been like shooting stoned fish in a pastel-colored barrel. What exactly was the matter, Frank? Were the phony freaks getting more media attention than the genuine ones? It's 1968, there's rioting in the streets from Paris to Chicago, and you're satirizing the Flower Children? What happened to the legitimate outrage evident in the earlier Mother's song 'Trouble Every Day'? All right, enough carping, easy enough to do with over forty years of hindsight. There is of course a lot more here than mere hippie-bashing. The album was unique in its day, both for its daring nonconformity (a rock 'n' roll record mocking rock 'n' roll's primary audience) and for the groundbreaking cut-and-paste composite production job. The entire album flows together like an extended theatrical stage show, despite being broken up into discrete songs ranging from a breathless 23-seconds ('Hot Poop') to a brief 3+ minutes ('Idiot Bastard Son'). The exception is the free-form album closer, 'The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny' six minutes of carefully orchestrated noise and tape effects, revealing Zappa's deeply-rooted affection for post-romantic European classical avant- garde and musique concrète (notable the work of Edgar Varèse, a hero of Frank's since childhood). Underneath all the munchkin vocals, corrupted doo-wop, ersatz psychedelia and silly track titles ('Nasal Retentive Calliope Music') is a not-so-subtle condemnation of the music industry, already marketing rebellion as a freeze-dried commodity in 1968. The album, then as now, plays like a wet slap in the face of cultural complacency and corporate brainwashing. Coda: it's easy in retrospect to see Zappa's influence on such celebrated outsider music groups like FAUST and (in particular) the RESIDENTS. But Uncle Frank was there first. ......~ Review by tarkus1980 This is very arguably Zappa's most famous album, and in my observation is very often the album that Zappa newbies are recommended to pick up first. This actually has quite a bit merit (though I'd probably have gotten You Are What You Is first if I could do it all over again); it has quite a few great, GREAT melodies, a bunch of neat sound effects that don't usually take total precedence over the music, and of course it has the concept and the accompanying lyrics. Yes, this is the infamous total bashing of "Flower Power" and hippies in general, the one with the band in drag and the inside cover containing an elaborate Sgt. Pepper's parody and all of that. The final nail in the coffin of the psychedelia of 1967, if you will (though by coming out in the second half of 1968, its impact wasn't as timely as it could have been). Before I start commenting on the concept, just as every single review of this album is seemingly required to do at some point, there's something I want to comment on that I don't think I've ever seen discussed. Today, years after the release of this album, the fact that Zappa despised hippies is just taken for granted, and the reasons he gives for this are certainly very legitimate ones. I have to wonder, though; did hippies back in 1967 and 1968 have any reason to believe that an album like this was imminent from The Mothers of Invention? I can't help but think that the situation was quite the opposite; Zappa had put so much energy into ripping on "conventional" American culture in his first two albums that I would think that many hippies would have thought they'd found a common soulmate. After all, they were rebelling against their parents and elder authority figures (and the culture that had sprung up from them), the same people which Zappa thoroughly condemned in his own unique way. In a certain way, it could have been perceived that Zappa and Flower Power hippies were sort of "brothers in arms," united in their struggle against The Man. And yet, there's this album, which I suspect was an even greater shock to the hippie community than we today consider it to have been. The question is then this: why would Zappa so thoroughly despise the people and ideologies he condemns on this album, when in theory they had several goals in common with him? The answer, I suspect, was largely tied in with the fact that hippies were making Zappa and his own fervent desire to bring down the establishment look bad by association. It's the same sort of reason why, even though I like a lot of prog rock, I despise reading messages from people insisting that music is supposed to be judged solely on how complex and intricate and difficult-to-play it is. When I'm trying to get people into art-rock and prog-rock, as I have attempted for much of my adult life, I have done so with the intended goal of showing fans of "normal" rock music that they can indeed fit art-rock and prog-rock into their already-existing pallettes, and that you don't have to become a snooty technique whore to enjoy these things. More than any other kind of comment, I get absolutely livid when I read comments of this type, because in those comments is an inadvertant and incidental, but nonetheless very real, attack on my credibility as an art-rock lover among others whom I am trying to convert. And so it was with Zappa and hippies; he was really trying to effect a change in society as a whole, but while hippies were ostensibly trying to do the same thing, most of them were just a bunch of lazy poseur brats who were merely looking for an excuse to get high and get laid. Zappa had to make it as clear as he could that he did not consider these imposters as people on the same side as him; it was only true eccentrics like him, the "other people" that he refers to in the song "Mother People," that were the true revolutionaries, the ones who could actually pull off what it was he intended to accomplish. Now that that little rant is over, I can get back to the album. The truth is, as much as I like it, I still don't feel like I like it as much I'm "supposed" to. As thorough an assault on hippies (and by extension, all phonies, poseurs and hangers-on) as it is, it kinda feels to me like the concept runs out of steam midway through. I'm still not sure of the purpose of the whispering control-room voice threatening to erase every Zappa album (as cool as it sounds), since it's kinda difficult for me to figure what some sort of commentary related to censorship has to do with the album concept. I'm also not a fan at all of the closing sound collage, "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny;" I do think it's amusing that Frank would essentially stick a parody of taking music too seriously onto the end of the album (after asking around, I've found that at least the people I've asked think that the spiel Frank goes off about needing to read "In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka is totally tongue in cheek), but making it almost twice as long as anything else on the album was a bit much. I'm also not a particular fan of "Absolutely Free" (the second longest track on here), which aside from the lovely piano introduction is alarmingly dull to my ears (echoing voices saying "Flower power sucks!" notwithstanding), and "The Idiot Bastard Son" doesn't do much for me either. Now, that might seem like a whole lot of complaining I've given for an album I'm giving a ***** grade, and to a large extent I agree; it's extremely tempting to go back to the beginning and change that ***** to a ****. On the other hand, there are a whole lot of parts to this album that I really love, and furthermore there's just some unexplainable power coming out of this album that I can't help but feel beholden to. It also doesn't hurt, for instance, that not only are there a whole lot of melody snippets strewn throughout this album that I find unbelievably great, but that a lot of the lyrics and spoken passages strike my ears as absurdly perfect even after hearing them a zillion times. Do you have any idea how much giddy joy I get from hearing Frank sing, "I'm completely stoned. I'm hippy and I'm trippy; I'm a gypsy on my own. I'll stay a week and get the crabs and take a bus back home. I'm really just a phony but forgive me 'cause I'm stoned?" Or hearing the spoken voice-over in the same song ("Who Needs the Peace Corps?") say the following? "First I'll buy some beads, and then a leather band to go around my head; some feathers and bells and a book of Indian lore. I will ask the Chamber of Commerce how to get to Haight Street, and smoke an awful lot of dope. I will wander around barefoot. I will have a psychedelic gleam in my eye at all times. I will love everyone; I will love the police as they kick the [&*!#] out of me on the street. I will sleep ... I will, I will go to a house. That's, that's what I'll do; I will go to a house where there's a rock'n'roll band, 'cause the groups all live together, and I will join a rock'n'roll band. I will be their road manager, and I will stay there with them. And I will get the crabs, but I won't care." Does it get ANY more perfect than that? Let's see, after that, there's "Concentration Moon," which has 3 melody snippets that I can't regard as anything less than awesome: the "AMERICAN WAY" snippet, the "Don't cry, gotta go bye bye" bit, and of course the main "verse" melody ("Wish I was back in the valley with all of my friends ...'). There's the extremely moving "Mom and Dad," where in the span of 2:16 he puts much of the blame for the existence of the hippies that he hates squarely on the shoulders of emotionally negligent parents. As much as many like to go on about how America needs to get back to ways of the 1950's in order to save the moral structure of the country, it should not be ignored that it was in this time that the archetype of the emotionally distant father, who came home from work and just wanted to put his feet up, read his paper, eat his already-made dinner and only have a token amount of involvement in his children's lives, really etched its way into the American consciousness. This was the time when the Pleasantville style of life became the supposed ideal, and you know what? That was the time period and culture that created the conditions for the culture of the 60's to come into being, and was indeed the soil from which phony hippies sprung. This song hits on that observation better than any I've ever come across, and if you don't grit your teeth a bit at the lines, "Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion, in between the moisture cream and velvet facial lotion?" and "It's such a drag to have a plastic Mom and Dad," (an obvious nod to "Plastic People;" conceptual continuity strikes again!) then we're just not on the same wavelength. Other major highlights include the hilarious "What's The Ugliest Part of Your Body" (which then breaks into Frank delivering his message in a straight-up metered superliminal fashion), the AMAZING "Hey Joe" parody "Flower Punk" (which ends with two entirely separate monologues done in the usual helium-Zappa phony hippy voice, one in each speaker, each of which are jaw-droppingly dead-on imitations of shallow hippiedom) and of course the gloriously catchy "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance." Yeah, it's only a minute and a half long, and I know it's to be taken as a mockery of hippy world peace anthems, but it's so much fun and so lighthearted in comparison to the rest of the album that I can't help but be happy when it comes on. There's other good songs, and other great sound effects (the most notable of which is the quasi-"rewinding" of "Mother People" that takes place during the unfortunately-titled "Hot Poop"), but I don't really need to go over them at this point. The overall message I want to convey here is that, as (arguably) overhyped as the album might be, and as obnoxious as some of its passages might be, Money nonetheless exudes greatness, and has a feeling of being "essential" to any 60's rock collection that I don't think should be ignored. I wouldn't recommend it as a first Zappa purchase, but it definitely should be gotten early on. ......~ Review by EatThatPhonebook There are many reasons why this can be considered a masterpiece. First of all, the music itself is insane, typical Avant Prog I guess. But also, what really impressed me (and made me laugh) was the humor and the satire, elements that are typical of Frank Zappa's early albums, and some of his latter ones. With his third album Zappa releases one of his finest albums, a great concept album that was at the time acclaimed by the hippie culture, even though he did make fun of them a lot. It is also considered one of the best concept albums ever, thanks to it's unique musicality and impressive subject, which focuses mainly on America's society at the time. Despite that, it still is a modern album, just as effective as it was in 1968. A special guest was a surprising Eric Clapton, who did a few vocal parts. Five stars, as I really enjoyed it, it truly is a masterpiece that everyone should listen to sooner or later. .....~ Review by Finnforest Frank mocks hippie youth and their parents "What's the ugliest part of your body? I think it's your mind..." The Mothers albums were huge indictments of society in the 1960s. One of the pleasant surprises hearing them again was realizing Zappa was not simply going to take the easy path and trash only "them." He was willing to point the lens back at the "us" side of the equation and call the liberal youth to task for some of their vanity and hypocrisies. This time out the music switched again from the previous albums by moving more forcefully into psych-parody, while the banter's venom level was sustained if redirected somewhat. The band had flown from New York to London for shows and finished up this album upon their return. If the work from this period sounds connected it was no accident, Zappa was always working on more than one project and he would intentionally cross pollinate them musically and thematically, so you again hear references to other work. This helps give the Mothers years an even more rewarding overall feel. Here the musical theme is a hilarious send-up of psych-rock/pop with trippy sequences and looped tape effects, all very period, but I suspect being offered with disdain rather than the reverence of his peers to this style. Musically the short little melodic ditties are more like the first album than the second, which had expanded more instrumentally, but the first album felt late 50s/early 60s while this one feels Summer of Love, maniacally bastardized of course. Zappa didn't hate the counter-culture for the parts he considered authentic but he did hate the way the scene was just as malleable by vanity and comfort as the mainstream, and the way that youth were letting themselves be defined by other forces. He was scathing in his views on the drug culture and his general displeasure for the hippie scene is unleashed here in hilarious lyrics. In my favorite segment, the hilarious "Flower Punk," they completely mock the flower warrior on his way to San Fran to join a psych band, play bongos at the love-ins, and live with a band in the Haight. Similar criticism appears in "Who needs the Peace Corps" where the stoners are mentioned in the quest for hair and good drugs before returning home the next week, the inference being the "movement" for many was little more than partying and getting laid before returning to Mom and Dad's basement to avoid supporting one's self. Equal vitriol is of course served up for Mom and Dad, for being sexually repressed and unable to raise children who think for themselves. All of these points are valid to consider, although I'm not sure the Zappa lifestyle was necessarily a healthier template for the youth of America. As the Zappa bio points out, Frank was pretty good at being "too busy for the kids" himself. "We're Only In It For The Money is a remarkable album and still holds up well. Despite its jolly snatches of surfing music, the tape clips, the speeded-up tape, the chipmunk voices and the parodies of the sensitive flower-power music, it is a profoundly serious album. Zappa's view is bleak and filled with foreboding. The lyrics are about lonely, unloved children, fascist trigger happy cops, materialistic parents who are too busy consuming to notice their children are sad. ---Barry Miles, Zappa-A Biography (That last part is ironic as Moon once had to give her father a note pleading for his attention because Frank was always busy with the business and writing.) Miles and most reviewers are far more satisfied with this album overall than I am. While lyrically there are some vintage Zappa moments, the musical experience gets by more on quirk and parody than on the actual strength of the songs. To me they do feel more obvious and less thrilling than they should for such a highly rated work. I'm surprised so many feel that this is the place to begin with Zappa. I would say the debut album "Freak Out" remains the true classic among these early works. .....~ Review by The Truth Rarely do I give an album five stars that's as silly as this one is, but it truly deserves it. Frank's answer to Sgt. Pepper was one large cynical hippie rant that any fan of music can't resist. I mean, as it turns out flower-power had no power. Or at least that's what Frank told me. Anyways, what you get hear is a bunch of silly little psych-pop tunes interspersed with sound and noise experiments. The imprint it leaves on your mind is "Wow! I gotta hear that again" so you do, again and again and again. It's like a drug, I don't normally like stuff this comedic. But I get the feeling that somewhere in that vast mess of intentional idocracy there is some deeper meaning. I'll go ahead and say it right now that this is the only silly album I will give five stars. Just the sheer variety it gives makes me do that. I think anyways. Also, the ending hurts your head after awhile but after hearing it I couldn't help but think, "What a nutjob! Putting that on a record!" Then I remembered, that's how most prog is. .....~ Review by Rune2000 We're Only In It For The Money is generally considered to be the apex of the Mothers' career and I can definitely stand by that opinion! Just like the two previous releases, this is another album that mocks the state of society that existed at the time although on this occasion it's the whole psychedelic and flower power movement that gets under Zappa's crossfire. Remember that We're Only In It For The Money was released in the first quarter of 1968, right in the middle of the movements prosperity, which made it a daring statement indeed. The material is comprised of catchy jingle-like short tunes mixed with audio collages where the band depict some of their weirdest experiments yet! I always considered the first three tracks to comprise a short trilogy where Are You Hung Up? introduces us to the audio collage-format that will be an important part of this record followed by the critique of Who Needs The Peace Corps? which then transitions into the mockery of Concentration Moon. These three songs basically sum up this album in a nutshell! The rest of the album follows that same blueprint with a few surprises added here and there. I've heard that We're Only In It For The Money was originally conceived as a direct response to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band for being labeled as the first concept album in the mainstream media. Supposedly, this upset Frank Zappa since Freak Out! was released almost a year prior to the Beatles' masterpiece and featured many similarities in the thematic outline of the material. This might explain why this album used a collage of famous people á la Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band as a payback of a sort! The more I listen to this album the more strange similarities I find to other works of the time. For example; there is an interesting similarity between the sound of Flower Punk and Jimi Hendrix's version of Hey Joe. Is it suppose to be a parody of this rock classic or am I just listening into it too much? Who knows and, frankly, who cares when we have so much excellent material here well worth to create a movement of its own! Have it not been for the acquired taste conclusion with the 6+ minute audio collage suitably titled The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny, this would have been a jewel in my record collection. As it stands today it's very close to grabbing that final star, but I just can't be that generous. We're Only In It For The Money is nonetheless a highly recommended album to all fans of groundbreaking prog rock music! ....~ Review by Prog Leviathan If you're someone like me-- practically two generations removed from the '60's and only ever hearing of Zappa in the context of "weird"-- do yourself a favor and check out We're Only In It For The Money right now. Yes, it's very weird, but in an infectious way, and is an absolutley inimitable tour de force of satircal charm... so long as you can stand a few freak-outs. The music itself is very anacronistic, moving briskly through an eclectic parody of what sounds like a collection of '60's greatest hits. The musicianship is subtle but excellent, especially given the countless twists and turns of the tempo and dynamics. The tone is playful and manic, assisted by lots of psychedelic sound effects and electronic distortion-- which sounds great in this digital production. The real show however, is the sardonic wit and style of Zappa, whose indictment of culture at the time is genuinly entertaining. You won't find any display's of his guitar virtuosity, but rather be constantly tickled by his lyrics and manipulated lyrics. A unique master stroke of deep-nonsense. .....