FRANK ZAPPA

T.R. was the first Zappa album I ever bought. Same year as release on vinyl double-Lp. It was issued during the early stages of what should be defined as phase two of Zappas career (which started shortly before with the equally excellent Sheik Yerbouti). As with quite a few other acts that appeared in the second half/late sixties this was an era that was dispised by the purists (late seventies/early eigthies). I don't know how many hesitant, so-so or even direct negative reviews I've encountered about this exquisite recording. Let's have a look at some of them; first book I read about Zappa didn't utter one negative word about his music until, you guessed it, T.R. Complaining about 'reshodded' material and content. Of the album's 16 titles only five of them are taken from previous releases. Most or almost all live albums are completly made up of old material. Here you find 2/3 of premiere recordings. Next one British music paper; similary dreadful. Mutual from people I've met and talked to; medium disc, belly splash, non-essential...I spoke to a record store owner and huge Zappa fan; up to -77, became the answer. No further! I was on the verge to implicate that Zappa had done an insurmountable amount of top music after that, but I kept quiet. This is far from unique for Mr. Zappa. Several other albums belonging to pure elite class like Genesis 'A.T.T.W.T.', Uriah Heep 'Fallen Angel', Allman Brothers 'Reach For the Sky', Caravan 'Back to Front'; were planed off in the same manner. Had Zappa's and the other mentioned here been released in -71 instead they had all in one way or another been much more admired by the pundits. It seems that if you're a fan of T.R. then you're lost in an arid desert, with water hole as mirage. Aside from one single studio track, T.R. is regarded as a live album and technically there's nothing to argue about that. It's even admitted in the album texts. Personally though, I don't consider it as such. The endless flow of new material from the composer means that you encounter it for the first time. There are no other versions to compare with. Add to this the ability from Zappa to transform it into, when wanted to, a musical piece free from either definition. It's simply a new Frank Zappa album. The studiotrack 'Fine Girl' opens the record; It's nothing but magic! It proves that the conjurer is the true master of simplicity. This wisdom appears when you imbibe 'Drowning Witch' and 'Big Swifty' at the other end of the spectrum. The midsection break is repeated eight times. There's never a dull nanosecond. The lyrical content won't nominate it's originator for a grammy nomination from The Coalition of Labor Union Women. Reggae tinged as you may detect, and if so the finest offering you've ever encountered in this genre. It's Zappa's rendition of 'No woman, No cry' in a more stylish manner. A wall of vocal parts flows over you from Zappa himself and his incredible co-operators.

If 'Fine Girl' theorizes with the taste buds of the family tyrant you are, then 'Panty Rap' goes into full action. All female private parts out in the fresh air. Even for a music professor, this is not a bad thing. If you want to go into privacy, then you'll come to the conclusion that Zappa must have had a well tought out escape route in front of his own wife Gail Zappa. As I reckon, they lived happily together through prolonged decades. An ignorant women's libber had unavoidably been chasing Frank up and down the stairs; with rolling pin in one hand, and signed divorce form in the other...Gail Zappa was at the same bright level as her spouse and grasped the dividing line between fiction and what we call reality. As it happens, you won't find a more daring collection of this magnitude from an equally established artist. At the same time, all done with tongue in cheek. The collected lyrical content on T.R. easily outgoes 150 normal main stream albums at your local record store. It only adds to the confusion why it's held so low by observers. The upcoming 'Easy Meat' becomes, in the context, as innocent as a white lamb. It says it all. Strategically put as second track it is definately a highlight on the record. Maybe the highlight. You've never heard a more meaningful and purposive guitar burst from F. Zappa. Not to mention the massive keyboard cascades delivered by a highly inspired Tommy Mars. A decade old composition with parts recorded in the mid seventies. A few lucky buggers have already encounterd it along the way, but for most folks it's a brand new experience. There are three major sections in the song, somehow very independent both in time/space but all melt together as one trophy. The longest track of the album. 'For the Young Sophisticate' offers an uninhibited bare layed xylophone. We're solely talking music terms. When all is said and done, this is what's it's all about. A relaxed and pleasant mid-tempo rocker. Even if not the most challenging cut on the record, it's not without merits. If you find the cover of Patti Smith album Easter repulsive then you'll find support from the young sophisticator. An overgrown armpit is just gradations below other unmentionable body parts.

