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Burnt Weeny Sandwich [Original recording remastered]

Frank Zappa, Frank Zappa & the Mothers of Invention, The Mothers of InventionAudio CD
4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)

Price: $21.40 & FREE Shipping on orders over $25. Details
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Audio CD, Original recording remastered, 1995 $21.40  
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Burnt Weeny Sandwich + Weasels Ripped My Flesh + Hot Rats
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Product Details

  • Audio CD (May 2, 1995)
  • Number of Discs: 1
  • Format: Original recording remastered
  • Label: Zappa Records
  • ASIN: B0000009S5
  • Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
  • Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (47 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #115,406 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

1. WPLJ
2. Igor's Boogie, Phase One
3. Overture To A Holiday In Berlin
4. Theme From Burnt Weeny Sandwich
5. Igor's Boogie, Phase Two
6. Holiday In Berlin, Full-Blown
7. Aybe Sea
8. The Little House I Used To Live In
9. Valarie

Editorial Reviews

From the Label

Originally released at the end of 1969, this is a collection of archival material from The Mothers of Invention, largely instrumental and featuring a lot of piano work from Ian Underwood. The doo-wopping "WPLJ" leads off a progressive jazz-influenced set including the full studio version of "Little House I Used to Live In" (far longer and more involved than the overture version on FILLMORE EAST); and "Holiday in Berlin, Full-Blown". Jimmy Carl Black, Roy Estrada, Sugar Cane Harris and Don Preston are among the supporting cast.

Product Description

Audio CD

Customer Reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
(47)
4.9 out of 5 stars
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
29 of 30 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Offbeat Musical Mastery January 22, 2001
Format:Audio CD
This album contains a mix of studio recordings and live material blended together masterfully. Like 'Weasels Ripped My Flesh' it was released after the breakup of the original Mothers of Invention.

The first cut, WPLJ, is a doo-wop number originally written and performed by the Four Deuces. The Mothers show their considerable skill with this musical form while they sing the praises of drinking White Port and Lemon Juice. Roy Estrada flavors the song with some off-color Spanish commentary.

The instrumental Igor's Boogie appears in two different forms; Phase 1 and Phase 2. Both are short tributes to Igor Stravinsky, one of Zappa's great influences and bear some passing similarity to 'Histoire du Soldat' by that composer. The phases contain strong saxaphone playing by Bunk Gardner and honks by what might be a bicycle horn.

Both the 'Overture to A Holiday in Berlin' and 'Holiday in Berlin, Full Blown' are strange, beautiful melodies with a feeling of something out of 'Caberet'. There are also lyrics to 'Holiday in Berlin' on other recordings that describe a riot staged by Berlin revolutionaries and their attempt to coerce Zappa to help them. There even seems to be a theme in these songs that later appears, only slightly modified, in the Star Wars soundtrack, written by John Williams many years later! The Full Blown version contains one of the most accessible of Zappa's guitar solos, very melodic and to the point. There is an almost worshipful atmosphere created by the Mothers as they back Zappa in this live recording that was spliced onto the preceding studio material.

The 'Theme from Burnt Weeny Sandwich' is a long guitar jam with various percussion effects and organ backing. It is beautiful and danceable....

'Aybe Sea' which used to close side one and open side two of the original vinyl release is a very fine, haunting solo which segues nicely into 'The Little House I Used To Live In', one of Zappa's finest tunes. The full power of the Mothers is evident in this mixture of live and studio material. The music can scarcely be contained, it is so joyous and flamboyant! Highlights are the violin playing of SugarCane Harris, Zappa's manic guitar work, Don Preston's piano solo and Zappa's concluding frenetic organ solo. This nearly-nineteen minute piece is the highlight of the album.

Before the concluding doo-wop number 'Valerie' with Roy Estrada singing a very fine falsetto, there is a short live recording of Zappa 'interacting' with an audience member which should be heard to be appreciated. Zappa makes one of his straightforward statements that shoots an arrow of truth for those who will see it.

All in all this is a wonderful album, very well recorded and well played and is one of the finest albums that Zappa produced in his long career. Read more ›

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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A favorite meal July 25, 2006
Format:Audio CD
I've been a Zappa fan for a very long time. I've owned Burnt Weeny Sandwich (on LP) for a long time. The odd thing is that I didn't figure out until just recently that Burnt Weeny Sandwich is one of my favorite Zappa albums. I think that part of the problem is that I didn't really understand the album when I was a kid--although I certainly didn't dislike it. It was one of the last ones I picked up on CD, so that after not really hearing it for years, I mostly heard a song at a time in isolation with the disc in my CD changers on random shuffle.

But as someone else mentioned, this is really a concept album of sorts, and needs to be listened to in its entirety to "get it". It's an odd concept, because it's not linked by lyrics or music so much as it is by a structural meta-concept--that of a sandwich. The first and last tracks, two pseudo-doo-wop songs, serve as the bread. All the songs up to "Little House I Used to Live In" are the toppings, condiments, and so on, and "Little House I Used to Live In" is the meat . . . well, er, the big burnt weeny. What's remarkable is that the basic tracks consisted of Mothers of Invention "outtakes", but Zappa, being a skilled Dadaist/collagist, could turn "outtakes" into beautiful, cohesive, seemingly composed from scratch works faster than you can say "Max Ernst". At any rate, let's look at the tracks.

