13 December 2017

The 13 Days of Zappaness, 2017 Edition: Day 1

Back in the deeps of Time (as it now seems) the very first Zappa albums I bought, discovered in an out-of-the-way shack on Rte. 23, were Uncle Meat, Chunga’s Revenge, and Burnt Weenie Sandwich. I really did not know what I was in for. I had been introduced (partially) to Absolutely Free, We’re Only In It For the Money, and One Size Fits All. So uppermost, perhaps, the impression had been of unbridled buffoonery, especially in the lyrics.

Nothing of what my friends had until then played for me, prepared me for all of the (as I should now describe them) chamber music instrumental tracks, nor for the variety of tone and texture.  Nor was I previously aware of the “avant-garde doo-wop” element of Zappa’s discography, of which I got so representative a taste, on both Uncle Meat and the Sandwich.  It was all an astonishing sonic novelty, and I was a little surprised at myself, for taking to it so totally and immediately.

Thus it is that today’s track, to inaugurate this year’s celebration of the late, great Frank Zappa, must be:

Day 1, “Aybe Sea” (from Burnt Weenie Sandwich)

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