~ Review by Sinusoid The nonsensical humour has turned into nonsense. The first two Mothers of Invention albums were filled with brash, biting humour at traditional American culturalisms that were funny, but the albums were great because the music underpinning the humour was either smartly experimental, cleverly sarcastic or cop outs to trends but thrown off. ABSOLUTELY FREE was a great album with some slight missteps, but I thought this album would pick up the momentum and I would find an everyday masterpiece. Instead, I'm wondering why the Mothers pasted that momentum in favour of hippie-bashing. This is nothing more than taking easy jabs at the mainstream perception of hippies and thier impact on our culture. I'm fine with the satire, but the music suffers. It's all too bright and cheery compared to what the Mothers gave us earlier, especially getting used to the singers always being on key (I really miss the off-key singing). Even worse is that on tracks like ''Take Your Clothes Off...'' and ''Flower Punk'', the vocals are tampered with creating stupid Smurf-esque vocals in the process. The humour here makes me go ''Meh'' instead of making me laugh. What happened? Truth be told, there are some things worth salvaging. ''Let's Make the Water Turn Black'' is still funny, but only if you're in teenage, adolescent or college years. Some of the shorter tracks have whimsy like ''Take Your Clothes Off...'', ''Bow Tie Daddy'' and ''Ugliest Part of Your Body''. ''Absolutely Free'' and ''Mother People'' make fine mini-epics with a portion of ''Mother People'' sounding like ''Fiddle About'' from the TOMMY album. Any chance that I give IN IT FOR THE MONEY four stars is nullified when looking at the noise collage pieces. I have a distaste for most of them, and even if some are short, I'd rather skip tracks like ''Hot Poop'' and ''Are You Hung Up?''. The worst is the ''Megaphone'' closer that is seven minutes of that abstractness; this is just too much, and it's the worst closer of an album I can think of. I feel so bummed, dude. Too much of IN IT FOR THE MONEY sound sterile and too polished compared to earlier works. It's still a fine album nevertheless. ....~ Review by friso It's always nice when colleagues are willing to donate their vinyl record collection to a student like me. To find two vinyls of Frank Zappa/The Mothers of Invention in those old boxes full of dusty vinyls is like hitting the jack-pot. I hadn't heard many Frank Zappa music, only Weasels Ripped my Flesh once at my brothers. The cover-artwork of this 'We're only in it for the Money' is an attempt to criticize the Beatles. The composition of all parts of the fold-out cover is exactly the same as that of 'Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts club Band'. Very strange... This '68 record is truly progressive as in 'innovative'. The album is extremely psychedelic with avant-garde like noises and bizarre song-writing. The vocals are always strange and never serious. Still this has a very likable effect and it's damn catchy. Exploring the possibilities of strange vocals is a key-element of this album. The composition is very progressive and has many new harmonies, great experimental rhythms and many different sounds. The style of the music goes from bizarre Canterbury to silly pop, with strange lyrics being the only factor that remains throughout the record. That the Mothers would evoke what would later become the Canterbury-style prog was a surprise for me. Listening to this record, it is has become clear where bands like Soft Machine, early Pink Floyd, Supersister and The United States of America got their inspiration. These early albums of Frank Zappa and crew are clearly very important for other musicians to feel free and go out and explore. Conclusion. Well, this is one of the strongest and most progressive albums of 1968. In fact, the only record I would rate higher is that of The Unites States of America. We're Only in it for the Money is a very likable record, but the great amount of strange noised (mainly on side two of the record) still disturbs me at times. The recording is good for it's year of release. I will go with the strong four-star rating. Recommend to fans of psychedelic rock, avant-garde and Canterbury styled prog. Furthermore, it is essential to understand the progressive genre......~ Review by Anthony H. We're Only in It for the Money is the greatest Mothers of Invention album and the crowning achievement of Zappa's early career. Everything Zappa had been aiming for on the first two Mothers albums is perfected here. Musically, WOiIftM is an unceasingly interesting avant-garde psychedelic cornucopia. Zappa's normally complex compositions are substituted with a more simplistic, musique-concrete style. Lyrically, this album manages to skewer every detail of 1960s culture, oftentimes in a humorous way, but sometimes in a caustically biting fashion. These elements are combined with Zappa's characteristic craziness, making WOiIftM a truly unique and memorable experience. "Are You Hung Up?" is a brief sound collage that opens the album. "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" lambasts the hippie movement (perhaps the "phony hippie movement" would be a better description). This is mostly a psychedelic song, although the hilarious spoken word section is backed up by jazzy sax. "Concentration Moon" alternates between satirical flower-power music and more sound collages. The previously humorous tone of the album is brought down by "Mom & Dad", a somber song about police brutality and societal hypocrisy. Excellent bass and flute back up the poignant lyrics. "Telephone Conversation" is a short interlude consisting of, well, an excerpt from a phone conversation. "Bow Tie Daddy" is a thirty-second a-cappella piece. Despite its short length, this is one of my favorites here. "Harry, You're a Beast" shows piano playing taking a slightly larger role. Lyrically, "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" is the strongest song here. Zappa's social criticism has rarely got better than this. "Absolutely Free" continues in the album's normal style, although with a more defined chorus. The same applies to "Flower Punk", another funny examination of the hippie lifestyle. "Hot Poop" is another short sound collage. "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" sticks to the avant-grade minimalism throughout its duration. "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" is a fast-paced lyrically-driven song. "The Idiot Bastard Son" may be the most musically interesting piece on the album, with flute/piano passages backing up the vocals. "Lonely Little Girl" sharply contrasts minimalism with psychedelic quirkiness. "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" is completely vocally-driven and is the one of the catchiest and most brilliant things Zappa wrote in the 60s. A reprise of "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" leads into "Mother People", which contains some funky bass and wah guitar. "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" is a six-minute musique-concrete piece that ends the album. This is a unique recording not only within the context of popular music, but within Zappa's catalogue as well. The psychedelic minimalism and vocally-driven segments present here were fully explored neither before nor after this album's release. This is a masterpiece of an album, not only due to this distinctive musical style but also because of the hysterical, subversive, and brilliant lyrical content. There are few other pieces of art that merge innovation and cultural commentary as well as We're Only in It for the Money does. .....~ Review by VanVanVan This is hands down my favorite Mothers album. An incredibly diverse mix of styles and flavors, "We're Only in it for the Money" combines weird, avant-pop sensibilities with lyrical brilliance and top notch musicianship to create one of the tightest, most interesting albums I've ever heard. As I mentioned, there's an incredible variety of style in the music here, ranging from pretty standard pop to avant-garde noise and even a brief parody of the tin-pan-alley style on "Bow Tie Daddy." Often there are multiple styles in one song, which is especially impressive when you see that most of the songs are less than three minutes long. That said, nothing ever feels rushed or forced, and many of the songs flow together to make the album feel much "larger" than it actually is, if that makes any sense. Lyrically the album is a bit more focused. As evidenced by the title and the cover, this is a scathing attack on the flower-power hippy culture. Even further than that, though, I think the album's theme can be summarized in a line: "What's the ugliest part of your body... I think it's your mind" from the song of the same name. Overall, though, the lyrics are very clever and lack the gross-out anatomical nature of some of his later lyrics. The vocals, like the music, show a great range. From the almost purposefully annoying nasal vocals on "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" to the barbershop-quartet-esque chorus of "Concentration Moon" to the spoken word passages on various tracks (which work surprisingly well) the vocals are anything but dull. Overall then, I think this album, more than any other, gives the best all around picture of what Frank Zappa was all about and I would recommend that anyone looking to get into his music pick this one up first. ....~ Review by Evolver Part comedy, part parody, all brilliant. Even after over forty years, this album still shines. While many people focus on Zappa's skewering of the hippie movement, this album is much more than that. In fact, if you listen to the lyrics, he appears to be aiming at the hangers-on around the movement, and the corporate suits who turned it into a mass-marketing tool (just like they do with everything that gets popular). Also in Zappa's crosshairs are parents, politicians, and other miscreants. There is also an interlude where he just goes off on an odd story of some of his friends. Verve records was not too happy with this album, and censored the sh*t out of it (Zappa left the label as soon as he could). Despite the censoring, the album is still a masterpiece of it's time. Zappa upped the experimentation in songs that otherwise sounded poppy, by throwing in odd time signatures and sound effects and snippets of what sounds like music meant for "Lumpy Gravy". Maybe you need to have a certain mind set to really appreciate this album so far from the generation that it was aimed at, but it still should be in every prog fan's collection. ....~ Review by Dobermensch I always knew i was listening to the wrong Zappa albums. Boredom mixed with annoyance was my general opinion of just about all the albums I'd heard by him. Fortunately I found this 39 years after it's original release and it has pleased me no end with it's oddball almost 'Nurse With Wound' cut ups. There's that weird octave vocal shift that Bowie used on 'Bewlay Brothers' in '71 on some of the vocals which creates a surreal atmosphere. It's a short album which chops and changes very quickly in a disorientating way - almost like 'Trout Mask' by Beefheart. This is a more friendly listen than that album though. There's a lot of pre-historic tape manipulation prevalent throughout which adds to the uniqueness of what was, basically, a commercial album at the time. Simplistic but crazy lyrics in the form of the 'Residents' make this a very entertaining listen indeed. Apparently cut to ribbons by censors due to the language used, we're left with a non sweary but double entendre galore album that should please most folk who like the strangeness of Floyd's first album and early 'Residents' ....~ Review by AtomicCrimsonRush "We're Only In It For The Money" is a Zappa and the Mothers album dripping with cynical attitude poking fun of parental excess and adolescent stupidity. It openly has a stab at the police, the system and the yuppie jet set verses the hippy drug culture. On one listen it will amuse and the lyrics are certainly the most biting I have heard exposing the American way "smash every creep in the face with a rock, gotta go bye bye, pow pow pow." The songs are dark at least in thematic content but the tunes are quirky and whimsical. Even the album cover blatantly makes fun of the classic Beatles Sgt Pepper. There is no subtlety in either imagery or style. Zappa just lets rip on everything damning the world. The result is a mixed bag of strange hyper tense lyrics and compelling tunes. The tracks are so short that if you do not like one you only have to wait about a minute for the next track. The special effects as always on a Mothers album are terrific. The phone call on Telephone Conversation is so similar to Pink Floyd's The Wall it is uncanny. Certainly this album was a major influence on concept albums. Zappa was doing things on vinyl that no other artist dared. "Freak Out" proved he could produce bizarre material and this follows up on this with a strong conceptual frame work. Songs like Bow Tie Daddy are throwaways for me as they are too stupid. I am not into the style either so this is a difficult listen as was "Freak Out!" What´s the ugliest part of your body? is a fun track due to the 50s doo wop style, a Zappa-esqu touch plaguing his other albums. It is okay in small measure. The lyrics to follow are quite potent such as making fun of Christmas, "comet and cupid and donner and blitzen, escape from your logo" on Absolutely Free. The funky double bass heavy Flower Punk is particularly innovative lyrically, "throw out the crystal and join the psychedelic man, and a narrative voice spouting off about the evils of the music industry, "The kids today are so wonderful, I'm proud to be part of this gigantic mass deception". Nasal retentive calliope music brings us back to the bizarre world of these acid heads, and perhaps is a bit too disconcerting for some listeners, as perturbing as a lot of darker prog these days. An avant-garde sound collage that is really a noise fest of creaking squeaks and ear splitting sonic vibrations. Let's Make the Water Turn Black is one of the more well known Zappa tracks featuring in some of the concerts. Some otherworldy sounds accompany the second side of the album introducing tracks and then the music jumps straight in like The Residents style, with no introductions and no endings. The songs blend together and hardly develop until the next weird effect. There is lots of jabbering and nonsense but it seems to work in a similar way to other Mothers albums. Finally we get to the hilarious Lonely Little Girl and Take your clothes off when you dance which is rather restrained for Zappa in terms of crudity, but has lots of nananana wah wah wah wah in the lyrics, but is a breezy piece that typifies the band's sound. This is once again one of the products of the late sixties and is fun for a while but you may prefer the more serious Zappa on "Hot Rats" if you are here for the music because this one sacrifices music for insanity and subversive humour. ....~ Review by TCat 'We're Only In It For the Money' is definitely an interesting album, to say the least. The cover and title is a direct slam to The Beatles and their album 'Sgt. Pepper', who Zappa claimed was all done for the money, not the music. The album, however, is a statement to the condition of society at the time, police violence, the hippy movement (how everyone thought they could be a hippy because it was cool) and the music business. The album is full of music, noise collages and field recordings, sometimes a song is interrupted by whatever FZ wanted to put there. It is one of the most censored albums in rock history. It was also Zappa's way of saying that classical music was being held hostage by the old ladies that tell the concert halls and radio stations what classical music to play. So much to pack in 33 minutes and 19 tracks. FZ always felt that the Mothers filled the gap between serious music and the mass public who were being denied access to good serious music. This is why his music was never 'normal' in the radio friendly sense. When someone listens to FZ (and especially this album) for the first time, they have certain expectations, that while it is known that FZ's music is complicated, that with his crazy and crass humor, they still expect it to be normal music, not Avant-prog or RIO. When the music doesn't reach that expectation, most people turn away from it. While it is true that there is a lot of humor in this album, it isn't always apparent laugh out loud humor as much as it is sarcasm and satire, with large doses of art rock mixed in. It is a rough album, not clean and polished. It is also pretty much a continuous suite more than it is a bunch of individual tracks. Keeping this in mind, it may make more sense when a person hears it for the first time. The frustrating thing to Zappa, was that the music and it's purpose was misunderstood. People automatically thought that the Mothers were the ones that were only in it for the money, and they missed that it was all making fun of The Beatles, even though Frank wanted to make it obvious by copying the Sgt. Pepper cover. He was upset that people could not make the connection, that they never even looked at the similarities of the album covers, and that people just thought The Beatles were sent from heaven. He felt that they were plastic and commercial, but he knew that was an unpopular view among the public. The album starts off with a field recording that Zappa was famous for making without telling anyone and then putting it on a record. The music starts on the 2nd track with 'Who Needs the Peace Corps?' which was meant to make fun of the hippy movement and not necessarily the Peace Corps. Why work for a government run organization built to help young adults make a difference in the world when you can just be lazy, join the Dead Heads and 'be a hippy'? Then comes another musical number (mostly) called 'Concentration Moon' about how San Francisco and it's citizens were being used for a government LSD experiment and also about police brutality and they feared the hippies. 'Mom & Dad' is one of the Mothers most heartfelt lyrical songs about how parents would ignore what was going on in their world with violence until they have to be told that their own child has died. 'Telephone Conversation' is an actual taped phone conversation which is tied into the song 'Bow Tie Daddy' 'Harry You're a Beast' is about the plastic society again, women specifically. This is one of the songs that got censored quite heavily, and there is a part that sounds like it is being played backwards. That is one of the censored sections of the song. 'What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?' is a satirical take on a Steve Allen song written for children called from an album called 'How to Think'. 'Absolutely Free' starts off with a short routine involving Suzy Creamcheese (one of the Mother's recurring characters) and is another one of the songs that didn't get completely past the censors. 'Flower Punk' is a parody on the song 'Hey Joe' made popular by Jimi Hendrix, but the version they were basing it on was the version recorded by 'The Leaves'. It makes fun of the flower child movement. It turns into a sound collage during the last half with FZ saying different things through each speaker at a high speed, along with other people talking. 'Hot Poop' continues this collage with another backwards section that was censored. 'Nasal Retentive Calliope Music' continues with the sound collage, but this time with processed sounds and noises. The gizmo they used to make this collage was called an 'Apostolic Blurch Injector' (named by Zappa) that would take any source material put into it and mash it up into things that pretty much could not be understood. Some of the things put into this gizmo were police busts, censored sections, interviews with dope pushers trying to get FZ to use drugs and so on. Yes it's hard to listen to, but it's Zappa's way of experimenting. This is followed by a song that was the creation of a theme that would be used by Zappa's band a lot and would become a very popular theme for Zappa fans. 'Let's Make the Water Turn Black' is that song, and this time you get the lyrics, which is based on actual events from Zappa's childhood, specifically certain disgusting habits by certain children he didn't care for much. I won't go into detail, but it's funny in a sick way. Quite a catchy melody though and one that's easy to recognize when Zappa's bands would be playing long improvisations. 'The Idiot Bastard's Son' is a continuation of this song and again, it didn't make it past the censors, so once again, we get it backwards. 'Lonely Little Girl' comes next followed by another familiar Zappa theme 'Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance' which was probably a parody possibly based on an old song. After that there is a reprise for 'What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?' followed by 'Mother People', which would later become a sort of theme for The Mothers. Again, more censored nonsense here. 'The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny' wraps up the album with a 6+ minute sound collage featuring that strange gizmo again. So, yes this album really has no commercial appeal whatsoever, so go into it knowing that, and you won't be disappointed by your preconceived notions of what Frank would call Teen Age Music. This is Avant-prog music, and like I said previously, it is rough. Zappa's music would become more polished as time went on, of course. But this was the style of music he was making at the time. There is a lot going on in this album, and the things I have pointed out in this review only brushes the surface. You literally need some kind of listener's guide to read while listening to this, it would be impossible to cover it all in this review. However, it is an important album, made before Prog music was a thing, but it would help open doors to musical exploration and was also an important movement against commercialism of music. Personally, I don't like it as much as 'Freak Out!', but I do understand it's importance and hopefully this will help shed some light on the album. And there are plenty of internet sites that explore this album quite thoroughly, and I suggest finding one that will help you listen to this crazy album. Things will make a lot more sense, believe me......~ 

