Customer Reviews

Freak Out

5 star:		(56)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Frank Zappa's extraordinary 60+album output is, in essence, one single thematically related piece of music. True Zappaphiles (of which I am one) appreciate all aspects of this remarkable lifetime achievement, but the point of reviews like this are to point out the salient characteristics of individual albums.

Released in 1966, Freak Out! presented itself as the annunciation of a cultural revolution. Much like the Sex Pistols' Never Mind the Bollocks (1977), this was pop music as threat. But its scope goes far beyond this. The album begins with the proto-punk anthem, "Hungry Freaks, Daddy," a raw, blistering electric rave-up that works as well as "Anarchy in the U.K.," and stands up just as well. If this was all that remained of Freak Out!, it would still be a classic, but the album goes much deeper. Zappa works dilligently on perfectly realized pop songs built on cliche's, contrasting them with "reality songs" like "Motherly Love" (a brutal rocker that appeals for groupies to have sex with the band members), "You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here" (a savage attack on the shallowness of the youth culture likely to consume the album), and most importantly, the strange, enigmatic "Who Are the Brain Police?" (in which people and objects are unreal, manufactured, interchangeable and subject to melting). The overly arranged love songs sit side by side with material that deconstructs them as false representations (particularly the '50s doo-wop parody "Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder."

I'll never complain about 2 LPs on one CD, but the breakup of the two sections does hurt the psychological impact of the album somewhat. Keep in mind that Side 3 of the LP was where Freak Out! began moving the listener into deeper territory, throwing more light upon what had already occured. The sprawling, grungy blues of "More Trouble Every Day" kicks this off, with a savage, biting report of the Watts riots and the media coverage in a racially and economically divided America that has not changed much. Here, we're a million miles from the pop gleen of "Wowie Zowie" and "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" The next step takes us where no "popular" artist had dared step before.

"Help, I'm a Rock" is musical event in stasis, relieved by shock. Everything the album has been so far has mutated into a new form, an "abstract" pop where representations become more difficult to pin down. The "freak" threat now arises full-blown: but what is it? (These are not hippies, friends--but they are the dissafected, the "left behinds" who are rising up to claim a stake in the American dream--and they will transform it in a new image.) An atonal barbershop quartet taunts, "You're safe, mama. You're safe, baby." (Meaning of course, quite the opposite.)

Did Zappa believe this was actually going to happen? Possibly in 1966 he did, but not much longer. The message of Freak Out! is much larger than that--it amounts to nothing less than a demand for complete social/sexual/aesthetic emancipation. His conclusion lies in the side-long epic, "The Return of the Son of the Monster Magnet" Often castigated/dismissed as chaotic noise, close listening will reveal a very controlled hand at work. This is the soundtrack of the awakening of a new individual sensibility. Section 1 ("Ritual Dance of the Child-Killer") is a destruction of the innocence that allows people to accept a prefabricated reality (the "Brain Police"), while the avant-garde Section 2 ("Nullis Prettii") translates "No Commercial Potential," a slogan Zappa wore as his badge of honor.

Now or in 1966, this album is an audacious, vital masterpiece by one of the greatest artists of the century. (And did I forget to mention it's melodic, catchy and funny, too?)For the uninitiated, or the underinitiated, this is the perfect place to start what could be a lifelong dialectic with the most challenging, exciting and rewarding musicians/composers you will ever encounter.

The present-day composer refuses to die! Long live Frank Zappa.

In 1966, a double LP by a rock band was unheard of. And yes, it was a band. Frank Zappa gets the lion's share of the credit, being the cheif songwriter. But as the title on the cover says, it's "The Mothers Of Invention." The first incarnation of an ever-revolving cast of musicians, all of whom had lots and lots of talent.

As a CD, Freak Out loses some of its impact. Even though the artwork is all intact, and it's the same music, tweaked a little here and there, it's the same recordings, nonetheless. But the tactile sensation of opening a 12x12 cover into a 12x24 gate-fold onslaught is lost here. And you can tell the division of the format a little better on the LP, as the first half is based more on traditional song structure and the second half is more experimental.

Song titles and content vary, from social criticism ("Hungry Freaks") to songs about boy-girl relationships ("You Didn't Try To Call Me") to flat-out weirdness ("Who Are The Brain Police?"). But despite the gritty, even greasy sound, there is an innocence to it; although the band and its image are anything but. This was the most scandalous, possibly the most hated rock band in history, and they used this to their advantage. Radio stations wouldn't touch them, and every television appearance was riddled with controversy. Phone lines would flood with people who loved them, or hated them. It seems that "Freak Out" was more of a social/cultural phenomenon than a piece of music. The sleeve notes describe this in pretty vivid detail, and it would be counter-productive and a little tedious to quote it all here.

