Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free

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Music reviews of Absolutely Free

Music Review: CHAPTER 2: A QUANTUM LEAP
Rating: 5 Stars

Some have found the rapid changes of style on the album disorienting and incoherent. In fact, there is an exacting logic to every moment of the music, each section carefully constructed to be blown away by the proceeding section. The album is constructed as a suite of songs (actually two suites, originally separated thematically by sides on the LP), but each song functions as "mini-suites" in themselves, so rapidly do they change in musical directions. Yet there is an overwhelming propulsion to the sequencing that makes the album roar like a streamlined clown train from start to finish. You may not "get it" on the first listening or two, but stick with it, and the rigor of the musical structure will gradually unfold before you, much like reading James Joyce.

If I'm making the album sound overly intellectual (and it IS intellectual--but not in the ordinary sense), let me not forget to mention that this is one of the funniest albums ever concocted. Hilarious lyrics, rug-pulling musical surprises, wild arrangements and rhythms abound. At certain points, you hear Ray Collins and Zappa force themselves to refrain from bursting out in laughter during their singing. This is one of the great lessons Zappa taught us, though--humor is a powerful artistic tool. With all of the sombre, pretentious "art albums" that continue up to the present day, thank God for this maniacal approach to serious art!

From the "Louie-Louie"-inspired opener, "Plastic People," the gorgeous and absurd "Duke of Prunes" (Zappa's most elaborate satire of pop love songs to this date) to the ambitious "Call Any Vegetable" (read "vegetable" as "American"), the first suite is astounding. The seven-minute "Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin" which separates its sections is Zappa and the Mothers at their fiercest improvosational best--its overwhelming power will either astound or annoy you, depending on your receptivity level--leads to the devastating, unexpected and multi-layered coda.

The two suites are separated on CD by a 1967 single, "Big Leg Emma" and the blues-punk snarl of "Why Doncha Do Me Right?" They are very welcome, not only for the completist, but in providing some breathing room before the second suite kicks in.

Zappa counts off, "One. Two. Buckle my shoe," before the disembowled lounge number "America Drinks" kicks in with its unwavering high-hat against the uncertain piano and vocals. THIS is jazz from hell, folks. A fast circus motif whirls us out of this and into the anti-high-school ditty, Status Back Baby,which swerves effortlessly into the heavy rock of "Uncle Bernie's Farm," a still-potent number concerning corporate greed exploiting childhood desires. Suzy Creamcheese's saga continues on "Son of," with its insane tempos that flash like electricity before the song vanishes in the puff of smoke like our now-not-so-innocent heroine herself. Then comes the big one.

"Brown Shoes Don't Make It" is a towering masterpiece that deserves a review all its own. This multi-sectioned piece seems to sample every form of music imaginable, yet pulls you forward with incredible power. The setting is the sexually repressed world of suburbia, which Zappa associates with the unconscious. Out of this repressed environment, the "protagonist" of the song, City Hall Fred, forms a secret fantasy of a 13-year-old girl that may very well be his own daughter. Still uncomfortable to listen to after more than 30 years, "Brown Shoes" shocks and amazes like very little art even attempts. Instead of ending there, however, we return to "America Drinks and Goes Home," fully constructed now, in its proper lounge setting, complete with bar noise and stage patter, forever covering up the realities that the preceding material has just laid bare.

I can only hint at the range and sound of the music on this album. You have to hear it to believe it. And if you're anything like me, who first heard it at the age of 15, it just might change your attitudes (not just toward music or art, but life) forever.

Description of Absolutely Free

Packaged in deluxe mini-album jacket sleeves, these 10 classic albums by rock legend FRANK ZAPPA are now available as limited edition Japanese Imports! These packages re-create the original vinyl packaging in miniaturized form!

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