Hot Rats

Proof that with Zappa, jazz is not dead, it just smells funny.

It feels like I'm in a very hip '60/'70s film and I'm into it. Actually was jamming hard enough that I put the record on from the top after I finished it the first time. And with this 5 stars I am officially my father's daughter.

Not my personal favorite Zappa album but it may be his best in many ways. Certainly the most listenable. Peaches en Regalia is like the theme to a TV show I'd want to watch. The track with Captain Beefheart is a fucking ripper. Zappa's a true iconoclast and this album proves his versatility. Motherfucker could do anything he wanted it seems, especially play the electric guitar - holy shit. He's largely underrated in that regard. I wish he went more in this general direction over the years but this album sort of stands out in his catalog. Nice balance of exploration and focus.

oh they're groovin!!!!!! they are groovin, absolutely swinging on the dancefloor! look at em go, they're just vibing!!!!! they're groovin!!!

Rats could have been hotter.

I don't listen to Zappa that much, but when I do it's usually Hot Rats. Zappa's discography is like the Cheesecake Factory menu. There are so many options to pick from, yet you know damn well you're going to pick the same thing you're used to having. That's what Hot Rats is for me. Incredibly fun to listen to and masterfully performed.

This album started out SO GOOD. Then (apparently) the drugs kicked in, the saxophone came out, and everything started falling apart until, by the end, the tracks were reduced to atonal, tempo-agnostic, guitar "solos" and random horn bleating. I tried so hard to give it the benefit of the doubt (after the mandatory 1-star subtraction for saxophone solos) but it just never recovered itself. By the time the last track wrapped I was legitimately angry at Zappa for putting this nonsense out into the universe.

hot rats hot rats hot rats

It might not deserve a 5 but I've had to listen to 2 albums by The Fall in the last 3 days so this sounds like a flawless album.

lukewarm mice

This is a jazz fusion masterpiece. The guitar work on this is superb and the instrumentation is just sublime. I can listen to this record over and over. I don’t have much else to say really. Favorite song: Willie The Pimp and Peaches En Regalia Least favorite song: None boy

In the early 90s, when I was about 20, I worked at Scratches, a small record store in Newtown that sold a lot of second-hand records. One of my tasks was to test play all the second-hand tapes and CDs before they hit the shelves to make sure they were in playable condition. It meant that I spent a lot of time listening to records I would not have otherwise chosen. One day, it was my responsibility to listen all the way through to "Shut Up and Play Your Guitar", a double CD of over two hours of Frank Zappa live guitar solos. No songs, just solos, all edited together. It was interminable. A lot of my friends were really into Zappa. Dave, for example, would invariably play Weasels Ripped My Flesh whenever he could control the stereo. I was complaining to another friend, Jeremy, about listening to two hours of unrelenting Zappa guitar solo, and he replied that he had, in fact, himself attempted to make cassette compilations of Zappa solos from bootlegs and other live recordings. A professionally edited CD would be ideal, in his opinion. I couldn't believe there was a market for such a thing. Personally, I was never convinced about Zappa I mean, I can admire what he does, and it was a relief that he didn't take everything _too_ seriously (at least by way of comparison with most jazz-rock or prog, which is a pretty low bar for levity). But I was never able to buy into the cult. Hsi arrangements were too ostentatiously clever. His famous 'sense of humour' was never actually funny. You only have to watch his ill-fated appearance on Saturday Night Live to see that. Or read an interview with him. Or about him. I watched the Zappa documentary, and he didn't actually seem like a bundle of laughs. Mark Allen wrote in Classic Rock: "All the boys in my house at college thought it was hilarious ... a cryptic genius working at the coalface of the avant garde .... But the girls thought different. To them, Zappa was a grotesque and irksome pervert whose soulless music knotted the knees and brought dance floors to a shuddering halt." The girls were right on the money, in my opinion. Some random observations about Hot Rats: - the general lack of vocals means that the most egregious failings of Zappa's 'humour' (mean-spiritedness, intellectual snobbery and sexism) are largely avoided - Willie the Pimp is the best thing Captain Beefheat ever appeared on, and it's got a terrific blues rock riff - while heralded as "jazz-rock", this is improvisational rock, and not a lot of jazz in it - Zappa can squeeze out a passable guitar lead, but he really only has a limited range, and it starts to get a bit dull after a while - Gumbo Variations and It Must Be A Camel can be a challenging slog to get through, but not nearly as obnoxious sounding as many people say Hot Rats is a listenable record (especially side 1), but I'm not in love. I'm certainly not going fight Zappa-freak collector scum to pay $100 or more for a vinyl copy.

Zappa chads won... They fucking won....

