What does it sound like?:
“Hot Rats” is probably the most well-known and accessible album in Frank Zappa’s oeuvre. Mostly instrumental, he keeps the snorks and annoying gimmicks/ satirical cool outsidedom to the minimum, and instead highlights his interesting way with music, melody, and bring out the most creative chops in his fellow musicians. “Hot Rats” (dedicated to Dweezil, who was performing this in full (not the 6 hour box set) in the UK this week) was recorded in 1969 (2 days after man landed on the moon, fact fans). In that year Zappa also released “Uncle Meat”, produced “Trout Mask Replica”, the GTOs, and Jeff Simmons, toured the USA and Europe, jammed with “Pink Floyd”, edited a Lord Buckley album, and more. What was that Lou Reed said about “my week beats your year”? In 1969, FZ had ideas and music flowing out of him, and it didn’t stop.
The Hot Rats Sessions were over 6 weeks (doubtless with lots of other stuff being done) and used the then-fancy 16-track recording desk, and various new musicians, here including Lowell George, Jean-Luc Ponty, Don “SugarCane” Harris, and Shuggie Otis, along with various trusted Mothers, such as Ian Underwood. The 6 CDs here show the extended jams and evolution of the famous tracks that make up “Hot Rats” such that a number of different, equally valid “Hot Rats” albums could exist. There is over an hour of “Willie the Pimp” variants, which, by virtue of it being probably the most conventional blues rock-structured piece here, will be 50 minutes too much, but the new shadings and variations on “Peaches …”, “Little Umbrellas”, “”Son of Mr Green Genes”, and the endlessly interesting “It must be a Camel” keep this release of interest for anyone who likes Frank Zappa’s music.
There are a number of lengthy jams, (“of course there are”, as FZ would say), and occasional isolated basslines (“NOBODY likes bass solos, even bass guitarists don’t like bass solos”, as he also once said), but this all works, as there is so much music happening, and quite a bit of joy in the people making it. There are drafts of other tracks which would subsequently emerge, for example “Directly from my Heart to You”, which would end up on “Weasels Ripped My Flesh”, and the highly groovy “Dame Margaret’s Son to be a Bride” would end up as “Let me take you to the Beach” on 1978’s “Studio Tan”. “Big Legs” is a 32-minute jam that became a good part of “The Gumbo Variations”, and has a proper greasy, soulful, raucous sax lead for a good part of the track.
This is Frank Zappa in the studio – it all sounds clear, and many a tiny detail or bodacious reverb can be heard. Whether casual listeners will want 6 hours of this is moot, but Zapparians and those who like his jazzier, more conventionally musical side certainly will. The package also comes with a nice book full of unseen photos and essays, as it jolly well should at $125 (£99) for a physical copy. Not with the reviewer’s download is a rather nice sounding additional feature – a “help Zappa get to the studio” board game with many themed bits, pieces, cards, dice, etc. I’d like to see that!
What does it all *mean*?
I continue to regard with awe Frank Zappa’s prolific output, and the points when he was producing so much music and deriving such performances from tremendous musicians. There were the tunes, the comments, the annoying bits, the experiments, the failed experiments, the pissing around, the “payin’ the rent” gigs, and this was when he was 29, and ostensibly married and with a new baby. He continued to have a magnificent run from 1971 to 1976, with again shedloads of music, endless tours, umpteen shifts of musical direction, some quality trolling of the serious minded in his groupie documentation and the chaotic shitstorm that was “200 Motels” (my view: every Zappa fan has something they find annoying or sub-par in his work, and that’s mine, the later knob jokes and provocative stage raps I love, though well I know they are perhaps a little “off-message” for the current times). When faced with these troubled times, I often ask myself, “What would Frank Zappa do and say?” I find this provides me with consolation and a sense of how to move forward. I hope he does the same for some of you, too.
Goes well with…
For me, reading court papers and drinking tea, but anything, really.
Release Date:
20th December 2019
Might suit people who like…
Frank Zappa, jazz, noodling, fusion, extended instrumental soloing with gratuitous displays of technique.
There are a lot of reviews here today.
This is the only album by Zappa that I’ve heard that I think is pretty good. 6 hours of it? Not for me. Maybe the board game is good. Any marbles, scarves etc?
And excellent review!
What he said.
And what he then said in a separate comment.
I wonder if the what became Gumbo Variations, and the others will be included when I go see the boy Dweezil on wednesday. Hand on heart, Hot Rats is the only Zappa I can tolerate, even if I have a Live at the Fillmore tucked away on my shelves to remind me of my teenage self. I know the solos off by heart, so I will be intrigued to see whether Dweezil copies or “interprets”.
From what I’ve heard in the past of Dweezil’s playing, he has his own sound that’s unlike his father’s.
