Customer Reviews

Uncle Meat

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

One of the problems with Frank Zappa's immense catalog (nearly 60 releases) is that it can take an interested listenter a long time to find the cream of the crop. I hiope to solve that for you by telling you to BUY THIS CD AS SOON AS POSSIBLE. The "Uncle Meat" double CD contains what could be some of the best and most interesting music of our century.

The CD has more than Rock and Roll. In fact, some of the most wonderful things on the discs are the marimba-laden "classical" tracks. Not that the disc doesn't contain fanstatic rock. Zappa knew how to make an _album_, though; the individual songs are difficult to isolate because you will soon think of "Uncle Meat" as a single compositional entity.

There is one hitch to this concept-album-like flow. The CD version (as opposed to the cassette or LP) contains nearly a half an hour of audio footage from the filming of the never-really-completed Uncle Meat movie. Instead of putting the "bonus" stuff at the end of the disc, it has been inserted between songs on the second disc. Your listening enjoyment of the music will come to a grinding halt as you reach for the remote. Don't get me wrong! Listen to the audio footage. There's some great stuff. Listen to it often, if you like. But just be prepared when you're lost in the music to bounce out of your reverie. The position of the bonus audio footage is the only thing that holds me back from heartily and readily giving the CD a perfect 10 rating. END

Like Sgt. Pepper or the first Velvet Underground album, Uncle Meat is one of about ten rock albums that throws out the rule book and starts over again.

Conceptually, this record is a revolution. Zappa dismantles the whole idea of the rock album as a collection of songs. He fills Uncle Meat with litterally 100s of ideas that flow into each other. The music and sound-bytes don't have beginnings in endings. Rather, they simply set up the next piece, as the album gathers a run-away, hillucanatory momentum. Yet, every sound on this album has merit in and of itself. Zappa was able to let go of the steering wheel only because he understood his craft so well.

You don't hear many albums like Uncle Meat. Even in the context of 1969 experimentation, Zappa's ideas are simply too esoteric and sophistacated for mass conception. Only very obscure bands like Henry Cow even hinted at picking up Uncle Meat's massive torch. In an age of Hendrix, Joplin, and Led Zeppelin blasting out flame-thrower blues, Zappa's brillant, mad-geunius confetti was bound to get lost beneath the whale of Stratocasters.

Of the almost thirty Zappa albums I own, I can only think of a few that I liked during the very first listen. This is one of them. I had read the reviews and inevitably formed my preconceptions about it, and literally during the first few seconds of the very first song I thought, "YES!!! This is EXACTLY what I was hoping for!!!" As I continued to listen, a whole new universe of sound was slowly opening up before me. Each track got me more and more consumed by this strange and incredible musical journey, and soon I didn't want it to end. This is my all-time favorite Zappa Album.

I've often thought about what makes the original Mothers' music so good, and I think it is because in the late 60's, Frank Zappa hadn't yet formed the lyrical and musical persona that we know today (Arguably, that wouldn't come until 1973's Overnight Sensation). At this point in his career, he was experimenting with all sorts of styles, perhaps subconsciously trying to pinpoint where he wanted to go with his music. In this album, Frank is pushing his band both musically and stylistically to meet his artistic needs. And the results are priceless.

This is the kind of music that just can't be described in words. It's one of those albums that shatters all your preconceptions of what music is, and makes you rethink the very nature of music. I will say this, however: "Dog Breath in the year of the Plague" is one of the most beautiful songs ever released. As well as "Electric Aunt Jemima." And "Sleeping in a Jar." And "The Air." And... ok, well I'll just stop right there.

A lot of people have complained about the film excerpts on disc 2. But you know what? I actually LIKE it. Seriously. It's fun, and interesting as well. And I'm not even a HUGE Zappa nut. So here's my advice for the film excerpts: Listen to it once. If you like it, great. If you don't like it, SKIP it next time. That's what the SKIP button is there for. But at least give it a chance.

All in all, this is a PERFECT album that I would recommend not only for all Zappa/Mothers fans, but for all music fans who crave adventuresome and even strange music. This is a masterpiece that stands apart from all the rest.

I'd give this five stars for the music, but after doing an A-B comparison of this CD set and the original vinyl, I give the CD set three stars for its 1987 remix. I rate the vinyl as far better--not because of arcane "vinyl has more tang and warmth in itself" arguments, but because the 1968 mix kicks the feathers out of the 1987 digital remix, which is all one can get on CD. The 1968 mix sounds like 1968. The 1987 mix sounds like 60s musicians teleported to a 1987 studio. The aural image or "soundstage" in the original is quite tight, but with justice--it's not too cramped. But it features a sharp drum sound without a lot of cymbal sibilance and it does have other "saxy" high-mid range sounds involving keys and reed instruments that the remixers decided they didn't like anymore, so that the instruments have a wildly different EQ and are spread out on the soundstage like raisins taken out of the box and laid neatly onto a table. Well, Ok, but it doesn't sound like the Mothers in 1968 anymore--too much digital air, sweetness, and sibilance is added. The tight, dark sound quality of the vinyl mix, like that of a "band in a good basement club" sound, is lost.
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Don't let this review stop you from getting the CD--as it is not an "abomination" remix, as some 80s remixes were, but consider the vinyl if you like vinyl . . .