With a to say the least comprehensive catalogue under his belt it is tempting to sort up and find some breathing space. 1979 had been a phenomenally high productive year with multiple releases. For the adventitious visitor at the record shop there was one new Zappa long play out at every occasion. Almost everything at highest standard to boot. How many artists reach this incredible level? -80 empty due to contractual reasons then it kicks off again with a vengeance 1981. T.R. was released simultanously with the voluminous 'Shut Up and Play Yer Guitar' (albeit through different channels. The latter via mailorder). Only four footling months later massive double-Lp 'You Are What You Is'. A burning conglomeration 79-81, for the normal artist enough to fill out an entire career. 'Sheik Yerbouti' was the start for something new and fresh; sound, production, package, attitude, whatever...Tinseltown Rebellion follows in the same direction. 'Roxy & Elsewhere' didn't bother with any radio friendly opening cuts. For my money at least, this is a milestone in music history in itself. Even though it's a limted slice in Zappa's career it's so full of musical enrichment. It becomes clear that you can't engulf in one bite but slice it up. Zappa's production can be difficult to overview even for the initiated, then imagine the ignorant. One true story; a Swedish acquaintence of mine lived with his host family in Florida for whom he intruduced the music world of Zappa. That is his lighter, approachable side. Encouraged by this, the family went out and bought album at random. It became 'F.Z. in N.Y'. They were, to put it mildly, perplexed.

Side A of the record has already swung you in opposite directions. If you thought that Side B differed then you were wrong. A cluster of 50ies rendered tracks, all filtered through the writers cunning sense of humour. Already mentioned 'Panty Rap' plus a guitar instrumental. Three previously released songs all around two unbelievably short minutes. For the Zappa rescued they serve as satirical elements just joking around with its contemporaries, for the less knowledgable they're just as great as anything in its style. It takes an outsider, other than the average Zappa fan at least, to fully comprehend his genious here. No single individual has the ability to overview Zappa's enormous production from all angels. We're all amateurs. The inevitable question looms large; why are these three tracks included at all? All the way back to already existing debut album. Just to fill out empty spaces? To make it a more desirable sales item? The emphasis ends up on the latter alternative. Recent albums gave Zappa a flirt with a wider audience. Suddenly all your high school mates were in possesion of at least one or two Zappa albums. 'Now you see it, now you don't' (can you figure out the title's hidden implication...?) may be written off as a mere guitar improvisation for a cynic. I've never seen it that way. It's simply too interesting. Obviously, a part of something much bigger, namely 'King Kong'.

Not only does the title track belong to side C of the double vinyl, it also possesses a rare trait. There's nothing like the formula that floods all over the album. That is the ever present female/male disputes. Since we left the unicellular pond this has been the main drama here on mother earth. T.R. is no exception as we already have dealt with. Instead we find a fully believable and realistic story about what could be practically any band (with the exception of Zappa's own). Why is F.Z. satirical or parodic as always pointed out? Is it so? It could perfectly well be the contrary. It's him telling the plain unbeautifying truth where others beat about the bush. He doesn't mince words for sure but why should it be that way? The laugh is just nothing than an ad-on. 'The Blue Light' is an ineluctable piece that just flows all over you. An Ocean of syllables in talk song manner. Cinematic in its delivery it takes an audience above average pop level to give it full justice. 'Pick Me, I'm Clean' is another stunning masterpiece like 'Easy Meat' and one of the pillars of T.R. Very well structured I will say in a manner that reminds you of progressive bands in the more melodic vein. Echolyn/Yes come up as healthy frames of referenece. Somewhat vague in meaning before you'll figure out its content. A groupie in the audience came up with the titlewords; yelled them out. Zappa lend her a helping hand, used his quill to fill up the remainder of it. Enter Ike Willis. Which album can be inferior with a singer of his capacity? Paired with one of the other vocalists here they form an unbeatable singing team. He's not unknown the other; it is Frank himself. It's worth pointing out alas. When you have so many irons in the fire as Zappa people tend to ignore or forget about his supreme world class vocal capacity. Not to mention palpable orginality. In how many reviews have you encountered the subject? He is Frank Sinatra, Ivan Rebroff and Chuck Berry in one. Zappa/Willis in tandem, they met for the first time 1977 in St. Louis, the hometown of the latter. For understandable reasons, Willis was double-quick in the the backing group. All the way up to the very end. The moment you note the voice of Willis, you already know you're in Zappa land. Second to none in import. Just like his fellow Zappa, he seems to have the built-in ability to do a volte-face from the weighty to the light-hearted(and back) in no time. No wonder that Willis had a major position in the ensemble. Plus the fact that seven other fully capable vocalists are present in various formations like back-up, co-lead or harmonies.