Creative highlight: The last segment of the format, from "Help I'm A Rock," right on through "The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet." This is a suite of "songs," for lack of a better word, more like rhythms accompanied by layer upon layer of sounds. "Monster Magnet" is the peak. It has such an elaborate spectrum of sounds and textures, it boggles the mind at first. Warning! NOT FOR PEOPLE WITH CONSERVATIVE TASTES IN MUSIC! Frank Zappa's strict anti-drug stance is cleverly hidden here, because a lot of people think you have to be stoned or tripping to come up with this. But the truth is, absolutely not; You just need some imagination to come up with it, the intellect to pull it out, and the intelligence to pull it off.

Subsequent works showed more sophistication, but this is the true ground-breaker.

What a freshman release! Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention created one heck of a first album. It was one of the first double albums in rock history, and certainly one of the wierdest.

My approach to this review is to look at (a) the attractiveness of this release for the Zappa novice, (b) the attractiveness of this album for the Zappa devotee, and (c) the quality of the release.

(a) If you are just getting interested in Zappa, this is not really the best place to start. While there are some interesting tracks here, there's also a lot of what at first appears to be just wierd noise and people freaking out tracks too. Those tracks are not available as samples on www.Amazon.com, so proceed carefully.

(b) Of course you need this! It's great! The mix is a bit different from the original vinyl, with a lot more reverb than before. I'd say that the original vinyl is probably the way to go, but the cd is very good too. (Besides, the cd saves you flipping records over.)

(c) The sound quality is superb, although, as noted before, the mix differs from the original vinyl. The packaging includes all of the original elements, which helps you relate to what the heck the mood was in 1966.

Enjoy!

I leave the brilliant musical commentary to the other reviewers who are obviously better qualified.
My review consists of one sentence:

I heard it in 1967; never recovered, never wanted to.

Let me tell you a story. People have many bench marks in their lives, things that remain forever vivid in their memories. A first kiss. A new bike. Your first glimpse of the magical green grass of a major league ball field. Well, I have one of those magical memories: the first time I encountered the album "Freak Out".

It was 1966. I was 16. Me and my friend Steve were cruising through the new releases in the record department at Macys. Back then record departments were not run by hip-looking clerks who imagine themselves as being rock stars. This one was run by a dignified white-haired lady who had to be at least 60.

There it was. The cover of "Freak Out" shouted out its fresh, shrink-wrapped existence, demanding that it be played. NOW! The problem was--we didn't have the $4.98 to buy it! Now, down the counter from the cash register was a stereo. One of those classic 60's compact numbers where the turntable pulled down from the top and with the speakers mounted on each side. Somehow we convinced the white-haired lady that we had to play the record.

I don't think our lives were ever the same after that, both Steve and I and the white-haired lady. It didn't sound like anything we had heard before. Frank Zappa had officially declared war on 60's America and we had no choice but to go along with the ride. I save up the money to buy it. Could only afford the mono version. I have it to this very day.

I won't try and analyze the music for you here. Other reviewers have done so more eloquently than I could ever do. What I want to do is to try and impart on those of you younger than myself is how monumental an achievement "Freak Out" was, and how it helped opened up 60's music to an astonishing array of creativity.

By the way, if you like "Freak Out", try "We're Only In It For The Money", my favorite Mother's record, and possibly one of the best rock albums of all time.

If you care anything about rock, you owe it to yourself to buy this album. It's an essential part of modern American music.

David Teves

Freak Out! - released as a two-album set in 1966, is a lot more than Zappa's debut, it is a profound achievement of modern music that belongs in any collection worthy of the name. Were you to own only one Mothers/Zappa CD - (a mistake) - this would have to be it. Forty years have passed since it was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world and it is every bit as fresh and fascinating today as it was then.

Zappa defies categorization, but for want of anywhere else to put him, he was lumped in with rock musicians. Consider then who is on this album. Les McCann, Paul Butterfield, Mac Rebennack (Dr. John), 5 credits for cello, 2 French horn credits, Motorhead Sherwood on "noises," Kim Fowley on "hypophone," among many, many others. What none of us fully appreciated at the time was that Zappa was a truly modern classical composer whose repertoire included rock.

In an era dominated by breezy romantic ballads, Zappa introduced biting anti-love love songs like I Ain't Got No Heart, How Could I Be Such A Fool?, and my personal favorite, I'm Not Satisfied. He also showed us his belligerent, downright hostile side in songs like, You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here. Who Are The Brain Police?, and Trouble Every Day, showed a highly politicized Zappa who never met an authority figure he didn't despise. Even in catchy, upbeat numbers like Motherly Love, another favorite, he couldn't resist the temptation to be puerile, off-color, and offensive - this weakness would dog him throughout his career.