1969 was arguably the greatest year for music ever and this album is definitely one of the main reasons. Frank Zappa's Fusion of Jazz with Psychedelic Rock stands still today as one of the greatest albums in either genre. The album itself is very complex in its structure without being too weird or Avant-Garde. Zappa shines not only as an incredible guitar player but as a true composer. The arrangements outside of the typical Rock instruments like the flutes on Little Umbrellas work perfectly within the songs context and do not feel like they were put in for the sake of it. Additionally, the album is mostly instrumental with only Willie the Pimp featuring vocals in the first half and these vocals done by Zappa's longtime friend Captain Beefheart work perfectly in the songs context although the song looses a lot of what made it so great at first in the second half. Even the lengthy Gumbo Variations has enough variation to still be entertaining the whole way through. Hot Rats is one of the most diverse and fun albums ever created and is one of my favourite albums EVER. favourites: Peaches on Regalia, Son of Mr. Green Genes, The Gumbo Variations least favourites: Willie the Pimp (second half), Little Umbrellas Rating: a strong 9 to a *10*

Familiarity: 6/10 Frank Zappa's Hot Rats remains one of his most well known albums, and as one of the greatest rock albums of all time. This album carries it's 43min runtime through only 6 songs. Starting off with beautiful guitar composition in Peaches, to a driven jam instrumental in Willie the Pimp. The album then leads into the light hearted Zappa composition, Son of Mr. Green Genes, and continues on into the soothing jazz bass line of Little Umbrellas. Finally the album closes out with the intense rock epic The Gumbo Variations and the album closer, It Must Be A Camel. Favorite Tracks: (All of it, obviously... but the stand-outs) - Peaches en Regalia - phenomenal solo work - The Gumbo Variations - that bass tho

It's been such a long time since I listened to Hot Rats that I forgot most of it. It's such a playfully groovy trip of an album with crazily long and diverse songs. I really like Son Of Mr. Green Genes & The Gumbo Variations, and It Must Be A Camel is a smooth culmination of such a fascinating album of instrumentation. Gonna have to grab it on LP. I can only imagine spinning this in the Shelter. Groove on!

Zappa’s Hot Rats were not bad company today, though after a first listen only enormous indifference stopped me from finding something else to play. Beefheart’s intro to one of Z’s long jams was my highlight, and I’m sure that the rest would go well with attendance at some school sports event; here I hope Simon can advise me. Until the happy day my scion rolls up to beat his schoolmates up at ice hockey or interpretative dance or somesuch, I shall not listen to this again. A lot of skill to admire here, all at the service of lecturing me with notes.

I wouldn't describe myself a full-fledged Zappa fan. I gravitate to either his classical avant guarde phase (e.g. The Yellow Shark) or his very short prog phase (Roxy & Elsewhere). Most folks consider Hot Rats an example of the latter. Opener Peaches En Regalia has a complex structure, memorable melodies, and an elaborate and detailed arrangement. It has some rock/R&B feel, but frankly, the genre is impossible to peg. Too bad I don't like it more. Some of the sonorities feel awkward to me, and the humorous elements are unwelcome. But this is purely a matter of taste. It's certainly a competent piece of music. Willie The Pimp is another matter. I've always found Captain Beefheart's Howling Wolf impersonation irritating, certainly in a blues/rock context, like here. The rhythm section is fine, but how much you enjoy this tune will depend on your tolerance for the lengthy solos. I've never found Frank Zappa's guitar playing especially interesting. He just drones on and on with permutations of standard blues and rock licks. His tone is okay, I guess. I just can't get very enthusiastic about it. Son of Mr. Green Jeans is of the same ilk as Peaches En Regalia. If you enjoyed that, you will likely enjoy this. There's also another extended guitar solo from Frank. Sigh. I find Little Umbrellas more appealing compositionally with it's gently insinuating melody and non-standard modal content. Ruth Underwood has the solo spots here, which helps. She's a monster player. And I like the bassist on this number, too. His bass tone is fat and his note choices are tasty. The Gumbo Variations is another standard blues riff extended to over 12 minutes! I don't hate the sax player, maybe because he brings some welcome skronk to the proceedings, but 12 minutes is a long time for this sort of thing. Once again, the rhythm players do a great job of maintaining interest, but there's only so much they can do. With Don Sugarcane Harris' extended violin solo, he proves he can be just as tedious as Zappa. Thankfully, the album closes with It Must Be A Camel, which has the sort of thoroughly unconventional melodies and harmonies that I've only heard from Zappa. Drummer John Guerin has a major role here. He's by far the most tasteful and imaginative soloist on this date. Too bad the rest of the album isn't this good. Interestingly, Jean Luc Ponty put out an album of Frank Zappa compositions called King Kong the same year Hot Rats came out, which Frank also arranged, and I adore that. Go figure. How to rate? Well, the session players are fine. The three through-composed tunes (as opposed to the jam sessions) are competent and show some creativity. The engineering is first-rate. But the solos bore the shit out of me. Ditto the jam tunes. 2.5/5