When people write about The Mothers of Invention's greatest album, We're Only in It for the Money, the primary focus is on Frank Zappa's lyrics--which are loaded with social commentary on youth culture circa 1967-8--and for good reason. He has to navigate a very thin line as he and his group, often considered hippies because of their long hair (as he sings in "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," "We know that hair ain't where it's at"), demolishes the blossoming hippie culture by calling out its ideals (best epitomized on the album's grandest political statement, "Who Needs the Peace Corps?"). He essentially views their "free love" philosophy as an excuse to indulge in irresponsible behavior (like getting crabs!) and their use of mind-altering drugs as an excuse to get high rather than to find new plains of consciousness. On the other hand, Zappa's lyrical focus is sympathetic with the "kids" who get the "shit kicked out of them" by the police state. Rather than coming off as a conservative reactionary to the hippies, Zappa essentially sides with the Black Power movement's philosophy of the time, which rejected Martin Luther King's nonviolence after too many of their people continued to get murdered and brutalized by the police simply because of the color of their skin. In other words, he views hippie pacifism ("Flower power sucks," he blurts out on "Absolutely Free") as an ineffective way of protesting the authoritarian state. In short, lyrically, the album is the sharpest piece of social critique of the era. Musically, The Mothers of Invention prove that while they are no group of hippies, they can co-opt and play their style of music -- often with far more sophistication and visceral impact. "Flower Punk" is one example, revising The Jimi Hendrix Experience's recent and popular cover of "Hey Joe," with its musique concrete conclusion. The opener, "Are You Hung Up?" similarly distorts tape speed and heavily affects the sound. On many of the album's other tracks, the group displays the ability to tackle a variety of styles, such as old-time pop ("Bow Tie Daddy"), doo-wop ("What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?"), musique concrete ("Nasal Retentive Calliope Music," which also includes a brief parody of surf music, and "The Chrome-Plated Megaphone of Destiny") and folk ("Who Needs the Peace Corps?" "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance"). With nineteen tracks spread out over thirty-nine minutes, the group spreads themselves thin at times, and much of the material is not very memorable ("The Idiot Bastard Son," "Harry, You're a Beast," and even the biting "Concentration Moon"). Nevertheless, social satire in rock music had never been this biting before, and wouldn't be again until the punks arrived on the scene.......yerblues .....~ "If quantum mechanics hasn't profoundly shocked you, you haven't understood it yet" (Niels Henrik David Bohr) Signed by The Mothers of Invention, this is just for delicate palates. In this work, Frank Zappa and his Mothers go on exploring the breach they split with their debut, Freak Out! (66). The album combines acid criticism and merciless humour through galactic psychedelics and free rock to dress up some avant-garde, unembraceable, or perversely innocent melodies. I know it... Calling childish to such a totem of a record may screech some ears, but the album isn't (apparently) brainy nor intellectual at all. It's pure freshness. The jovial-kind's fresh breath. It sounds just like a child exploring the borders, although this child knows exactly what s/he's doing, what s/he intends to achieve. Or perhaps not. Yet, if there's anything clear, that's the fact that this is a work that questions pop culture from its very sleeve. And thanks to its obliqueness, its strangeness, we recover our unprejudiced glance, our panoramic view about society, music and the world surrounding us. That's why it's such an important album, and that's why we must overlook its most hermetic and private moments. After all, we'll never have plenty of works of art with such an absolute quality. "There are some things so serious you have to laugh at them" (Niels Henrik David Bohr)....laranra ......~ The common reaction to this album seems to be along the lines of just casually mentioning how it's incredibly satirical. You get the ol' "Oh and he mocks hippies here! Tee hee hee! What a joker!". Yeah excuse me while I shiver myself to sleep and have nightmares about a dead end society going down the drain. Because this shit ain't funny, this is a concept album that paints a pretty fucking bleak picture, through apsurdist stylings sure, but damn if what it really drops isn't a dark dark message. And focusing on how hippies are a part of that is missing the fucking point if ever I've seen it. They're only one aspect of what is essentially a giant armageddon vision of a generation going down the toilet. A generation doping itself into a zombie like stupor while wearing stupid clothing to cover up it's braindeadness, a generation whose worthless parents are to blame in the first place, and who is being marched off to a stupid war. The ugliest part of your body is your mind? A story about kids mindlessly lighting their farts up and growing up to blow up Vietnam and take pills? A Sgt Peppers cover with lightning crashing through the sky? Everything ending on a disturbing sound collage of disjointed madness? This is the least flattering portrait of the 60's era I've EVER heard. And through the lens of someone who was there and made WHILE it was happening at that. Dark as it is though, maybe due to being raised in a Boomer dominated world where we hear mumblings about why everything about our generation isn't as good as theirs...maybe I take a bit of pleasure in hearing this too. Seeing this big condescending myth we've been raised with shown in such a miserable light. Sure I don't actually think of the Boomer Era as being shitty, but all we hear is the heroics, never the dirty fucking shit along its bottom. If nothing else, thank you Zappa, for putting in the time vault evidence that things weren't all flowers and rainbows resisting war and spreading peace. We generations living in their shadow salute you. An amazingly successful concept album once it clicks, but what about musically? Musically it's not as insane as it's themes and message. Pretty typical Zappa fare that only excites every once in awhile. Same pallet as Freak Out and Absolutely Free here. But man, I've never been confronted with such an album, so strongly communicated in idea but sorta just alright in tunes. But well, like movies sometimes it really is the emotional impact that wins out, not the cinematography, art direction, and sound design. High rank for a helluva intellectual experience....Zephos ......~ The funny thing about the 'summer of love' is that it completely falls to pieces once you do even the most basic research. Vietnam was happening, violence and hatred was raging as Johnson's Civil Rights act remained controversial and MLK's life neared its tragic, inevitable end, and Milton Keynes has just opened. Celtic even won the European Cup, for Christ's sake. The love everybody felt was just drugs, wearing off as easily as they came on. For the hippies it must have been amazing, but anybody who was truly switched on it must have been horrible. And the music reflected that. Even a noted hippie masterpiece like Forever Changes drew all its power from the way the songs reflected the times, by sounding like they were going to fall apart into chaos and darkness at any moment. There was sarcasm and bile hidden in this pop music, as the likes of John Lennon, Ray Davies, Grace Slick, and Donovan took guarded potshots at their own fans. Others took a similar stance in artier, more abstracted ways, with Stockhausen's Hymnen making all other statements of love and togetherness in 1967 look incredibly silly. Nobody, however, went as directly to the jugular as Zappa did. We're Only in It for the Money might sound silly, but it's a genuinely vicious record, fuelled by bile and frustration. Occasionally a sound collage, fittingly pieced together in a way not unlike Stockhausen, occasionally a Bonzo Dog-style knees-up, and occasionally an outright parody, the sound is startling but it does little to disguise those lyrics. 'All young people are poor unfortunate victims of systems beyond their control!' 'I'm really just a phony but forgive, I'm STONED!' 'Hi boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black, the Indian of the group!' 'The first word in this song is discorporate - it means to leave your body!' It's all the smugness, the hypocrisy, the sheer ignorance of the hippie movement disemboweled and spread across 19 relentlessly barbed tracks. Zappa the guitarist and Zappa the songwriter takes a backseat here to Zappa the inventor and Zappa the person. And hey, maybe Zappa the person is cranky and irritable, but would we have him any other way? The sheer focus, the battery of bile that We're Only in It for the Money provides makes it Zappa's only true masterpiece.....iai.....~ I’m skeptical about the hippie thing. Since I’m a flaming liberal, you’d think I’d be all about a group of people trying to force a then-conservative nation to make drastic social changes that would shake their values up but put them in a better place in the long run. And this is true – I strongly admire the hippies that were out for those changes, and I think they were going about things the right way. The issue is that plenty weren’t interested in those changes. I know a lot of people nowadays who self-identify as hippies but could give a shit about politics, and only align themselves with the movement for the superficial stuff. The music (Iron Butterfly is heavy, man), the clothes, the drugs (the Doors kick ass when I’m stoned, I only listen to them then because they kick ass then), the sex… you know. The trappings. Their political views might not go all that far beyond “legalize it,” but they really loved those hippies, and the, um, you know, the things they stood for. Because they were, like, about, like, love and peace. And stuff. Man. So you can see why I really, really love this album. It does what all great satire does: finds a complex issue, realizes that there are two sides to the issue and that nobody is 100% right about it, and basically goes about sticking it to both of them. Frank detested the sort of hippie I described above, the one who wore the beads, smoked the pot, lived in the communes and crap but wasn’t even certain who the president was or what they stood for. You know, the sort of people who go on forever about revolution but aren’t even sure what the revolution will entail. It would be easy to say that Frank hated hippies entirely, but I the lyrics to songs like “Plastic People” and “Trouble Every Day” at least suggest that he was sympathetic to some of their causes and that he hated the society that created the hippies as much as the hippies did. Some of his most vicious barbs are reserved for the extent Middle America was willing to go to stifle the movement at the time, lending what is otherwise off-the-wall, goofy, utterly vicious satire a real sense of weight. “Mom and Dad,” one of the rare moments where Zappa lets his visage down and lets you know how he really feels, destroys me with its melody and the “All your children are poor unfortunate victims…” segment, which keeps coming back and sounds great every time. And so does “Concentration Moon,” whose ability to go from mocking hippies to sympathizing with them is incredible. That was Zappa for you. Never took the easy way out. And here’s the kicker: just as Jethro Tull’s prog parody Thick as a Brick is some pretty damn good prog itself, Zappa made a helluvan acid rock album by parodying acid rock. I don’t know how it always happens like that, other than Zappa’s ridiculous compositional skills and all, but that’s how it happened. The guys in Quicksilver Messenger Service (who are awesome if you like endless, purposeless, coma-inducing guitar noodling) would give their collective left arm if they could play something as cool as what you get in “Flower Punk,” “Who Needs the Peace Corps,” and “Lonely Little Girl,” “Absolutely Free” is one of the few examples of harpsichord-based psychedelic whimsy that I find tolerable, and one of even fewer examples that I can safely say I love, and “Take Your Clothes off When You Dance” at one mocks the love, peace, and unity aspect of hippie lyrics and sticks in your head longer than any “If You Go to San Francisco, be Sure to Wear a Flower in Your Hair, As There Will Be Grave Consequences if You Don’t” will. No need to ask what’s better. And hey, “Let’s Make the Water Turn Black” is a brilliant song! I mean, it’s fucking ridiculous, two minutes of Beatle parody with gross-out lyrics, but I love it! The aforementioned gross-out lyrics are funny, dammit! And the melody! Jesus, before I decided to review this album today, I hadn’t heard this one since high school, and I still found myself singing it in the shower a couple nights ago. And the piano flourishes right at the start are great! Conveniently, this leads off amazing songs that basically continue until “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny” comes along and ruins all the fun. The mock-dramatic “Idiot Bastard Son” is by turns vicious, funny, and (musically) one of Zappa’s most beautiful compositions. I already talked a little about “Lonely Girl,” but I really do love that guitar riff at the start, and it’s one of the few songs I’ve ever heard that I could say was too short. “Take Your Clothes off When You Dance” is one of Zappa’s most entertaining shots at complex pop – like any good complex song, it seems simple on the surface, but isn’t at all, and is all the cooler for it. WAH WAH WAH WAAAAAH! Both the reprise and the original “What’s the Ugliest Part of Your Body?’ are great doo-wop parody, with the reprise descending into brilliant insanity that just might make you paranoid if heard through headphones. And those three melodies on “Mother People?” Brilliant! As is the classical interlude, whch is rather gorgeous. Great lyrics, too! I can’t tell if he’s mocking or endorsing the hippie thing here – he seems to switch between the two – and it works exceedingly well. Small problems do crop up every now and then. ‘Harry, You’re a Beast” is annoying (if I’ve learned anything from Led Zeppelin, it’s that sex noises don’t translate into music very well), but at least the bored way the guy says “Madge, it’s not merely physical” is funny (because we’ve all known that guy), and at least it’s short. “The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny” and “Nasal Retentive Calliope Music” are kind of cool for a while, but after hearing Zappa getting musique concrete collages so perfectly right with the “Help I’m a Rock”/”It Can’t Happen Here”/”Return of the Son of Monster Magnet” trilogy at the end of Freak Out!, part of me doesn’t really see the point of either. And… um… that’s it for complaints, actually. The deliciously warped “Are You Hung Up,” “Bow Tie Daddy,” and “Hot Poop” make up for all that. As does, you know, everything else here. You see, I recently came to the conclusion that Frank Zappa was a genius. Oh yeah, this is also based on Sgt. Pepper. Except it's a lot better.....finulanu .....~ The type of artist who could only have emerged in the late 60s and crystallized in the 70s, Frank Zappa almost defines the zeitgeist of that era, free-form experimentation, druggy psychedelia (despite his apparent avoidance of drugs), progressive composition techniques, absurdist humor, wanton (mis)appropriation of almost every conceivable musical style, skewed social commentary (here presented as acidic skewerings of virtually every conceivable group, from hippies to politicians)... Aside from Prince, Zappa may have been the single most talented musician in the history of rock music, his skill in performance and composition top-notch, and his ever-changing bands serving as breeding grounds for some of the most adventurous musicians of the past few decades. History lessons aside, this is the earliest of my Zappa collection and it's every bit what I expected, except lacking the later jazz-fusion elements. Goofball song snippets ranging from doo-wop tunes to psychedelic freak-outs to sound-fx sonic experimentation, all expertly performed and utterly, completely silly. Hard to approach it as anything less than one complete suite with bits that twist and turn, since only a few of the songs are long enough to be fully realized, but as a listening experience, like most Zappa albums, it's superb. I'd be remiss not to mention that, although everything with the Zappa name is mostly about Zappa's overwhelming presence, this one is a Mothers album and that particular ensemble's ability to back up Zappa's wackiness is unmatched, even amongst the legions of phenomenal musicians that would follow them...JWPepper ......~ God where do I even begin. My friends Tom and Bo would entertain our fellow classmates in high school by singing this album word for word on the bus as we would travel to field trips and band trips. Most everybody hated when we did it, but that made it even more fun. Frank was nobody's fool. This album proves it. While EVERYBODY but Dylan was trying to cash in on what was happening in San Francisco, Frank held a mirror to it, and came out the winner. Maybe not in sales, but certainly in legacy. The hippies, were a creation of the media. It's sad, but true. Frank knew the truth, and tried to express it. He did it brilliantly. Unfortunately, for the poor souls who missed the approximately 6 months that made up the real San Francisco experience, they didn't listen. They came anyway, and ended up miserable. If only they had heard Concentration Moon, Who Needs the Peace Corps, or Absolutely Free, they might have stayed home. But actually, that's hardly the whole of the album. The first side is that, but it's the second side that is truly interesting. That's the side where Frank takes us to his childhood and introduces us to Kenny and Ronnie, who, according to legend, and some sort of club house, where they would hang out. Since there were no toilets, they would piss in a crock, which somehow, again according to legend, spawned unique tadpole like creatures that the boys would put into jars and keep on the shelf. Oh yeah, they would also pick their boogers, and wipe them on the window until it was covered in snot. Quite an adolescence, isn't it? The side also contains some really fine classical things like the end of Mother People, and The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny. There is truly noting like this album anywhere. Mainly because only Frank could possibly cook up something quite like this....timregler ....~ 

Zappa outpunks the punks 10 years in advance, outhippies the hippies in the most marvelous and hilarious way, outpsychs the psych movement and outexperiments any experimental band from this time and future times. It's weird how cohesive, engaging and listenable something like this can be considering its influences rage from Stockhausen to the Supremes. The interludes here are more enjoyable than some bands' entire careers and the concrete pieces it has were very forward thinking and set the paths for power electronics. This thing isn't only just total weirdness though, it has some numerous excellent pop rock songs with very catchy vocals melodies throughout and combined with the various effects thrown all around this they get stuck in my head for days. It's also extremely hilarious with plenty of quirky lyrics and spoken parts (the fact that he reads the definition of the word ''discorporate'' instead of it being applied to the music is just brilliant and hilarious satire). Zappa was at his peak here and Zappa at his peak couldn't be anything but perfection and it shows....white_cunt .....~ The Listening Experience is EVERYTHING. This is easily my favorite album to exist. I understand it comes off highly pretentious, pompous, bitter, whatever.. But I can't help but be so entertained. I can listen to this album in so many ways: in a serious manner, in an entertained manner, or even just get up and dance to some of these tracks. I find it entirely fascinating the different listening experiences (almost as if it were an entirely alternative album) if you just focus on one channel of the music or the other channel [you can literally hear all of the care Zappa has put into the mixing and panning into every little sound, which makes it all the more fun]. Honestly, hearing this album on entheogen substances allow me to listen to this album fully for what it is (none of the music elements are missed when my ears are very sensitive in such a state) compared to if I'm sober. It's EXTREMELY ironic how psychedelic this album actually is when you listen to the mixing/distortions/tape manipulation that Zappa has done for this album, but it's the best flavor of psychedelic I've ever heard. This album is having fun about making fun of something that's fun. Many layers of fun waiting to be heard if you experience all of the listening experiences to this album, but if that's not really your thing, I highly get that too. Before nor after listening to this album have I heard anyone caring so much about their music, I could hear the love he has for something which on the surface it seems he hates, because of his bland jokes. But ironically, I can hear on this album that Zappa's all for the music, and he's totally for the people deep down in his heavy stone soul....nativesoulo .....