Released: 1975
Tracks: Inca Roads; Can’t Afford No Shoes; Sofa No. 1; Po-jama People; Florentine Pogen; Evelyn, A Modified Dog; San Ber’dino; Andy; Sofa No. 2
Best track: impossible for me to choose between Inca Roads, Sofa and Andy
Track to skip: none
This is all the proof in the world that good albums were indeed released in 1975. I’ve listened to this one a billion times it seems and it never gets remotely boring. I cannot get tired of listening to Sofa. I prefer the instrumental version (#1), but I’ll still listen to the vocal version (in German!) of #2 all the time as well. This album is yet another example of something I like to talk about when it comes to Frank Zappa’s compositional abilities: melodies. Zappa is absolutely one of the best melody writers in the history of rock music. There are many examples on every album, but this one has some truly great ones. Sofa is by far the best of the lot. I LOVE that on this album Zappa is purposely telling us to LISTEN TO THE MELODIES on this song. The same song is repeated twice on the album, only difference is that one is vocal and one is instrumental. And it’s no accident that the instrumental one comes first. However, by placing the song again as the album closer his point can’t be any more obvious: he was very proud of this song and thought it very important that we hear it. Twice. Who cares if they’re singing about freakin’ sofas in German? The music on Sofa is very, very moving for me and it’s always one of those songs that makes me so happy that Zappa existed and wrote music.
Inca Roads has some great melodies, as does Andy, but I also have to give big points to Evelyn, A Modified Dog. It’s a minute long, but the vocal melody is exceptional. Man, never mind the lyrics (which are interesting) just listen that melody! I absolutely love it. While I’m on the subject of lyrics, this album, which is right in the middle of a decade in which Zappa’s lyrics were VERY R-rated (sometimes X-rated), is possibly the most unoffensive lyrical album Zappa ever made. The only possible thing that might offend anyone is the reference to a “trailer park” in San Ber’dino or maybe the thong in Andy. But besides those, nothing. There’s only one instrumental on here, but the emphasis all over this album is the music. The lyrics aren’t all dumb or anything, but there’s not much to get in the way of the music here. Musically, Inca Roads is possibly one of the best things Zappa ever wrote. How Ruth Underwood manages to play those runs on here is beyond my brain capacity. I’ve heard the song 10,000 times and my jaw never fails from dropping during Inca Roads. It’s a fantastic song.
Besides Ruth’s perfection on the percussion, the rest of the band is completely in top form. And of course, this album is probably *the* classic Zappa lineup: George Duke on keys, Napoleon Murphy Brock on sax & flute, Tom Fowler on bass, Chester Thompson on drums and Zappa himself on guitar. We get some nice guest spots by Captain Beefheart (listed as Bloodshot Rollin’ Red) and Johnny “Guitar” Watson as well. Everyone on this album is exceptional. I like this album more than Roxy and Elsewhere and more than most of Zappa’s albums (which I love, as you can tell). This is absolutely essential for the Zappa fan and a fantastic place to start. I love this thing.
Rating: 96
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