The distance to next pillar is proximate. The cryptic title comes, 'Bamboozled by Love'. A warning text is imminent if you want your timorous at a distance. Perhaps you're prepared for any daring subject, this is still an ultra tough playback. Even for the hardened Zappa follower. 'Money' from Dark Side of the Moon feels like a good choise if you're on the hunt for similarities. Not even Zappa lives on a desert island, he listens to other peoples stuff like all of us. It becomes dark side of the lawn in this case. In any case, it's another masterstroke. It opens side D and is the one and only unheard track here. Follows 'Brown Shoes Don't Make It' it doesn't require any introduction to a fan. As it is a double-Lp close to 70 minutes I suppose it's allowed to have at least one song under par. While it starts out great in standard Zappa manner I normally skip the second half. Actually it reminds me of another Z, namely Led Zeppelin and song 'The Ocean' from '73. In both cases fabulous start but end up in mere jam sessions. Final track on Tinseltown is not even heard for the second but third time. This is the best version, but at the same time I'm biased because it's the first I listened to.

Which is well known to the ardent Zappa fan, the idea of T.R. replaced the earlier intended 'Crush All Boxes'/'Warts And All' projects. Massive releases in tradition with earlier Läther. Just like Läther it was split up and spread out in fewer units. You may still wonder to this day why the cosmetic brand 'Warts And All' was never picked up by neither Abba nor Boyzone.

Zappa (and The Mothers; I can't give only Frank credit) always had a way of both ruining and improving songs with their use of time-signature shifts and sudden changes of beat. For that reason (among many others), I respect Zappa and his goofy crew greatly. They are and never will be afraid to utterly destroy typical music criteria by stepping outside the box (it's really more like running a mile away from it), and 'One Size Fits All' is the perfect representation of that. Badass, yet random solos ('Inca Roads'), goofy lyrics('Andy'), and breaking out in German for unknown reasons('Sofa No. 2'). Truly, a masterpiece, and it is but more proof of Zappa's whopping IQ, no matter how he shows it.

As much of a fan as I am of Mr. Zappa's music and would hate to think ill of the people entrusted to curate his oeuvre, I can't help but shake off the impression that those people sometimes abuse their position to rip off gullible fans, and this utterly pointless, worthless CD release, chronicling a rehearsal session from the early 70s featuring the same big band with which Zappa recorded the albums "Waka/Jawaka" and "The Grand Wazoo", is one of the most egregious examples of this. I might have been able to forgive how the music is regularly interrupted by barely audible spoken directions and random banter and I might have even been able to forgive the abysmal sound quality of the recording which constantly clips and cuts out, but I cannot forgive the fact that there aren't even any actual songs featured on this album: instead we get a mind-numbing collection of failed takes, musicians practicing short snippets of melodies without accompaniment and the band generally just messing around, randomly divided into multiple tracks and only occasionally interspersed with brief prototypes of songs that would eventually end up on the aforementioned studio albums. Maybe a few minutes of all of this stuff would have been cute to fill up an album featuring actual full takes of these songs; even releasing it in full for free on YouTube might have been interesting, but no one can convince me that the people who decided to release and sell CD copies of this recording could have honestly believed that anyone would willingly shell out 20 dollars and listen to 55 minutes of this crap if they weren't suckered into it. Do not buy this unless you're the most dogmatic of Zappa fans and need to hear absolutely everything that the man ever spat out onto tape.