Not surprisingly, it is the songs we skipped over in 1966 that have the most enduring impact; in 1966 they were unintelligible. Eight minutes of Help, I'm A Rock, four of It Can't Happen Here, and twelve minutes of The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet charted territory that was distant indeed considering that, back then, the Kingston Trio was considered hip. All three were amazing, but in Magnet what you had was pedal-to-the-metal Dada-ist musical theater of the absurd, delivered in very responsible 4/4 time.

No matter how far out Zappa got in later years, the entirety of his splendidly cracked and thoroughly original vision is right here. And remember folks, Zappa claimed that he didn't take drugs, which means he was this weird naturally!

I was in the Seminary in Richmond,Va. I was 15 and the priest who taught Latin and Spanish was a crazy man very impressed with this album. My formative mind was deftly and definitely warped by this album...I was never the same. I believe I can sing most of the songs from this album although it's been 25 years since I've heard any of it. I can't describe this album musically or historically. I can say that it is funny and extremely well done and the quality is something that was so visual...well since it was my first album, I sort of expected all music to be this way or at least all rock and roll. It took a while to figure out that it was the genius of Frank that made this album so special.
I think there is more than sarcasm in his critic of the musical and social times, you can find out what that other is for yourself if you can...By the way, Frank, I told everyone I ran into that Mr. GreenJeans was your dad, even though I didn't believe it. Love, WPB.

At first listen, it can be tough to tell what to make of Freak Out!. I know I was somewhat baffled the first time I threw it on my stereo, as I found myself increasingly unsure of how seriously I was supposed to be taking everything. With their frequently cornball lyrics and use of instruments ranging from guitar and drums to harmonica, finger tambourine, and finger cymbals (to name a few), many of the songs just sounded so goofy, so weird, so tongue-in-cheek, I couldn't tell whether I was listening to art, parody, or some weird combination of both. Eventually, though, I realized that may have been precisely the point. True to its title, Freak Out! is one baffling, off-the-wall album, combining serious musicianship and social commentary with a wry sense of humor and some infectious pop melodies. There are witty, faux-doo-wop tunes like Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder and You Didn't Try to Call Me that simultaneously mock and embrace oldies conventions and include some truly hilarious lyrics ("Go cry on somebody else's Shoulder/I'm somewhat wiser now/and one whole year older"-brilliant), but there are also a few straightforwardly catchy classic-rock tunes (Motherly Love, I'm Not Satisfied) that seem largely devoid of ironic content and intended to simply make your foot tap. At the same time, many of the songs on Freak Out! show off Zappa's penchant for musical and societal subversion, beginning with the opening Hungry Freaks Daddy, which combines some shots at Great Society idealism with some decidedly gonzo sounds.

Then there's Trouble Every Day, which is easily my favorite Zappa song thus far and quite probably in my all-time top twenty-five. Just looking at the lyrics, you could almost think the song was written last year, as it goes to show just how little the big issues have changed in the past four decades. Racial strife? Check. Out-of-touch media? Check. Economic inequality? Check. Throw in Frank's searing guitar work, some bluesy harmonica, and an almost impossibly memorable melody, and you've got a surefire classic and a great middle-finger to the decade's often touchy-feely sentiments. Freak Out! closes with another good one, the extended, spacey, psych-jazz-rock jam The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet, whose noodly playing and dadaist vocal sounds provided an early hint of the sonic adventurism that characterized Zappa's career. At any rate, if you crave a taste of the weird and unusual that's mighty fun at the same time, Freak Out! is as essential as this site says it is.

"Freak Out!" has always been my favorite Frank Zappa album. There are FZ albums more amusing, more musically daring, but when considering what Zappa did with the state of American pop in 1965-66, the results can only be called astonishing (no wonder the Beatles were inspired by it). There was nothing even remotely like this album back then--from the proto-rap "Trouble Every Day" (to me the best track) to the schizo-dirge "Who Are the Brain Police"? to the avant-nut "HELP, I'M A ROCK", FZ laid the groundwork for his signature complex orchestrations here, albeit in lo-fi sound and doo-wop form, shredding fuzz guitar throughout (and shredding the occasional kazoo, too). His equally satiric liner notes fittingly illuminate how each song was its own flavor of commercial suicide while simultaneously poking fun at the burgeoning counterculture and any theoretical resistance against the "great Midwestern hardware store philosophy" (short of Freaking Out, that is). A tremendous debut album.

I first heard this album in 1967 when I was 19; under appropriate circumstances! I cannot express in words my ...shock, awe, fear, fascination, exhileration.... In the 32 years since I never had a remotely similar experience listening to music.