This is usually held up as 1 of Zappa's finest achievements or as a bit excessive. I'd say the former. I've got the video of the film & very fun though it can be fun, the album is a lot better [the reverse would be true of 200 Motels, though much of the music there is difficult]. A long double album is made even longer w/ film excerpts. It opens w/ Uncle Meat (Main Title Theme), 1 of his utter best instrumental tunes up there w/ Holiday In Berlin & Peaches En regalia [off the following 2 lps], then we have the Voice Of Cheese, as in Suzy Creamcheese aka Pamela Zarubica w/ a little bit of commentary about a European tour. A definite highlight is Dog Breath, In The Year Of The Plague, simultaneously a catchy tune w/ nostalgia for a closed down football stadium & a grand composition & technology experiment. We then have the Dog Breath Variations, as well as a couple more preludes & variations. In the liner notes FZ states that this is basically an instrumental album & that the words were randomly selected from various dreams thus songs like Sleeping In A Jar & Electric Aunt Jemima. A Pound For A Brown On The Bus is another memorable instrumental. Ian Underwood Whips It Out has an amusing spoken intro of how he got in the Mothers before setting off into pure skronkdom w/ his sax, not very clearly recorded but a preview of his work on Hot Rats. That album also famously reused Mr. Green Genes, a tune about eating yr greens, yr socks & the truck they came in. The album contains little oddities like "If We'd All Been Living In California...", Jimmy Carl Black's complaint about never getting paid for this & having 5 kids to feed & the line between comedy & serious real life concerns get blurred. On disc 2 of the cd version you get 2 long excerpts from the movie [which itself has a lot of repetition of phrases like "I'm using the chicken to measure it" & "silence fools don't you know anything about progress?"] & a song from that which is slightly irrelevant to the others in that it's from the 80s not the 60s, Tengo Na Minchia Tanta & the literal meaning of that is something phallic in Italian, then we have what was side 4 of the lp, King Kong in all its glory, though there are about 6 or 7 titles listed, it is all sewn together & mostly from the 1 same performance. Overall it's a very impressive creation & the packaging w/ the glorious 12 page booklet [looks even better in 12" format] & Cal Schenkel art & lyrics & photos, a drawing of a giraffe listening to the radio, which must be some very hip station since Moonlight on Vermont by Captain Beefheart & his Magic Band is coming out of it, especially since Trout Mask wasn't even released yet then. Whilst lyrically it doesn't say as much as We're Only In It For the Money or Absolutely Free, musically it says more than enough & I'm happy to pay attention. You need this.

I've been a total Frank Zappa and original MOI fan since first hearing W'ere Only in It for the Money in 1968. It was clear from the first that Zappa was an absolute musical genius, who's incredible creativity, energy, iconoclasm, hard work, and chutzpah make him the greatest composer and musician since the likes of Stravinsky and Prokofiev. His ability to compose in a variety of styles -- rock, doo-wop, jazz, country, and neo-classical (to name a few) -- seems unmatched; and he is probably the most prolific musician ever.

That he was primarily a "Rock" musician (who sometimes pandered to a teenage audience often less interested is his music than his audacity) should not be envoked to attempt to diminish his accomplishments and talent. The orchestral scores scattered throughout 200 Motels are proof of his exceptional ability for innovative and complex composition. No less extraordinary are the remarkable and progressive pieces found on Lumpy Gravy, Uncle Meat, Hot Rats, Jazz From Hell, The Yellow Shark, and Civilization Phase III (to mention a few) -- the likes of which have not been approached, let alone equalled.

As his guitarist, he is unsurpassed -- and his oeuvre is replete with some of the most amazing, beautiful, intelligent, and scintillating solos and passages ever heard. Frank referred to his playing as "air sculpture." But I always thought of it like "expositions" or "conversations," as Zappa's playing seems distinctly related to language and the spoken word, with its exclamations, pronouncements, and subtle nuance. Examples include Son of Mr. Green Genes (Hot Rats), the two extended solos on side one of Burnt Weenie Sandwich as well as the shorter solos on side two (within The Little House I used to Live In), The Orange Country Lumber Truck (Weasels Ripped My Flesh), Transylvania Boogie and The Nancy & Mary Music (Chunga's Revenge), Magdalena (Just Another Band from LA), Son of Orange County/More Trouble Every Day (Roxy and Elsewhere), and Inca Roads (One Size Fits All) -- just to mention some of my favorites.

