Neil Hamburger - Hot February Night (2007)

Taking a quick detour from Zappa to discuss one of the greatest comedy albums of all time, Hot February Night! Neil Hamburger, if you aren't in the know, is a comedic alias of the great Gregg Turkington. He is a crude and offensive insult comedian who specializes in pissing off thousands of audience members with his provocative form of anti-comedy. And this album shows this aspect off greater than any other, as Neil has been given the chance to open for famous comedy rock duo Tenacious D, in front of a crowd of hundreds of angry frat boys and Jack Black fangirls. And it's just as genius as it sounds. He comes out on stage with rousing applause and cheering, one girl even yelling "We love you Neil!" Everything seems okay until Neil makes his first joke (a very tasteless gag about Paris Hilton's Christmas), and the audience seems more confused than anything. Then after he makes his second joke of the evening, the boos begin, Neil reacts with an insult, and the whole show just goes off the rails from there. Jokes about Tommy Hilfinginger, the Day the Music Died, fecal breath, and Dark Side of the Moon continue to rile up the audience until Neil is booed off stage in the end. Absolutely marvelous. Check this album out, it is absolutely a comedic masterpiece. This man is my hero.

Audience: "You suck! You suck! You suck!"

Neil: "Yeah, I suck money out of your wallets and into mine!"

10/10

Frank Zappa and the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra - Lumpy Gravy (1968)

This album came about when Frank had to make a solo album for the record label, and he wanted to just make an instrumental album. The label refused so blah blah blah words words words and in 1968 Frank shot this incredibly bizarre and borderline impenetrable record out onto record shelves. If you want a comprehensive history of Zappa, go to the Wikipedia pages, I'm just here to talk about the music. Anyways, Lumpy Gravy! This album takes a while to grow on you, but once it does, it has this almost prankster meets music student vibe that you can't help but love. This very much is just a giant collage of whatever Frank had lying around. Weird dialogue, actual orchestral pieces, random sounds, pieces of tape music, it's all there in one messy and brilliant package. If I were to get someone into Zappa, I would probably choose almost any album that wasn't this, but if you love Zappa, this is a must listen.

8/10

The Mothers of Invention - We're Only in it for the Money (1968)

Yep, this is my favorite Zappa record. A genius piece of satire and comedic pop music, with spastic songwriting, plenty of quotable and memorable lines and moments, and a dry wit and attitude that drives the whole project. We're Only in it for the Money is a satire of the then-blossoming hippie and "flower power" culture, the music that surrounded it, and the way others reacted to it. It's unrelentingly critical and honest about these aforementioned hippies, but it doesn't even flinch when bringing up and criticizing the police and the brutality they perpetrated towards the hippies, and the parents who raised these kids, the type of upbringing that would lead one to become a "flower child". And heck, those are just the lyrics, I haven't even gotten into the songs, most of which are hilarious skewerings of the kind of music that came out of this culture, but it also all has this very distinct Zappa-y personality and sarcasm to it, especially when the sound collage and experimental sections come in, which is really when the album takes a fascinating turn. I'm neglecting mentioning any song names here because it just feels weird to listen to any of these songs outside of the context of the record. For God's sake, just listen to it, you will not regret it.

10/10

The Mothers of Invention - Absolutely Free (1967)

This one isn't as good as the last one. It's not bad, don't get me wrong! There is some fantastic stuff on Absolutely Free, but as a record, I find it a bit underwhelming. It's way too frantic and unfocused for my tastes. The first side consists of the "Call Any Vegetable" suite, in which Zappa and the gang sing about plastic people with the minds of vegetables or something? The lyrics are mind-bogglingly stupid (which is saying a lot, considering that this is Frank Zappa we're talking about), but musically? This is probably one of the most accomplished things the early Mothers ever put together. There are so many fantastic hooks and melodies conducted here and it all just comes together in the end. That's great and all, but unfortunately side B also exists. This side has four songs I don't like much and never think about and ends with two fantastic songs, those being "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" (an almost miniature musical filled with bizarre and scatological lyrics) and "America Drinks and Goes Home" (a wonderful piece of vocal jazz which ends with the group being drowned out by a crowd in a casino). Absolutely Free is good, but it very much stands in the shadow of the album that preceded it. Still has some essential tunes and is an important step in Frank's journey.

7/10

The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)

A fantastic first foray into Frank's freaky fcrazy fworld! This is an excellent record, and one of Frank's best releases in the realm of straight up rock n' roll music. Freak Out! opens with the tune "Hungry Freaks, Daddy", which sets an immediate tone for the rest of the record. Satirical, but not self-serious. Funny, but not in some sort of "comedy rock" ghetto. Weird, but still very catchy. Lengthy, but not nearly as exhausting as a redundant list of comparisons in some rando's blog review. The record continues with this attitude for the rest of the first disc, with several highlights including the doo-wop inspired breakup tune, "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder", the Pet Sounds-esque "How Could I Be Such A Fool", and the downright normal '60s pop of "Anyway The Wind Blows". Then the second disc opens with "Trouble Every Day", a very obvious satirical blues highlight. After that, we're treated to "Help I'm A Rock" and "The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet", two absolutely insane numbers in which it seems that the freaks that the Mothers have been referencing for the entire album have finally taken over. They truly need to be heard to be believed. Frank's first record truly is an achievement, and an important piece in not only Zappa history, but in rock n' roll history.

9/10