Why on earth is THIS my first review? I bet it must be something deeply psychologically concerning with me.

Nonetheless:

This Record is a great example of what happens if you throw some of the most dry Zappa recordings in your trash without having enough precaution that this might end in your trash turning mad and getting the intention of becoming a very slow and very doom Frank Zappa cover band whilst on heavy drug influence. And if that weren´t enough choosing a stage show presentation form with absurd creatures and racism sprinkled all over it just for a little bit of ornamentation.

I still find it incredible how an album with so many straight time drum beats can sound so rhythmically jarred.

Although I think its one of the few things in my life I listened too once and don't ever want to again, just caused by the pure aural and mental displeasure it provokes, this is like the logical conclusion to all of Frank Zappas satirical career. Its like the next step in Joe´s Garages evolution. I believe Zappa must have planned this one all along since the release of its first tracks on earlier Zappa Albums. But its also obvious why the critics shredded even what few of what was intended to hold this thing together.

On the whole I have to admit I was never a fan of Zappas "funny" operatic, gospel, soul etc. vocals, so I get nearly nothing from that part of the album. And the textures overall are nothing to be proud of. You might be interested by their sometimes proto industrial vibes, but we had that on Zoot Allures before, which is somewhat a blueprint for this albums sound. (and features more than one song from it)

Actually, even if painful to listen to, as a stageshow, this might´ve been quite funny. Mainly because of its fine sense of provoking the audience and even a nice opportunity for involvement. (Thinking of the Bozzios sitting amidst the audience)

Personal Enjoyment: 3 - 4/15

Undersdyanding America Album ?A Top-Notch Sound Quality GEM. With Understanding Comes Appreciation by Isra Ortiz

Man, grab a decent set of IEMs or Headphones and listen to this album, NOW! The recording quality is top-notch. First off I have to confense that I wasn't a hardcore fan (until now) of songs like Camarillo Brillo, Find Her Finer, Dinah-Moe Humm, Disco Boy, I'm the Slime, etc; ie the "poppy" catalog of Frank, BUT HERE, they shine and hit a home run since the quality of the recordings, mastering and alternete takes. Even if you already love those tunes, and you haven't listened to this, go and listen them, NOW! You'll be surprised, trust me. I started talking about the later tunes because while I liked them, they were never my favorite, but the rest of the menu is beyond amazing ?it will blow your mind.

The two-disc compilation of alternative takes titled Understanding America is intended for devoted fans only BUT those who appreciate great music will love it as well. It's scattershot material, tied together loosely by one theme: Zappa's acerbic mistrust of American culture. Throughout the '60s, '70s, and '80s, social satire made up a huge amount of his catalog, so Big Brother, media outlets, organized religion, and recreational drugs are all subject to attack here. The gold nugget is the unreleased 25-minute "Porn Wars Deluxe," a Negativland-esque collage that pairs together samples of music with clips from the 1985 PMRC Senate hearings, for which Zappa played an integral role defending against censorship.

This is what it took to produce this amazing deluxe version if you are asking yourself...

Includes Bow Tie Daddy, SEX and parts of It Can't Happen Here, Brown Shoes Don't Make It, What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?, Who Are The Brain Police? and He Used To Cut The Grass

TTG Studios, LA

March 9 & 12, 1966

March 9 & 12, 1966

Produced by Tom Wilson

Director of engineering for MGM: Val Valentin

Engineers: Ami Hadani & Tom Hidley

FZ?vocals & vocals

Ray Collins?vocals

Jim Black?drums & vocals

Roy Estrada?bass & vocals

Elliot Ingber?guitar

+

Eugene DiNovi?piano

Gene Estes?percussion

Neil LeVang?guitar

+

And maybe some other freaks

?oOo?

Mayfair & Apostolic Studios, NYC

July-October, 1967

Engineers: Gary Kellgren, Dick Kunc

FZ?guitar, vocals

Ian Underwood?piano

Don Preston?keyboards

Roy Estrada?bass

Billy Mundi?drums

Jimmy Carl Black?drums

?oOo?

