Ow!!

Overall Album Score: 8.3 out of 10

Here is a wildly uneven but diverse album that even manages to be fun despite all the overly goofy and somewhat flimsy jam sessions. This album is considered a second part of "Burnt Weeny Sandwich" since the both were gathered from such live performances. However, this just isn't as well conceived! However, there is more than enough great material here to satisfy you.

The album opens with the weird and wild "Didja Get Any Onya?," one of the band's stronger creations. It goes every which way, yet the flow of the track is undeniable. It's fun to hear where they take that one --- and I'll say that it isn't predictable. This track gives a decent prelude to the whole album, which never stops being difficult to predict. Naturally, some moments are better than others!

The addition of two more or less straight-forward blues tracks (each with their own brand of Zappa-esque embellishments), "Directly From My Heart to You" and "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama" could be the album's most enjoyable tracks for the majority of listeners. Whereas, "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue" and "The Orange County Lumber Truck" are just fun avant-garde jams.

A few parts involving goofy operatic singing and shrieking you wonder why they even needed to include. This is a difficult album to listen to at times. Weirdly enough, this is frequently called one of Zappa's finest albums by his fans --- I can almost see where they're coming from. This is one of his most eclectic releases and it's a tad less 'avant-garde' than Uncle Meat. Though give me the brilliant fusion jams of Hot Rats and the relatively restrained creativity from Burnt Weeny Sandwich any time!!! It's lovely that Zappa wants to be as weird as possible, so his fans can have something special to separate themselves from the pack.

Overall Album Score: 8.3 out of 10 (Much more undisciplined than his previous two albums, but maybe that's what you want! Well, it's interesting...)

Average Song Score: 8.3 (Some really awesome stuff combined with other moments that are... pointlessly interesting?)

Album Tilt: 8.0 (I could have bumped it up to an 8.5 if I wanted to... I don't think I want to.)

Artist Rating: 8.5 (This is the point. I get the feeling that some of this was just reactionary, but then again pretty much everything's interesting.)

Track Reviews

Didja Get Any Onya? 9.5/10

Weird! OK, you already know that. Using the word "weird" in any Frank Zappa album becomes as meaningless as the word "very." Well, this is seven minutes full of entertaining anarchic mayhem The first bit features a wildly played saxophone that sounds like some talented school kid was screwing around during band practice. Certainly this crazy sax is the feature of this song, and it's strange enough to distract from the assorted weirdness! So many crazy sounds coming in and out!!!!! At some point, it all stops and some guy with a German accent starts talking. Then, a phony opera singer comes in and starts singing random notes. A strange sort of riff begins to play (using a combination of instruments that are just ------ WEIRD). And a rather beautiful sax tries to solo amidst that. It gets sparser around the five minute mark... random notes playing in whatever instruments they can find. Big old hits of a drum play also at random times. Well, this track ain't for everyone obviously, but I find this thing to be a lot more entertaining than similar Zappa tracks have been in, say, albums such as Uncle Meat. It's extremely well developed for a start, and there is considerable flow to this as an overall product.

Directly From My Heart To You 8.5/10

A usual blues riff pipes up. Zappa surprisingly lets us off easy on this one, because the only thing unusual about it is a violin player who took a tablet of speed. Alone, the bluesy song is well-done. The vocal melody might not be too original, but it's catchy. And that violin player going all over the place is an inspired lunatic.

Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask 7.5/10

This is a funny title that I have no idea what it means. This track consists of waves of sounds. Usually quite pointless, but it's wild and weird. It's was interesting up until the ending, which just consists of a few minutes of band members shrieking like mad. It isn't that funny and gets boring after awhile. Someone eventually starts snorting like a rabid dog whilst somebody sweetly plays an electric piano. For the love of Pete.......

Toad of the Short Forest 8/10

You never know what to expect in this album. This starts out as a rather pointless jam involving a shuffley jazz drum beat, and some crisp acoustic guitar sounds. They surely have some nice chord progressions and rhythm changes. But then all that stops and a dark, thundering and spooky groove pipes up. More strangeness comes as that whole groove gets broken up by an ugly saxophone ("blowing his nose," as Frank describes it in the song). This part, Frank points out that certain instrumentals are playing in different time signatures. This is difficult to listen to and almost disinteresting.

Get a Little 7/10

It begins with some brief dialog discussing rape, and a lethargic groove pipes up. The electric guitar solo work is nice, and it sounds like it's talking. Very Mahavishnu Orchestra of them! This is not an overall entertaining track though --- thank goodness it's two minutes.

The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue 9.5/10

Another extended experimental jam session in a similar vein of "Didja Get Any Onya." This one seems a little less pointed and the flow isn't as spectacular. Certainly the weirdness of the whole experience is worth something, and you have to love all the ideas. This sort of track was done better on Burnt Weeny Sandwich, but this is more eccentric. They seem to have several horn players all doing their strange things --- there's some inspired playing on here. Some of this track was more inspired than others (the sections involving these waves of sound come off as flimsy and not that entertaining to me), but this is quite a unique and positive experience!!

Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula 8/10

This has that kind of flimsy randomness that populated Uncle Meat. Though don't read me ill! That's just a compliment in disguise. They stop it with their weirdo jam and bring in some random sound effects.... sounds like somebody's playing around with tape cassettes. Who knows how they did that...

My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama 9.5/10

Hey don't touch my mama! Just concentrate on playing this excellent song. Certainly the only track on here that had any real single hit potential. (Of course, Frank Zappa never had pop hits, but this could have been one.) He decides to deliver a solid and heartily instrumentation playing some nice blues-rock, and even a catchy melody. He doesn't quite make it, since there's a crazy-weird instrumental solo. But it's such a wonderful work, and the guitar is awesome. Hurrah!

Oh No 8/10

This features one of his weirdly detached melodies! Apart from that, the instrumental virtuosos keep out of this track, for the most part. Just the off-key vocal performances give this two-minute track the special weirdness... Hm.

The Orange County Lumber Truck 9/10

It's a joy to listen to for the most part. It does get a bit old by the end, but that's no great flaw. It starts out very pleasant but it slowly gets more and more menacing. There's nothing outlandishly peculiar here --- mostly it's just another chance for these guys to showcase their skills...

Weasels Ripped My Flesh 7/10

And then the "Weasels Ripped My Flesh." I guess it has a similar effect to 10,000 classroom teachers scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard at once. All this track is a dissonant wave of sound. It stops, and Zappa says "goodnight boys and girls." Thanks, teach.

Rip my flesh here.