~ The original 60s Mothers are one of the best bands to ever exist, and this album here is their magnum opus. While I love everything this band ever did pretty much, this album here is the reason I love the band, and Zappa in general. This one diverges quite a bit from the sounds and styles that Zappa and The Mothers were doing on their previous 2 albums, Freak Out! and Absolutely Free, while still retaining the great satire and social commentary those 2 had. In fact, I would argue that those 2 factors are only intensified and perfected more on here. Every Mothers (really Zappa in general too but especially The Mothers) album has a theme as to what it wants to make fun of. Freak Out! was about America as a whole. Absolutely Free was that too, but mainly about musical theater and the like. We're Only In It For The Money, however, was poking fun of a sensation known as the summer of love. It was 1967 of course, so the hippie movement was in full swing. The movement had finally gone mainstream and everyone was joining in in some way and being swept up by its impact, except of course, for Frank Zappa. He detested this movement greatly, from the drugs to the idiocy, everything about it he couldn't stand. So what does Zappa do when he doesn't like a societal issue? Well he makes fun of it on record of course (he would definitely continue to do this well into his career). Musically, the album shares many of the similar stylings of the psychedelic rock movement, especially the San Francisco bands, but with some of the funniest and wittiest lyrics about this whole phenomenon. This album isn't just that, however. Since this is the first album without Mothers vocalist Ray Collins, Zappa was left doing with all the vocal duties on this album. But since he hated his voice, he masked it with speeding up the tape significantly and leaving his voice on many of the songs having a chipmunk effect, which you'd think would get annoying, but he makes it work somehow. There's also all the musical concrete on this album (Hot Poop, Nasal Retentive Caliope Music, the end of Mother People, and Chrome Plated Megaphone) which makes this album significantly weirder than the 2 before it (if that's even possible). By the way, those moments on the album were recorded at the same time as Lumpy Gravy (is this phase one of Lumpy Gravy?), which were meant to be part of a 4 LP album called No Commercial Potential, which was to include material from these 2, Ruben & The Jets, and Uncle Meat, but alas, it was rejected by Verve and was aborted (a similar thing happened 10 years later interestingly). This album is an amazing piece of social satire just musically, but nothing comes close to what Zappa decided to do on the cover. Right after recording Absolutely Free, The Mothers moved to New York to have a 9 month residency at The Garrick Theater, which is where Zappa met artist Cal Schenkel. Zappa always wanted to have an iconic album that would spur a lot of talk and controversy, but since he didn't know anyone beforehand who could do that, and while he did the first 2 Mothers covers, they weren't impressive enough to get that reaction. So meeting Cal gave Zappa the opportunity to possibly get that great cover he was eager for. And since this album was a parody of the whole hippie counterculture, Zappa wanted to go after its biggest target. In June 1967, The Beatles released their album Sgt Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, and it was an instant critical and commercial success. Zappa took note of this and immediately wanted to parody the cover, which was also iconic by this point. I recognize this has nothing to do with the music, but the cover for this is just as, if not more iconic than the music itself, so it was definitely worth mentioning. In short, this album is a masterpiece and shows Zappa and The Mothers at their best.....Sushitrash .....~ 'We're Only in It for the Money' kind of brings the strenghts of 'The Mothers' previous two albums together. It has the upfrontness and accessibility of the debut album and the focus and humor/satire of 'Absolute Free'. Ironically it also in a way lacks in some of the strenghts of their previous records. 'We're Only in It for the Money' doesn't have as many strong individual tracks as 'Freak Out!' and it isn't musically as intriguing as 'Absolute Free' (or even the debut). Still this album can stand own merits with its great humor and satire of the Flower Power movement. With 'Who Needs the Peace Corps?', 'Concentration Moon', 'Mom & Dad', 'What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?', 'Let's Make the Water Turn Black', 'Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance' and 'Mother People' it features some of their funniest work and with the crazy experimentations a la 'Are You Hung Up?' you can even call it influential or at least ahead of its time. But you could say that about every 'Mothers' album before this, too. Anyways, this is yet another and completely different fantastic album by 'The Mothers of Invention' and their mastermind Frank Zappa, even if it is overall weaker than their previous material.....MrLackMeier ....~ Frank Zappa would probably hate to hear this, but We're Only In It For the Money is one of the purest psychedelic musical experiences you could ever find. Taking the myriad musical influences explored on the Mothers' first two albums and wrapping them around Zappa's tightest-ever set of social commentary songs, this album twists and turns from song to song and style to style without ever once exposing a seam. Lyrically this is the most thematically cohesive album Zappa would ever pen, satirizing the apathetic hippie mindset in tracks like "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" and "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" while blaming the older generation for their children's collapse with "Mom & Dad" and "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" "Absolutely Free" is an especially biting satire from this standpoint, utilizing the rhetoric of hippie commune leaders and the "freedom" they offer to point out that true freedom means following no one. Musically this album isn't that much of a departure from the first two Mothers albums, but is more of a refinement. The second side is book-ended by the group's two most accomplished experiments with musique concrète, "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" and "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny," two genuinely weird and compelling pieces that amp up the freak factor on display here considerably. The former is followed by "Let's Make the Water Turn Black," alternately one of the strangest and catchiest songs in the band's catalog. "Flower Punk" is a long-time favorite of mine, largely because of the super intense, violent staccato rhythms. That's just the tip of the iceberg, though - everything here is masterfully performed and a top-notch composition, and Zappa's production that morphs the whole thing into two side-long freaked-out medlies is absolute genius. Zappa would make dozens of other albums by following countless new directions, but I don't know that any of them ever topped this....msnvwls ......~ In the official Frank Zappa canon “We’re Only In It For The Money” is the fourth Zappa album. Released in March 1968 – delayed because of the sleeve – this was the third album to be credited to The Mothers Of Invention. Now there have been various versions – the 1984 Frank Zappa re-mastered version has the censored bits added back (a mistake in my view) and a new bass and drum track, for example, but this – the 2012 Zappa Family Trust sanctioned album – is the 1968 version. Confusingly the 1968 English vinyl version was different (a school friend had it) – there was a reference to The Velvet Underground – and a section of “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black” was cut as it was believed by the European Verve Records to be obscene – it isn’t - and quite rightly Frank was extremely pissed off. Anyway, while “We’re Only In It For The Money” is clearly of its era – from its sleeve inwards (in case it is not obvious – it is a piss-take of The Beatles’ “Sergeant Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band” – the original versions had the sleeve reversed ) to its contents where Frank attacks hippies, American Politics – left & right and attitudes to sex & relationships, it remains one of the absolutely finest records ever made – at least in my view. Robert Christgau, the music critic, stated “Cheap sarcasm is forever”. In fact the scary thing about “We’re Only In It For The Money” is how relevant it still is – “The Idiot Bastard Son” for example and the closing instrumental piece – “The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny” which I used to dislike but now think it is an extraordinary piece – hard to listen but closes the album as well as “Day In The Life” closed “Sergeant Peppers”. I know at least one person who knows ALL the words (Hi, Horace!) and even now I could sing most of them. The tunes here are so good while the sentiments are extremely vicious - “We’re Only In It For The Money” is a top pop/rock album – immaculately put together by Frank Zappa with lots of editing. And yes that is Eric Clapton stating that he has found God! So, besides Eric, the Mother of Invention on this record were Frank Zappa – guitar, piano, lead vocals, weirdness and editing; Jimmy Carl Black – Indian Of The Group, drums, trumpet and vocals; Roy Estrada – electric bass, vocals & asthma; Billy Mundi – drums, vocals, yak and black lace underwear; Don Preston – retired; Bunk Gardner – all woodwinds, mumbled weirdness; Ian Underwood – piano, woodwinds, wholesome and Euclid James “Motorhead” Sherwood – road manager, baritone saxophone, soprano saxophone, all purpose weirdness and Teen Appeal. And in many ways this was the finest band that Zappa had. Also worth mentioning are Suzie Creamcheese, recording engineers – Gary Kellgren & Dick Kunc, Dick Barber – Snorks, conductor, Sid Sharp - all of whom turn up at one stage or another. So those are the details – there are 19 tracks – although I have always thought of “We’re Only In It For The Money” as one piece and it has a running time of just over 39 minutes. And while much of it is vicious, songs like “Mon & Dad” are heartfelt - and the album prophesises what was to happen in America not more than a few months after it’s release. If you have not heard “We’re Only In It For The Money” then I envy you – because it is genuinely a work of genius.....CharlyF1954.....~

Oh my hair's getting good in the back... Frank Zappa has always interested me. I don't know if it was his quirky lyrics and strange music are just his cool ass mustache. But either way I listen to We're Only in It for the Money and wow this is freaking awesome! To me this is one of the most important albums in the early proto alternative/indie rock albums along with The Velvet Underground and Nico and Trout Mask Replica. Frank Zappa made this album as a satire to the hippie culture and even though I do like some of the music out that era and I find it very fun to laugh at the hippie culture even though I like some things about it. Now with the music on this album is about as strange as Trout Mask Replica (well Zappa and Beefheart were friends) but it a better production than Trout Mask. Trout is more lo-fi and this has more studio effects done to it. The albums lyrics are funny as shit as being a satire to hippies, politics (both sides), and drugs. I can definitely see how Zappa influenced many great artists like Tom Waits and I can even see some influence on Animal Collective with it's over-the-top colorful electronic effects. Overall We're Only in It for the Money is a masterpiece of strangness and will go down as one of my favorites of the 60s.....Macmusicman .....~ Years ago when I first got into Frank Zappa (my gateway being Sheik Yerbouti which I still love even if I find Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Uncle Meat, and a whole slew of his other records motr interesting these days) I found a cd copy of this coupled with Lumpy Gravy. I was also getting into vinyl at the time so as a result it never got much play so I didn't have much of an impression of it besides its being a bit silly. Fast forward to Record Store Day 2017 wherein I ignore all of the gimmicky RSD releases (though I did pick up the Moondog reissue, quite excellent and gimmick free... oh except it's on white vinyl...) in favor of the hoard of used gems the local independent shop traditionally stockpiles for the occasion. I have over 20 Zappa records and have only a handful in mind left which I consider essential to acquire. For some reason this wasn't on that shortlist. This might be my favorite Zappa record. It has every aspect of his music he is known for in well balanced portions. Excellent sound collage and musique concrete sections; great proggy playing (sorry kids satire is not a freaking music genre -- even if this is satirical as hell -- and this is prog); strong classical influence; and of course hilarious lyrics and shenanigans. It is really obvious to me that this record paved the way for things like Canterbury Scene and Rock in Opposition. Quite intelligent. In fact, it is really freaky how relevant a lot of the social commentary on this record is... almost fifty years after its release! Far more relevant and interesting than Sgt. Peppers Lonely Yadda Yadda Yadda will ever be in my book. It's pretty funny I have a T-Shirt with the Mother's parody cover (relegated to the inner sleeve by the pansy ass penny pinching execs...) and 99% of the people who comment on it think it's the Sgt. Pepper cover! Most don't even know what the hell I'm talking about when I point out their mistake. To be fair the intended cover is far too busy to make a good T-shirt anyway...koonaklaster23 .....~ I have a (presumably) rare release of this album, a 1985 cd together with Lumpy Gravy on the same disc. It is a completely different mix than any other I've heard. I first got this album in 1967 and have given it a spin now and then. It was released just months after sgt Peppers and mimics the overall graphic design in a sarcastic way. The music itself is parodic to whatever genre it is dealing with. Zappa is trying to do a Varese but it is nowhere near the real thing, it is like modernist pop with effects that don't belong here. The rock part of this collage is nowhere near rock in the conventional sense, and the fifthies influences are Freaked Out, to paraphrase the man himself. The topics of the recording is critiques of the American society in different aspects. Not only is the political establishment under attack but the youth culture as well. A few years later Zappa abandoned this to deal with topics of cheap sex, "humor", and absurdity. Here it is wildly aggressive. The opening line from "The Idiot Bastard Son" will forever stay with me: "The idiot bastard son, the father's a Nazi in congress today, The mothers's a hooker somewhere in L.A." There is a lot of desperation in those lines. Since it deals with issues of the time you would think that it doesn't stand the test of time, but it does so in a strange way. It seems that little has changes since 1967. Politics still stink, and the young people are still idiots. It is all wildly creative and unique, but also self destructive. There is nowhere to go when you lash out on everything. The position becomes nihilistic and there is no positive way to define yourself You create a non-position which severely limits the power of expression. In Zappa this becomes evident in the early seventies with absurd and and pointless projects like 200 Motels (the film). Musically there are still moments but it feels lame in comparison to "We' re only ...". On a technical level the album is a masterpiece. Given the technical limitations of the time it is incredible. On an ending note this is one of the top ten masterpieces in modern music, Zappas crowning achievement. Today only Scott Walker can challenge this power of creativity....yvonna .....~ Flower Power Sucks! The culmination of Zappa’s caustic musings of 1960’s sub culture, We're Only in It for the Money is a very mixed album for me. Unlike Absolutely Free which I feel was strictly on target with its politics and its scathing “take that’s” of conformity, I feel this one stalls in the la la land of hippie culture, and although the hippies were an easy target to attack for Zappa’s crew, here it just doesn’t do it for me. Between the Cherubic singing and the vast stretches of harsh and shrill Musique concrète it was hard to enjoy some of it. The albums signature songs (For me at least) deserve some mention; Who Needs the Peace Corps? Does a fine job of attacking the movement as aimless and self-gratifying while contributing nothing to society. Mom & Dad shows the lack of compassion and care of some parents for their children until it is, sadly, too late. The Idiot Bastard Son is on the same vain but shows the wanton selfishness of people with power and the innocents that get caught in the way. Let's Make the Water Turn Black is semi-autobiographical and tells of the disgusting things that some of Zappa’s friends would do after school (piss in jars and smear snot on windows.) and Finally Lonely Little Girl is a continuation of Mom & Dad from the daughters perspective and comes close to being one of the saddest of early mother’s songs, yeeesh. Overall in regard to attacking the hippie subculture and the turmoil it produced, Money did its job well, but isn’t particularly my favorite by the group. I will say this though that parody cover of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is hilarious and is a well-aimed attack at the Beatles and their perceived “selling out”.....~ Here we have Zappa again, trying to be all ironic, even the album name is kind of a tongue in cheek, as Zappa was basically just a cult star until his big breakthrough with Valley Girl, although I'm sure all the crazy Zappa fans were more than enough to line Zappa's pockets pretty quickly, but at this point in his career Zappa was quite relatively unknown, even to his 70s cult fans. In fact I kind of wonder what type of people listened to this album when it first released outside of the bands direct friends and family. Most people would have to know its a parody album right?, I mean just read the song titles, but then again maybe people were just too stoned back then and just saw the album cover and thought it would be another trippy psychedelic rock album to get high too, and then when putting this on immediately took the record out of the player and smashed it against the wall. Still, this is Zappa when he was still doing his parody of 60s culture, and it's not without some charm, even if it is a bit weaker than his first two albums. I mean hell, 18 songs is a lot to stomach from a guy like Zappa. But still, it is pretty solid Zappa for his fans, and does have some pretty fun songs, just feel it has a lot more ideas than it actually can fully expand on.....jweber14.....~ I've never been a big Zappa fan, his lapses into toilet humour were always a turn-off, we were more turned on by adventures into inner-space and satire was a word we'd not yet looked up. But what's disappointing from my perspective now, is that I never picked up on the cut and paste technique, the studio trickery and innovative arranging because, ironically, my favourite album as a teenager was Rundgren's A Wizard A True Star, which is heavily influenced by this album. The telling difference though, was the style of writing, I mean, Zappa went in for dated musical forms like Doo-Wop for god's sake, (Rundgren modernized these styles beyond recognition and fooled us). Worse still, everything sounded so puny, nothing like the big bloated prog-rock sound we were convinced was so superior. Finally, Zappa's unrelenting buffoonery seemed to defeat the very (serious) purpose of rock music....childish, we thought. I did have friends who saw things differently but they were probably too polite to point it out or they knew we wouldn't get it anyway. There are parts to this album I really like and parts I'm less keen on but its overall effect is nothing short of dazzling. Those who like visceral rock, that kicks ass, as they say, would probably find this unlistenable; short, daft, pop tunes that don't have proper beginnings or endings sung in helium balloon voices and everything being constantly interrupted by stupid dicking around. The album is more than a collection of songs however, it's a concept album dedicated to the subversion of the hippie culture - dominant at the time - and the parents who unwittingly fostered it. That the hippies lapped it up, believing they were being laughed with and not at, must have been one delicious irony. But more than just satirizing American society, psychedelic music comes under attack too, Zappa beating it at its own game. To present the whole concept as a parody of the most revered album of the time and release it so shortly thereafter was an act of courage and genius. Zappa's avant-gard tendencies run throughout the album, frankly it's what makes it bearable because many of the individual songs would flop if they were extended instead of being curtailed. The mini-sketches, the screwball asides, the sonic manipulations, the juxtapositions and the breaking up of the conventional song-structure are crucial to its success. Where would songs like Bow-Tie Daddy, What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? or Lonely Little Girl be if it wasn't for their lyrics and how they incorporate into the whole? Others though, like Mom And Dad, Absolutely Free, Mother People, Who Needs The Peace Corps? or Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, have a little more substance to balance things out. But little details like the piano intro to Absolutely Free, the short classical insert at the end of Mother People and the outro to Lonely Little Girl (where Zappa re-introduces the "All your children are unfortunate victims.." refrein) and also spoken bits like the opening Are You Hung Up? or the 2nd part of Flower Punk, all contribute to the albums impressive flow. Everything is stitched together seamlessly and which piece belongs to which track becomes arbitrary.....very clever indeed! At times he sails close to the wind like on the brilliant Idiot Bastard Son or Harry You're A Beast (where the most controversial line has been scrambled). The only single extended idea is the final track, an incredible piece of avant-gard, musique-concrete where all that dicking around takes on a more serious tone, human voices, musical snippets, electronically generated sounds, rivetting right up to that final chord imitating the one on Peppers. It puts the stamp of genius on a remarkable album that must have shocked listeners at the time. If Zappa was just showing off, if Zappa was just doing what came naturally or whether he was only in it for the money, this is surely his most important album. A landmark recording.....seagull59......