- Audio CD (2 Oct 2006)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Original recording remastered
- Label: ADA Global
- ASIN: B0000009S3
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette | Vinyl
- Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (38 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 31,641 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
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Product details |
Track Listings
| 1. Peaches En Regalia (Lp Version) |
| 2. Willie The Pimp (Lp Version) |
| 3. Son Of Mr. Green Genes (Lp Version) |
| 4. Little Umbrellas (Lp Version) |
| 5. The Gumbo Variations (Lp Version) |
| 6. It Must Be A Camel (Lp Version) |
Product Description
Product Description
Frank Zappa's first solo album, Hot Rats, is a far-cry from the da-da adventures and audio collages of the original Mothers of Invention. Mostly instrumental, and filled with long jams between Zappa, Jean- Luc Ponty and Ian Underwood, this slickly produced album--one of the first 16-track recordings ever made--is filled with hummable tunes. The opening track, "Peaches en Regalia", is one of Zappa's most enduring songs and the album's only vocal track, "Willie the Pimp", is by Zappa's long-time friend Don Van Vliet, aka Captain Beefheart. -- Andrew Boscardin
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
28 of 28 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Apologies for the slightly corny review title but it's pinched from Chris Welch's piece from the 1969 issue of Melody Maker which reviewed Frank's wonderful instrumental masterpiece. The impact that Hot Rats made at the time was huge. One of the first ever 16-track recordings, we'd not heard anything like it before. The brilliant melodies, the beautiful interweaving flutes, clarinets, saxophones, keyboards, percussion and guitar, knitted together with FZ's distinctive, creative arrangements, were quite stunning. I'd hesitate to describe it simply as jazz-rock - but if you're new to FZ, it's a helpful enough definition of what you'll get. In reality, its boundaries spread somewhat wider, from the bluesy Willie the Pimp to the almost indefinable It Must Be A Camel, one of my favourite ever FZ compositions, which is kind of jazzy but has hints of the orchestral Zappa yet to come, notwithstanding the few titbits to be found on Lumpy Gravy. With Hot Rats, we get our first real taste of Zappa the incredible guitarist, from the acoustic coupled with a wah-wah pedal on Peaches En Regalia, through the rocking electric of Willie the Pimp and Son of Mr. Green Genes, to the fat, mellow jazz break on the final track. Yes, out of the blue, as if the rest of the album wasn't enough, we have a guitar hero too! Regarding the comments elsewhere about the mix of the CD, I would agree that it is very different from the vinyl. But words such as "disaster" and "beware" are ridiculous. However, if you only have the CD, then the LP is worth tracking down. Frank remixed almost his entire catalogue to CD in the early nineties, knowing he did not have long to live. I would guess that he was trying to bring the best out of the original master tapes and that must have been a tricky task with only 16 tracks to draw upon, given the complexity of the music. Maybe he fell short of his usual meticulous standard but you do hear things on the CD which were pretty well masked - or completely absent - on the original. Perhaps Dweezil will do another remix sometime - or maybe even re-record it. That said, almost forty years on - and still there is no musician in the world who seems able or willing to do stuff like this - Hot Rats captures the essential FZ and wraps it in a package which remains as accessible and enjoyable as ever.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I remember first hearing this LP when it came out in 1969, at a music club at school. I'd heard of Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart but never heard their music.
I bought the record the following year when I started at university and it was a huge hit with all my friends - especially "Son of Mr Green Genes". This track really is a tour de force. Perhaps for jazz fans the variations and returns to a theme (was this orchestrated or improvised?) will be familiar - to a rock fan like myself there is nothing else quite as good (although the Doors "Light My Fire" runs it close).
While it's probably a bit too slick for hard-line MoI fans (and I think I would probably agree with this criticism of "Peaches En Regalia"), I still listen to this music with the same exhilaration I felt when I first heard it. Buy it.
15 of 16 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I used to own and love the vinyl version of this album but when I bought the CD I was horrified!
It has been severely remixed and the balance of the album has been altered dramatically and, to my mind, detrimentally.
I wish I still had the vinyl or that the original mix was released on CD. This just sounds wrong.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Scorchin'
TThis is one of my favourite albums,it will take you on a musical trip unlike any other stopping at 5 groovy stations on no other map you've seen. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Ian Ball.
Classic album
A little expensive for no reason, but this album is one of the best albums I have ever listened to, I recommend for every person in the world to listen to this.
Published 2 months ago by Ofir Swisa
Very HOT RATS!!!!!!!
Glad I bought this CD having had the vinal LP since it first came out. Ok it doesn't sound exactly the same as the vinal as CDs never do, but it's still a great recording of a... Read more
Published 8 months ago by David
One man's week?
I think I might have taken my vinyl to the charity shop unfortunately.
The album is genius though- I thank the BBC for using Peaches en Regalia as the theme for One... Read more
The album is genius though- I thank the BBC for using Peaches en Regalia as the theme for One... Read more
Published 11 months ago by Hamptonshirewonder
Great Zappa record
This is a really good album, a lot different from other Zappa stuff. It is very jazzy, blues and has a lot of great instrumental-ism.
Published 12 months ago by Dave
ALEXANDY
THIS IS THE ONLY FRANK ZAPPA ALBUM YOU WILL EVER NEED TO HEAR AND HEAR YOU MUST A FANTASTIC PEICE OF JAZZ ROCK BY THE INDIVIDUAL SOUND OF FRANK THE MAN ZAPPA FANTASTIC COVER... Read more
Published 22 months ago by ANNAANNA
Oh wow.
I had just purchased my first rock album 'Stand Up' by Jethro Tull, when I saw the GTO girl cover of this album in the window of our local record shop. Read more
Published 24 months ago by S. C. Evans
Zappa's Hot Rats
I bought this CD because I was inspired by Peaches en regalia, which has recently been played several times on Classic Rock. Read more
Published on 26 April 2010 by Tomm Brooker
This version is NOT the despised remix
It's important to establish at the level of a review, rather than just a tucked-away Comment, that this version is NOT the despised remix which certain reviewers are complaining... Read more
Published on 16 Mar 2010 by J. Patterson
The commercial and the deep zappa mixes together in such a subliminal...
The commercial and the composer zappa mixes together in such a subliminal way, you hardly even notice it's displaying so many parts of his wide-ranged talent. Read more
Published on 27 Dec 2009 by Willy
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