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“This is special material. Be thankful and give it the attention it should have.”
Ian Underwood, 2019
I’m not sure which of the many revelations I’ve been experiencing from listening to an amazing new 50th anniversary boxed set — celebrating Frank Zappa’s landmark jazz rock fusion breakthrough album Hot Rats — is more important and jaw-dropping…
Is it the nearly 15 minute original unedited jam that became the now legendary song “Willie the Pimp?”
Or is it the presence of a backing track for a song that didn’t appear until around 1978 on the multi-disc set that would’ve been known as Lather: “Lemme Take You To The Beach” (eventually released on Studio Tan)?
Or perhaps it is the rather gob-smacking genesis across early takes of the opening track to the album — “Peaches en Regalia” — letting you witness the formation of drummer Ron Selico’s iconic introductory beats that kick off the album. This sequence of snare hits in some ways — for some of us, at least — arguably signal the birth of jazz-rock fusion music. And yeah, that is Shuggie Otis on bass there folks…
Perhaps it’s also the fly-on -the-wall perspective throughout the Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection, which allows us to hear Frank work things out in the studio with his musicians? Watch (with your mind’s eye) in wonder as he sculpts a new sound with pianist Ian Underwood as well as legendary jazz (and Wrecking Crew) session Bassist Max Bennett and Don “Sugarcane” Harris on Violin.
Maybe it is the connect-the-dots (ah ha!) glue realizing that tracks which appeared on other Zappa albums from that time-frame all came from the same period? Songs such as “The Little House I Used To Live In” from Burnt Weeny Sandwich, “Directly From My Heart To You” and “Toads Of The Short Forest” from Weasels Ripped My Flesh and “Twenty Small Cigars” from Chunga’s Revenge all had their roots in these Hot Rats sessions. Consider that an early jam with Sugarcane Harris called “Bogner Regis” was eventually used for the basic tracks of an early version of “Conehead” (which didn’t see a studio release until 1981’s You Are What You Is).
Of course, these early versions are in unedited form which is fascinating and you can often hear exactly what influenced Zappa’s sometimes radical editing choices such as the mad aggression after the beautiful minute of whimsey at the beginning of “Toads…” That song, by the way, was originally called “Arabesque” in this primal stage of development. After that first minute, the song goes on but doesn’t really evolve and grow that much, so I can see why he made the jump there… but… its still super cool to hear how it was initially conceived and where it went.
Oh, and then there is the amazing brand new isolated vocal-only mix of “Willie The Pimp” which lets you hear exactly what Captain Beefheart was doing. It is one of many stunners on this set.
And then there is the realization that Ian Underwood provides much of the connective conceptual continuity gluing these recordings together, as the one musician from the original Mothers of Invention who also plays on most of the tracks even with different drummers and support players. The album is remarkably consistent in that sense…
And… well.. good golly, by gosh, folks! All this is just the introduction to my review of the Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection!
Spread across six CDs the sound quality on the Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection is uniformly terrific, newly mixed off the 16-track master sessions tapes by Craig Parker Adams.
Clearly a great deal of love when it to the making of it this set. Just the yeoman-like effort by Zappa Vault-meister Joe Travers must be applauded because his archival work and notes on all this stuff is incredible. He even dug out original commercials promoting the album and interview snippets discussing related trivia such as who was the inspiration for “Willie The Pimp.”
The Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary contains every note of related material that went into the making of the Hot Rats album. You even get a 1961-64 period acetate recording of Zappa leading some sort of teenage jazz combo in his legendary first recording studio (Studio Z in Cucamonga) through a song that would eventually show up on Hot Rats as “Little Umbrellas.”
I only have one criticism of the Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection, which I admit is easily refuted by the general purpose of the set : to compile everything related to this album in one place.
To that, included in the set is Zappa’s fan-dividing 1987 digital remix of Hot Rats which was initially released on the Rykodisc CD label. Some of us love that version for the same reason we hate it because you hear different things and longer takes than the original album. But, it had to go in. And I guess the cool thing is now I can get rid of my original Rykodisc CD (which I have kept purely as a completist thing)!
The set also includes some nifty rare MONO and instrumental mixes including “Little Umbrellas” and “Peaches En Regalia,” all of which also happen to appear on an equally nifty 10-inch vinyl 45 RPM EP picture disc that was issued on Record Store Day this year! And, it is one of those rare picture discs that actually makes some sense and works as an entity on its own.
The Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection is really something and it comes with some poignant insights from luminaries involved with — and influenced by — the album including producer Joe Travers and photographer Andee Nathanson (who crafted the now classic original cover images).
The Simpsons creator Matt Groening brings up some fairly flabbergasting insights to contemplate about Zappa’s alway inspiring and simultaneously intimidating work aesthetic for the year 1969 leading up to the release of Hot Rats. I don’t want to spoil that joy for you but suffice it to say that Frank was frighteningly prolific in this period, not only with his music but producing music for other artists including Jean Luc Ponty, Wildman Fischer, The GTOs and more.
Dang. I know people who would be happy if they accomplished that much in their life time as Frank did in that one year.
The Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection is also a great complement to the wonderful restored vinyl version of the classic album which was reissued not too long ago and which I reviewed here on Audiophile Review (click here to get to it). There is a new pink version of the original Hot Rats album being released in conjunction with the new boxed set.
At the time of writing this, only a couple of tracks were available for pre-release streaming: an early version of “It Must Be A Camel” (click here for Qobuz and here for Tidal) and “Dame Margaret’s Son To Be A Bride” (click here for Qobuz and here for Tidal). The latter is an early quick mix of raw tracks that were eventually repurposed into “Lemme Take You To The Beach” (on the Studio Tan LP).
The streams sound pretty good. I suspect you’ll be able to hear the whole set that way when its released. It should be at this link here for Qobuz, but we’ll have to update you when the full Tidal stream page for the album is set up. Both sound decent in CD quality, each with their own unique sonic signatures, so choose the service that works best for you. Personally, I preferred listening to it off the advance download which was sounding cleaner and more balanced some how to my ear overall than the streams, but that is just me and perhaps related to the quirks of my ISP. I suspect the CD will sound similar to the downloads, but will have to let you know as soon as they arrive (I will update this review accordingly below).
Any way you listen, if you like Zappa and you love the Hot Rats album, you need to at least hear or own The Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection in some form. This is the good stuff, folks.
Ian Underwood’s quote from the liner notes at the start of this review sums it up best, I think.
We should all be thankful and listen.
____________________________________________________________________________
UPDATE on Friday, December 20, 2019
Yesterday, I received the physical box set of the Hot Rats Sessions 50th Anniversary collection and it is “super deluxe” in every way shape and form. The large scale LP-sized box is glossy laminated on the outside, and when you open the lid (spoiler alert) be sure to take note of the lyrics to “Willie The Pimp” around the inside lip — a nice touch! The booklet is printed on high quality stock and the pictures come alive in the large format, offering a wonderful a behind-the-scenes look into Frank’s world at that point in time. The CDs come in a nice hard bound LP-sized binder and there is even a nifty board game included called Zappa Land (click here to go to the promo video which the ZFT just issued about the game). Most importantly, the CDs really sound — as good as my advance downloads did — so that is good news too. This set is officially released today. Go get it!
Wow.
I bought this when it originally came out in 1969. And it’s amazing that I’ve been listening to it for 50 years. A truly groundbreaking album that never gets old.
Fan-tastic.Now do the same for Bongo Fury.
I’ve listened to most of this today, and as a lifelong Zappa fan, composer, and professional musician myself- let me put in my three cents: As a rule, I avoid “the making of” and similar boxed sets that contain numerous outtakes from a famous, and great album. The reason is that I trust the judgement of the musicians who pick out the best parts and put it on the album in the first place. This box set is no exception. You will not find any hidden forgotten gems in this set- Frank already did this for you, and they are all to be found on Hot Rats, (and a few from this set ended up on Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Chunga’s Revenge, and Weasels Ripped My Flesh). What this set is valuable for- IF, and only if you are a musician/producer/engineer- is a behind the scenes look at how this album came to be.Be forewarned, there is a LOT of uninspired outtakes, none of worth a second listen.
What is clear from the outset are a few things of note, besides the fact that the best and music worth noting is already on the album, is
1) A lot of mediocre playing was done to eventually come to produce what would be unquestionably stellar and exciting music. By a lot, I would say at least 90% that was put on tape is not worth a repeat listening.The box set is filled with loads of less than inspired playing, much of which I had no problem fast forwarding through. It is nearly pointless listening to the rough stuff- and only to be reminded that you may have to go through a lot of crap to produce the really good stuff.