Hot Rats Wow, I was not expecting this to be so great. I had vaguely heard of it but didn’t know anything about it. I was thinking it would be something in the vein of the MOI’s deliberately abrasive outsider contrariness, but I was very surprised that it was a relatively straightforward psychedelic jazz rock album, with a nice dash of eccentricity and a massive amount of improvised guitar high jinks. There’s a recognisable little pattern in Peaches en Regalia from about 0.22 to 0.39, it sounds like it’s from Freak Out or We’re Only In It For The Money, but then the songs moves off gracefully into a different space, played absolutely fantastically with some brilliant refrains and passages. Love Willie the Pimp, Beefheart really suits it, and the fiddle and guitar riff is great on the first half before it branches out into the jam section with some excellent guitar. Like every song on here the rhythm section is superb, locking into a fantastic groove, and I’m not normally that into improvised guitar workouts but on here it is absolutely brilliant. It’s the same story on Son of Mr Green Genes and the superb, mesmeric The Gumbo Variations. Another fantastic pocket that the rhythm section hit, and I love the reappearance of the fiddle. Little Umbrellas I like too, a more traditional jazz style song, but it’s got a vague feeling of underlying uneasiness to it, as does It Must Be a Camel, with its great piano and slightly frantic bass. Some great passages in that too. I thought this was absolutely fantastic, one of the best surprises so far, hypnotic, graceful, a bit odd and full of great moments and passages. Can’t be anything but a 5. 🐀🐀🐀🐀🐀 Playlist submission: The Gumbo Variations

Finally some Zappa!! 5

I didn’t get any Zappa as a kid because it wasn’t on the radio. I had to hear it as an adult when I could afford the albums. Too bad I missed a lot. This was great to hear again.

I love going back to this album. It starts with a bang and doesn't let down. Hearing Captain Beefheart on "Willie the Pimp" got me to thinking "Bongo Fury," so that album got a listening, too. Amazing.

Anything by Zappa gets 5 stars from me.

"Hot Rats" is the second solo album by American musician, composer and bandleader Frank Zappa. The album was the first after the dissolution of the Mothers of Invention with five of the six songs being instrumentals. An apt description is instrumental jazz-influence compositions with extensive soloing. It was one of the first albums to use a 16-track recorder. Frank played guitar, octave bass and drums and his main collaborator, Ian Underwood, played piano, organ, flute, clarinets and saxophones. There were a lot of other musicians who also contributed. Commercially, it hit #9 in the UK and #173 in the US. One of Frank's most well-known songs "Peaches en Ragalia" opens the album. A drum and piano roll starts the song which goes to horns and keyboard for the melody. The song moves around....well, all these songs do. There's a great horn mid-section. Ron Selico killing it on the drums. Captain Beefheart sings the only album vocals on "Willie the Pimp." A down and dirty sound opens things up....more bluesy. Frank has an absolutely epic seven-minute guitar solo. Another highlight is Don "Sugarcane" Harris on the electric violin in the intro and outro. "The Gumbo Variations" has a nasty, bluesy guitar intro with the sax in the background. This nearly 13-minute long song is one of horn and guitar solos. I think Underwood used every horn he had. Some of the solos are layered. Some more stud drumming...this time by Paul Humphrey. The album closes with "It Must Be a Camel." The structure is pretty much the same with individual and layered solos of guitar, piano and horns. Jean Luc-Ponty on the violin. This song more in jazz area. This is a complex album with instruments coming in and out. They're layered at times. It is evident that Frank took full advantage of the 16-track recorder. Of course, the musianship is just top notch with some impressive solos especially Frank's guitar ones. This is one of my favorite Frank albums. Besides, some of the song titles, there's nothing gimmicky or sarcastic going on which can annoy me in some of his albums. An album worth listening to if only for the musicianship and/or the wonderful "Peaches en Ragalia."

Man. This was really cool. That first track is out of this world! I can totally see the appeal. This must be one of the foundational Frank Zappa records that started us off on the absolute roller coaster of records that were to come. There are certainly peaks and valleys, and not everything is perfect, but… I can’t stop thinking about how unique and singular this album’s sound is. It sounds like nothing I’ve ever heard— free-wheeling, very bizarre, improvised and off-kilter and seemingly made in a daze, but also so obviously composed, obviously written out with all the intention of a mad scientist dictating his every perverse thoughts. I have no idea how this could have been made, because it sounds too planned to be totally random, but also too “live” to not be done in a super loose and freeform way. There are definitely better and more complete “albums” that Zappa gets into, but this one struck me as this perfectly insane, bizarre concoction that I don’t quite understand. For musicians and writers like me who are all about jamming, improvisation, this seems positively genius. For someone with a jazz background, I’d bet you couldn’t help but feel that there’s some insane method to this that we’re all missing. Zappa before the absurdism really took hold, but also a really convincing, *good* piece of music that defies the laws of gravity somehow. I’m gonna be thinking about this for a while. It’s 1969 and this kid is blowing my mind, 5/5

