Top main tracks of the legendary Frank Zappa…
From sharp satire to love ballads, today we will remember the best songs of Frank Zappa... Over the course of his long career, this man fully justified his status as a "legend" by releasing an incredible amount of beautiful music... In total, Zappa has released about 100 individual records, as well as dozens of great compilations and singles ! And all these works are evidence of an outstanding mind, which we are unlikely to see again ... Zappa's discography touches on avant-garde, industrial, neoclassical and theatrical rock. Paul McCartney once admitted that the legendary Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band was partly inspired by the debut of Freak Out! Zappa and his band The Mothers of Invention!
Frank Zappa was an advocate for free speech and personal choice, and he was quite willing to take on any taunts that came his way. In the twilight of his life, this man took a place in the upper echelons of the list of the greatest guitarists of all time according to Rolling Stone ... He worked freely in such genres as metal, pop, rock, blues, jazz and even classical! He constantly had ideas that needed to be implemented immediately and would no doubt still be recording today if not for his early death in 1993. Today he is spoken of as a great musician and talented songwriter... Below is a selection of Frank Zappa's best songs. Happy listening...
"Hungry Freaks Daddy"
On the opening track from the debut album Freak Out! Zappa addresses a countercultural view of the Great Society. At the time, America was in a state of class and social upheaval, and psychedelic treatment was undermined not by Frank's often quoted cynicism, but by a fair amount of analysis...
“Mr. America, pass by your schools that do not teach.
Mr. America, get past the minds you can't reach.
Mr. America is trying to hide the emptiness inside of you…”
"Who Are The Brain Police?"
This song has a rather interesting and even creepy story… Suffice it to say that it frightened the author himself… Zappa later said:
“It was five o’clock in the morning and someone kept humming this in my head and made me write it down… I confess that I was scared when I finally played it out loud and sang the words…”
"Brown Shoes Don't Make It"
This song from the 1967 album Absolutely Free mixes baroque, surfing and rock opera... The lyrics are another black comedy that will not leave any listener indifferent:
"Be a loyal plastic robot
For a world that doesn't care.
Like this…"
"Concentration Moon"
And this track from the 1968 album We Only In It For The Money, which is a clear manifestation of the materialistic rock culture... Perhaps, "Concentration Moon" stands out from the rest of the songs from this record. Although… for true Zappa fans, every track from We Only In It For The Money is the best!
"Stuff Up the Cracks"
The late 1968 album Cruising With Ruben & The Jets offers plenty of opportunities to unwind with a little experimental doo-wop. Doo-wop is one of Zappa's early passions, dating back to his Italian-American roots, which has influenced many of his best songs... The final 'Stuff Up the Cracks' is the highlight of the record!
Peaches En Regalia
The Hot Rats of 1969 were full of hits, but Zappa's perpetual concert favorite is the instrumental "Peaches En Regalia" (also released as a single): this song remains popular to this day as one of the best of Frank Zappa's career...
"My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama"
Another great track with an amazing lead acoustic guitar solo and a charming bluesy beat…
"Billy the Mountain"
This can be described as a completely insane parody of a rock opera! The song is about a talking mountain named Billy and his "beautiful tree wife Ethel"... In fact, this track has a huge amount of satirical images of pop culture, the city of Los Angeles, the decline of the United States and general absurd juxtapositions of situations...
"Billy had two big caves for eyes
And a cliff instead of a jaw that went up and down.
And whenever that happened, he exhaled the dust…”
Montana
"Montana" is Zappa's hit from the 1973 album Over-Nite Sensation! By the way: here are Tina Turner and The Ikettes, whose voices add charm to the track. And what a solo Frank himself plays here ... It's just incredible!
"Don't Eat the Yellow Snow"
This song from the album Apostrophe (') (which, by the way, was a huge success in the United States) was the beginning of a "suite" about an Eskimo and a trapper! It ended up being one of Frank's funniest tunes... "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" is one of the best Frank Zappa songs of the mid-70s.
"Cheepnis"
In this song, the theme of special effects from early horror films unfolds, in particular - it speaks of a monster called "Frunobulax", a very large poodle ...
"Advance Romance"
This composition can be described as “soulful blues of the mid-70s…” The track was included in the Bongo Fury album, in which, in fact, every song can rightfully be considered a great hit! However, it is Advance Romance that has a parodic and at the same time romanticized character...
"Wind Up Workin' In A Gas Station"
In this track, the sardonic dismantling of the work ethic turns into black comedy...
"Bobby Brown Goes Down"
Sheik Yerbouti is a great monumental double album! It was it that included one of Zappa's most controversial compositions called "Bobby Brown Goes Down": it did not receive wide distribution on the air, but it remains one of the most famous in the musician's career ... The single was sold in quantities sufficient to become gold: 250,000 copies, and that's only in Germany! He also became a favorite at Frank's concerts...
Joe's Garage
This track is based on tongue-in-cheek suppression of garage punk. However, using the protagonists' god-fearing insight, Zappa deftly turns it into a punk classic...
"Watermelon in Easter Hay"
The song is often cited as Zappa's favorite song. The flowing guitar solos present here, sometimes reminiscent of David Gilmour from Pink Floyd, are a testament to Zappa's compositional prowess...
"Valley Girl"
A later hit by Zappa, considered one of his best songs!
Frank Zappa's music box has a lot, really a lot of great stuff! And it is simply unrealistic to fit them all into one collection ... Today we have considered only some of the brightest and most widely known works of this genius, which once again justify his cult status!