2) However, when it gels- it is a total MARVEL, and as good as it gets. Hot Rats has inspired me since it came out, and I still get a big charge listening to cuts. See my analysis of It Must Be A Camel on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PHDpjDXp_Vk&lc=z23pt5zjvmzgf3dtkacdp43bzencl5rpjfkafi5ucmtw03c010c&feature=em-comments
Listening to full unedited tracks, it becomes immediately apparent when everything comes together by contrast of the material which is clumsy and uninspiring- often, these contrasting sections lay back to back. You listen to a track where you can almost squint at the lack of buzz, when suddenly and instantaneously, its like the light bulb goes on and it all works perfectly.
3) Frank, if anything, was a genius at recognizing the good stuff from the bad, and he was a genius at editing TAPE with a razor blade and adhesive tape. A skill for the most part gone the way of the dinosaur with digital recording and editing these days. Listening to the long extended tracks on the box set, if, and ONLY if you are thoroughly familiar with this record, it is enlightening to hear how and when Frank selected the best parts of recorded tracks, and threw everything else away- and often, this was a great deal that was rejected. His edits are as seamless as can be, and it is to his great credit that he took so much less than great playing and edited it down to a fantastic and timeless classic that is Hot Rats.
4) Frank, at least on this record, did the majority of his composing and arranging in the studio, manipulating his musicians to try out all kinds of things, of which Frank then chose the best parts to leave on a record. For Hot Rats, at least, I can only imagine the musicians had the barest of lead sheets- except for those times when a specific composed melody line was present- but that’s a minor component of this album. The majority of tracks in Hot Rats consists of improvisation, over a given set of chord changes, provided by Frank. This becomes clear as Frank tries out variations in accompaniment and rhythm, which rarely is played exactly the same way twice on any tune. The contribution to the record of the sidemen, especially Ian Underwood, is considerable. Although all at the direction of Frank, he plays the main part in what is clearly exposed here as an ENSEMBLE effort. And it may very well be that Hot Rats remains- in the opinion of many (and me)- Franks greatest achievement, specifically because he did NOT control every aspect of the composition and recording. It’s why the Beatles were so much better than any of the individual musicians. It’s GROUP intelligence, as opposed to dictatorial rule.
Conclusion: Would Frank have released this box set on his own? I seriously, seriously doubt it. Frank was a perfectionist when it came to his recordings. What the box set reveals is Frank’s limitations as a composer- as opposed to his skills as an editor and band leader, which are exemplary. Surprisingly, it also reveals his limitations as a guitar player- okay, I can see the protests. Settle down. I LOVE Frank’s guitar playing, but this box set clearly shows the amount of editing that went into his finished product, and his “perfect” solos. Nothing wrong with that. Record albums can be completely live- or they can be constructed like a MOVIE, where all the boring parts are cut out. Nobody wants to see a movie with zero editing. I MUCH prefer having Frank edit out all the boring parts and deliver a finished album like Hot Rats. But lets be realistic. Rarely did Franks live playing live up to the magic on his records. He might disagree, as he’s famous for saying he hated recording and preferred live playing, but I beg to differ from a listener’s standpoint.
Is the box set worth the $90? If necessary, get together with 10 friends who will all chip in, or find one rich friend that you can borrow the box set from. I found the set interesting, and informative- but one listen, that’s plenty for me.
PS- NOTHING beats the original LP mix and recording. Avoid the re-issues, unless it’s merely a re-release of the original mix.
EDITED:
I’ve listened to most of this today, and as a lifelong Zappa
fan, composer, and professional musician myself- let me put in
my three cents: As a rule, I avoid “the making of” and similar
boxed sets that contain numerous outtakes from a famous, and
great album. The reason is that I trust the judgement of the
musicians who pick out the best parts and put it on the album
in the first place. This box set is no exception. You will not
find any hidden forgotten gems in this set- Frank already did
this for you, and they are all to be found on Hot Rats, (and a
few from this set ended up on Burnt Weeny Sandwich, Chunga’s
Revenge, and Weasels Ripped My Flesh). What this set is
valuable for- IF, and only if you are a
musician/producer/engineer- is a behind the scenes look at how
this album came to be.Be forewarned, there is a LOT of
uninspired outtakes, none of worth a second listen.
