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
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