Yet another self-indulgent musician that I'm finally getting back to. When I was a kid, I was exposed to the twisted side of his music (along with early Pink Floyd) by friends, but I never really got into it then. Now Zappa's sense of humour, and his brilliant guitar playing, has struck a chord in me. Right from the start, with I Have Been In You, Flakes2q, and Broken Hearts are for Assholes, to Jewish Princess and Wild Love, Zappa's contempt for the traditional is obvious. Be sure to check it out if you're looking for music that is different, weird, and still musically proficient.
Is there any review that can do justice to Frank Zappa's innovativeness? Clearly he was way ahead of his time. However, even today, his music is still abrasive and unattractive to most people. Perhaps that's the point of it. Interestingly enough, I see many elements of his music in DiY home recordings which have little or no hope of achieving any form of commercial success. Is this a straight-forward influences or are these home recording artists re-inventing the wheel? The answer is probably both: it is evident that Zappa was an experimentalist at heart, much the way DiY artists are in their basements/bedrooms, and every other DiY artist I personally know cites Zappa as an influence.
One of the most underrated aspects of Frank Zappa's is his guitar work, which stands out on this album. Even from a rock 'n' roll perspective, his guitar playing, to put it simply, shreds. This album has got some amazing solos interspersed between spoken word dialogues. The lyrics are usually fitted to jazzy/funky background music, the content of which can be irritating and funny at the same time. The concept of this album involves Total Criminalisation, which is about making everyone criminals so we can all be part of the same happy crowd. Refuse to be, and listen to his music.