Weasels Ripped My Flesh

by Frank Zappa, The Mothers of Invention

Overview

A fascinating collection of mostly instrumental live and studio material recorded by the original Mothers of Invention, complete with horn section, from 1967-1969, Weasels Ripped My Flesh segues unpredictably between arty experimentation and traditional song structures. Highlights of the former category include the classical avant-garde elements of "Didja Get Any Onya," which blends odd rhythmic accents and time signatures with dissonance and wordless vocal noises; these pop up again in "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask" and "Toads of the Short Forest." The latter and "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" also show Frank Zappa's willingness to embrace the avant-garde jazz of the period. Yet, interspersed are straightforward tunes like a cover of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart to You," with great violin from Don "Sugarcane" Harris; the stinging Zappa-sung rocker "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," and "Oh No," a familiar Broadway-esque Zappa melody (it turned up on Lumpy Gravy) fitted with lyrics and sung by Ray Collins. Thus, Weasels can make for difficult, incoherent listening, especially at first. But there is a certain logic behind the band's accomplished genre-bending and Zappa's gleefully abrupt veering between musical extremes; without pretension, Zappa blurs the normally sharp line between intellectual concept music and the visceral immediacy of rock and R&B. Zappa's anything-goes approach and the distance between his extremes are what make Weasels Ripped My Flesh ultimately invigorating; they also even make the closing title track -- a minute and a half of squalling feedback, followed by applause -- perfectly logical in the album's context. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	12/09/2016
Label:	Zappa Records
UPC:	0824302384312

Tracks

1. Didja Get Any Onya?
2. Directly From My Heart to You
3. Prelude to the Afternoon of s Sexually Aroused Gas Mask
4. Toads of the Short Forest
5. Get a Little
6. The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue
7. Dwarf Nebula Processional March &/Dwarf Nebula
8. My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama
9. Oh No
10. The Orange County Lumber Truck
11. Weasles Ripped My Flesh

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Mothers of Invention   Primary Artist
Frank Zappa   Primary Artist,Guitar,Vocals
Ray Collins   Primary Artist,Vocals
Roy Estrada   Primary Artist,Bass,Vocals
Don "Sugarcane" Harris   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Violin (Electric)
Lowell George   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals,Guitar (Rhythm)
Ian Underwood   Keyboards,Sax (Alto)
Bunk Gardner   Sax (Tenor)
Don Preston   Organ,Piano
Jimmy Carl Black   Drums
Art Tripp   Drums
Motorhead Sherwood   Vocals,Tambourine,Sax (Baritone)
Buzz Gardner   Trumpet,Flugelhorn

Technical Credits

Bob Ludwig   Mastering
Frank Zappa   Text,Composer,Producer,Direction
Joe Travers   Transfers
Neon Park   Cover Art
Don Preston   Electronic Effects
Little Richard   Composer
Richard Penniman   Composer
John Williams   Photography