Customer Reviews

We're Only in It For the Money / Lumpy Gracy

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Okay, so the story is, the Ryko 2-fer of these albums is rather odd. Lumpy Gravy is fine-sounding, but is only two tracks, making finding your favorite section rather difficult. The newer, single-disc version is the better choice.

But We're Only In It For The Money is really odd. Zappa chose to re-record the drums and bass for the entire album, and then remix it. The plus side is that the sound is rather clean, and all the previously censored bits are all back in force.

The negative is that, while the drums aren't too bad, the bass is ridiculous. It sounds NOTHING like a 1967 bass should, either tonally or melodically. ANd it just clashes with everything else. The drums have their own problems, sometimes sounding too 80's like, and sometimes just not mathing the rhythms of the music.

Luckily, the original version has been re-issued as a single disc from Ryko. This 2-fer version is interesting, but not really how most fans originally heard this album.

Frank Zappa isn't exactly known for treating his back catalogue very well, with remixes, poor remasterings, and other "tamperment" dotting his reissue programme. The infamous 1984 remix of We're Only In It For the Money--originally released as part of the "Old Masters" boxed-set, and later coupled with "Lumpy Gravy" on this 1986 CD--is *the* example of why certain artists clearly don't have the best judgement when it comes to their old masterworks. "We're Only In It For the Money" is one of the greatest records of all time, but in this form it is a masterpiece diluted. Yes, the bass and drums are re-recorded; yes, the entire thing is remixed; yes, parts on the original that were "censored" (although more often than not by Zappa's own hand) are restored. Yet what's far more important is how slipshod the entire effort is.

A bit of history. In the early 1980s, Frank finally seized control of much of his back catalogue, acquiring for the first time many of the masters used to make his earliest albums. Two things occured simultaneously: Frank discovered that many of the older Verve masters were not in optimal condition, suffering from years of neglect in MGM's storage facility; and Frank, enthralled with the promise of 80s technology in general and digital technology in particular, came to the conclusion that the 60s-era fidelity of these recordings was simply unsuited to the new digital climate. Most of the resulting "Old Masters" LPs were simply "digitally tweezed," but Frank used the "damaged tapes" stories as a pretense to remix "Money," "Lumpy Gravy," and "Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets." This may not have been controversial in and of itself (Zappa would produce a perfectly suitable remix of "Freak Out!" in 1987), but Frank *also* decided to re-record the drum and bass tracks on much of Money, Ruben, and Lumpy Gravy (although the remix of "Gravy" was never released in its entirety). Later, Frank would admit that this particular decision was motivated less by practical concerns and more by a dislike for the sound quailty and performance of the original tracks.

Whatever the case, the result was disastrous. A previous reviewer points out that the new bass tracks, played by the otherwise-excellent Arthur Barrow, don't sound anything like a 1960s bass track, which is completely true. I find the new drums by Chad Wackerman to be more problematic, however. The drum sound is directly from the Them or Us/Thing Fish era (in other words, digital, likely direct-inject) and sounds terribly freeze-dried. Worse, Chad's tendency to "play along" with melody lines totally changes the beat of many of the tracks. Zappa's total disregard for the heart and soul of his most celebrated album adds insult to injury, as while the re-record of "Ruben" is at least competently assembled, "Money" is marred by off-key instruments (dig the bass during "Harry, You're a Beast"), poor digital edits complete with "clicks" attempting to replicate the originals, faders accidentally left up, and the bizarre decision to speed up several tracks ("Concentration Moon," "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"...perhaps done to alter the drum sound?) to levels of chipmunkdom that far surpass the original's helium-voiced tendencies. It sounds like the sort of rough mix that should have never escaped someone with such a reputation for perfectionism.

And yet, for some reason, this version of the album was the only one in print for nearly ten years. The 1995 issue of the album isn't a sonic wonder, but it at least captures the spirit that makes the album what it is. I didn't think the 1980s re-record could possibly be as bad as I read, and if you don't know what the original's supposed to sound like you may very well find it to be perfectly enjoyable.

Anyway, enough about "Money." The draw of this twofer is the pairing with "Lumpy Gravy," "Money's" sister album and the first Zappa solo disc. I really like the thing, but I know some people who've never warmed to its bizarre mixture of spoken word inanity, orchestral pieces, and...well, whatever Frank had lying around. While the sound quality of "Gravy" on this disc isn't too hot (it, like all of Zappa's 1986 discs, is mastered at an absurdly low volume), it's the only place on CD to find the original mix of the album. The 1995 re-release beats the sound quality of this one by a long-shot, but incorporates some raw mix segments that occasionally vary from the original in mix content and edits between sections. Essential for completists, in other words.

Verdict: I picked up the twofer of "Money/Gravy" out of morbid curiosity; I had read about the horrors of the remix, but figured it couldn't possibly be that bad. In my opinion, it *is* that bad, but you very well may disagree. That said, the current stock discs are simply a better idea; unless you're a completist who absolutely needs the remix and the totally-original version of "Gravy," you're better off avoiding this release.

Frank Zappa isn't exactly known for treating his back catalogue very well, with remixes, poor remasterings, and other "tamperment" dotting his reissue programme. The infamous 1984 remix of We're Only In It For the Money--originally released as part of the "Old Masters" boxed-set, and later coupled with "Lumpy Gravy" on this 1986 CD--is *the* example of why certain artists clearly don't have the best judgement when it comes to their old masterworks. "We're Only In It For the Money" is one of the greatest records of all time, but in this form it is a masterpiece diluted. Yes, the bass and drums are re-recorded; yes, the entire thing is remixed; yes, parts on the original that were "censored" (although more often than not by Zappa's own hand) are restored. Yet what's far more important is how slipshod the entire effort is.

