The Mothers Of Invention* – Weasels Ripped My Flesh

Funny to think that Frank tried unsuccessfully for years to make his 10-album set a practical proposition, when these days people are releasing super deluxe editions of every noise they ever made near a tape machine.

Although there was a plan for ten albums to be released of leftover material when Zappa broke up the 1960s Mothers of Invention, in the end he only released two, Burnt Weeny Sandwich and Weasels Ripped My Flesh. Weasels contains a rather diverse style, from really twisted stuff to somewhat more "normal". "Didja Get Any Onya?" starts off jazzy, with brass, then you get some demented spoken voices. There's a cover of Little Richard's "Directly to my Heart to You", complete with violin playing from Don "Sugarcane" Harris. This is pretty much a blues piece. I won't forget playing "Prelude..." with a friend of my mother's back in 1995, she was freaking out, with Roy Estrada making all those wailing sounds that is certain for a party clearing. "Get a Little" is a guitar-dominated instrumental piece. Wonder how the Rock in Opposition scene (RIO) got some of their influences (groups like Henry Cow and many of the groups influenced by them, including many found on the Cuneiform Records roster)? Get a load of "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" (Eric Dolphy already passed away in 1964). Really complex, and unconventional arrangements, it's hard to believe this was actually recorded in the late '60s. "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" is a nice rocking number, the only song on the album with Zappa himself singing. "Oh No" is a remake of a theme from Lumpy Gravy, this time done with the usual Mothers of Invention with added on vocals from Ray Collins. "The Orange County Lumber Truck" is a nice jam that was tagged on the end, while the title track is basically noise. To some listeners, this is a difficult listen. It can seem disjointed. The shrieking and strange experimental passages can put some off, but for those who like the RIO scene would find much to enjoy here, not to mention those who enjoy Zappa at his most twisted.