This is crazy! Might be the best Jazz-Fusion album of all time and definitely Zappa's best work. The guitar with it's jazzy chords and the beautiful arrangements make this a truely one of a kind experience. Like Peaches en Regalia is sooo good and Willie the Pimp is the only song with vocals and Zappa isn't even the one singing it's fucking Capitain Beefheart!!! I really don't get why a lot of people don't like this album on this site: It's perfect through & through! favourites: Peaches en Regalia, Willie the Pimp, Gumbo Variations & the rest too least faves: none... really none rating: light to decent 10

Weird, crazy, but very good. I found this album very enjoyable to listen to. Every song was great.

loved it

Instrumental and long songs (only 6 songs) so good for background whilst working

Awesome album, not really for the faint hearted but fantastic musicianship

9/10. the 18 minute track is a bit much but the first half of this is pure fucking quality. Peaches en Regalia is blissful, the guitar textures on Willie the Pimp are insane, and Son of Mr. Green Genes is just a really fun time the whole way through. after that it loses a bit of steam, but not that much. it's super psychedelic and just a really good time? glad it's instrumental too

🎶Jazz Fart, Jazz Fart Everybody’s listening to the Jazz Fart🎶

Never really listened to a full Zappa album other than Apostrophe. The musicianship is crazy. Very entertaining and interesting.

Having grown up with a progressive rock bend, I’ve always been a fan of Frank’s… I see a lot of "jazz fusion", and "improvisational jazz" labels being placed on him – but he is a progressive rock artist – first and foremost in my mind… Gun to my head, my favorite Frank album is 1974’s “Apostrophe (!)” which I think is an absolute classic – though I am familiar with a fair amount of his more popular work… Have listened to “Hot Rats” before, and knew a few of these tracks – so it isn’t surprising given my natural bend, plus being familiar with some of this material already, that I really enjoyed this album… The song that is referenced as one of his best all the time is “Peaches En Regalia” – which is absolutely fine IMO – but there were so many other tracks on this album that I enjoyed more… Have always been a fan of “Son Of Mr. Green Genes”, as there are some spectacular live versions out there, as the JamOn Sirius XM station back in the day, used to play a lot of Frank… Besides the quality of the music, the humor behind writing a track based on an urban legend about you (i.e. Frank was rumored to be the son of Mr. Green Jeans from The Captain Kangaroo kids show in the 60’s – unfortunately not true…) says a lot about the fun side of Frank – which permeates his approach to music… Really enjoyed “Willie The Pimp” – especially the jam over the last half of the song, and “It Must Be A Camel” is a great closer… My favorite track on this album – even more so that every track I’ve referenced so far, was “The Gumbo Variations” as the jam on that one is just so well-done… I’m sure a lot of folks might be turned off by 8 to 12 minute songs, but in the progressive world – that is sort of that standard… Try experimenting with worrying less about how long a song actually is, and truly listen to the music with 100% of your attention and focus - and you just might find that the song ends much earlier than you wanted it to… : ) Since I’m going to give “Apostrophe (!)” a 5, I’m gonna slot “Hot Rats” in just a little lower – so definitely a solid 4 for me, and an album that I recommend that everyone give a listen to!

Not a big Zappa guy but I think this is one of his better ones. I love his collaborations with Captain Beefheart, like Willie The Pimp. I don't know many - or any, actually - Zappa fans who are not males musicians. It's weird because when people say, for example, that Rakim of Eric B and Rakim is your favorite rapper's favorite rapper, that makes you want to check out Rakim. But when they call Zappa a "musician's musician" it has a negative tinge. It's explaining why you might not like it, where I guess the thing about Rakim is explaining why you need to check him out more.

I like the idea of Frank Zappa. I feel he is spoken about as a musician with integrity and personality. But his body of work is quite intimidating. 'Hot rats" is apparently at the more 'accessible ' end of his spectrum. And, sure enough , it has a progressive jazz feel from the off. I'll listen again and I'm sure it will grow over time.

I knew Frank Zappa's name before starting this project, but I didn't know anything about his music. I've reviewed one Mother's of Invention album so far, but this will be my first Frank Zappa solo album to listen to. I enjoyed Freak Out!, so I expect I'll like this album as well. Overall, this album was pretty good. I liked the jazz structure to the songs, and the musical arrangements were varied and interesting to listen to. These songs had an experimental feel to them, but they still managed to feel accessible. I enjoyed the first half of the album a bit more than the second half; I felt like the second half was a bit more restricted in terms of structure and sound than the first half, and the overall sound suffered from that. I wasn't really expecting something like this from Frank Zappa, but I don't think this is the type of album I'd listen to again. It's not that it was bad, but it's just not really my style.