A bit of history. In the early 1980s, Frank finally seized control of much of his back catalogue, acquiring for the first time many of the masters used to make his earliest albums. Two things occured simultaneously: Frank discovered that many of the older Verve masters were not in optimal condition, suffering from years of neglect in MGM's storage facility; and Frank, enthralled with the promise of 80s technology in general and digital technology in particular, came to the conclusion that the 60s-era fidelity of these recordings was simply unsuited to the new digital climate. Most of the resulting "Old Masters" LPs were simply "digitally tweezed," but Frank used the "damaged tapes" stories as a pretense to remix "Money," "Lumpy Gravy," and "Cruisin' with Ruben and the Jets." This may not have been controversial in and of itself (Zappa would produce a perfectly suitable remix of "Freak Out!" in 1987), but Frank *also* decided to re-record the drum and bass tracks on much of Money, Ruben, and Lumpy Gravy (although the remix of "Gravy" was never released in its entirety). Later, Frank would admit that this particular decision was motivated less by practical concerns and more by a dislike for the sound quailty and performance of the original tracks.

Whatever the case, the result was disastrous. A previous reviewer points out that the new bass tracks, played by the otherwise-excellent Arthur Barrow, don't sound anything like a 1960s bass track, which is completely true. I find the new drums by Chad Wackerman to be more problematic, however. The drum sound is directly from the Them or Us/Thing Fish era (in other words, digital, likely direct-inject) and sounds terribly freeze-dried. Worse, Chad's tendency to "play along" with melody lines totally changes the beat of many of the tracks. Zappa's total disregard for the heart and soul of his most celebrated album adds insult to injury, as while the re-record of "Ruben" is at least competently assembled, "Money" is marred by off-key instruments (dig the bass during "Harry, You're a Beast"), poor digital edits complete with "clicks" attempting to replicate the originals, faders accidentally left up, and the bizarre decision to speed up several tracks ("Concentration Moon," "Let's Make the Water Turn Black"...perhaps done to alter the drum sound?) to levels of chipmunkdom that far surpass the original's helium-voiced tendencies. It sounds like the sort of rough mix that should have never escaped someone with such a reputation for perfectionism.

And yet, for some reason, this version of the album was the only one in print for nearly ten years. The 1995 issue of the album isn't a sonic wonder, but it at least captures the spirit that makes the album what it is. I didn't think the 1980s re-record could possibly be as bad as I read, and if you don't know what the original's supposed to sound like you may very well find it to be perfectly enjoyable.

Anyway, enough about "Money." The draw of this twofer is the pairing with "Lumpy Gravy," "Money's" sister album and the first Zappa solo disc. I really like the thing, but I know some people who've never warmed to its bizarre mixture of spoken word inanity, orchestral pieces, and...well, whatever Frank had lying around. While the sound quality of "Gravy" on this disc isn't too hot (it, like all of Zappa's 1986 discs, is mastered at an absurdly low volume), it's the only place on CD to find the original mix of the album. The 1995 re-release beats the sound quality of this one by a long-shot, but incorporates some raw mix segments that occasionally vary from the original in mix content and edits between sections. Essential for completists, in other words.

Verdict: I picked up the twofer of "Money/Gravy" out of morbid curiosity; I had read about the horrors of the remix, but figured it couldn't possibly be that bad. In my opinion, it *is* that bad, but you very well may disagree. That said, the current stock discs are simply a better idea; unless you're a completist who absolutely needs the remix and the totally-original version of "Gravy," you're better off avoiding this release.

remixing ''we're only in it for the money'' is the worst thing that zappa ever did. good thing they reissued the original album, and it's good that it has the original sgt. pepper cover, and it's good that they left ''lumpy gravy'' alone, but for some reason lumpy gravy has a really low volume, even if you play it really high on any stereo, i've heard the reissued version, it sounds louder and cleaner,
but ''money'' sounds really pixelated and 80's
with the new drums (drum machines?), bass, and the extra
acoustic guitar. geez. 1 star to the remix.
(it's good to here the unedited material)
4 stars to lumpy gravy for leaving it somewhat alone.

my favourite record as a young stripling was a crackly worn out black vinyl pressing of "we're only in it for the money" so when this disc came out in 1985 or so, i snatched it up. but what happened to my memories? fz remixed it into a mess. what a disappointment. i waited another decade to buy the less butchered (but still wrong) version, We're Only in It for the Money, that finally replaced this & i still have both.

i gave it one star but that's only for "lumpy gravy" for which i haven't such a sentimental attachment - "we're only in it for the money", in this remix, gets zero stars. not polite to speak ill of the dead, but what the ---- was fz thinking when he created this mess?

Yes, Zappa rerecorded the bass and drum tracks because he was not happy with the original perfomances. BUT- and this is a big but- it's uncensored. It's the only version I'm aware of that does not censor this album in some way. Verve conservatively returned to the censored, original released version of the album for the more recent reissue.

I would like to quote the following from [...] I hope the authors don't mind.

"The old CD, which was coupled with Lumpy Gravy, was a complete remix with major 1980s overdubs, but the 1995 CD is like the original, US vinyl. There were several original vinyl versions, with different amounts of censorship - "offensive" bits were cut out from them. The old, remixed CD was not censored, but the 1995 CD has all of the "original" censorship inherent in the US vinyl release. There is no such thing as a version of the original mix with intact "Mother People" and "Harry, You're a Beast" verses, although there is a Canadian pressing with the "Velvet Underground" line in place."

So what do you want, original bass and drums with censored lyrics, or Zappa's own attempt to salvage the album with lyrics intact? It's his music, I trust his judgment. And I don't approve of any form of censorship. So I prefer this version, and the so-called "purists" who would rather listen to a gutless corporate cowpie- enjoy.