Cruising with Ruben & the Jets

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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - François Couture
Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote like "Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962. Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins. To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" can sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics -- all that wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets. A handful of songs from the...
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Editorial Reviews

All Music Guide - François Couture
Frank Zappa loved '50s doo wop music. He grew up with it, collected it, and it was the first kind of pop music he wrote like "Memories of El Monte," recorded by the Penguins in 1962. Cruising With Ruben & the Jets, the Mothers of Invention's fourth LP, is a collection of such music, all Zappa originals some co-written with MOI singer Ray Collins. To the unexperienced, songs like "Cheap Thrills," "Deseri," and "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" can sound like an average doo wop song. A closer look reveals unusual chord sequences, Stravinsky quotes, and hilariously moronic lyrics -- all that wrapped in four-way harmony vocals and linear piano triplets. A handful of songs from the group's 1966 debut, Freak Out, were rearranged "How Could I Be Such a Fool" and "Anyway the Wind Blows" give the weirdest results, old material predating the Mothers was recycled "Fountain of Love", "Love of My Life," and "You Didn't Try to Call Me" became live staples. [For the album's first CD reissue in 1985, Zappa had bassist Arthur Barrow and drummer Chad Wackerman re-recording rhythm tracks for all but one song. Since then, all reissues have followed the 1985 mix, leaving "Stuff up the Cracks" the only surviving example of what Cruising With Ruben & the Jets really sounded like. Finally, in 2010, the original vinyl mix was released by the Zappa Family Trust as Greasy Love Songs.]
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Product Details

  • Release Date: 7/31/2012
  • Label: Zappa Records
  • UPC: 824302383827
  • Catalog Number: 3838
  • Sales rank: 4,196

Album Credits

Performance Credits
The Mothers of Invention Primary Artist
Frank Zappa Indexed Contributor, Guitar
Don Preston Piano
Jimmy Carl Black Rhythm
Ray Collins Vocals
Roy Estrada Electric Bass
Bunk Gardner Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Motorhead Sherwood Baritone Saxophone, Tambourine
Ian Underwood Piano, Alto Saxophone, Tenor Saxophone
Arthur Dyer Tripp III Rhythm
Technical Credits
Ray Collins Composer
Paul Buff Composer
Frank Zappa Composer, Producer, Liner Notes, Art Direction
Dick Kunc Engineer
Cal Schenkel Cover Art
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