Freak Out!
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| Freak Out! | ||
| Image:Freak Out!.jpg | ||
| Studio album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention | ||
| Released | July 1966 | |
| Recorded | Sunset-Highland Studios of TTG March 9-12, 1966 | |
| Genre | experimental music, doo-wop, rock | |
| Length | 60:23 | |
| Label | Verve/MGM | |
| Producer(s) | Tom Wilson | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention chronology | ||
| Freak Out! (1966) | Absolutely Free (1967)
| |
Freak Out! is the debut album of Frank Zappa and his group, the Mothers of Invention. Released in 1966, it showcases Zappa's lyrical talents for demoralising American politics while also making fun of the prevailing counterculture in the latter part of the decade. It is arguably the first double album and concept album in the history of rock music, predating the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. With both broad and subtle strokes of humor, it paints a picture of an American public in thrall to the opiate of the media, shifting from one prefabricated empty craze to the next with frenzied mindlessness, under the grim supervision of a vague but all-powerful authoritarian intelligence. "Who Are the Brain Police?", asks Zappa.
Freak Out! is an amalgamation of everything typically Zappa, from R&B, doo-wop and standard blues-influenced rock to orchestral arrangements to dissonant, bizarre insanities and avant-garde sound collages. The album features vocalist Ray Collins, along with initial guitar player Elliot Ingber, (who later joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band under the name Winged Eel Fingerling), bass player Roy Estrada and drummer Jimmy Carl Black. All orchestrations are arranged by Zappa and featured heavily on many of the songs. Recurring Zappa character Suzy Creamcheese makes her debut with this release.
Because of being among the first integrated albums, with all songs centered on a common theme, and due to the experimental nature of its music, the album was an influence on The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.
In 2003, the album was ranked number 243 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All songs by Frank Zappa.
- "Hungry Freaks, Daddy" – 3:29 Image:Sound-icon.png (song sample)
- "I Ain't Got No Heart" – 2:30
- "Who Are the Brain Police?" – 3:22
- "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder" – 3:31
- "Motherly Love" – 2:45
- "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" – 2:12
- "Wowie Zowie" – 2:45
- "You Didn't Try to Call Me" – 3:17
- "Any Way the Wind Blows" – 2:52
- "I'm Not Satisfied" – 2:37
- "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" – 3:37
- "Trouble Every Day" – 6:16
- "Help, I'm a Rock" – 8:37
- "It Can't Happen Here" – 3:56
- "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet" – 12:17 Image:Sound-icon.png (song sample, 313KB)
[edit] Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitar, harmonica, conductor, cymbals, tambourine, vocals
- Jimmy Carl Black – percussion, drums, vocals
- Ray Collins – harmonica, cymbals, sound effects, tambourine, vocals, finger cymbals
- Gene Estes – percussion
- Roy Estrada – bass, vocals, guitarron, soprano vocals
- Eugene Di Novi - piano
- Neil Le Vang - guitar
- John Rotella - clarinet, sax
- Kurt Reher - cello
- Raymond Kelley - cello
- Paul Bergstrom - cello
- Emmet Sargeant - cello
- Joseph Saxon - cello
- Edwin V. Beach - cello
- Arthur Maebe - French horn, tuba
- George Price - French horn
- John Johnson - tuba
- Carol Kaye - 12-string guitar
- Virgil Evans - trumpet
- David Wells - trombone
- Kenneth Watson - percussion
- Plas Johnson - sax, flute
- Roy Caton - copyist
- Carl Franzoni - voice
- Vito - voice
- Kim Fowley -(Featured on hypophone)
- Benjamin Barrett - contractor
- David Anderle
- Motorhead Sherwood -noises
- Mac Rebennack - piano
- Paul Butterfield
- Les McCann - piano
- Jeannie Vassoir - (the voice of Cheese)
[edit] Production
- Producer: Tom Wilson
- Engineering director: Val Valentin
- Engineers: Ami, Tom, Val Valentin
- Assistant: Eugene Dinovi, Neil Levang, Vito, Ken Watson
- Musical director: Frank Zappa
- Orchestration: Frank Zappa
- Arranger: Frank Zappa
- Cover design: Jack Anesh
- Hair stylist: Ray Collins
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Pop Albums | 130 |
[edit] External links
- Conventions: the Land Around Us 1970 film about the 1968 war protests at Chicago Democratic covention, features video for Return of the Son of Monster Magnet toward the end - one of the first music videos ever made.
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