Cheese Revolver

Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10

This album famously ushers in the infamous Flo & Eddie period of Frank Zappa's career, and the end of the Mothers of Invention. Flo & Eddie are ex-Turtles Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman who could no longer record under their real names because of contractual obligations with their former record company. (It's hilarious how the system can prevent people from using their real names...)

Anyway, a lot of Zappa fans hate them, but I kinda like 'em. If for nothing else, it's the pop tunes they sing that sound like they've completely overdone it with the hallucinogenic drugs. "Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink" is particularly spaced out, and "Would You Go All the Way" is similarly strange. Neither of them are particularly great or inspired, but they're good for a laugh or two.

"Tell Me You Love Me" is another relatively short track that's structured almost like a pop rocker. That rip-roaring guitar is so amazing to listen to that no other song on the album can honestly hope to measure up to it. "Road Ladies" might come close enough, but that blues song traverses a little far into the "generic" category except Zappa's guitar keeps it interesting. Also, if you like calmer jazz music, "Twenty Small Cigars" might be a good pick for you!

The lengthier fusion tracks ("The Nancy & Mary Music" and "Chunga's Revenge") aren't that great especially if you have his far superior Hot Rats album fresh in mind. But there's some merit to them, and they're entertaining above all else.

I seriously doubt most Frank Zappa fans have honestly snubbed this entire album only because some harmless ex-Turtles members are on it. This is a good, enjoyable Zappa album. For him, it's rather mid-quality and more accessible. For that reason, this could be a good place to start listening to him if you haven't yet.

Overall Album Score: 8.1 out of 10 (This is the most accessible Zappa album yet, and I like it, but hardcore fans might feel a bit ... um ... let down ...)

Average Song Score: 8.3 (This music is more accessible than I'm used to, but not as impressive.)

Album Tilt: 8.0 (This is an alright listen... There's enough here to keep it quite exciting!)

Artist Rating: 8.0 (Zappa is restraining himself...)

Track Reviews

Transylvania Boogie 8/10

Probably the most damning aspect of this is it's so middle-of-the-road. Now, it's certainly better than many instrumental jam songs I hear, but I know that Frank had been more exciting and creative before --- and this isn't too amazing or engaging. I know he's had nicer virtuosos working with him in the past, and you're pretty much better off just hearing Hot Rats again. OK, I'll shut up about that now. Despite all that, this is a pretty good jam, and Zappa is a wonderful guitarist! There's plenty for his die hard fans to take away from the experience.

Road Ladies 9/10

I can't help but give this credit for being slightly off kilter. One of the Flo & Eddie guys starts singing some bluesy notes and these goofy eruptions happen after he's finished with a line. That was a silly idea. But after the intro, it just turns into an extremely generic blues tune. Albeit, it's an enormously well-played blues tune with an electric guitar performance much more impressive and energetic than even "Transylvania Boogie." I think this is a lot of fun --- a statement from someone who's usually bored with the blues.

Twenty Small Cigars 9/10

Here is a nice jazzy instrumental that's nice to sit back and soak up. Zappa seems like he's restraining himself and getting normal and accessible. The melodic and harmonic tendencies still attend to Zappa's personal signatures! This is a well-composed piece that finds a good balance between being off-kilter and accessible.

The Nancy & Mary Music 7.5/10

This nine-minute track begins with a crazy, avant-garde wave of sound. Ah, we knew that the accessible leanings of the opening three tracks were unnatural! A crazy drum solo eventually erupts out of this. I'm not crazy about drum solos unless I'm seeing them live, and this one goes on for WAY TOO LONG. Drum solos should only be five seconds long, and this one's well over a minute. After that nonsense, Zappa comes in with some wicked guitar licks! The drum almost overbears the guitar, but for some reason I don't mind. They go on for awhile, and another drum solo pipes up, but this one's a little more interesting for some reason (it sounds like a marble is rolling across the floor or something). Flo & Eddie starts screaming during the drum solo for some reason, and ... OK, this part isn't so good. A much less interesting guitar solo part pipes up after this part, although the flooded instrumentation certainly has its appeal! The keyboard solo in the song's final third isn't interesting at all --- they're just twinkling away randomly and not even worrying about being interesting. Then Flo & Eddie scream some scat singing in the microphone and then sound like monkeys. I'll definitely give this song credit for being another unique composition in Frank Zappa's that sometimes surprises me by the direction it takes, but this thing is kinda horrible and not overwhelmingly impressive on the compositional standpoint.

Tell Me You Love Me 9.5/10

This is surprisingly a formidable pop-rock song that's kept under three minutes. The melody isn't infectious or anything, but it's followable and enjoyable for at-the-moment enjoyment. Flo & Eddie deliver some convicting performances, and Zappa keeps the guitar heavy and great. It's hardly normal, though --- the structure is pretty wild and varied.

Would You Go All the Way 7.5/10

I guess this is the reason why Zappa invited the ex-Turtles to play with them. This sounds like a Turtles pop-song on CRACK. Of course, Zappa wrote this tune, and you can't make a mistake about that. Look at these wild rhythm-changes! The melody is OK, but it's pretty bland to be honest. (But the melody isn't one of the first things you notice about the song, though --- it's the rhythm!) The trumpet he brings in at the end is pretty cool though shockingly normal sounding.

Chunga's Revenge 8.5/10

A return to the lengthy jam tunes. This time, it's six minutes long! It's pretty usual for Zappa. At first it seems to rotate between a heavier and a lighter part ... But the lighter part seems to take over as a crazy "talking" guitar solo comes in and gives it personality! This track is pretty good if you like jazz-fusion tunes ... but honestly Zappa's done this better in the past, and other bands like Mahavishnu Orchestra were cornering the market at this sort of thing at the time.

The Clap 7.5/10

Here is a goofy track that's hardly more than one minute long. It features a drum beat while some people make clicking noises seemingly at random. It's not that interesting, but it's also not long enough to really make much of a difference. Um... thanks...

Rudy Wants to Buy Yez a Drink 8/10

Oh, here's The Crackhead Turtles in their pseudo-glory! It has a distinctly poppy vibe and the Turtles give it an out-of-tune vocal performance. This first section is pretty catchy, but when it gets a little darker at the 30 second part, it's not so fun...... This is another strange song...........

Sharleena 8/10

This is a middle-of-the-road as far as songs have been going lately. Zappa doesn't do anything remarkably strange here and this song isn't exactly enjoyable in any sense. But as I sit through and listen to this, I'm mildly delighted. The instrumentation sounds like it could be from an Eric Clapton album or something --- just a few off-the-wall embellishments (such as that rapid-fire piano solo) and a few odd chord progressions here and there keeps it Zappa.

Get revenge on the chunga here.