Audio CD review:
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Band: Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention Title: Weasels Ripped My Flesh Rating: Release Date: 02 May, 1995 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: Didja Get Any Onya? 2: Directly From My Heart To You 3: Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Sexually Aroused Gas Mask 4: Toads Of The Short Forest 5: Get A Little 6: The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue 7: Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwart Nebula 8: My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama 9: Oh No 10: The Orange County Lumber Truck 11: Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Customer Reviews A frightfully frantic FZ album that should satisfy any fan "weasels" is known throughout the music world (even by non-FZ fans) for its bizarre and hilarious cover that shows a man shaving his face with an electric weasel who is tearing into the flesh on the guy's face as tracks of blood are made by the weasel's claws. "weasels ripped my flesh" is the follow-up album to "burnt weeny sandwich" and is also the last album performed by the original lineup of Zappa's mothers of invention before Zappa broke up the band and went solo to make one of his best albums (hot rats). okay, the cover is great. . what about the music? thankfully, there are a great amount of musical genres that are performed on this album that should please almost any Zappa fan. There's a cool r&b cover tune (directly from my heart to you) that is sung by Don "Sugar Cane" Harris; the classic guitar-rock song (my guitar wants to kill your mama) sung by Zappa himself; and a very memorable instrumental (the orange county lumber truck - the best version of this song can be found on the album "ahead of their time"). "oh no" was previously heard on "lumpy gravy" without lyrics but it is sung here for the first time with Ray Collins doing a fantastic job on vocals. the lyrics are catchy and very subtly funny. If you're a huge fan of Zappa's experimental music, then you'll definitely love this album. About half of this album is musique concrete and is therefore similar to the stuff heard on "lumpy gravy. " Tracks 4,6, & 7 appear to be normal instrumentals "toads" and "Dolphy" first appear to be sea-shantys but then segue into musique concrete. Some experimental tracks have Roy Estrada's menacing laugh to make things even more frantic. The closing title track is without a doubt the greatest piece of white noise/feedback ever heard! After the smooth sounding "orange county lumber truck", the title track suddenly throws the listener into a frightful shock. Seriously, this track is very scary to listen to even on its own. I dare anyone to blast it on their iPod at 3 in the morning while walking down a deserted street. I dare ya! Finally, the listener is then comforted by FZ, who let's you know the terror is over when he says "goodnight. " Such an eerie piece that only a master like FZ could organize. White noise could be very annoying like Lou Reed's "Metal Machine Music" album but leave it to Zappa to make even constant guitar feedback sound fabulous. It should have been a single for cryin' out loud. . . "the first guitar feedback single: "weasels ripped my flesh. " Yeah, right. Only in a perfect world. Of you're new to Zappa, then this album is NOT for you. If you love crazy experimental & improvised pieces of music then "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" is just for you. Enjoy! . Classic Zappa A classic example of FZ and the Mothers. If you're just beginning your Zappa journey, this is a must have. See also, Bongo Fury[[ASIN:B0000009SO Bongo Fury]]. Best (hardcore) Zappa He released two such compilations after he broke us the original Mothers (and made Hot Rats). Pam Zappa has described how her husband piled up the reels of recordings from the studio and on tour, down in their basement where he listened to them incessantly, taking the clips he thought were the best, and compiling them, over and over again. The first, Burnt Weeny Sandwich is fabulous. Weasels is even better. Not only is it riskier and edgier, in its own weird way it's warm and nostalgic in a manner that eluded Zappa in his more calculated efforts. Maybe I'm just a sucker for Ray Collins singing the original OH NO. But even the more bee czar stage bits betray the sense of familial humor that abounded in this dysfunctional bunch. While he would later collect musicians of greater sophistication and enjoy a more dedicated following, there was a magic to the first band, especially when he was pushing it to take chances while they still managed to hang onto their unique identities. Weasels is not mainly rock, but not mainly jazz either. Something more attitudinal, maybe even DADA. Definitely alternative. This is daring stuff, but not so much room clearing as has been ascribed of it. Cutting and yet warm and fuzzy at the same time. Just like an electric rodent razor. (You can't accuse Neon Park of lacking truth in advertising. This cover, along with Feets Don't Fail Me Now both go in to the illustrators hall of fame. ). . You can see a complete list of all Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention discography, or go back to the Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention tabs