What is clear from the outset are a few things of note,
besides the fact that the best and music worth noting is
already on the original LP album, is
1) A lot of mediocre playing was done to eventually come to
produce what would be unquestionably stellar and exciting
music. By a lot, I would say at least 90% that was put on tape
is not worth a repeat listening.The box set is filled with
loads of less than inspired playing, much of which I had no
problem fast forwarding through. It is nearly pointless
listening to the rough stuff- and only to be reminded that you
may have to go through a lot of crap to produce the really
good stuff.
2) However, when it gels- it is a total MARVEL, and as good
as it gets. Hot Rats has inspired me since it came out, and I
still get a big charge listening to cuts. See my analysis of
It Must Be A Camel on Youtube
Listening to full unedited tracks, it becomes immediately
apparent when everything comes together by contrast of the
material which is clumsy and uninspiring- often, these
contrasting sections lay directly back to back. You listen to a track
where you can almost squint at the lack of buzz, when suddenly
and instantaneously, its like the big light bulb goes on and it
all works perfectly.
3) Frank, if anything, was a genius at recognizing the good
stuff from the bad, and he was a genius at editing TAPE with a
razor blade and adhesive tape. A skill for the most part gone
the way of the dinosaur with digital recording and editing
these days. Listening to the long extended tracks on the box
set, if, and ONLY if you are thoroughly familiar with this
record, it is enlightening to hear how and when Frank selected
the best parts of recorded tracks, and threw everything else
away- and often, this was a great deal that was rejected. His
edits are as seamless as can be, and it is to his great credit
that he took so much less than great playing and edited it
down to a fantastic and timeless classic that is the original Hot Rats.
Unfortunately, I can’t be as enthusiastic about the 1987 remix of
Hot Rats. He got it right the first time. No need to re-write history.
4) Frank, at least on this record, did the majority of his
composing and arranging in the studio, manipulating his
musicians to try out all kinds of things, of which Frank then
chose the best parts to leave on a record. For Hot Rats, at
least, I can only imagine the musicians had the barest of lead
sheets- except for those times when a specific composed melody
line was present- but that’s only a portion of this album.
Not to say that the composed melodies are not important, they
are, and make up for a great part of the character of Hot Rats. And what
outstanding melodies the are.
None the less, the majority of time devoted to tracks in Hot Rats consists of improvisation,
over a given set of chord changes, provided by Frank. This
becomes clear as Frank tries out variations in accompaniment
and rhythm, which rarely is played exactly the same way twice
on any tune. The contribution to the record of the sidemen,
especially Ian Underwood, is more than considerable. Although all at the
direction of Frank, he plays the main part in what is clearly
exposed here as an ENSEMBLE effort. And it may very well be
that Hot Rats remains- in the opinion of many (and me)- Franks
greatest achievement, specifically because he did NOT control
every aspect of the composition and recording. It’s why the
Beatles were so much better than any of the individual
musicians. It’s GROUP intelligence, as opposed to dictatorial
rule.
Conclusion: Would Frank have released this box set on his
own? I seriously, seriously doubt it. Frank was a
perfectionist when it came to his recordings. What the box set
reveals is Frank’s limitations as a composer- as opposed to
his skills as an arranger, editor and band leader, which are
exemplary.
And this is not to say he wasn’t a great composer- he was, and
this album is a fine example. But Hot Rats is not just about his
composed melodies- it’s largely JAZZ- a melodic head, around which a
lot of improvisation occurs. This is something different from a
Stravinsky or Mozart- pure composition (although Mozart indeed did
improvise, although none of this any longer exists) not to downplay
jazz-rock, it’s just different. I also concede the fact that I love
Frank’s early career studio-compositions that can be heard on records
like Lumpy Gravy, Uncle Meat and Burnt Weeny Sandwich. Alas, I am far
less enthusiastic of his music post mid 1970’s, much of which became
satirical comedy music, or neo-classical- neither which ever got me
particularly enthusiastic. I think it is generally true- with few
obvious exceptions (Monet, Beethoven, etc), people do their best work by
age 35. Frank was at his peak from 1972-1975, 32 years old at the time
of Hot Rats. It’s just a fact of the human brain.
