Frank Zappa - Hot Rats

The work of an absolute genious

Hot Rats and "In a Silent Way" (Miles Davis) came out the same year. The second is recorded as the first fusion album ever, it created a totally new genre.

Well, Hot Rats is at the same level. It was only chance if what we call fusion now is the sound of "In A Silent Way" - it might have been this album as well.

If you like Zappa, this is a must-have. If you don't, you'd better listen this. April 6, 2008

Frank Zappa at his best

Frank Zappa is a musical genius and this album is just one of many that shows just how amazing he is. This is my favorite album. It starts off with the great "Peaches en Regalia" and rolls into a great song called "Willie the Pimp." Buy this album. You will love every single second of Zappa's mesmerizing masterpieces and guitar solos. April 6, 2008

Frank's best record by a long shot

1969 was a great year in rock music. The Beatles issued the legendary 'Abbey Road,' King Crimson released the epic progressive masterpiece 'The Court Of The Crimson King,' and Frank Zappa released arguably his best record to date, 'Hot Rats.'

There are plenty of highlights on this record. All six songs featured here are highlights. But 'Peaches En Regalia' remains the favorite on the record for me. It became a concert staple for Zappa in the 1970s.

'The Gumbo Variations' is one of Zappa's epics, clocking in at just under 17 minutes. You get some great guitar work here from Zappa. He is quite the guitar player, and this song shows it.

Listen for some killer vocals sung by Captain Beefheart on 'Willie The Pimp.' He was one of Zappa's closest friends, so it's no surprise to hear his vocals here.

'It Must Be A Camel' is a nice little ditty. And, it's great way to close out a great record. This song clocks in at just over 5 minutes, and it's one of the shorter pieces on the record.

Zappa's work is legendary. And if you want a great starting place, pick this one up and 'Strictly Commercial: The Best of Frank Zappa.' Also, you'll want to check out his legendary live record 'Sheik Yerbouti.'

This is highly recommended for any rock and roll fan. If you like Zappa even a little bit, you'll love this record. ENJOY!!!
March 1, 2008

Classic Zappa

This is one of Zappa's earliest works, and is entirely instrumental except for a Captain Beefheart vocal. There is no "novelty" content. This is a jazz-rock album in Zappa's inimical style. It's always been the one album I can start playing while I'm doing some mundane houshold task, like washing dishes or something, and find myself a few minutes later just sitting in front of the speakers listening. Indispensible for anyone with ears. January 30, 2008

The "re-mastering" hurts it...

The original vinyl mix of "Hot Rats" is, on a 5-star scale, a 6-star record. Why mess with a classic? Messing with this record is like re-editing "Innervisions" -- no, worse, it's like taking "Blue Train" and deciding you don't like the solos and the drums, so you record new bits and slip them into the original mix. What comes out is still a good record, but not what it once was.

There are websites documenting exactly what changed, you can do that research for yourself. For my purposes, I'll note that "Little Umbrellas" is basically unchanged, "Gumbo Variations" is arguably improved upon by a little bit, and "Son of Mr. Green Genes" is nearly ruined by the new mix. As the latter is my favorite track on the vinyl mix, I was certainly upset to see it butchered on this disc.

This is still a good record, and jazz-rock fusion rarely sounds so good as it does here. If you have no alternative channels whereby you might obtain a copy of the original vinyl mix, then by all means go ahead and try this disc. The vinyl mix is not available on CD, so I don't know what options you have unless you have connections to hook you up with a copy of the vinyl, or the same transferred to mp3. One of these days perhaps the Library of Congress will deem the original record historically valuable and backup the record digitally, as they did for "We're Only in it for the Money", though this one doesn't have the same cultural signifigance so that may be a longshot. We're hitting the end of the LP record's lifespan in its physical format, and I hate to think that "Hot Rats" is melting away slowly in our record cabinets and will be unavailable to future generations.

This is the record where Zappa first really works his magic on guitar, and the first to feature his trademark jazz fusion arrangements. It's quite possibly the best of Zappa's albums, and worth the price. I just wish you could hear it the way it ought to sound, not the way that Frank later decided it should sound. The artist does have the right to control his works, but Frank made a mistake with this remix and it definitely knocks the album down to 4-stars. January 20, 2008

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