~ The ultimate musical "a curse on all your houses", before Altamont, before the National Guard shooting students in Ohio, before the chaos at the 1968 Democratic convention and the victory of Richard Nixon, Zappa and the Mothers were there, right in the thick of the summer of love, exposing it for the sham that it is whilst refusing to let the establishment off the hook at the same time. Lyrically bang on target, the album expresses Zappa's anger as the momentum of the civil rights movement and all the movements for progressive social change that had built up in the earlier part of the decade is squandered by naive hippies espousing incoherent, vacuous philosophies and showing more interest in taking drugs and getting laid than genuinely changing the world. Along with Love's "Forever Changes" and *maybe* the work of the Doors, this ranks amongst the very first albums to suggest that the Age of Aquarius might, in fact, simply be a washout. Musically speaking, it's a bit less schizophrenic than Absolutely Free, partially because of the unity of the concept. Between the tape effects and whisperings at the edge of the recording, some of which hide the inner thoughts of the hippy musicians the band are parodying, the music begins with a strident, almost militant tone with "who needs the peace corps", takes pot-shots at the establishment with "Bow-Tie Daddy" and "Mom and Dad", and as the 60s generation gets gradually consumed by Vietnam amidst the fairytale gadding about of "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" the music - like the movement it is criticising - breaks down and gives way to the incoherence musique concrete of The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny. This and "Absolutely Free" are the two major statements of the early Mothers of Invention; Zappa's later music would be more progressive, but the satire would never be quite as finely targeted....Warthur ....~ In 1967 the Los Angelos freak scene was completely overrun by the world wide spreading Flower Power movement, that had its origins in San Francisco. Zappa wasn't fond of their ideas, certainly not their positive attitude towards drugs. His music already needs concentration playing it sober, so the idea of musicians on drugs while he was paying for their time was unacceptable for him. On his contrary album "We're only in it for the money", he reproduces their ideals while at the same time adding demeaning remarks to it ("forgive me because I'm stoned"; "flower power sucks"). Because the Flower Power movement lost its innocence and impact with the Rolling Stones concert at Altamont in 1970, "We're only in it for the money" has with hindsight become a reflection upon the sixties. Zappa still found himself kicking at remnants of the movement in his eighties songs "The blue light" and "We're turning again". Garrick TheatreThe music on the album is - regarding meters, rhythms and chord progressions - less complicated and it is an example of the more commercial side of Zappa. Still there can be some complex parts in it. The construction of the songs on the album can also be sophisticated. "Flower punk" is as a progression for instance relatively easy. "What's the ugliest part of your body?" below deals with rhythmic complexities. In "The Real Frank Zappa Book" of 1989 Zappa uses three pages arguing against the "hateful practices" of traditional harmony, especially the chord progressions that are played over and over again in pop music and the chords of resolution you had to write down to pass a harmony course (The Real Frank Zappa Book, chapter 8, section "hateful practices"; Zappa!, page 32). Above: the Mothers playing at the Garrick Theater, New York 1967. Source: Overnite sensation/Apostrophe (') DVD. Below at track 7 a ticket stub collage I found on the net. You can see that the shows at that time carried the title "Pigs and repugnant". Zappa's attitude towards traditional harmony is ambiguous however, because he applied common chord progressions with just as much ease as he liked to deviate from them. See the Joe's Garage section for Joe's love declaration to I-IV-V. He even had a weakness for deliberate simplicity, represented in the teenage love songs from "Cruising with Ruben and the Jets" (1968). Sections from "Absolutely free" and "Mother people" are included below as examples of uncomplicated chord progressions (all 5th chords unless indicated). The Cruising with Ruben and the Jets section contains of few more similar examples. It's a commonplace in rock 'n roll history that "Sergeant Pepper's lonely hearts club band" by the Beatles is the first concept album, usually without explaining what then this concept is. I guess it's the packaging, the instrumentation and maybe the quality of each individual song. Some Zappa fans have argumented that the Mother's first two albums could then be considered concept albums as well. Indeed all Zappa's albums each have some form of a conceptual idea behind them. It can be in style, it can be in the lyrics and it's about always present in the sound of an album. For the three albums from this section and the next two the concept is outspoken and obvious, regarding both the music and the lyrics. "We're only in it for the money" is about the hippie era with relatively main stream music combined with some experimental tracks. The album opens with "Are you hung up", one of a number of collages of spoken texts and sound effects, frequently mutated. On the ZFT release "Lumpy money" you can find instrumental recordings from a number of songs from "We're only in it for the money", among them "Who needs the peace corps?". This release also contains a 1984 re-mix of this album with a newly recorded bass and drum part. Zappa did the same for "Cruising with Ruben and the jets". What happened is discussed in the corresponding section in this study for the latter CD. Quite some fans felt undignified by this step, so Zappa decided to revive the original 1968 recording for today's CD version of "We're only in it for the money". In "Who needs the Peace Corps?" you can hear a couple of different modal scales coming by, which is common practice in Zappa's music: - 0:00 Intro with a C and Bb chord alternation in C Mixolydian in staff 1. The total harmony can be bigger, like C7 occurring in bar 1 and C9 in bar 3. - 0:08 Theme 1 with a C and F#m chord alternation for bars 5-8. These two chords don't belong to the same scale. Combined with the melodic notes, the implied scales are C Lydian and F# minor/Dorian. The analysis by Brett Clement is shown below. Via the Em and D chord this theme ends in D Brett Clement, A New Lydian Theory for Frank Zappa's Modal Music (Music Theory Spectrum, Spring 2014, page 161). Since I'm not hearing a D/D# upon the F# pedal parts, the scale upon F# might be called minor too. LS A stands for Lydian system A (see the left menu for its meaning). Anyway, in case of F# minor there are five tones in common and it would be Lydian system D in Brett's terms. In his Response to me, Brett writes "not enough melodic info, I'd guess Dorian instead". So Brett isn't positive about this episode being in minor or Dorian either......~ 2017 release. We're Only in It for the Money is the third studio album by the Mothers of Invention. Released on March 4, 1968 on Verve Records. As with the band's previous two albums, We're Only in It for the Money is a concept album, and satirizes left and right-wing politics, particularly the hippie subculture, as well as the Beatles' album Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets and Uncle Meat. "From the beginning, Frank Zappa cultivated a role as voice of the freaks -- imaginative outsiders who didn't fit comfortably into any group. We're Only in It for the Money is the ultimate expression of that sensibility, a satirical masterpiece that simultaneously skewered the hippies and the straights as prisoners of the same narrow-minded, superficial phoniness. Zappa's barbs were vicious and perceptive, and not just humorously so: his seemingly paranoid vision of authoritarian violence against the counterculture was borne out two years later by the Kent State killings. Like Freak Out, We're Only in It for the Money essentially devotes its first half to satire, and its second half to presenting alternatives. Despite some specific references, the first-half suite is still wickedly funny, since its targets remain immediately recognizable. The second half shows where his sympathies lie, with character sketches of Zappa's real-life freak acquaintances, a carefree utopia in "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," and the strident, unironic protest "Mother People." Regardless of how dark the subject matter, there's a pervasively surreal, whimsical flavor to the music, sort of like Sgt. Pepper as a creepy nightmare. Some of the instruments and most of the vocals have been manipulated to produce odd textures and cartoonish voices; most songs are abbreviated, segue into others through edited snippets of music and dialogue, or are broken into fragments by more snippets, consistently interrupting the album's continuity. Compositionally, though, the music reveals itself as exceptionally strong, and Zappa's politics and satirical instinct have rarely been so focused and relevant, making We're Only in It for the Money quite probably his greatest achievement. " AMG.......~ 

Frank’s first bona fide masterpiece. My first reaction to it: somehow my brain did a double-take. There are just enough beautiful melodies for you to want to sing along; and these are generally combined with some of the most delightfully vicious lyrics that are totally infectious, eg: “All your children are poor unfortunate victims of lies you believe/a plague upon your ignorance that keeps the young from the truth they deserve” – where else can you find lyrics like that?! There is also liberal use of unusual time signatures, which combined with the above mentioned elements, make the whole thing even more alluring somehow. Taken as a whole, the album constantly challenges you to figure out whether it is beautiful or ugly – it features both of these elements strongly. On this point it really reminds me of early 20th century modern art, where you can see something that is beautiful and challenging at the same time. And everything whizzes by so fast that as soon as you have listened to the whole thing, you just want to start again. I can’t bring myself to single out certain tracks, as they are all essential parts of the whole. The Ryko CD release is really the one you want if you want to hear the album in its originally released context, as it is much rougher around the edges in both musical performance, editing and mixing than Frank’s later 1984 Remix released on Zappa Records (and now available as part of Lumpy Money). The interruptions on the original sound genuinely rude, whereas they seem much more polite on the later version! Wonderfully beguiling....cosmosunconnection .....~ This is a great album just like most of Zappa's albums are. This is the third album of The Mothers of Invention and this continues the greatness of their first two records. There are 18 songs which are mostly pretty short but still really effective. The funny "Concentration Moon" is one of my fav of Zappa's shorter songs. You can hear the satire so clearly in these songs. Zappa is just making fun of all the popular music acts of the time, mainly psychedelic rock bands. For example the alternate cover is a parody of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album. This album includes many different genres of music including psych rock, experimental, doo-wop and of course the music has a huge comedy value because of the lyrics. The songs fit very well together and they form a great totality. Zappa was just an awesome musician who brought us rock fans so many great albums. We're Only in It for the Money is a true wishlist item for every 60's rock music fan.....CooperBolan .......~ Probably more widely known for it's parody of the Sgt. Pepper album cover than the music itself, We're Only In It For The Money is not the strongest album from the early Mothers. While the satirical nature of this album is excellent, it leaves you wanting more out of the actual music. Many of the tracks are too short and unfinished sounding, a complaint I also have with the second side of the Beatles Abbey Road which makes me wonder if this hadn't influenced the structure of that album in some way. However there are classics on this LP such as "Who Needs The Peace Corps", "Absolutely Free" and "Mother People". "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" and the "Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" often get harsh criticism from rock fans, they are quite masterful from the modern 20th century classical perspective and approaches that form more legitimately than "Revolution 9" or any of the poor attempts at avant garde by John and Yoko.....tagomago .....~ When Frank Zappa heard The Beatles' 'Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band', he was not amused. Or perhaps he was amused. Most likely he was bemused. In any case, he felt it necessary to respond. And respond he did, with a sprawling and savage indictment of The Beatles, flower power and the whole warped hippie scene in 'The Summer of Love'. I must warn you, the album is a bit...bizarre. That it was released in 1968 during the height of Beatle adulation makes it even more striking. Believe me, no one had tried anything like this previously (unless you count The Mothers' previous albums). The album starts out with 'Are You Hung Up', featuring Eric Clapton in a speaking role and the famous line by the Mothers' drummer: "Hi, boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black, I'm the Indian of the group!" The album degenerates from there. The Mothers lampoon just about every aspect of 60's U.S. culture (or lack thereof), but beyond that it is one of the best psychedelic albums ever created. Zappa's pastiche 'n' montage-orama doesn't require acid to trip with (although that would certainly be optional), and many of The Mothers' lampoon songs are almost 'filks' in how closely they mock tunes meant for mass consumption. The best songs are 'Harry You're a Beast', 'Flower Punk', 'Who Needs the Peace Corps', 'Mother People', topped off with the Twilight Zone-ish 'The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny' which would give Phillip Glass a run for his money on the minimalist front. If 'The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny' is not your cup of tea, then try 'Nasal Retentive Calliope Music', which is very similar but has a different title (a crucial point!) and has some surf music thrown in.....Dark_Elf .....~ For a little while, satire rock as a concept just made sense; particularly in the mid to late 60s. Spurned by the acerbic moral recriminations of Dylan's mid sixties material, bands like The Fugs and the Mothers formed fully predicated on Folk sensibilities - particularly regarding their lyricism, which directly addressed social issues in a way previously unheard in rock. They took the Folk paradigm of 'band-as-social-commentator' in a new direction by infusing their lyrics with wit, sarcasm, and humor. They also advanced the paradigm into new frontiers by abandoning Folks' traditional demarcators of acoustic guitars and gentle vocals, winding up with music that was a full blend of rock and folk idioms. We're Only in It for the Money is easily the best satire rock record to come out of the sixties, and not merely due to its strong track list and playful, experimental production style. It stands as a testament to the journalistic power of pop, and remains one of the most idiosyncratic and insular recordings to emerge out of the decade. It also serves as a counterargument against the traditional myth of the 'Summe of Love' being some utopian Edenic period. In many ways, to hear this record is to time travel, back to a point when the identity of the 1960s had yet to be solidified. In this respect, it makes the decade come to life as something greater, something more immediate, than it seems otherwise. 'We're Only in It for the Money' takes no prisoners. Zappa mocks the plastic emptiness of straight society just as much as he does deride the Flower Power trend, proclaiming both sides of the culture war to be full of vacuous, shallow people. Zappa's glee in taking the piss out of the prevailing popular movement of his time is evident everywhere, as he dresses down the Day trippers and Psychedelic bands alike as being only 'in it' for the drugs, sex, and money. His vitriol against fake hippies began against the Beatles, who Zappa saw as emblems of what was wrong with his entire generation. Zappa notoriously hated Sgt.Pepper, which he believed spelled out the end of the true 60s counterculture within pop. As such, he wrote We're... as an 'answer' to Pepper - fitting, considering the following: During the making of Sgt.Pepper, Paul remarked in a press release that the upcoming Beatles LP would be their answer to Freak Out!, the debut album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers (released 1966). Yet Freak Out[i], like [i]We're..., has a great deal of humor and uniquely uncommercial weirdness, entirely founded on Zappa's bands' LSD obsession (Freak Out had been mixed by a producer who was high on acid during the session). It was loud, it was all over the place, and it sounded like nothing else. All traits that could not be said about Sgt.Pepper, which sounded no more like Freak Out than it did a handful of other West Coast acid rock groups. No doubt this name checking pissed off Zappa to no end - he didn't even do LSD, but he was extremely protective of the West Coast acid scene. Zappa loved the music of that period and time not because it was 'trippy', but because it was extremely unique and exciting. He looked at the Beatles' Pepper shtick as the ultimate corporate co-optation of a distinctly American brand of Psychedelia. He saw the Beatles profess allegiance to peace, love, and LSD, as a complete falsity designed to sell records (hence the title, which was supposed to be a barb against the Beatles). The original cover of this record was a parody of Pepper, which Zappa's label did not allow. This derision spread towards the multitude of so-called hippies that, by 67, had began flocking to the West Coast in droves. The hippie had developed an obligatory uniform of beads, bells, and other trappings which Zappa saw as ridiculous - because for him, the whole point of the new age was to embrace your own individuality, and not just follow trends of the herd. It was in vogue to proselytize against square society as being conformist, so much so that people had began to conform to being non-conformist. Zappa saw all of this rhetoric as empty platitudes, which concealed these peoples' true intentions of getting high and getting laid and having a very easy life. These frustrations serve as the driving force behind We're Only in It for the Money, as it rains down castigations on the fakers, poseurs, and day trippers. Yet the album is not all satire and annoyed sarcasm. The songs work to the strengths of its format as a double album - it traverses the gamut and blends its disparate styles together in a miasma of sound, blending sound collages and weird samples into Doo-Wop and Psychedelia. Though Zappa did not use drugs, he has an ear for Psychedelic music due to the composer's interest in density and texture. Zappa may have held disdain for 'Flower Power' as a popular movement; however this record demonstrates that he was still very much enamored with Psychedelia as an idiom and as a cultural imperative. He supported self expression and freedom, while mocking obligatory hippie slogans like peace and love. For all its bite, 'We're Only in It for the Money is a compassionate creation. Though there are many subjects Zappa approaches with nothing but scorn, in a few sections the anxiety Zappa feels for his generation is palpable. Take the track 'Mom & Dad': an uncharacteristically somber song that drives at the very core of the biggest issues of his time. In that song, Zappa cries out for an entire generation of alienated kids, who know nothing about the world and yet are uncynical enough to be nothing like their parents; who believed in escape, but would never find it. As such, the record is both highly funny and profoundly sad. In the album's more sarcastic moments, Zappa's vocal style greatly foreshadows the punks ten years later, as he forces words through nasal passages in a toneless gesture of nonconformity. This contrarian attitude also dictated the album's editing style, as 'We're...' is rife with episodes of highly abrasive and unconventional sounds, spliced abruptly in with the more traditional songs, interrupting the record's modicum of conventionality with samples like 'Hey there boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the Indian of the group' This LP remains interesting because of its balancing act between Zappa's flagrant rejection of what Flower Power had become with his genuine passion for the creativity and variety that it was founded on. Perhaps the most timeless aspect to the LP is its inherent assertion that pop music can be so much more than empty platitudes and grubby calculated pretension. For Zappa, the whole point of the new age was to allow free flow of creative expression unimpeded by a corporate mindset. [i]Pepper... represented the ultimate takeover and dismantlement of the counterculture as a counter culture (in Zappa's eyes). He saw Pepper as a betrayal of the psych scene's pathos, and made 'We're...' as a clear rejection of that move. Though everything Zappa feared about the Beatles' music came true, his album provides great insight into what the psychedelic 60s looked like to a true non-conformist, outside the version of the 60s that Pepper helped institutionalize..St.Alphonzo ......