Released: 1969
Tracks: Peaches En Regalia; Willie the Pimp; Son of Mr. Green Genes; Little Umbrellas; The Gumbo Variations; It Must Be a Camel
Best track: Peaches En Regalia
Track to skip: Gumbo does drag a bit, but it’s got some cool and funky bits so I usually don’t
The first ‘official’ FZ solo album (not counting Lumpy Gravy, even though it’s just credited to Zappa) and I think he was out to show the world what he was really about: great musicianship, great compositions and very few lyrics. The only lyric on here is Willie the Pimp, done by Captain Beefheart. Peaches is of course the best track on here, but the rest are all great too. But Peaches, man, that is one mother of a song. In the top 10 of Zappa’s stuff and one of the coolest ones ever by anybody. It’s just perfect.
The groove on Willie the Pimp is awesome and after a few verses Zappa takes off on a never-ending solo. I’m not as impressed with this as most people seem to be, but it’s not that offensive to my ears. Green Genes is excellent, an instrumental re-working of the Uncle Meat song. Great song. Little Umbrellas is really gorgeous, with a typically great Zappa melody. I think that Frank Zappa was one of the best melody writers EVER in the history of rock. His melodies are always beautiful and so different than everything else. For me, that’s what makes his music so special.
Gumbo Variations continues on with a great bass riff. This song is basically just an excuse to jam out. A good, but screechy, sax solo by Ian Underwood (Ian’s a total monster on this whole album, handling all the horn and keyboard duties), then a BAD ASS violin solo by Sugarcane Harris followed by some more jamming. The album ends with Camel, a nice little song. It’s good, but Zappa’s percussion is too loud in the mix.
This album has really grown on me since I first bought it. At first I liked Peaches and that was it. But the more I listen to it, the better it gets. On this particular listening, I think this album totally rocks and I’m starting to understand why this is always at the top of everyone’s list for best FZ album. Not quite there, but it’s absolutely essential and a great thing to listen to. Often.
Rating: 90
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