Knocking a star off because halfway through Gumbo Variations I was feeling very jam band-ish. That being said, I like the music! Have never listened to Frank Zappa. I understand why he is a favorite and probably inspiration to Trey Anastasio. I liked Son of Mr. Green Genes best, Little Unbrellas least.

Nr. 169/1001 Peaches En Regalia 4/5 Willie The Pimp 2/5 (2x) Son Of Mr. Green Genes 3/5 (2x) Little Umbrellas 3/5 The Gumbo Variations 2/5 (3x) It Must Be A Camel 3/5 Average: 2,89 Actually liked this better than expected. Still won't listen again.

Not what I was expecting … Honestly, I kind of enjoyed this one. Nothing earth shattering, nothing that’s going to make the rotation for me but, it was enjoyable. I would describe it as jazz fusion, and again, that is not what I was expecting …..

envie de jouer au solitaire en ligne

Je résumerais l'album ainsi: Frank Zappa superpose des sons sans aucune cohérence et demande à nos oreilles de se démerder avec le résultat.

So Zappa is like the original jam band guy? But with trumpets? Dislike. And I was really bummed to see another entry featuring one of the only artists I've given one-star on this list (Captain Beefheart). Blech.

This was mostly inoffensive until it wasn’t. I’ll never be high enough for Frank Zappa I don’t think

What a strange ass album. Grateful that Borno sent me down the path to listen to his congressional hearing on parental advisory music. Additionally, Linc Dawg showed me one of this better songs: Watermelon in Easter Hay

1. Peaches En Regalia - Really nice piano intro, the kind of thing i'd write tbh. Not too sure about the synth melody but I think the song owns it. Sounds like midi wood winds as well, and an organ, which the organ sounds really cool I think. Might be a fun jam song to play, but I feel like it lacks a fair amount of melodic substance, like each instrument isn't stream lined with one musical theme. Definitely a style I haven't heard much of, and would certainly dig in specific moods. 2. Willie The Pimp - Really awesome guitar playing, feel like the intro started off a lot more dicey, but once you ease yourself into it the groove is quite enjoyable. I don't really dig the vocals that much but I understand the kind of style that they are going for. For a nine minute track, the guitar playing manages to stay pretty fresh throughout, can't say it felt like it was dragging along, mainly due to the several registers and styles the guitar explored. Nice parts of drums throughout the track, really cool and unique ways of carrying the groove that I haven't heard much before. Near the end might be my favourite part, when they bring the tempo back and play more on the beat, pretty groovy. The drums and guitar also communicate to each other quite well. 3. Son Of Mr. Green Genes - Feeling a very big stylistic contrast between all the track on this album which is pretty cool. Like the overlapping melodies on this one, feels very well put together. Really nice guitar part coming in as well, would've love to hear a different tone or style than the last track but thats alright. Am I hearing a Glockenspiel? or some kind of Synth? pretty cool little scales it's playing though. The horns are super cool, loving the line coming from the Tuba, with that slight growly edge to it is pretty nice. The tempo of the track is almost suggesting a jazz/rock hybrid, but feels a lot more like a jam styled genre than a rock album. Each note on the guitar sounds pretty crystal, and the bass line is nice and complicated. Interesting use of scales as well, diverting from the blues scales to other modes, and then falling backing into the blues. Briefly plays 'Come Together' for some reason, but you know what good for you I guess. I like the outro, the piano chords are pretty crunchy and cool, as well as the harmonic switch going to a primarily major sequence. 4. Little Umbrellas - The double bass naturally creates a much more jazzier feel, sounds a lot less like King Krimson at the moment. I like the little melodic dissonance between the saxophone and the supporting instruments. The Organ has a simple yet quite effective little solo, I feel like it may overstay its welcome within the song, the recorder coming in on the ending line does make for a good finish though. 5. The Gumbo Variations - My notes unexpectedly quit and did not save, and the song itself is simply not worth listening to again. Felt like Pink Floyd on crack. 6. It Must Be A Camel - Super cool drumming on this track, very refreshing going to a more refined song after listening to jam tracks like the Gumbo Variations. Keys and horns compliment each other quite well. Like all of the other tracks, the instruments seemingly switch between diatonic and dissonance a little too often and with no warning. For me, its too jarring and especially for tracks that demand an uncommon level of attention (compared to that of modern song formulas) it is difficult to enjoy the song the entire time. I'd say the two most best and most consistent parts of all the tracks have been the drums and either the guitar or sax, otherwise, the tunes aren't strong enough to stand on their own. Overall, there was a lot of interesting and unique arranging and concepts within this album, but I can't imagine giving it a second try personally. It sits in an uncomfortable position between art music and rock, blues and jazz, which unfortunately blends into ideas that to me don't sound completely cohesive. Rating: 5.2/10

ugh, prog

Listen

Zappa was a genius. Always an enjoyable listen.