Piano people voices from Apostolic Studios, NYC

October, 1967

Engineers: Dick Kunc

Spider Barbour?voice

All-Night John Kilgore?voice

Monica?voice

?oOo?

Village Recorders, LA

April, 1979

Engineers: Joe Chiccarelli, Mick Glossop & Steve Nye

Ike Willis?lead vocals

Peter Wolf?keyboards

Patrick O'Hearn?bass

Vinnie Colaiuta?drums

?oOo?

Hammersmith Odeon, London, UK

February 17-19, 1979

Engineers: Mick Glossop, Bob Stone

FZ?lead guitar & vocals

Ike Willis?rhythm guitar & vocals

Warren Cuccurullo?rhythm guitar & vocals

Denny Walley?slide guitar & vocals

Tommy Mars?keyboards & vocals

Peter Wolf?keyboards

Ed Mann?percussion

Arthur Barrow?bass & vocals

Vinnie Colaiuta?drums

?oOo?

UMRK

c. July-October 1982

Engineers: Mark Pinske and/or Bob Stone

FZ?guitar, vocals

Ray White?vocals

Bob Harris?vocals

Ike Willis?vocals

Tommy Mars?keyboards

Arthur Barrow?bass

Chad Wackerman?drums

?oOo?

Thing-Fish section (including some dialog from Galoot Up-Date) from UMRK

c. 1982-83

Engineers: Mark Pinske and/or Bob Stone

Ike Willis?Thing-Fish voice, rhythm guitar?

Steve Vai?guitar?

FZ?rhythm guitar?

Tommy Mars?keyboards

Arthur Barrow?bass

Chad Wackerman?drums

?oOo?

Voices from the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation

September 19, 1985

Senator Danforth (R-Missouri)

Senator Hollings (D-South Carolina)

Senator Trible (R-Virginia)

Senator Hawkins (R-Florida)

Senator Exon (D-Nebraska)

Senator Gorton (R-Washington)

Senator Gore (D-Tennessee)

Reverend Jeff Ling

FZ

?oOo?

UMRK, c. 1985

Engineer: Bob Stone

FZ?Synclavier

Also, purportedly this release from the Zappa estate vaults is only one of a few compilations produced and sequenced by Frank himself, and his goal seems to have been to pool all of his high-shock-value outtakes and otherwise controversial material as a big middle finger to the Parental Guidance sticker LOL!

You'll love it, guaranteed!

The worst of the catalog? really? lol This is the best and is not even close... and I love the Vol 1 & 2. Still have to listen 4,5,6 though

I was reading some of the reviews here before getting into this album since in the first place I do already have all the official albums released by Frank and ZFT, so before getting into this saga called You Can't.... I thought that all the material was a compilation of what had been released up to this date and I didn't want to spend redundant time if already had the material somewhere else which I have listened hundreds of times ?06.2022. Well, while few material is indeed in some posthumous albums like Halloween 77' and 81, I'd say that at very least the 70% of the content here is not, and that is great to start off; ie most of the material is brand new versions of already beloved songs or actually unreleased material. Also, you have to know that my music background is hard rock , heavy metal, and classic rock (before entering into the Art Rock/Experimental world, aka "progressive" music), plus, I specially love guitar virtuoso music, so this volume of the series fits just right with my musical taste because most of it is actually that; hard rock and guitar virtuoso music performed by the cream of the cream of the industry by the time and led by the best musician of all-time in my book; so... what else do you want? lol

Having said that as an introduction, this album is not for people who is entering into Frank Zappa universe IMO, since in order to really appreciate it 100%, you should have digested everything else of the catalog including the ZFT releases, ie the vault material?over 120 albums and 2500+ songs lol; I mean, out there are dozens of Dickie's Such an Asshole, Zoot Allures, Sharleena, etc. versions and yes, every single version is different, and that my friend, is what makes FZ unique and a genius among other million things. So these particular versions presented here are literally home runs by Frank, and now I get why he selected this particular performances and mixes. They are magnificent, and hey! Sharleena, Dickie's such an Asshole, Honey, Don't You Want a Man Like Me?, etc were oks in my book before listening to this, but here my friend, they shine like masterpieces; really!