But geniuses can and do make mistakes -- and one of Zappa's (IMHO) was to include Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part I, Tengo Na Minchia Tanta, and Uncle Meat Film Excerpt Part II as part of both the original CD and remastered CD releases of Uncle Meat. These 3 pieces were NOT part of the original 1969 vinyl-album release of Uncle Meat. I think their CD inclusion definitely detracts thematically and musically from the original -- and I urge listeners to simply SKIP them when they listen to Uncle Meat. Similarly, Frank made (and subsequently corrected) a mistake when he changed the bass and drum tracks for the original CD release of We're Only in It for the Money (and I remember my disappointment when I first heard that original CD).

Maybe, if Frank had not died he would have expunged Uncle Meat of these 3 "spurious" pieces (which are far better suited to CDs like Playground Psychotics or The Lost Episodes) from a new original-version Uncle Meat CD. Hopefully, the Zappa Family Trust will do the same at some point.

Zappa said "Music is the best" -- likewise, Frank is the BEST...

P.S. I recommend "Ahead of Their Time" to all Zappa fans -- on which you can hear the extended/complete Orange Country Lumber Truck guitar solo (about half of which is on Weasels Ripped My Flesh), as part of the last track entitled Orange County Lumber Truck (Part 2). The solo and the entire CD is AMAZING..!!

It was 1969 and many of the finest artists in the history of rock were doing some of their best work. One of the most bizarre spectacles was Frank Zappa's double album, Uncle Meat. Apparently this is the soundtrack to a movie that he and the Mothers of Invention were filming, but didn't have enough money to finish (I haven't seen it). Fortunately, the soundtrack stands up as a great work by itself. Of the 31 or so tracks on here, only 6 or 7 resemble songs, and none of them have intelligible lyrics (although the arrangments and melodies are spot-on). Most of the album is instrumental, highlighting Zappa's complex compositional style on pieces like 'Nine Types of Industrial Pollution', 'Legend of the Golden Arches', and 'Project X'. There are also some spoken word bits, murky concert excerpts and real-life dialogue, which gives the work an overall feeling of "collage" - unique even today. The CD version includes 45 minutes of extra material including two sets of studio dialogue and a song from the 80s, which are probably the low point of the re-release, though not without a certain humor. Fortunately, it goes straight into the six arrangements of Zappa's jazzy masterpiece 'King Kong', which close the record out with flair. Of all the remarkable musical journeys I've taken, Uncle Meat is certainly one of the strangest - and one of the best.

One of Zappa's greatest creations, after, of course, "Burnt Weeny Sandwich". Listen to "Nine Types of Industrial Pollution" alone, in a darkened room, with the volume turned up and prepare to weep tears of joy.

Thefocus here is on instrumental stuff, a lot of sped up music here eg 2nd half of 'dog breath in the year of the plague'. This particular song is one of the highlights of the album. Another highlight is the uncle meat variations, a really top tune. As well as the great keyboard playing we have high-pitched female vocals /gravelly male vocals, singing 'fuzzy dice and bongos'. Bonkers lyrics. Then the tune sort of 'disintegrates' into some awesome zappa twangy guitar playing. There are lots of fun songs like mr green genes, electric aunt jemima, cruising for burgers,sleeping in a jar, the air. Some live moments like prelude to king kong(cd1) and ian underwood whips it out. also a funny louie louie featuring the majestic royal albert pipe organ. Some downright bonkers music like zolar czakl(delightful) and projectx(weirdest track on the album) and a bit of dialogue featuring jimmy carl black, bitching on about money as is his wont. And brilliant guitar solo, 9 types of industrial pollution. CD2 has about 40 minutes of dialogue from the uncle meat film. It's got one or two amusing lines like 'using the chicken to measure it' but is not very essential stuff at all. However there is a mighty segue from the end of the dialogue into King Kong the studio version. This is a superb tune, and the studio version here sounds gorgeous. It's got some lovely keyboard playing and saxophone soloing (doubled up). No ark section here, it's a different version. There's also some great live blowing from ian underwood in the live king kong. And the end bit is hilarious sounding. All in all this album is a must have for true frank zappa fans. Thank you.

I think this is one case where the additions to the original album actually detract, or at least they should have been put on the tailend so they would not interfere with an album that was already well thought out. The music is top notch. I once saw a score that showed how Uncle Meat was put together. It was just like an orchestra score. And the care taken shows in the music, very complex but still works wonderfully, hauntingly beautiful music. It is a shame that rock did not follow down this path more, but I honestly think it is just to much work, the music is very complex,at least the instrumental Uncle Meat parts. This album does not get enough attention and is near the top of any lists of great albums (also put Richard and Linda Thompsons "I Want to See the Bright Lights Tonight and the soundtrack to "Paris Tx" by Ry Cooder on that same list). Uncle Meat is also a very playful funny album and a lot of fun if you stick with it and give it a chance to sink in. The album is not like any other album, the only ones that are even somewhat similiar in content are "Weasles Ripped My Flesh" or "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" and neither are as good as "Uncle Meat" but are worth tracking down if you liked "Uncle Meat" "Uncle Meat" is in its own category, like Eno's "Another Green World".