066: The Mothers of Invention - Freak Out! (1966)
“On a personal level, Freaking Out is a process whereby an individual casts off outmoded and restricting standards of thinking, dress, and social etiquette in order to express creatively his relationship to his immediate environment and the social structure as a whole.”
–Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa is an awfully difficult man to summarize. He recorded dozens and dozens of albums with numerous different bands in countless different genres. He was a relentless innovator, never sticking with one style for long and always pushing forward into completely new musical territory, whether he thought his audience would be willing to follow him or not. Where do you even start discussing a man whose work consistently defies categorization and lacks a single album that stands as a “representative” work? Well, when all else fails, start at the beginning! On this episode, Phil is leading the Frank Zappa superfan contingent of Discord And Rhyme (consisting of John, Dan, and Mike) through a discussion of Frank Zappa’s wildly innovative 1966 debut double album, Freak Out!. Come for the doo-wop, stay for the musique concrète.
Miscellany
Our Spotify playlist for this episode uses the MOFO Project/Object version of the album (otherwise known as “The original stereo mix”), so the cover that shows up is the cover for that release rather than the original Freak Out! Album art. Don’t panic! It’s the right album, we swear!
Before you send us any corrections about it - we’re aware that the “Dancing About Architecture” quote we reference in the intro probably did not originate with Frank Zappa. It’s been attributed to a ton of different people over the years, including Zappa, but the actual source of the quote is unknown.
We weren’t kidding about all the different versions of all the different Zappa albums floating around. We’ve provided a link to the website where all the various differences are catalogued. Look for contributions from Dan!
There’s about a billion different resources for digging deeper into Frank Zappa’s catalogue, but Phil recommends Bob Eichler’s Website, which provides a solid roadmap for exploring his immense catalog.
We mentioned noted weirdo Captain Beefheart in this episode, and in fact our episode on Trout Mask Replica is our most popular one ever.
This episode sets a new record for the oldest album we’ve covered (June 27, 1966), beating out the Beatles’ Revolver (August 5, 1966) by about two months and change.
It’s also our longest episode, exceeding To Our Children’s Children’s Children by nineteen seconds.
Other links
Discord & Rhyme’s Freak Out! playlist (Spotify)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Phil Maddox (host)
John McFerrin (moderator)
Mike DeFabio
Dan Watkins
Amanda Rodgers (recording supervisor and occasional interrupter)
Freak Out! tracklist
Hungry Freaks, Daddy
I Ain’t Got No Heart
Who Are the Brain Police?
Go Cry On Somebody Else’s Shoulder
Motherly Love
How Could I Be Such a Fool
Wowie Zowie
You Didn’t Try to Call Me
Anyway the Wind Blows
I’m Not Satisfied
You’re Probably Wondering Why I’m Here
Trouble Every Day
Help, I’m a Rock
It Can’t Happen Here
The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet
Other clips used
Zappa/Mothers of Invention:
Frank Zappa - Don't Eat the Yellow Snow (Single Version)
Frank Zappa - Montana
The Mothers of Invention - Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme
Frank Zappa - Run Home Slow Theme
The Mothers of Invention - Oh No (Weasels Ripped My Flesh version)
The Mothers of Invention - I Ain't Got No Heart (Basic Tracks)
The Mothers of Invention - Valarie
The Mothers of Invention - How Could I Be Such a Fool (Greasy Love Songs version)
The Mothers of Invention - Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague
The Mothers of Invention - Who Needs the Peace Corps?
The Mothers of Invention - The Little House I Used to Live In
Frank Zappa - More Trouble Every Day
Frank Zappa - Stairway To Heaven
Frank Zappa - Inca Roads
Frank Zappa - Peaches En Regalia
The Mothers of Invention - Hungry Freaks, Daddy (Basic Tracks)
Frank Zappa - My Pet Theory
Others:
Edgard Varèse - Ionisation
Can - Mother Sky
Monster Magnet - Space Lord
Teddy and His Patches - Suzy Creamcheese
Band/album personnel
The Mothers of Invention
Frank Zappa - guitar, conductor, vocals
Jimmy Carl Black - percussion, drums, vocals
Ray Collins - vocals, harmonica, cymbals, sound effects, tambourine, finger cymbals, bobby pin & tweezers
Roy Estrada - bass & guitarrón, boy soprano
Elliot Ingbar - alternate lead & rhythm guitar with clear white light
Other Musicians - “The Mothers Auxilliary”
Gene Estes – percussion
Eugene Di Novi – piano
Neil Levang – guitar
John Rotella – clarinet, bass saxophone
Carol Kaye – 12-string guitar
Kurt Reher – cello
Raymond Kelley – cello
Paul Bergstrom – cello
Emmet Sargeant – cello
Joseph Saxon – cello
Edwin V. Beach – cello
Arthur Maebe – French horn
George Price – French horn
Roy Caton – trumpet
Virgil Evans – trumpet
David Wells – trombone
Jim “Motorhead” Sherwood – noises
Kim Fowley – hypophone
Mac Rebennack – piano
Paul Butterfield – vocals
Les McCann – piano
Jeannie Vassoir – “the voice of Cheese”
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
The Mothers of Invention - The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux) (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Freak Out! and other albums by Frank Zappa’s various projects at zappa.com, your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for editing, production, and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.