Also, El Maestro here once again proves his genius mind. Did you ever imagine listen in a song like Zoot Allures which is already a master piece in its studio version, being performed by say:

musicians 1976: FZ?guitar Napoleon Murphy Brock?sax André Lewis?keyboards Roy Estrada?bass Terry Bozzio?drums

musicians 1982: FZ?lead guitar Ray White?rhythm guitar Steve Vai?stunt guitar Tommy Mars?keyboards Bobby Martin?keyboards Ed Mann?percussion Scott Thunes?bass Chad Wackerman?drums

Well, Frank made it possible here mixing the tune which sounds terrific. Speaking for myself I always wanted to listen for example Bozzio and Vai in a single tune; here the dream came true. Some other tunes as well like King Kong were mixed this way. Seriously, you will be surprised how beautiful they sound.

Do not take me wrong all newbies in the FZ universe, you will love it as well since after all this is still great music, but hardcore FZ fans might understand what I'm talking about ?or not lol

Anyways, this is a masterpiece all the way man. It's only 5 stars just because out there are not 10.

At the time when I made this review I already had 83 albums in my library and over 1900 songs of Frank Zappa. I'm saying this because you might think, why would you add another version of, say, Montana or Inca Roads? Out there are dozens; well...

The sound quality of this baby is nothing but spectacular to start off. Secondly, the versions of the songs are not found anywhere else. Actually, when you listen to it, you might think that this is a studio album since the clearness and cleanness of the sound. It doesn't matter how many versions of the songs you have, this is a must have fellas. The arrangements and execution are completely different of what you have listened before. It is actually in HI-RES lossless format in almost every streaming platform btw. Arguably it is the tightest version of the band performing at the best possible sound quality, and it says something when you have listened The Roxy Performances boxset. George Duke is a phenomena here. Napoleon is at his peak of his career. Ruth is at her prime as well. Chester Thompson and Tom Fowler are beasts here. It is a five star album all the way. Trust me.

After reviewing supposed modern masterpieces, I decided it was time for a real classic.

Hot Rats is totally up my alley. I love these jazz-oriented works of art. It is what drew me to Focus and why I like earlier work from KC, like Lizard and Islands. And they all are unique.

Zappa playing is brilliant, as are Ian Underwood (notably the sax on The Gumbo Variations) and the guest artists.

For elaborate reviews, I point you towards others who have done it much better than I ever could. I leave them to albums with fewer reviews. But I wanted to add my appreciation for this album by adding a 5-star rating.

"Orchestral Favorites" is a live album release by US artist Frank Zappa. The album was released through DiscReet Records in May 1979. It´s the successor to "Sheik Yerbouti" from March 1979. All material featured on "Orchestral Favorites", was originally meant to be featured on the shelved "Läther" box-set, but ended up being released as one of four individual album releases, instead of the collective work that would have been the "Läther" box-set.

The 5 tracks featured on "Orchestral Favorites" were recorded during three sessons on the 17th-19th of September 1975, at Royce Hall on the UCLA campus with conductor Michael Zearott and the 37-piece Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra. The first two sessions were recorded as concerts with an audience, while the last session was done without an audience. Zappa spliced the best parts from the three sessions together and added an overdub guitar solo on "Duke of Prunes". It´s a combined classical orchestra and rock group performance, so in addition to the classical music instruments like violin, oboe, and clarinet, the music also features regular rock music instrumentation of guitars, bass, keyboards, and drums. The music is fully instrumental.

The melodic, dynamic, and symphonic "Strictly Genteel" opens the album. An early version of this composition with vocals was included on the "200 Motels" (1971) film and soundtrack. Themes from "200 Motels" (1971) are also used on the closing track "Bogus Pomp". "Pedro's Dowry" and "Naval Aviation in Art" are avant garde tinged classical music pieces, showing Zappa´s more experimental side. "Duke of Prunes", which was originally featured on "Absolutely Free" (1967), is featured here in a re-arranged classical orchestra/rock group version. The above mentioned overdubbed guitar solo is pretty intense, featuring an almost constant near feedback noisy approach.