~ The highest charting album from the original lineup of the Mothers, "We're Only In It For the Money" was a biting lampoon of both "Sgt Pepper" and rock's under 30 audience in one fell swoop. It takes a while to get used to a good portion of the music, which for the majority was electronically altered, and the helium-altered Mickey Mouse voices added a perverted comic touch to the proceedings. It is breathtaking seeing what Frank Zappa did to the sonic textures of this disc, considering that this long before samplers entered into the picture. My favorite bits are "Who Needs The Peace Corps", "Concentration Moon", "Absolutely Free" (nice hallucinogenic reindeer chant here), "Let's Make The Water Turn Black" and "Mother People" (pleasant classical interlude contained within). "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" is an avant garde off-the-wall hoot (a mockery of "A Day In The Life", perhaps?) even though I listened to it without reading Kafka's "In The Penal Colony". Continuing in the ugly satirical tradition of "Freak Out!" and "Absolutely Free", "Money" is a fine example of late sixties eccentricity.....willyboy2 .......~ Frank Zappa's third album, the sardonically titled We're Only in It for the Money, is a near-perfect satire of hippies and 1967's commercialized Summer of Love.  But Zappa also takes a number of shots at The Establishment. Basically, he finds criticism in both culture camps and spends most of the album alternately skewering them. Yes, Zappa seems to say, the status quo was definitely not working, but the answer was not found in Timothy Leary's mantra "turn on, tune in, drop out." In case there was any confusion as to what Zappa and his band, The Mothers of Invention, were about, one only need to look at the cover art. The vinyl gatefold cover was a blatant send-up of The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. The group, dressed in drag, is gathered around a bass drum, which displays the album title. In front of them, various fruits and vegetables spell out the word "Mothers" in a freshly-plowed garden. And behind the group is a collage of celebrities. A lightning-filled, darkened sky replaces the blue sky of Sgt. Pepper. The back cover continues the Sgt. Pepper mockery, by featuring another photo of The Mothers as well as the lyric sheet, printed against a red background. However, where all of The Beatles save for Paul faced forward on the Sgt. Pepper back cover, on the back of We're Only in It for the Money all of the band save for one face away from the camera. However, the executives at Verve Records, which distributed this album upon its initial release, was squeamish about possible litigation from the Fab Four. So, the album art was inverted, with what was supposed to be the inside cover facing outside. Thus, the group head shot of Zappa with The Mothers of Invention, dressed in drag against a yellow background, is featured as the front and back, with the Sgt. Pepper -like front and back cover relegated to the inside. Though it takes some of the punch out of the presentation, the change inadvertently sets up the album as Sgt. Pepper turned inside-out. Though We're Only in It for the Money may have been intended as a response to Sgt. Pepper, to be honest I can't make a song-by-song comparison of the two albums. The minor-key "Mom & Dad" sounds like a cousin to The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home" and the final note on the album closer, "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" is drawn out ala "A Day in the Life." The albums also each contain a reprise, but other than these few examples I really don't see We're Only in It for the Money as a direct answer to Sgt. Pepper so much as a critique of the whole "flower power" movement, of which Sgt. Pepper was one of its iconic symbols. Zappa stereotypes hippies (also referred to as "creeps" or "punks") as a naive lot, and while there were plenty of enlightened youth in the '60s, a lot of hippies who arrived in San Francisco by the Summer of Love entered the scene too late to bring about any real change. Most likely, they were drawn in by the illusion of a never-ending party where everyone lives together in communal harmony with easy access to free love, mind-altering chemicals, and loud music. (In other words, the original sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll fix.) It is this group of wanna-be hippies that Zappa focuses on in the opening song "Who Needs the Peace Corps." A nihilistic youth shrugs off JFK's vision for a better world in favour of that elusive party. Every town must have a place Where phony hippies meet Psychedelic dungeons Popping up on every street before Zappa announces "Go To San Francisco," like a modern-day Horace Greeley persuading young men and women to look West for their future. However, in Zappa's world, these young folks "stay a week and get the crabs and take a bus back home." "Flower Punk" continues the hippie stereotype. Set to the tune "Hey Joe" as played by the garage band The Leaves, a group Zappa frequently ridiculed as being simplistic, the protagonist is on his way to San Francisco, mecca for runaways and disenfranhised youth, where he hopes to join a psychedelic rock band. The song then devolves into a chaotic jam session with Zappa delivering some witty lines about playing in a band. Zappa pokes fun at the counterculture's utopian worldview on the optimistic-sounding "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" and tackles Timothy Leary on "Absolutely Free." In comparison to Sgt. Pepper, "Absolutely Free" sounds like Zappa's answer to "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds." Beginning with "Concentration Moon," Zappa turns his satiric eye to the establishment. That song predicts authorized crackdowns on hippies like what happened at Kent State. On "Mom & Dad" Zappa addresses the hippies' conformist, martini-swilling parents: Ever take a minute just to show a real emotion In between the moisture cream and velvet facial lotion Ever tell your kids you're glad that they can think Ever say you loved 'em Ever let 'em watch you drink though "Mom & Dad" ends in tragedy, the final verse seems to elicit both a shock and a tolerance for sexual experimentation: Your child was killed in the park today Shot by the cops as she quietly lay By the side of the creep she knew They killed her too The satire on the middle-class continues on short pieces like "Bow Tie Daddy" and finger-waving "Lonely Little Girl" but turns slightly misogynistic on "Harry, You're a Beast." However, Zappa reserves his most scathing condemnation on the doo-wop "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body." Though the question (and its answer) can apply to both hippies and their parents, Zappa makes clear his displeasure of what Richard Nixon called the Silent Majority: All your children are poor unfortunate victims of systems beyond their control A plague upon your ignorance and the gray despair of your ugly life Though these parents came of age probably during World War II, and therefore learned some admirable traits as a result, living life in the same stiff manner, without questioning authority, is a wasted life in the Vietnam era. Zappa gives two examples inside the life of freaks, with "Let's Make the Water Turn Black" and its companion piece, "The Idiot Bastard Son" before sharing his own thoughts. Stepping out from behind the curtain, he reveals himself as one of the "Mother People." On this number, he encourages both sides to open their minds (though probably only the hippies would heed the call): We are the other people You're the other people too Found a way to get to you Of course, this being a Frank Zappa album, it wouldn't be complete without strange sound effects and taped conversations scattered throughout. To that end he enlisted Eric Clapton and recording engineer Gary Kellgren for voiceover work. Then there are the odd space-age tracks. "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" opens the second side with what sounds like a dentist's drill as the featured instrument before giving way to a brief surf music interlude. "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny," Zappa's musical parallel to Franz Kafka's In the Penal Colony, concludes the album with fits of mad laughter, allowing Zappa a parting shot in between playing the music he loves, in this case an electronics-driven, harsh sounding avant-garde piece. Unfortunately, someone at Verve had a stick up the ass because the album was censored upon its original release. Three of the songs ("Concentration Moon," "Harry You're a Beast," and "Mother People") were censored for their expletives. The funny thing is that not all of the album's choice words were censored, so I don't know why these three were singled out. In some cases a "heavily censored" version edited out potentially mildly offensive material on a couple of other cuts. Considering Zappa was no fan of censorship, this must have royally pissed him off. So, when he reissued the album on CD (as a two-fer with Lumpy Gravy) in the 1980s, he presented it as it was intended complete with the original cover art, except...he re-recorded some of the instruments. This had the effect of royally pissing off many Zappa purists. After his death in 1993, Rykodisc went back to the originally-issued Verve album for their CD release. Hopefully, there will come a time when we can not only take our clothes off when we dance, but also hear the original, unedited, and uncensored version of We're Only in It for the Money.....Pantagruel ......~ Like Freak Out! but with an emphasis on the dark side of hippie culture. Not to suggest that the album is a downer: on the hilarious outro to Who Needs the Police Corps., Zappa claims that he's gonna become a rock band's road manager, he's gonna get the crabs and he just won't care! Alright! This man is on top of his game! Its like the equivalent of Caligula's first two years as Emperor, they say that before he went loco, they were doing alright from an administrative standpoint but you know that there was still some freaky shit goin' down in Rome. Ya know what I mean? Zappa was the ringleader, but the mayhem was still controlled by that point. And part of his mastery was his complete control of the recording studio, this album being a seamless sound collage that pasted together short but thickly-layered comic ditties with, well, whatever the artist felt like contributing at the time. Whatever Zappa found entertaining or kitsch or profound, I suppose, he stuck it on this album (and Lumpy Gravy, to lesser effect). Never has the line between genius and insanity been so sketchy, truly as Zappaholic suggests below: SGT. PEPPER'S EVIL TWIN. Why, Frank anticipated Manson in more ways than one with this record and preceded it all by more than a year! Still he was allowed to walk around with those Freaky Mothers for years, unchecked, the Caligula of Rock. I suppose the genius truly outweighed the insanity as We're Only in It for the Money gave us more insightful social commentary than we might've even cared for....lanky_caravan ......~ It's easy to see why people like this. Frank bares more of himself here than on any other release. An example is Mom and Dad, which takes a look at some sick people, and you can really hear the disgust come through. It's the most obvious example of Frank's emotion found here but among the most riveting pieces on the album. I started off on a bit too serious note I think - there is some silliness to be found here. Who Needs the Peace Corps is so absurd that I couldn't imagine many hippies really getting upset over it.. Funny how even though the main theme is about something as irrelevant as hippies, many of the messages still apply in today's world. Okay enough about subject matter, that stuff bores me. The tunes are nice. Not a lot of it is really freaky, it's all got a big smile on it's face. The melodies are all pleasant and accessible. Hell, Absolutely Free at it's core is simply a nice ballad that is totally out of place in just about any genre that Frank took a stab at. For some reason people that are unfamiliar with Frank associate him with dissonance and unpleasantness.. The problem is, people don't tell you the whole story. Frank Zappa's music was all about contrast. Up/Down black/white pleasant/unpleasant. He never put out an album of scratchy farty screamy noises, which is literally what some people seem to think. I think that myth is nothing but a bastardization of unrelated legends of bizarre, groundbreaking and occasionally borderline lewd shows put on by the Mothers at around this time period. Maybe it had something to do with extended, ugly, baritone sax solos. The bottom line, Frank was just a catchy tune machine. Let's Make the Water Turn Black, What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body, Concentration Moon, hell almost everything on this album that runs more than a couple minutes isn't that scary. I'll get long winded if I don't wrap it up soon, and I know I haven't exactly dissected every facet of this music or anything, but I think the biggest service I could give this album is that it's nothing scary, so I focused on that. The band isn't very good. Most people realize this, some don't want to admit it. Ian Underwood seemed to have some talent. And I LIKED Jimmy Carl Black's drumming, but he wasn't GOOD or anything. Hell even Frank wasn't really that great back then, he was a friggin baby compared to even his mid-seventies stuff. The backbone of the album is the nice little ditties and the sarcastic take on the culture at the time. If that sounds unappealing to you, well, move along I guess.....AbstractLogic .....~ I'm going to be perfectly honest: I've got nothing to say about Frank Zappa. I've listened to a great many of his albums. I own a handful of them and will in future get more. I've seen both of his movies. I'm even currently reading his autobiography. He is a fucking lunatic. And what more can I say than that? We're Only in It for the Money is another episode in Frank Zappa's scorn-a-thon of/toward the late sixties, it blurs the line between genius and insanity, it has this whole musique concréte thing going on, it takes a bunch of shots at the establishment, the counter-culture, The Beatles. It's got a really sweet album cover (well, my version does, it's the LP cover, not that yellow one). On "Absolutely Free" he shouts 'FLOWER POWER SUCKS!'. It's funnier than most of his other funny albums, although there's a certain strain of misogyny that's a little discomforting (but discomfort is what he's all about, so who knows what to think?). I don't know. I've been listening to this album since my first year in university. I'm now graduated and I've yet to come up with anything that I can say about it, it leaves me struck dumb, which could very well be the point. The drag is that from what I've read, this is still a somewhat censored version of the album, despite Ryko's claims to the contrary.....jshopa .....~ This is the ultimate bashing of all the phonies that America was dealing with at those turbulent times which were the sixties. Not only does Zappa bash the hippies, he bashes there parent's, the music industry and the squares also. He comes across as not denouncing the whole movement, but there lack of organization and not being strong enough to do something about the problems America faces. The music on this album doesnt have many electric guitars. It's mostly Horns and Pianos that carry the melodies. It's also very experimental. Lost of psychedelic sound effects and sound collages show up here. At times it can be difficult to listen to, but it's still great stuff. The strength of the album comes in the songwriting rather the instrumentation though. It's truly a hilarious album that never fails to entertain. It's psychotic, fun and deranged humor that carries important messages about society. An excellent addition to a prog collection, but not really a prog rock album.....leptonlunatic ......~ We're Only in It for the Money is an incredibly satirical album. Zappa's paranoid perspective of the social scene is vicious and hilarious here. The production and melodic strength here is the real interesting factor of this album. The studio work here is amazing, effects and oddball breaks are amazingly cool for this time, and are still fresh to listen to to this day, Zappa's command over a studio is truly legendary. Complexity and guitar solos are not in effect much in this album a matter of fact there are no guitar solos. Zappa's message is most important here, and his composition is not forgotten either, songs like Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance and Harry, You're a Beast are very popular Zappa compositions. This is the Mothers' peak of sneering social protest and oddball lifestyles. As far as all this it's amazing, it made the Rolling Stones' Top 100 Albums of All Time! As far as artsy jam complexity freakout jamming like we expect from Frank look elsewhere.....Dan_Potter .....~ We're Only in It for the Money is both more radical and less radical than Absolutely Free. On the one hand, there are a bunch of actual, stand alone songs here, at least one of which appears to contain entirely sincere Zappa (who rarely appears) and those songs, though perhaps dating a little better than the most avant garde songs here, are not among his best songs. "Mom & Dad" was another one of his sincere message songs that he soon stopped writing but I'm not sure it's as effective as satirical Zappa. "Let's Make Make the Water Turn Black" works better because it's Zappa being Zappa, lyrically if not musically. On the other hand, this record is as challenging or perhaps even more challenging than Absolutely Free. "Are You Hung Up?" is the most radical opening of a popular music recording in the history of the medium - nobody had ever dared to put anything like that as the lead track before...and who had yet recorded anything like that? And the other interludes are often just as jarring. They've also become a normal part of making a record as so many people add dialogue and noises in between real songs now. With the possible exception of the last track, perhaps, I think you can claim the "proper" music is less sophisticated than on Absolutely Free - or maybe Zappa is just better at combining his ideas so they seem less radical. But the satirical bite is still here - some of which (the misogyny) has dated rather poorly. And, more importantly, the package is the most radical that had ever been assembled for popular music to date. It may not sound like it today, with much of this becoming normal, but these sounds and snippets inserted between and into songs had never been done to this extent before (and only really done by Zappa). There's just nothing else like it. (Yes, I prefer Absolutely Free as a listening experience.)....schicken46 ....~ My life is dull and boring so sometimes a little amusement is necessary to keep myself upbeat and not too much cynical. Well not that I want to be that way, but this is the fact and when you realise you cannot do nothing about it ( what can you do to the fact mate?), my life becomes duller. Sad and heartbreaking? Not any more because Frank Zappa is still rejoicing in the place called Concentration Moon which, by the way, is where he lives right now if you don’t already know. Or is he lamenting instead? No matter what, he does want you to THINK what is the ugliest part of you body. He wants me think? No please, hope he wont laugh when I do because WORD ( that is a Microsoft software) just tells me ugliest is a non-standard word and there is also a beautifully annoying (or annoyingly beautiful) green wave line underneath to highlight it. I do think though, this is what Zappa asks me for God’s sake. But my mind is on somewhere else contemplating (see, I can use word other than THINK, how erudite I am even though my life is still dull) why I should take off my clothes when I dance. The point is, I am not in the dance business for the money because I don’t want to take off my clothes even it is Zappa asking me. I love music. That is a pretentious statement I know. Overly sentimental too. So you’d better stop saying things like that for the rest of your life. Zappa, for the record, doesn’t like music even though he is pretentious as hell. Do you know what he likes? He likes to make the water turn black you idiot! And twist his mind so badly that he even does things he doesn’t like, like making records. Now I am telling you what he likes. He likes using music as a weapon ( not that mass destruction type but something like that) to make you mad, to challenge you upside down and all in all, to fuck you up. This is what he likes. So if you have decided to finally throw out 20 bucks of your hard-earned money to get your greasy hand on this record, be prepared to get fucked. Don’t say I didn’t warn you. But if you’ve already been fucked up from head to toe just like everybody else, don’t mind what I have just said......kinky .....~ Frank Zappa's ode to hippies (to the fake ones anyways), the middle class adults who hated them and the police who beat the crap out of them. The album, I find, is a bit dated but still enjoyable. The lyrics prove Frank is quite a satirist. The humour it exudes can be quite funny but also sad. The songs dealing with those that criticize and hate the hippie culture are the most biting. The songs dealing with the hippies, fake or otherwise, are the funniest. One song segues into the next to make the listener hear the album as a whole rather than a group of individual songs. Frank had a message to convey to the listener. He thought that all the people who joined the hippie movement as a fad were quite disappointing as it took away the core message which was political in that it was a protest against the power structure of the time and the only solution was love and togetherness. The bandwagon jumpers were just there to take drugs and have promiscuous sex and had no social or political beliefs to fight for. He also criticized the police for their overreaction to the movement. He gave a shot to all the parents who criticized the movement as their lives were even worse. They led empty consumer lives, drinking their lives away (instead of smoking dope or taking LSD, whats the difference!) and not paying attention to their own kids; and then they wondered why the kids end up involved in a life of drugs and sex. Frank offers his solution on track 16 "Take Off Your Clothes When You Dance" which tells of a time when evil will be overcome by tolerance and love. So, tolerance and love are Frank's solution to the problems he points out on the album. You will hear whispers throughout the album from Gary Kellgren, the engineer of the album. He makes reference to The Velvet Underground, another band who he engineered for. You will hear Eric Clapton speaking in various sections and will hear Jimmy Carl Black, the drummer, identify himself as an Indian. The only tracks I did not like were "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" and the last song "The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny". These are Frank's diversion into the art form "Musique Concrete". This form of music takes electronic recording of actual sounds not made from instruments or people. Sounds from the world, you might say, and they are manipulated and mixed with electronics to produce music. The two songs on this album don't mesh with the rest of the album and kills it flow. Frank, in my humble opinion, should have made a whole album with this type of music, which would have been cool to listen to, and left them off here. A lot of critics and listeners mention this album as Frank's masterpiece. This was the second album I listened to from the Zappa world and I enjoy Hot Rats (my first listen) more so my rating reflects this.....scottbdoug .....~