Um dos melhores discos que já peguei aqui na lista. Álbum patrício. As composições aqui são brilhantes, surreais. É o tipo de disco que merece ser ouvido muitas e muitas vezes, dedicando total atenção, pois toda vez que você o roda, nota-se algo novo. Todos os músicos aqui em forma magistral. Verdadeiramente fantástico. 5/5

Probably the only jam band (or jam album, I dunno...) that I'll ever really enjoy. This is another one that hit me toward the end of undergrad and it was the right time and the right place for stuff like this. Peaches in Regalia is an all time favorite.

it’s no Tiddies & Beer or Why Does It Hurt When I Pee? but it is a work of art

Fuck. Another masterpiece!!!! 5 *'s

- J’ai pas encore commencé l’écoute, mais ma première impression est que je vais aimer ça ! Enfin un album qui est dans mes cordes. - Très fort ! J'ai adoré ! Rien à redire ! Enfin de la bonne musique ! - Frank a fait d’autres albums dans le même genre : Waka/Jawaka, The Grand Wazoo et Sleep Dirt (à écouter !) - Plus d’albums comme celui-ci, SVP !

My favorite Zappa record. Perfectly off-kilter, heavy, melodic, and weird. Five of six tracks are instrumental. Although his comical lyrics and non-sequiturs are integral to the Zappa sound, he was first and foremost a composer of unique melodies and wild soundscapes. Zappa's early-career talents are on full display on this record. "Peaches En Regalia" is one of his fullest, catchiest compositions. "Willie the Pimp" is the only track with lyrics (Captain Beefheart) and features some of my favorite guitar playing. "Son Of Mr. Green Genes" is a mash-up of the first two to close out the first side. "Little Umbrellas" is a breather which eases you into the second side of the record. "The Gumbo Variations" is controlled chaos with dueling sax and fiddle (or is it some effect on the guitar? idk) "It Must Be A Camel" brings it all home with wonderfully jazzy motifs from a different planet. It's not a perfect album, but it is immensely enjoyable and I haven't tired of listening to it over the years.

BAZINGA! A solid five stars for this one. One of my favourite albums of all time.

Groovy

I didn’t need to listen to this. I know it well. It’s a fascinating blend of improvisation, composition and production. Peaches en Regalia is an all time classic. It Must be a Camel was my under appreciated gem this time.

A classic!!

Don't know what I expected. This wasn't it.

Unexpectedly vibed with it. I felt like it was the soundtrack to an old crank hoarder as he went about his scruffy life, being cantankerous.

guitar is fire

This is the 121st album I’m rating. I hear this one is much better than We're Only in it for the Money. Adding to my Playlist - Peaches en Regalia, Willie the Pimp, Son of Mr. Green Genes, Little Umbrellas, The Gumbo Variations, and It Must be a Camel. Not Adding to my Playlist - Nothing. All in all I liked 6/6 songs. Much better than the other album. This is great and some of the best jazz I've heard. Probably the 3rd best jazz album I've heard in my life behind.

Much better than 'We're Only in it for the Money' while Hot Rats at times feels like the joke's on you it never feels like one big joke as 'We're Only in it for the Money' did however well played and bursting with creativity that joke on wax was. Hot Rats is well edited and sometimes I think that's the big factor in evaluating if a Zappa album is great or a done in one listen. 'We're Only in it for the Money' felt like Zappa just pressed record & went batshit crazy. This jazzy cosmic rock of an album is largely instrumental (Captain Beefheart does vocals on Willie the Pimp) and benefits greatly from not having Zappa's at times idiotic vocals crapping all over the music. Sometimes less Zappa is more.

Damn, I didn't know Zappa was chill like that. It feels like a 43 minute long guitar solo, and I say that with every ounce of appreciation in my heart. Damn good funk.

Hell yeah.

Delightfully weird and funky jazzy surreal. Obviously lets a number of genres into his soul.

I saw the artist and rolled my eyes. I regret that. This was amazingly good.

My favorite Zappa studio album. Peaches en Regalia is one of the best instrumentals ever set to record.

This was actually pretty good. 🤩

This is easily a top 5 Zappa record and the best of his more jazzy instrumental based work. This and Overnite Sensation are great intros to his stuff.