While "Orchestral Favorites" certainly features a couple of intriguing moments, it´s arguably the least interesting release culled from the shelved "Läther" material. According to Zappa he spend around $200,000 on this project, and honestly I can´t say I think those money was well spend. A 3 star (60%) rating isn´t all wrong though as there are enough great elements to warrant that rating.

"Sheik Yerbouti" is an album release by US artist Frank Zappa. The album was originally released in March 1979 as a double vinyl release through Zappa Records. It was the first release on Zappa´s own label after his acrimonious split with manager and business partner Herb Cohen in May 1976, which meant the end of their co-owned DiscReet Records and a host of lawsuits and disagreements over the remaining part of their distribution deal with Warner Bros. Records. "Sheik Yerbouti" bridges the gap between the two last (out of four) individual albums that Warner Bros. Records released featuring material which was originally meant to be released on the four-LP box set Läther. A box set which was shelved and split into four albums and released by Warner Bros. Records without Zappa´s full consent. The two albums bookending "Sheik Yerbouti" are "Sleep Dirt" from January 1979 and "Orchestral Favorites" from May 1979.

"Sheik Yerbouti" ended up being Zappa´s most commercially successful release and it laid the foundation for the mainstream success (well...relative mainstream success) he had in the 80s. Most of the basic tracks were recorded during 1977/1978 live performances and later spliced with studio overdubs. In typical Zappa fashion it´s most of the time impossible to hear where the live tracks and the studio overdubs start and end. What you´ll experience as a listener is just a very well produced album, featuring an organic, professional, and detailed sound production, helping the material shine like the best quality productions always do.

"Sheik Yerbouti" is loved by many but loathed by just as many as a consequence of the sexually explicit lyrics (although some of them are hidden behind secret words and descriptions) and lyrical topics poking fun at union workers, disco, a certain type of Jewish women, egotism...etc. "Jewish Princess" is considered particularly controversial and even some interpret it as anti-semitic. Zappa refused to apologies though and maintained that he just described a certain type of women that he had observed. "Bobby Brown" is another song which is often considered controversial because of the sexually explicit lyrics which includes stereotyping of lesbians, golden showers, rape, and anal sex. It´s all done with a gleam in the eye and the great social satirical angle that Zappa was known for.

"Sheik Yerbouti" is overall a very eclectic release featuring pop/mainstream oriented songs, which could have been played on commercial radio (and were in some countries), if it wasn´t for the explicit lyrics, rock songs, progressive rock songs, avant garde pieces, jazz/fusion, punk, and silly spoken word dialogue from the band members. Featuring no less than 18 tracks and a total playing time of 71:40 minutes, there are a lot of material and minutes for Zappa to guide us through the many different sounds and styles of "Sheik Yerbouti". The vocal part of the album deserves a special mention. It´s primarily Zappa himself and drummer Terry Bozzio who sing the lead vocal parts on the album, but Napoleon Murphy Brock is credited for singing lead vocals on "Wild Love" (along with Tommy Mars) and Adrian Belew sings the lead vocals on "Jones Crusher" and "City of Tiny Lites" (as well as performing the Bob Dylan impersonation on "Flakes"). Bassist Patrick O'Hearn is also credited for performing some lead vocalst. Naturally with that many lead vocalists and a host of backing vocalists, the vocal part of the album is equally as eclectic in nature as the instrumental part of the material.

It would be wrong to call any Frank Zappa related release an easy listen or mainstream oriented, but parts of "Sheik Yerbouti" are probably the closest you´ll get to that with Zappa. However the eclectic nature of the album ensures that the listener is constantly kept on his/her toes and challenged by the clever compositions and high level musical performances. Are some of the lyrics offensive or in bad taste? I guess it depends on the ears that hear and the morale and political/social values of the listener. Personally I find the lyrics quite brilliant, and in my opinion even the most silly and borderline mean lyrics should be understood as social commentary rather than hateful rantings. Upon conclusion "Sheik Yerbouti" is one of the essential albums in Zappa´s discography, and especially essential if you´re looking for his most accessible comedic/satirical releases. A 5 star (100%) rating is fully deserved.