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Track Listings
| 1. No Not Now |
| 2. Valley Girl |
| 3. I Come From Nowhere |
| 4. Drowning Witch |
| 5. Envelopes |
| 6. Teen-age Prostitute |
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Coming at the end of 1981, after the Shut Up and Play Yer guitar trilogy and Tinseltown Rebellion, this album shows Zappa shifting styles quite dramatically. Some of the tracks here hint at the sort of music that Frank went on to develop on the Synclavier and definitely show his desire to compose more complex and intricate tracks.
The black and bleak sense of humour is still on display, in particular I Come From Nowhere and the last track.
Frank was developing a new sound and approach to the rhythm guitar and this is heard to its best on I Come From Nowhere, although the repetitive nature can be a tad wearing. This new sound and style probably reached its peak on Ya Hozna from Them or Us.
Drowning Witch and Envelopes are epic constructions, Franks guitar playing being nothing less than majestic throughout.
So, a short but mighty outing for Frank. Worth getting if you are a fan of his guitar work that is far more interesting than the Guitar collection issued many years later.
I love the cover, taken from a completely Zappa unrelated work by Roger Price and to be found amongst his Droodles collection. A better cover would be hard to imagine.
The black and bleak sense of humour is still on display, in particular I Come From Nowhere and the last track.
Frank was developing a new sound and approach to the rhythm guitar and this is heard to its best on I Come From Nowhere, although the repetitive nature can be a tad wearing. This new sound and style probably reached its peak on Ya Hozna from Them or Us.
Drowning Witch and Envelopes are epic constructions, Franks guitar playing being nothing less than majestic throughout.
So, a short but mighty outing for Frank. Worth getting if you are a fan of his guitar work that is far more interesting than the Guitar collection issued many years later.
I love the cover, taken from a completely Zappa unrelated work by Roger Price and to be found amongst his Droodles collection. A better cover would be hard to imagine.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
4.5 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Listen to the Master!
12 Mar 2013
By B. H. Roth
- Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase
Just buy it and laugh. Stop listening to that crap on the radio. Taylor Swift and Justin Beber should buy this to lean what being a musician is really like.
0 of 1 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Unfairly maligned?
23 Feb 2013
By maelje
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
Have listeners over the years been too rough on this album? First released in 1982, it was the first Frank Zappa album to feature the talents of his oldest child, daughter Moon Unit Zappa. (I didn't name the kids, OK?) And yeah, "Valley Girl" can get annoying after while. It certainly annoyed Frank, who apparently refused to play it despite its popularity on the charts. I have to admit, though, that Moon's rap lampooning the brainless lip-flapping of young San Fernando Valley women is priceless; it was then and it is now. And she improvised the entire bit! How many of us could have done that at age 13 or 14 or whatever she was?
I recently listened to the other tracks here, too, and found how easy it is for our memories to south on us. I had recalled several instrumentals being on this album, but "Envelopes" is the only one. "Drowning Witch" comes close, only because it's 12 minutes long and the lyrics are minimal for that song length ... MEANING, of course that there's plenty of room for Zappa and the band to solo.
I was going to write that this is a great album for Zappa fans, but after thinking about it I have to amend that statement: I think it's also an appropriate album for Zappa newbies. Just let your imagination flow along with his guitar and the band, and you'll be fine. And should it happen that you HATE this, it's not my fault.
I recently listened to the other tracks here, too, and found how easy it is for our memories to south on us. I had recalled several instrumentals being on this album, but "Envelopes" is the only one. "Drowning Witch" comes close, only because it's 12 minutes long and the lyrics are minimal for that song length ... MEANING, of course that there's plenty of room for Zappa and the band to solo.
I was going to write that this is a great album for Zappa fans, but after thinking about it I have to amend that statement: I think it's also an appropriate album for Zappa newbies. Just let your imagination flow along with his guitar and the band, and you'll be fine. And should it happen that you HATE this, it's not my fault.
1 of 3 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
For the Zappa Fan
7 Dec 2012
By dbx820
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:Audio CD|Amazon Verified Purchase
A nice little ditty. Zappa is definitely going towards the conductor/composer genre for which he has always aspired. Very listenable, for a Zappa fan. But keep that in mind.
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4.5 out of 5 stars
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