Surprisingly, it also reveals his limitations as a guitar
player- okay, I can see the protests. Settle down. I LOVE
Frank’s guitar playing, but this box set clearly shows the
amount of editing that went into his finished product, and his
“perfect” solos. Nothing wrong with that. Record albums can be
completely live- or they can be constructed like a MOVIE,
where all the boring parts are cut out. Nobody wants to see a
movie with zero editing. I MUCH prefer having Frank edit out
all the boring parts and deliver a finished album like Hot
Rats. But lets be realistic. Rarely did Franks live playing
live up to the magic on his records, and I saw Frank many
times live. He might disagree, as
he’s famous for saying he hated recording and preferred live
playing, but I beg to differ from a listener’s standpoint.
Live is fun to attend- records are best for repeated listenings-
musicians save their best for the studio releases, with again, some
notable exceptions.
Is the box set worth the $90? If necessary, get together with
10 friends who will all chip in, or find one rich friend that
you can borrow the box set from. I found the set interesting,
and informative- but one listen, that’s plenty for me. Nothing beats the original.
My earlier reviews have been deleted by this blog- is it because I don’t think this album box set is that great? Must be. Never the less, I probably know ten times more about Zappa and his music than this reviewer- I’ll submit one more time- delete if you must, but the truth often hurts. Not everything Frank did was great, or even good. Much of his output was downright awful. None the less, Hot Rats- The original LP is a masterpiece. Why this box set? $$$$ clearly.
The HOT RATS SESSSIONS-
This set gives real insight as to Frank’s methods on this
project- it appears as though he gave the rhythm section a
very bare bones skeleton for each tune for starters, and molded
them by having them try out different approaches and ideas. It
seems as though he had very little concrete ideas to start with
other than a lead sheet with a chord progression, and only some
basic melodic ideas. The sidemen deserve nearly as much credit
as Frank on this album, especially Ian Underwood, Franks sax,
woodwind and keyboard man.
The melodies and the arrangements seem to evolve over a
long period of trial and error, with much less organization and
more initial chaos than I would have expected from Frank. The
role of the sidemen was indeed major in shaping the tunes. The
amount of improvisation is substantial in regards to the
accompaniments. Rarely is anything played exactly the same
twice, pretty much like jazz.
In the end, however, I think that’s what makes this such a
vibrant recording- it was the result of all the experience of
all the players, and not just Frank dictating every note and
phrase. In later years, when Zappa did control every aspect of
the creative process, (post 1975 or so) I feel that’s when he
ceased to be an exciting and inspiring band leader
There was a lot of editing in regards to the instrumental
solos, and Zappa did a lot of excising mediocre portions of solo
playing. It’s all pared down to the most interesting and well
executing phrases. In 1987, Zappa released a re-mix of the album
which included sections of the recording which were initially
left out- and to put it all back detracts from the album’s
impact, clearly. Frank knew the best parts when he heard them
the first time, and his first instincts were best. I view the
album as I might a movie- editing is perfectly acceptable in
my mind, as it would be in a book, or a painting. Sometimes you
can get it all perfectly right without any editing in a live
situation, but this rarely makes for the best and most enduring
recording, unless you are talking about classical music, or
improvised riffs that you’ve actually played a million times.
(Bluegrass, pop, and country music comes to mind). There are
just not that many Charlie Parkers out there.
None the less, it’s really interesting to hear the
complete and unedited solo sections- well, once anyway- Zappa or
someone else will play an improvised solo that is only so so, or
even bad for a while, and then suddenly, something clicks and
there will be the portion that you are familiar with on the
finished record- and it’s truly magical, like the player is
somehow connected with this higher intelligence and it’s
perfect. In fact, there are sections on Willie the Pimp and Son
of Mr. Green Genes where Frank is playing a guitar solo that I
initially thought had MORE editing than what was the case, and
at those times I really have enormous respect for him as a
guitar player. He really is pulling stuff out of the air that
you almost can’t believe is the case. I only wonder at when he
had time to perfect his guitar chops. I just can’t see Frank
sitting around and practicing the guitar. I think he just had a
knack for it, that came out after so many gigs and recording
sessions.
In summary, there are clearly no undiscovered gems in
the whole box set- the best material was already
presented on the original LP, nothing here of note or really
worth a second listen. I can’t imagine anyone except musicians
getting much out of this album, unless its the rare Zappa
enthusiast who is hanging on to every note, and doesn’t have
that much of a discriminating ear. Much, if not the majority of
the box set consists of early takes, incomplete tracks, and the
aforementioned unedited sections.
None the less, I was glad to hear it all, and to further
my education, and glimpse into the behind the scenes making of
such a great record in the end. Beyond that, however, highly questionable musical value.