Hot Rats Used to be one of my favorites. It’s been a long time since I head this album. My dad was a big Zappa fan so I grew up with this one. Peaches en Regalia is a special one to me and has always been one of my favorite tunes. Didn’t know that Shuggy Otis played bass on Peaches. Willie the pimp and Gumbo variations is cool to hear Zappa’s take on the one chord jam. Zappas guitar playing is super unique- cool to hear how it evolved to the sound he had in the 80’s on GUITAR. Cool how the tempo is faster when the riff come back at the end of Willie. Gumbo gets to a strange place when it peaks. I like the how the rhythm section shapes and peaks and keeps things interesting through the long solos that can get pretty far out and textural. Cool jammy loose 60’s feel it’s a bit different from his 70’s and 80’s stuff. Little umbrellas is a cool tune with such a weird vibe, I like the upright and drum sounds. It must be a camel was my favorite this time (aside from peaches) really cool tension and release and works really well at the end of the album- the harmonic rhythm and more complex composed stuff is refreshing after gumbo variations.

Stone cold classic

Holy crap. This is incredible. Here we have my final album on the list to prominently feature Frank Zappa. I've listened to both of the Mothers of Invention albums on the list and liked them both. Freak Out! especially was a highlight. But this solo album of his? Hot Rats? I'm speechless. This album is a genuine masterpiece. Unlike the Mothers albums on the list, which take more of a full-on avant-garde approach to music, Hot Rats shows strong musical sensibilities through its stellar jazz-fusion compositions. The Mothers albums on the list focus more on their lyrical themes, supplementing them with avant-garde compositions that aren't the easiest on the ears. Hot Rats is still a fairly unconventional album, but in a different way that appeals to me even more personally. You see, Hot Rats is mostly instrumental, so there really can't be a focus on satire like the Mothers albums. Instead, Hot Rats shows off compositions that are full of musical talent that is used in crazy ways. The jazz-fusion style is the kind of thing that I just adore. Zappa's guitar solos are stunning in their own right, but they're heightened even more by the additional instrumentation. All 6 songs on the album captivated me entirely. The one song with vocals, "Willie the Pimp" is pretty cool. It features Captain Beefheart on vocals, which is good because I need a primer for the inevitability that is my first time listening to Trout Mask Replica, whenever that ends up being. I don't know what to say. Hot Rats is peak music. It really just speaks for itself. 5/5.

A total shock to me. I find Zappa a bit incoherent occasionally and this was a jam from start to finish.

Very good! I loved it. Listened to some of his other albums the rest of the day.

Zappa's a cool weirdo

LOVED this album

Oh no, I actually liked this. Zappa feels like a big can of worms to open, but now I may as well. I listened to Live-Evil by Miles Davis yesterday, so I was primed for some jazz-rock fusion. I remember a couple years ago, when I mostly just listened to alternative rock and singer-songwriters, thinking that I wasn't bald enough to "get into" jazz, prog etc. Now my hairline has receded some more, I suppose I'm ready. The day I get a Grateful Dead album and decide to go down that rabbit hole, all my other large discography artists/bands will go out the window.

One of the greatest albums of all time

The first time I ever heard this album was when my dad took me to see Dweezil Zappa on tour, phenomenal album

Need on vinyl

the second Peaches En Regalia hit i was like "UNF. YES." Son of Mr. Green Genes is a phenomenal song.

Every Zappa album feels different from the others. This is basically a 40 minute over the top jam session, and I love it for that. Zappa's playing is excellent here, as well as the rest of the bands really. I love the energy of it and how its Jazz that sounds like Rock. Captain Beefhearts on Willie The Pimp are nice to hear as well. A lot to love about this one and I keep coming back to it often.

I would see this movie

10/10 album cover. I love basically everything that Zappa has influenced (especially Ween, Primus, Steven Wilson, etc) but I've never really given his discog a listen. Holy shit, it's amazing, it manages to be "outsider music"-level weird while still having mass appeal composition. His resolutions are unpredictable and offbeat and deeply satisfying. Yes, people should hear some zappa before they die.

One of my faves! From the anthemic Peaches en Regalia to Willie the Pimp with Captain Beefheart, Frank Zappa shows he's a master of composition and orchestration! And a great guitarist to boot!