Track 1: "WPLJ" 5/5
This has been performed live on a number of occasions--it appears on the Does Humor Belong in Music? disc, for example--but without a doubt, this is my favorite version of the song. Zappa achieves an appropriate 1950s-sounding production, including the female backup singers, and the music has a great, grooving looseness, including the horns.
... Read more ›
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19 of 21 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars My favorite mothers album. December 11, 2001
Format:Audio CD
This is, by far and away, my favorite album from the Mothers of Invention. I completely fell in love with it the first time I heard it and will probably stay in my top-ten favorite list until I die.

Starting with the fifties doo-wop of "WPLJ" and ending with the fifties doo-wop of "Valerie", Burnt Weeny Sandwhich is a beautiful recording of live and studio instrumentals that is further proof that Frank Zappa, was indeed, WAY ahead of his time. He and good buddy, Captain Beefheart, presented the world with some of the greatest and most eccentric music ever recorded. No, Beefheart is not on this record (please check out "Trout Mask Replica"), but what we get here is some great musical arrangements and some damn fine guitar playing (wait till you hear track 4).

Among many other things, I believe that this album (or any album by the Mothers) enhances creativity. Billy Bob Thornton once said that "if you listen to this stuff while you write, no matter what you're workin' on, it's gonna come out a little different." He was right. He listened to this over and over while writing "Sling Blade" and that screenplay won him an Oscar. I believe he knows what he's talking about.

Anyway, if you still have some doubts, just get the album and let the music do the talking. They really don't make music like this anymore. I miss Frank Zappa...

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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars Take A Bite Out Of This One! December 6, 2000
By A Customer
Format:Audio CD
The doo-wop numbers that open and close this album are pretty neat (especially "WPLJ"), but the instrumental numbers in between are truly fascinating, and show The Mothers Of Invention at their best. The "Holiday In Berlin" suite is very humorous in parts and really runs the stylistic gamut. BURNT WEENY SANDWICH on the whole eschews the tape manipulation and free-form skronking found on much of UNCLE MEAT and WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH, relying instead on the compositional and instrumental virtuosity of Zappa and the Mothers. "Little House I Used To Live In" starts with a haunting piano intro that segues into the main theme (one of Zappa's best for my money). From there, a long jam ensues featuring some wicked violin soloing from Don "Sugarcane" Harris which never fails to make the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Certainly one of the top five Zappa albums of all time. Check it out, y'all!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars Burnt is well done
The Mothers of Invention/ Burnt Weeny Sandwich: Great instrumentals sandwiched between the opening and closing Do Wop vocals. This is a much underappreciated album. Read more
Published 18 months ago by J. Bynum
5.0 out of 5 stars The ultimate Zappa
If you are really into Zappa you need to hear and own this cd. The out of tune perfomances on the beginning tracks are amazing and totally exude the Mothers of Invention. Read more
Published 22 months ago by Joe42096
4.0 out of 5 stars excellent and a half
Burnt Weeny Sandwich is in fact a sandwich, big classically-based suites bookended by two doo-wop tunes. Read more
Published on December 7, 2009 by Bill Your 'Free Form FM Print DJ
4.0 out of 5 stars instrumental stuff
Frank Zappa during his late 60's/early 70's instrumental period is quite the special talent.

His instrumental skills are quite different from, say, Emerson, Lake and... Read more
Published on July 31, 2009 by B. E Jackson
5.0 out of 5 stars Zappa Thrills Listeners!
This album is hilarious at times with songs like WPLJ, and the instrumental arrangements are testaments to Zappa's skilled, unrestrained manner of musical expression.
Published on September 20, 2008 by student
5.0 out of 5 stars This IS a Tasty Little Sucker
First, a bit of trivia. Cal Schenkl once told me that the fabulous Burnt Weeie Sandwich album cover was actually originally commissioned for an Eric Dolphy release. Read more
Published on July 21, 2008 by Talking Wall
5.0 out of 5 stars Was this one nominated for a Grammy?
Despite the bizarre album title, this is the main course (yeah, I said it) from that master. Beginning and ending with doo-wop, the main content is classically-based progressive... Read more
Published on April 19, 2008 by Phil S.
4.0 out of 5 stars Classic Zappa
Classic Frank Zappa. Especially WPLJ, a good remake of a 50's era song. Zappa is as usual innovative. A good Zappa classic for your collection.
Published on December 22, 2007 by Steven J. Negri
5.0 out of 5 stars A Perect Mixture of Instrumentals & Doo Wop
"Burnt Weeny Sandwich" is one of the early masterpieces by Zappa's first lineup of the mothers of invention. how good is this album? Read more
Published on December 17, 2007 by William Caputo
5.0 out of 5 stars 35 years on, I can't get tired of it
FZ was, by all accounts, a terrible man to work for. But somehow, between about 1967 and 1969 he managed to hold together a bunch of good-enough players to make a series of albums... Read more
Published on November 15, 2007 by k-k-k-kenny
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