Copying should not be the order of the day with Zappa material, given that Frank seldom played his things exactly the same way as on the records.
There is a performance of ZPZ playing the entire “Hot Rats” on YouTube. Some nifty playing and improvisation to be had. The funky “Gumbo Variations” would, I think, get dad’s approval. Dweezil’s performance often ‘lacks eyrbrows’ I find, but it’s good he is doing this in the first place.
I am looking forward to this. Peaches has been my ring tone since phones let you choose your own, and before that I always paid attention whenever I saw some infra-red photography. Along with about three or four other albums, Hotrats pretty much encapsulates everything I love about progressive popular music. Top ten of all time, beyond dispute.
You should love this, then!
Got ma khaki pants on, ma hair is greased back an’ ma shoes is shiiiiiiined black.
Is that a Sears poncho?
…oop sorry, wrong album
Bound to say this, but might as well register it.
Zappa’s back catalogue has been superbly handled since 1993, significantly better than he handled it himself.
It has also been cheap. Average price for a CD about £8.
I’m in the market for about 25 CDs (the Joe’s Corsage-type stuff up to Weasels).
The most expensive purchase is the 4-CD Freak Out which retails for about £30.
A £100 Hots Rats is definitely 26th on that list.
Not helped that I think it’s his weakest record from Freak Out to Weasels.
The 2012 Hot Rats CD is currently on the Dodgers for a whopping…. £5.99.
Sitting at Town Hall Brum awaiting the show and, fuuuuck, some seriously cool looking elderly dudes here. This is the source material for Tony Benyon’s Lone Groover, 40 years on.
I quite like Frank Zappa but think he was better as a member of the Mothers of Invention.
I am the Captain’s #1 fan, so much so that I don’t got Bluejeans or UG because he told me not to. Important question:- is there new Beefy? If so, how much?
Can I just say first of all that Clark Gwent is a great name.
I would be very interested to buy this box if it was, say £30 or £40 like the excellent Jethro Tull reissues (again, six discs). The running gag here on AW of course is the one which revolves around a person saying something like ‘I have all the sixties stuff and all the Bootleg Series CDs but I wouldn’t class myself as a Dylan obsessive’. Well, in the spirit of that let me just venture to say that I have around fifteen Zappa albums together with a few boxed set compilations but I am not a major Zappa head. ‘Hot Rats’ is a turntable regular but, for me, I think he peaked with ‘We’re Only In it For the Money’. I’m also a huge apologist for his song ‘Trouble Every Day’ where he drops his ironic mask for five or six minutes and writes from an emotional/personal perspective.
Great review. Great album and was my intro to Frank along with Chunga’s.
Dweezil is playing Hot Rats down here but annoyingly, ridiculously it is in a pub venue, level flooring flooring and it is standing only. So I would see fuck all and have aching legs all night. As a mate said don’t they realise virtually everyone will be 60?
Not exactly dance music I can’t see myself standing all night. But ask me again next March.
Come up to Sydney mate. he’s at the Metro. All seated!
Working my way through this and although I know I won’t be listening over and over, it’s really wonderful to hear the development of the ideas that went to make the finished album. Just listen to how they got to the intro to Peaches – a bit of luck, a huge amount of talent from the players and the decision making to know when it’s going in the right direction.
Hot Rats is a regular listen but this has illuminated and invigorated it for me.
What @Ainsley says, exactly.
As a huge Frank fan I’m just gobsmacked at being able to hear this “behind the scenes” stuff. Yeah maybe I won’t listen to it over and over again, but just hearing it at all is worth the price of admission.
It’s called MUSICOLOGY boys and girls, and it’s fascinating.
One thing I like is how Frank says “please” at the beginning of a lot of the takes
I did buy the £29 download price of admission, mind you, not the £100 box.
Am I alone in preferring the 1995 CD to the more faithful 2012 one? Probably.
Who IS this? How did you get this number?
The rats have got cold by now.
Well, yes: if you reheat them, make sure you use a MEAT thermometer…
The 1995 remix included some extra passages, extra LENGTHS, in fact – the 2012 issue was the original vinyl mix transferred to CD with no mucking about?
The Zappaphile probably needs both, I would have thought…but you’re certainly not alone, Moose: there was a punch-up on Hoffman about it…
There’s a punch-up on Hoffman about everything int there?
A: “I like music”
B: “What?? Die, shithead!”
PS. I’ve come to the same conclusion about Chunga’s…. the 1990 Chunga’s, at that. Bite me.
PPS. Ignoring the shocking Moose-bait in your post.
(“post”- hurrr)
I’m tempted to get Chunga’s – any Chunga’s – so that the last entry in my Zappa collection (Weasels) doesn’t get damaged on the shelf by being on the end of it.
The 1990 CD of Weasels is also superior to other versions.
See? I can’t help myself.