I remember when Frank wrote this. He was off his rocker at the time. Me and Len weren’t sure what was happening but he was constantly going on about eating rats but they were too hot. He was literally screaming ‘Hot Rats’ at the catering staff for the entire Houmous & Chutney set. It was really off putting! 4.5

This was exactly what I needed today. Incredible music, not a drab moment, but no words. I found it relaxing but also stimulating, perfect after having masters-degree-brain-static for a few days. Listened to this eating huge ripe strawberries and feeling like I'm in sophisticated luxury

inevitably, the Zappa Album For People Who Don't Like Zappa is a tiny bit less enthralling to me as someone who tho far from being an expert has heard his discog up and down and has a lot of reluctant but deep attachment to his art. i didnt realize till this listen how like...Normal the melody palate on here is? obviously u get a few weird spicy parts but on the whole if ur comfortable with Rock Music this shouldnt be a hard listen, even if u dont have much experience with jazz! the improvised parts are not as overtly fusiony as the likes of waka jawaka or the grand wazoo, and the composed parts are not as modern classical-y as many of his other excursions. the "disappointment" of this record is that zappa's artistic personality at least to me feels a lil muted on here, ultimately. but that is ofc also the appeal...and besides which, the personality it does display is the personality of Hot Rats!!!!!!!!!!! very few albums in history have ever had more color, combining garishness and lushness into a low-key psychedelic palate that has all the expansive freedom without any of the hazy vagueness. its rly just incredibly lucid and disciplined the whole way thru, but if was anyone other than frank zappa there would be no possible way to perceive it as (relatively) uptight. honestly this has never been one of my personal top favorites of his records, but its one of those albums i cant ever imagine not sounding good, its just full of what Music Is For. and for ppl who's affection doesn't extend beyond this record, id recommend the more modern classical-style Burnt Weeny Sandwich...different appeal than hot rats, but still lacks zappa's reactionary/juvenile aspects, illustrates his non-rock composition tastes in more adventurous ways, and tho the tracklist is not wall-to-wall individual bangers like hot rats its more about the overall sequence and symmetry, seemingly throwaway pieces coming together into a greater whole that builds and releases tension beautifully :)

So very Jazzy. The opening track is incredibly smooth, but leads in to a Captain Beefheart appearance. Things get wilder from there.

This album is like a musical blitzkrieg. Pretty fucking sick. It has moments of musical genius (Peaches in Regalia and Son of Mr. GG) and also has some completely deranged chaos. Haven’t read other reviews so this may have been said, but if you were to make Rock Jazz I think this is what you’d make? Sounds very pretentious but this album is incredibly rich. Constant weird and interesting turns. I’ve listened to peaches en regalia and son of mr gg many times but it must be a camel was my favorite new discovery. I heard son of Mr. Green Genes described as regal by a friend and I think that’s a perfect description. Also just the right amount of Cpt Beefheart. I hope we get Trout Mask Replica (for the discourse) I’m on a business trip and this album reminded me that life is and can be strange and interesting (unlike meetings in NJ OR

Ive been anticipating some Zappa since the beginning of this! Although this albums requires some attention & a few spins to digest, I think its incredibly worthwhile -- "A movie for your ears" was how Zappa put it and I agree. Im starting to like every song pretty much equally, but if I had to pick a standout it would be The Gumbo Variations. That song grooves so hard Just a reflection on the period that this was in -- this came out in 1969. Initially, that was truly mind blowing to me. Eventually, I started to see this as a part of jazz fusion which was still in its enfancy. Then after more thought, it started to make sense. Bitches Brew had already dropped and weather report wasn't too far after Hot Rats. Im kind of left sitting here wondering why Zappa wasn't more in my ears previously versus the others /shrug

I wish I was cool enough to say this is a record I've listened to a lot already. Like a lot of music I discovered in middle school and high school - I found Zappa through Phish - specifically their Peaches cover (same goes for "Roses are Free" - sorry Ween boys). At the time, I loved that combination of long guitar-driven compositions and improv over jazz changes. Back then, I listened to alot of Zappa's greatest hits, but never beyond that. Looks like that album is called "Strictly Commercial", but the only song from Hot Rats is Peaches, so this was pretty much all new to me this time through. This whole album is weird and incredible, front to back. It's hard to pick a subset of songs that stands out, but that sax solo that builds into the violin solo in Gumbo is excellent. So many "hell yeah" moments on one album. Still love Peaches as a composition, and Green Genes is a nice revisit of that approach, before the album seems to head in a slightly different direction in the second half - feels a little more heavily jazz influenced than the more prog rock front half. Wish it was a Friday album - definitely need some more relistens on this one. Was just listening to Little Feat's live album "Waiting For Columbus" this weekend, and had no idea that band was started by two dudes from the Mothers of Invention. George Lowell "claimed to have played uncredited guitar on Hot Rats." Me too George, me too.

Frank Zappa’s work is generally brilliant, but listening to the pure musicality of this mostly instrumental record is especially wonderful. Not that I don’t also love the Captain Beefheart track!

Absolute genius. Wild

Fantastic

Fuck. Yes. Instrumental jazz-rock perfection. Bold dynamics coupled with supreme musicianship. This gets the head bobbing and the brain cooking with its complex layering. The guitar serves to compliment and not to muddy the music, a delicate balance that is executed expertly. Wonderful!

Jazzed up by the zapppa

Awesome, fun and funky and weird