Them or Us [ORIGINAL RECORDING REMASTERED]

Frank Zappa

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 2, 1995)
• Original Release Date: October 1984
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Zappa Records
• ASIN: B0000009TA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (23 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #86,092 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

From the Label
Originally released as a double album of UMRK studio recordings in 1984, THEM OR US is now on one CD. One of the more diverse of the later Zappa albums, the set includes everything from a pair of '50s doo-wop homages ("Sharleena" and "The Closer You Are"), to a straight-faced cover of the Allman Brothers' "Whippin' Post," to a backhanded salute to rock's latest trend ("Be In My Video"). Other humorous moments include "Stevie's Spanking," a recounting of guitarist Steve Vai's bedroom adventures; and "In France," where the scatological lyrics are handled by Johnny Guitar Watson.

Some of Zappa's better rock instrumentals are here as well. The title track finds him soloing away with only bass and drums for accompaniment; while "Sinister Footwear II" is an intricate, multi-keyboard arrangement of a section of his ballet of the same name. Less characteristic is "Ya Hozna," which pairs a funky bassline with hypnotic, tape-reverse vocals -- doubtlessly a response to the "backwards masking" flapdoodle of the time.

Product Description
Japanese reissue of 1984 album, packaged in a miniature gatefold LP sleeve. Videoarts. 2002. --This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Best mid-eighties album, January 21, 2005

By	R. Fogle (Kentucky) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

In 1984, Zappa released this album. Most of it features the 1982 line-up, when most of these songs were written and most likely recorded.

1. The closer you are- 4/5 stars. This doo-wop track seems like something right out of Cruisin with Rueben and the jets. Although musically not that great it is still pretty catch and was often played on the 1982 tour.

2. In france- 4/5 stars. In France is a great blues number that refers to the nightmares due to being in France. This is better than the live version on Vol. 3 because of the bizzare vocals by Johnny Watson.

3. Ya Hozna- 2/5 stars. By far the weakest track on the album, Ya Hozna opens up with a promising heavy metal riff but soon goes into the awful, warbling backwards vocals and it becomes terribly repetitive. Listen to it once just to get an idea.

4. Sharleena- 4/5 stars- Sharleena starts out with a great reggea riff and soon goes into a blistering guitar solo. Although I prefer the Vol. 3 version, this is excellent and should be on all Zappa compilations.

5. Sinister footwear 2- 4.5/5 stars- this rock-band version of the instrumental is incredible. I wish that the screaming guitar part would go on forever; it is very powerful. This is one of Frank's complicated masterpieces.

6. Truck driver divorce- 3.5/5 stars- This song is good but starts off pretty dull. The guitar solo at the end is worth the wait though.

7. Stevie's spanking- 4/5 stars- the stage vol. 4 version is loads better but this is still very good and has a great riff.

8. Baby take your teeth out- 3/5 stars- this is apparently the comedy song on the album. It has a hypnotic and joy-ful beat but the vocals and lyrics are obnoxious.

9. Marqueson's chicken- 4/5 stars- this is another instrumental number like Sinister footwear 2 but it isnt quite as good. It is still good though. Very underated.

10. The planet of my dreams- 3/5 stars- this and Baby take your teeth out go together well; they are both rather comic. This does however feature Bob Harris, one of my favorite key-board-players and vocalists for Zappa.

11. Be in my video- 4/5 stars- This is a hilarious number that makes fun of the new wave music that was in the lead at the time. Chad Wackerman shines alot here and that doesnt surprise me. Chad was Zappa's most un-appreciated drummer and I say he is the best Zappa had. This is equal to the stage vol. 1 version.

12. Them or us- 3.5/5 stars- this instrumental is wildly sporadic and a little hard to follow but Zappa is really jamming away. Just listen too Wackerman's liquid smooth double-bass pedal riffs, something he should have been famous for.

13. Frogs with dirty little lips- 3/5 stars- this funny little number runs heavy on the bass and is pretty bizzare but it lacks a little in the excitement section.

14. Whippin' post- this cover of the famous Allman Bros song may be better than the original! Zappa's band really shows they can play all styles of music here. The dvd of Doe shumor belong in music is better but this one still does the trick.

Well, there you are. Them or us is a vastly underated Zappa album and I find myslef grabbing this cd quite often from my huge Zappa collection to give it another listen.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Are We All Smarter Now, Frank?... Frank?, February 1, 2004

By	Michael Meunier (Brooklyn, NY) - See all my reviews

I know it's a silly thing to say, but I always feel a little bit smarter after listening to a Frank Zappa album- he seems to give off something of a professorial atmosphere sometimes... This album follows in his tradition of challanging his listeners to explore the endless possibilities of music.

I was originally attracted to Zappa's work by his clever, acerbic lyrics and catchy melodies. As I've begun to explore his work, I've realized that the full spectrum of his gifts are most appreciated by those who love the instrumental work of, say, King Crimson or even Yes at times.

This album, like most of Zappa's work, is chock-full of guitar brilliance (not to mention the other instruments!). Some of the songs with lyrics, however, aren't particularly to my taste, even if creativly composed. I don't mind Zappa's blue humor at all though, it's hilarious (think Robert Crumb set to music)- and you may react more enthusiastically.

This album is par for the course Zappa brilliance. It may not have as wide of a commericial appeal as some of his other albums- but we all know that commercial appeal was never the point for Zappa- unless he had a point to make about commercial appeal...

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Contains some good stuff, despite the in-organic sound, August 9, 2001

By	F. J. Khoury (Parsippany, NJ United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

No brass, woodwinds, or acoustic strings. All electric instrumentation with lots of synthesizers. Even Chad Wackerman's acoustic drums come off sounding a bit like they're electronic. So, the sound is rather cold. That's my main beef with this album. Since Ed Mann is present using his myriad of percussive insturments (vibes, glockenspiel, bell-tree, etc.), the sound IS better, IMO, than that of the 1984 touring band as heard on Does Humor Belong in Music.

The guitars (FZ, Vai, and Dweezil) are fast and furious, but the style is very 80's...not as interesting to me as 70's FZ guitar, (e.g., I Promise Not to Come in Your Mouth, from ZINY). But still good, nonetheless - see my comments on the solos.

There are no "top-ten" FZ songs here, but some of them are decent, including Sinister Footwear, Baby Take Your Teeth Out (that jazzy groove in the middle is too cool), and even Ya Honza (well, that depends on my mood).

Two good points are:

1. Decent vocal arrangements. FZ did a good job with vocals in the 1984 time period...Thing-Fish is another good example of Zappa composing well with the human voice.

2. Good FZ guitar solos. Actually, the solos on this album required a lot more patient listening before I began to appreciate them. Case in point, Truck Driver Divorce. The very effect-laden guitar solo (a la Drowning Witch) seems to wander aimlessly if your attention is not all there. Now I greatly enjoy the landscape that solo creates.

There are many other Zappa CDs to get before you get Them or Us. Although I have many Zappa CDs, I do reach for this one when I yearn for that heavy metal side of FZ.