The Mothers Of Invention"We're Only In It For The Money"1968 US Avant Garde,Experimental,Psych Rock,Classsical (The 40 Greatest Psychedelic Albums of All Time,The 40 Trippiest Albums Ever, Mojo magazine) Why would you collect records? If you are anything like me, music is always happening in one form or another. There is music everywhere - some that you choose to listen to, some you don't but hear anyway. When I was young, records were the only choice available if you wanted to hear a song more than once. Now I can mow the lawn with an mp3 player and ear buds. The best reason I've heard for collecting records is simply - you can't hold an mp3. So, why collect this record? This particular album is a blue label first pressing from 1968 with the original insert. Frank Zappa was less than pleased with this release. First, in his mind, it was released inside-out. The gatefold cover was intended as a parody of The Beatles "Sgt. Pepper" album cover but record company censors (lawyers?) made The Mothers reverse the pictures. Probably even more important to Frank, that wasn't the only censorship enforced on this release. They altered the music and lyrics as well. There were even more changes in subsequent releases. Frank turned down an award for this album, demanding it be given instead to whoever did the changes. It was finally released as originally intended when Zappa achieved complete control over his label and material. But before all that in-fighting was known about, in 1968, The Mothers of Invention put out some of the most amazing music of the era.....~ 

“To be the man, you gotta beat the man, and…I’m the man.” – The Nature Boy, Ric Flair Statistically, there’s a good chance that you’re familiar with the classic rock canon, even if you don’t want to be. It’s blared at football games and dive bars. It soundtracks beer commercials and movies with motorcycles. It somehow screams out of your uncle’s acoustic guitar on Christmas Eve. Familiar are the lyrical tropes (plenty of sex, a lot of drugs, sex on drugs, and drugs compared to sex) and the talking points that defend them (“real music,” “back when people played their instruments,” etc.). And yet, in spite of this — I hope I’m not alone here — from ages 10 to 23, I was fooled. I regarded the denizens of the rock canon as musically infallible legends, who, barring their occasional missteps, knew something about music, something I couldn’t put into words. They were better than your average musician, much better than me at guitar, and had something to say, or something like that. Thankfully, Frank Zappa unfooled me with his benchmark album We’re Only In It For The Money. Had it not been for Zappa’s fourth (and most obviously ironic) record, released 50 years ago this Sunday, I may have regarded groups like Ultimate Spinach, Vanilla Fudge, and the West Coast Pop Art Experimental Band as masters of their craft and not as the vapid pop groups of their time. There’s nothing wrong with that, either. If anything, it was on me to make that distinction in the first place. It’s even funnier that Zappa grouped the Beatles in with such artists, as evident by the album artwork. (I’d like to think it fooled some grandparents in its day, like your Nona buying you a Transmorphers DVD out of well-intentioned ignorance.) Nostalgia goggles don’t work on the present. Ever the contrarian, Zappa occupied a strange kind of space in popular music. For one, he fancied himself a composer, opting to work with orchestras in between excessive rehearsing, touring, and recording with the Mothers of Invention, his ever-evolving rock outfit that changed members like underwear. But that ever-evolving rock outfit was seen as an affront to the old guard of composers who saw him as a long-haired freak with vulgar material — not a composer, by some definitions. As a Silent Generationer that lived into the 1990s, he saw the world of popular music switch directions countless times. There was no shortage of musical tropes for him to criticize. Regarding the kind of criticism done for laughs, Zappa understood a core tenet of trashing any given genre of music: You don’t attack the music itself, you go for the jugular — the subculture. The tangible stuff. Nobody wants to hear your critique of the I-IV-V progression or the standard pop song structure, but you can probably get a chuckle if you identify some lifestyle trends or holes in their ideology. We’re Only In It For The Money’s second track, “Who Needs The Peace Corps?,” establishes the tone of the next half-hour as a Zappa talkdown lists unofficial hippie commandments: “I will ask the Chamber of Commerce how to get to Haight Street,” “I will wander around barefoot,” “I will smoke an awful lot of dope,” etc. Of course you’ll do those things. You’re supposed to be a hippy, and that’s what hippies do. For my money, “I will love the police as they kick the shit out of me” is the funniest singular Zappa lyric, beating out any masturbation or bestiality reference in his catalog. While primarily a dig at the youth, the lyric serves to remind you that he doesn’t care for the Establishment, either. This agenda (or anti-agenda) is pushed further with “Mom & Dad,” a song with the express purpose of calling out the idle parents of the Boomers, and is never without a counter; “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black” narrates the adventures of two imbecilic friends Frank knew during childhood. Even still, the verbal irony doesn’t hold a candle or stick of incense to the Big Picture irony that We’re Only In It For The Money is most easily enjoyed as exactly the sort of ’60s rock record the Mothers are sending up. The colors are all there. Noisy passages, sing-song choruses, short skits, mono drums, airy acoustic segments, and mentions of San Francisco paint the album psychedelic, and Frank’s laughing at you for enjoying it. In a Zappa-free vacuum, some segments would be called doo-wop or musique concrète, but synthesized together, We’re Only In It For The Money is a game-show wheel of generally bizarre shit, no matter what way you slice it. Frank never cared for words much, anyway. “If I am going to HAVE to write some words, at least they’ll be the truth, instead of some sentimental junk,” he told Big Ten Magazine, in an article published two months after WOIIFTM came out. “But, the truth is really in the music. It’s unfortunate that most of the American people need some kind of verbal content.” The fact that it amounts to a psych-rock record is its greatest irony. If Frank Zappa made a record that was parodying your preferred genre of music, he would try to make it better than the source material while playing by (a few of) the source material’s rules, just so you can keep score. It’s tempting to assign such unwavering naysayers with political centrism and the lot of do-nothing opinion-havers on the internet, and I don’t blame anyone that gets that vibe from WOIIFTM. The identified problems are the hippies and the Establishment; the Establishment kills (see “Concentration Moon”), while hippies are stupid and irritating (see “Flower Punk”). On the whole, it’s less of a coherent critique and more of a report on California in the late 1960s. When accepted as a document of the era, the insight of a man too young to be the Man, but old enough to try to beat him, takes on a new degree of importance, even on an LP with a song called “Hot Poop.” Additionally, answers shouldn’t be expected on a Frank Zappa record. This installment of songs, like pretty much every other one his albums, is a showcase of what one can accomplish within the confines of a medium. It doesn’t “transcend” psych-rock, but it does it differently (or sarcastically, at least). It captured the time period with a shit-eating grin. Five years later, the genre would be on its deathbed, and Zappa would still be cranking out albums that felt like they were mocking you for enjoying them....Bruce Hamilton....~ Over the course of his long and prolific career, Frank Zappa produced only a few albums that merit consensus praise among his fans and grudging respect from his detractors. Perhaps the most celebrated peak is We’re Only In It For The Money, the response to the rise of the counterculture that Zappa created with his talented band of L.A. oddballs, the Mothers of Invention. It is perhaps his best album and certainly one of the definitive examples of Zappa’s idiosyncratic work. In its strange structures and sonic shifts, it offers the blend of deep musical sophistication and irreverent wit that marked his high points while (mostly) avoiding the instrumental excesses or cheap jokes that too often taint Zappa’s catalog. As indicated by the Sgt. Pepper-mocking title and album cover, the prime target of mockery here is the post-“Summer of Love” rise of hippie-dom and the hype that accompanied it. Zappa and the Mothers see the counterculture fad as falling into the same traps of conformity and superficiality that define the straight culture to which it was seemingly reacting, becoming a flower-print version of the plastic nightmare that Zappa long saw as endemic to mainstream America. They particularly swipe at hippie dilettantes. There’s the jolly kid in the singsong “Who Needs the Peace Corps?,” who wants to visit San Francisco to participate in a counterculture that seemingly consists solely of free drugs, easy sex, hair that’s “getting good in the back” and a bus ride back home at the end of the week. Or the aspiring rock musician in “Flower Punk,” a fractured riff on “Hey Joe” that finds our sojourner coming to San Francisco less intent on tuning in and dropping out than getting paid and getting laid. In the end section, the song’s frenetic rhythms dissolve around two overlapping voices that take multiple listens to parse out, a touch used multiple times on We’re Only In It For The Money to emphasize its disorienting shifts in perspective. On “Flower Punk,” where the voices each seem to emanate from within the head of the titular musician, one of the voices calls the Haight scene a “mass deception” while the other plans for what he’ll do when “the royalty check comes,” starting with a Mustang and ending up with real estate investments. At end, both voices come together to come on to a girl before ending with a poignant question: “Is the song over?” Zappa may find these Flower Power kids ridiculous, but he saves his primary ire for the hypocritical and neglectful parents from whose homes they emerged and the destructive society that now surrounds them. There’s a startling level of violence in We’re Only In It For The Money, whether state-sanctioned – police beatings and the Vietnam War (which provides the sad conclusion to the mischievous suburb kids left alone in “Let’s Make The Water Turn Black”) – or domestic, like in the surprisingly disturbing “Harry, You’re A Beast,” which presents a woman whose stifling home life has turned abusive. “Harry, You’re A Beast” is one of many moments where Zappa drops his seemingly permanent smirk. Indeed, as much as the album is a piss-taking puncture of the pretenses of late-1960s rock culture, there are several places when Zappa seems both lyrically and musically in tune with the psychedelic moment. There’s the sermon-like bridge about the young generation that interrupts the doo wop-inspired “What’s The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?” (answer: “your mind”) and reappears on the soft grooves of “Lonely Girl.” (Both songs signal the R&B riffs of their Cruising With Ruben & The Jets album, released later in 1968 but recorded simultaneously.) Or “Mom and Dad,” which would’ve fit in with the era’s folk-rock both in lyric – which attacks, among other things, the failure of parents to address the police mistreatment of their wayward children – and in its gentle arrangement and choked Zappa vocal. The Mothers even offer a brighter vision on “Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance” and “Absolutely Free,” both of which offer hippie cliches (like “You’ll be absolutely free only if you want to be”) as a way to simultaneously affirm the countercultural impulse and warn against its received-wisdom tendencies. Or maybe they don’t believe any of it. At one point, for example, the blissful harmonies and easy sway of “Absolutely Free” are interrupted by an interjection of “Flower Power sucks!,” and there are other times when Zappa’s deconstructionist musical ethos serves to contradict the lyric in helpfully disruptive ways. Listening to We’re Only In It For The Money, it’s impossible to miss the fact that Frank Zappa really didn’t like hippies. But – at least to me, and in contrast to some other moments in Zappa’s career – this cynical view doesn’t seem to grounded in mean-spiritedness. Instead, Zappa and the Mothers celebrate freaky individualism while cautioning against conformist groupthink. On “Mother People,” the album’s penultimate track (and last to feature vocals), the Mothers remind listeners that “We are the other people,” and that they’ll “find a way to get to you” because “you’re the other people too.” It’s a vision that’s both strangely hopeful and a bit frightening. It wouldn’t take long for the ambivalent vision of the hippie moment in We’re Only In It For The Money to prove prescient. And the album remains a powerful, challenging listen even far removed from its direct contexts.....~

  It's the end 60's. The hippie empire is growing and growing, flower power is filling the air. Live was beautiful, love was beautiful, sitting around listining to the Beatles, Grateful Dead or Jefferson Airplane with an awful lot of dope, walking around in long indian dresses, beads around your neck and flowers everywhere. Hundreds of happy people are going to San Fransisco to dance, to take some Lucy in the Sky, to join psychedelic bands. The world was so beautiful.... The first hippies were a small group of people with ideals. And they weren't just happy flower power people. But when Sergeant Peppers came out, hippiedom became a rage. It became commercial and everyone became hippie, without the idealism but just as a fashion style. They didn't mind there was war, teenage alienation, violence against demonstraters, things like that. They just liked the hippie free love and the LSD. A bunch of musicians, with the real ideals but with a great disgust for the commercialisation, lived around LA. They were called the Mothers of Invention, led by one of the world's best composer of the past decades: Frank Zappa. They wanted the people to realise the modern commercial hippiedom was totally wrong and naive. At that moment, The Mothers exsisted of (according to the booklet): Frank Zappa: Guitar, Piano, Lead Vocals, Weirdness and Editing Billy Mundi: Drums, Vocals, Yak & Black Lace Underwear Bunk Gardner: All woodwinds, mumbling weirdness Roy Estrada: Electric Bass, vocals, asthma Don Preston: Retired Jimmy Carl Black: The indian of the group, drums, trumpet, vocals Ian Underwood: Piano, Woodwind, Wholesome Euclid James Motorhead Sherwood (visible on back cover) Road Mamager, soprano & baritone saxophone, all purpose weirdness & teen appeal (we need it desperately) Suzy Creamcheese: Telephone Dick Barber: Snorks So.... Let's start with: 1 - Are You Hung Up (1:29)- The album starts of with a couple of noises, while hearing something from a telephone conversation, whispering voices, talking about the Mothers of Invention. It ends with a guitar solo and the great quote: "Hi boys and girls, I'm Jimmy Carl Black and I'm the indian of the group. Not the best album opener you can imagine, but it's nice and I'd say 7/10 2. Who Needs The Peacecorps (2.35) - Shows the naivity of the hippie movement. It tells what the hippie movement is like, with a lot of sarcasm. It ends with a monologue from a hippie lovng everyone, loving the police who kicks the *** out of him. He is going to Frisco, buying a wig and beads, become stoned, become the Road Manager of a psychedelic band. It's a nice 8.5/10 3. Concentration Moon (2.17) - This is a good song. It starts off with a drum roll and a happy 3/4 song about hippy freedom, Than it begins to be a more aggressive and serious 4/4 song about the police killing the creeps (the real hippies) on the streets. After a minute, the music stops and you hear a man talking about him working with Frank Zappa and the day after that, he has to work with the Velvet Underground, which is by his meaning a ***tier group as Frank Zappa's. Then, you hear Jimmy Carl Back again presenting himself proudly as the indian of the group. Then the song starts again, following the same structures. I think the ending is the best from the song, where they sing: "Don't cry, gotta go bye bye, suddenly die die, cop kill a creep, pow pow pow". I'll rate it 9.5/10 4. Mom and Dad (2.19) - A more serious-sounding song about a child being afraid. "Mama, mama, someone said they made some noise, the cops have killed some girls and boys". It tells both about parents neglecting their kids, never showing their real emotions, as well as the police using violence at the violence. It is a sad yet beautiful song, the lyrics are really sad too. Again, I like the end the most, with Frank singing: "Mama, mama, your child was killed in the park today, shot by the corps in the park today, by the side of the cops she knew, they killed her too. 9/10 5. Telephone Conversation (0.45) - That's indeed what it is. A telephone conversation with Suzy Creamchease, with another man and a girl. It's meant to change the subject of the songs. 6/10 I'd say. 6. Bow Tie Daddy (0.33.) - TA really shorts song. It's a funny song with a '30s feeling to it. It's about a suburban father who doesn't care about his hippie son and let just do what he wants to do. 7.5/10 7. Harry, You're a Beast (1:21) - About someone having sex. The man wants to, but the woman don't. "Madge I want your body/Harry, get back/Madge, it's not merely physical/Harry, You're A Beast. On some versions of the song you hear: "Don't come in me" after that, but on some other versions you hear it backwards, as it is censored. Not a bad song, though there's a lot better on this album. 8/10 8. What's the Ugliest Part Of Your Body (1.03) - Like this one. This is a great track. It starts of with a doo-wop 3/4 song featuring the brilliant lyrics: "Whats the ugliest part of your body? Some say your nose, some say your those, but I think it your mind." Then it changes to a changes to a 7/8 song with Frank Zappa singing: "All your children are poor unfortunately victims of systems beyond their control" and he is having a critics on the politics of his time. Also, there's another 3/4 part in it again, with another voice singing: "Were did Anna go, when she went to town, who were all these creeps, that she brings around." It's a very good song I think and it deserves the 10/10 rating. 9. Absolutely Free (3:27) - Before the songs starts, Frank gives us some education: "The first word of this song is discorporate. It means to leave your body." This is again a parody of the hippie movement. It's about hippie freedom. Due to the 3/4 rythm, it gives me a bit of a carousel feeling. The end is really great, with the "tadadadadadada" put into it. I give it 9/10 10. Flower Punk (3:04) - This is a really cool song. It was my favourite the first time I heard it and still I really love it. It mainly consist of someone questioning a hippie who is going to Frisco what he is going to do. It's shows how the hippie movement has become a style of fashion, losing it's idealogy and become much more commercial. It's a quite swinging song, though it's build upon 7/8 and 5/8 rythms. After one and a half minute, the song gets in reprise, with two monologues crossing eachother: one of the idealogist hippie and one from the commercial hippie, who plays in a band but just wants to earn money. It's a 10/10 again I think 11. Hot Poop (0.29) - Well, It's kind of short, isn't it. That's all I can say about it. You hear some noises and some backwards lyrics. But it isn't really annoying, as it is so short. It's quite refreshening. 6.5/10 12. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music (2:02) - It's quite strange. As the booklet says, it is "an instrumental overture to a series of songs about people with strange personal habits... many of which happen to be my dearest friends). It is the first song of the second part of the LP and is comparable to Are You Hung Up, though this sounds somewhat stranger. You hear a lot of weird noises, Eric Clapton shouting "God, I can see You", some surf-rock noises and waves. Sometimes I think this song is very annoying, sometimes I like it. I give it 6/10 13. Let's Make the Water Turn Black (1:45) - Very happy song, it sounds like a children song. It's about to High School friends of Frank, Kenny and Ronnie Williams, who experimented after school with their urine and their poo, noticing it got strange colours and strange wormlike figures appeared in it. It is totally true according to Zappa, as it is also written down in his biography. Again I think the end is the most beautiful part of the song, with repeating 3 times: Wait till the fire turns green. 9/10 14. The Idiot Bastard Song (2:43) - A rather well-known Zappa song from this album, as most of the other songs never were played live as full songs but only in medleys. It is the son of a Nazi and a hooker and again, Zappa's high school friends appear, this time taking care of the idiot bastard son. The song is also an offense against the listener: "The child will thrive and grow and enter the world of liers and cheaters and people like you, who smile and think you know what this is about". It's a good song. 9/10 15. Lonely Little Girls (1:45) - Starts off with a monologue, but after circa 30 seconds a guitar riff goes in and the real song begins. It is again about parents neglecting their kids. The begin of the song is rather happy, but it becomes much more sad during the song. On the half of the song, there is a little reprise of the last part of What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body, and some instrumental. It's a very good song I think. 9.5/10 16. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (1:34) - A very happy and cheerful song. Again, this song is a parody of the hippie movement. I like the strange dudledudleduu/dididididi part in the song very much, it makes me really happy. It's a good song I think and it deserves at least 9/10. 17. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body (reprise) - Parodying the Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band with it's reprise, this features the first and most recognisable part from the song. It ends in a serie of strange voices muttering and shouting and things like that, very Zappa. It's a good song, though not as good as it's original (8.5/10) 18. Mother People (2.31) - This song is, just like some other songs on the album, about the really ideals of the early hippies in contrary to the commercial flowerpower freelove hippiedom. It is also about how the authorities react on this idealists. It's a nice song I think, though it don't have the catchiness of some other songs on the album. 8/10 19. The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny (6.25) - This song is good, but it doesn't fit the rest of the album. It's very stranged and influenced by avant-garde composers like Edgar Var�se. It is more like Zappa's next album, the solo-album Lumpy Gravy. You have to be rather musically broad-minded to like this song, because it is absolutely no easy listener and I should chose another album ender, but hey, I'm not Zappa. As I said, a good song, but totally out of the context of the album, so I make it 6.5/10. All with all this is a really classis. Containing as well pop parodies, strange instrumentals, hard critics against police and commercialised hippiedom and things, absurd Zappa-songs, many see it as the very best Zappa production, which of course is arguable, because Zappa made so much great albums with so much different styles, but it is definitively one of better Zappa productions and very good I think to get into Zappa, as his songs are quite catchy here and there on the album, although they're definitively real Zappa gems. For me, it really earns the 10/10.....by SomethingfromHolland ...sputnik...~ A wonderful parody of the magic of the Beatles which, according to the notes by David Fricke in the booklet "Lumpy Money" ( 2008 ), a box set that celebrates the forty years of "Lumpy Gravy" and "We're Only In It For The Money " , they made that music only for the money ... " We're Only In It For The Money " , in fact. Frank Zappa takes the right distance from everything that is acclaimed, with inventions that clash with censorship . The artist achieves what he had set out to do: take a leapyears ahead of everyone managing to be scandalous , obscene , irreverent and to propose avant-garde music . This album confirms and reinforces what he started in 1966 : in less than two years Frank Zappa has produced three works that are difficult to compare for their level of genius , complexity and daring … but let's take a step back. We are in 1967 , Cream are in New York to record their second album, “Disraeli Gears” , for Reaction Records .Eric Clapton went one evening at the concert of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention at the Garrick Theater . He is entranced by their show, so much so that he returns to see them for several evenings. Presents that can be counted on the fingertips, each time different sound experiments ... until one evening, after the concert, "Uncle Frank" takes "Eric" slowhand "Clapton" to his house and invites him to play what he can do. In this way he manages to "manipulate" the English guitarist, bringing out all his ego.“Zappa was definitely chock full of recordings with other musicians of the time… and I was there, somewhere , ” says Clapton ( “Electric Don Quixote: The Definitive Story of Frank Zappa 1996 ). Clapton's interest is understandable : Frank Zappa demolishes the very concept of a rock concert , he and the members of the Mothers show up on stage dressed up in bizarre costumes and, once the introductions are made, “Uncle Frank” greets the few present with a “Hello pigs! " ( "Hello pigs!" ). Then, off with songs from "Freak Out" (Verve 1966 ) and “Absolutely Free” ( Verve 1967 ). A few months before the release of the latter, precisely in March 1967 , the very first recordings of the new album, “We're Only In It For The Money” ( Verve 1968 ), completed in October of the same year , had begun . The publication of “Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ” ( Parlophone 1967 ) by the Beatles seems to be the weight that tip the scales. The album of the Liverpool band comes out a week after the aforementioned "Absolutely Free" : the occasion is propitious,"Sgt. Pepper ” the predestined victim . Most likely Zappa had foreseen the end of the "summer of love" : the world of "flower power" is one of his main targets. The texts deflate what looked like a wonderful hot air balloon ready to rise into the sky. Think rocking Who Needs the Peace Corps? , with the text that reads mercilessly: “Every city should have a place where fake hippies can meet. Psychedelic prisons popping out of every (street) corner. Go to San Francisco ” . The invitation of the song Abosultely Free is tough and imperious :“Free your mind, there is no more time to lick the stamps (the acids). We will begin… freedom freedom, you will be absolutely free only if you want it ”. All supported by extraordinary musicians , who with great professionalism play scores that transform rock into complicated , innovative , experimental , psychedelic , demented and progressive music . Equally caustic and inexorable Flower Punk , beat & rock piece written on the notes of the song Hey Joe by Jimi Hendrix , friend of Zappaand symbol of that movement. Incendiary words that have evil : “ Hey bust, where are you going with those flowers in your hand? I'm going to Frisco to play in a psychedelic band. Hey busted, where are you going with that pin on your shirt? I'm going to a love-in to play bongo in the mud ” . Texts that do not spare even parents who raise their children in ignorance and prejudices , the result of an empty and cowardly society that mystifies violent realities . In Mom and Dad a daughter asks: "Mom, they say that there have been riots and the police have fired on some boys and girls ”. The answer: “Stay home and drink all night. They looked too strange, it suits them. " Words that will prove prophetic: three years later, precisely on May 4, 1970 , during a student demonstration against the American bombing in Cambodia , four students are murdered on the Kent State University campus . Three days before the shooting , the infamous American President Nixon had defined "Stragglers" the pacifist demonstrators of American universities . Continuing with the album, follows What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? , which in just one minute licks psychedelia , doo-wop and rock . More lashing words: “ What is the ugliest part of your body? I think it's your brain! All your children are the poor victims of a system they cannot control. The torment of your ignorance and the gray despair of your squalid life keeps young people away from the truth they deserve ” . The song will be replicated on side B as a reprise and parody of"Sgt. Pepper's " . The experimental The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny twists the piano chord in A Day in the Life (also from “Sgt. Pepper's” ). The text and the voice of Lennon are replaced by standards favored by Karlheinz Stockhausen , along unexplored labyrinths that converge in a funnel shrill laughter . All light years away from the world of sequins represented by the Liverpool boys . The cover is thebrilliant idea that seals the masterpiece : the artist called to contribute is Cal Schenkel , who will establish a long partnership with Frank Zappa . The two work on the idea and realization, replicating the cover of “Sgt. Pepper's ” in an ironic key and it could not be otherwise. The participants of the party are different, the same author appears with a carton of eggs in his hand. Sonny Liston is replaced by Jimi Hendrix and, if the Beatles appeared behind a flowerbed outside , hereZappa and the Mothers are depicted with fruit and vegetables alongside , as well as dressed in women 's skirts and dresses . With this album, however, in addition to being funny and ironic , Zappa also launches a strong message of great pessimism and helplessness ... as always, satire hides behind the mockery its cry of pain almost always unheard ....magazzininesistenti......~ Last summer, I wrote in Critics at Large about how The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper album, a lovely, masterful avant-garde pop confection, also represented a magical retreat from a counter-culture that was on the verge of turning dark and violent. Before that darkness fully overshadowed the utopian spirit of that record, though, many of The Beatles' contemporaries made valiant attempts to duplicate the wizardry of Sgt. Pepper, as if they were trying to decode a secret language. In 1968, for instance, The Zombies ("Time of the Season") matched some of Pepper's technical innovations while adding some rich textures of their own on the exquisite Odyssey and Oracle (which was also recorded, like Pepper, at Abbey Road Studios). The Moody Blues' Days of Future Passed (1967) developed precisely in the spirit of Sgt. Pepper. The album, which yielded two hit songs, "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin," was conceived as a song cycle that spanned an entire day – from sunrise to evening – where every song provided a unique perspective from each member of the group. Days of Future Passed was an evocation of a pastoral mystical innocence worthy of poet William Wordsworth in the age of psychedelia. The Rolling Stones, a mere six months after Pepper, would concoct their own psychedelic conceit, Their Satanic Majesties Request, where they abandoned their R&B roots for exotic Indian rhythms, sound collages, and music hall pastiches. But because of their bad boy image, the record felt fake (despite its devious title) with its half-hearted flower power sentiments. There were many other lesser, now forgotten groups, who attempted to capture Sgt. Pepper's lightning in a bottle. One American artist who did respond to the seismic impact of Pepper, but didn't buy into the hippie ethos that blossomed out of The Beatles' landmark recording was Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention. This Los Angeles band, who coined themselves "the ugly reminder," may have had long hair but they didn't even come close to resembling the pretty groups sprouting up like flowers in a magical garden. To paraphrase critic Nik Cohen, The Mothers suggested a band of motorcycle outlaws out to pillage your home and kidnap your daughter – though they were more likely to play her Igor Stravinsky (or maybe "Louie Louie") rather than sexually ravage her. Dan Sullivan in The New York Times once pointed up the significant discrepancy between The Mothers and The Beatles. "The most striking difference between [The Beatles and The Mothers of Invention] is not in their work but in their approach to their work – The Beatles' desire to please an audience versus The Mothers' basic distrust of one." Sgt. Pepper had celebrated the romantic ideal, offering the possibility that love could transcend all of our problems. But Zappa, who had already been railing against the 19th Century Romantic tradition of music, perceived something sinister lurking beneath the flowers, beads, and incense burning. Zappa saw the very concept of flower power evolving into nothing less than a successful fad. So on his 1968 album, We're Only in it for the Money, he decided to go after the fad rather than The Beatles' music. "Sgt. Pepper was okay," Zappa remarked to critic Kurt Loder in 1988. "But the whole aroma of what The Beatles were was something that never caught my fancy. I got the impression from what was going on at the time that they were only in it for the money – and that was a pretty unpopular view to hold." He may have had a point. Contrary to the more generous ideals attached to the group, The Beatles' career was more often than not preoccupied by the power of money. By 1968, film critic Pauline Kael even shared some of Zappa's distrust when she reviewed the animated film Yellow Submarine. She felt that the problem of commerce undermined The Beatles' image, which by that time, began to change in the wake of all the promotional marketing tie-ins associated with the movie. "Wasn't all this supposed to be what The Beatles were against?" Kael asked. "There's something depressing about seeing yesterday's outlaw idols of the teenagers become a quartet of Pollyannas for the wholesome family trade." Yet, even as early as 1965, when interviewed by Playboy, John Lennon sarcastically remarked that they were moneymakers first and entertainers second. It was this particular aura that Zappa countered on his record. While We're Only in it for the Money wasn't designed as a savage attack on the band, his parody of the Sgt. Pepper cover was itself a nightmare version of The Beatles' gathering. The Mothers of Invention were all dressed in granny gowns (in perhaps a parody of the mixture of Barbary Coast and Old West costumery worn in San Francisco's hippie community) while behind them were a cast of outsiders, misfits and assassins. Rather than the bright blue sky above The Beatles, Zappa had lightning and darkness filling the horizon over The Mothers. We're Only in it for the Money was a satirical Kafkaesque portrait of the culture wars. Even though (at least initially) the hippie scene was relatively benign, Zappa deemed that their druggy passivity left them vulnerable to collusion with authoritarian elements. (Zappa saw no irony in the fact that LSD was once used in government sponsored mind-control experiments before it became the popular drug of choice in the Sixties counter-culture.) His skewering of the hippie community was not a reactionary attack on its freakishness, but rather on its tendency toward conformity. Zappa's message for the left-behinds of the Great Society, according to music critic Walter Everett, was to shun the dominant culture and learn to think for themselves. As music, We're Only in it for the Money is a boldly experimental record, like Pepper, but it is Sgt. Pepper conceived as a Mad Magazine collage. Although Zappa didn't spare the hippie culture on the record, he was no less harsh on the establishment. After lampooning hippie passivity in "Who Needs the Peace Corps?" the next song, "Concentration Moon," with its wickedly hilarious Rudy Vallee-styled arrangement, attacks the police for its blatant brutality toward the hippie community. Singing about an American police force that used firearms to bring dissidents under control might have seemed too paranoid in 1968, but the song was recorded only a couple of years before the tragic shooting and killing of four students by National Guardsmen at Kent State University on May 4, 1970. Furthermore, even earlier than that tragedy, in 1969, a parking lot on the University of California in Berkeley was turned into a "people's park" by anti-war protesters. Governor Ronald Reagan quickly ordered the National Guard to reclaim the park and shoot all resisters. Using saltpeter, instead of bullets, they wounded many protesters and killed one person, James Rector. Later, after the "park" was reclaimed, a number of individuals were arrested, including Robert Scheer of the leftist magazine Ramparts. They were all taken away by bus to an internment camp in Santa Rita where they were detained and violently interrogated for a couple of days (just as hippies were gathered up in Zappa's song to be interrogated at Concentration Moon). Right after the terror of "Concentration Moon," Zappa brings it all back home on "Mom & Dad." This track continues the story from "Concentration Moon," where a murdered child's parents sit at home drinking while learning that their daughter has been shot dead by the police. In this song, Zappa's own chilling response to The Beatles' "She's Leaving Home," he finally takes the blame away from the hippies, and the cops, and addresses her folks. The drinking parents, hiding behind their appearances, are irrevocably linked to their drug-addled kids. "Zappa...never found his emotions so mixed as when observing all those genuinely idealistic, authentically dumb kids trying to forge something positive out of the plastic catastrophic America they'd inherited," wrote rock critic Dave Marsh in his Rock & Rap Confidential. "Harry, You're a Beast" became a cogent observation on male/female dynamics in an age that many considered to be the cusp of the Sexual Revolution. Zappa saw nothing of the sort. In "Harry, You're a Beast," Harry and his wife, Madge, live in a sexless marriage until Harry attempts intercourse. As Madge fights him off, borrowing the words of Lenny Bruce from his classic routine "To is a Preposition, Come is a Verb," she cries, "Don't come in me/Don't come in me." When it's obvious that Harry does indeed come in her, the next song, "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?" identifies the root of their sexual repression – in the mind. "Flower Punk" is a rewrite of the rock classic, "Hey Joe," where a guy shoots his girlfriend and then escapes to Mexico. But Zappa turns Joe into a hippie with a flower instead of a gun. (He may have been patterned on any number of people who were then sticking flowers in the gun barrels of National Guardsmen.) The character in "Flower Punk," roving from one love-in to another, finds himself consistently looking for any group that will validate his existence. But just as quickly as Zappa goes on the attack, he then uses satire to offer possibilities for true freedom. On "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance," he comically invents alternative strategies for a culture free of repressive sexual and political practices. The album's final track, "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny," is a tour-de-force audio poem, which mixes voice, tape, and various instruments into a brilliantly conceived sound collage. Inspired by a reading of Franz Kafka's short novel, In the Penal Colony (1919), Zappa advised record buyers to read Kafka's story, where the victims of an authoritarian regime have their crime literally tattooed on their body, before listening to the piece. This stunning example of musique concrete is an abstract nightmare version of the casual alienation offered in "A Day in the Life" which concluded Sgt Pepper. Curiously, while Pepper had its fans as a smuggled bootleg item in Iron Curtain countries, it was Money that earned Zappa more accolades from those in Eastern Europe because of its anti-authoritarian attitudes. We're Only in it for the Money ushered in the New Year in 1968, where it reached #30 in the U.S. charts, making the album something of a hit for Frank Zappa. But the reception to it was naturally mixed. To satirize, in 1968, the hippie culture, the status quo, and the drug culture didn't win Zappa many friends in authority, or in the rock world. "Where, the album asks over and over again, is the promise of the Sixties?" asked critic Kelly Fisher Lowe upon hearing We're Only in it for the Money. "Where is the society that was glimpsed on the streets of Los Angeles in 1964-65? The answer is that it has been destroyed – by advertising, government, drink, parents, television, and, indeed, ambivalence – in fact, the album is a frontal assault, from beginning to end, on the ambivalence of the cultural warriors." Looking back now, We're Only in it for the Money challenged the political and cultural realities where Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band could only reflect them. Money had the uncanny ability to also look ahead. A little more than a decade after its release, many of those same hippies Zappa lampooned soon morphed into yuppies – folks who, without question, were definitely in it for the money. – Kevin Courrier .....~