Reviews (page 11 of 14)
2.5/5 Not too into only instrumentals with lots of noiseeeee. Fav: Little Umbrellas
fun and quality music but also forgettable. will need to try again
It's pretty nice, groovy background music, but although I enjoy it and realize it's objectively good, I wouldn't really listen to it again. I can't really think of a context in which I would listen to purely instrumental prog rock. Still, it's pretty cool.
Goeie vibe
Jazzy, improvisional sounding, jammy
Are the rats sexy? Sweaty? No. They love a really long solo. 7/10
Fun instrumental album
i liked it better when i hallucinated there being no vocals 🫠 i was still vibing and grooving though
alright thanks mark
I believe this was my first time listening to Zappa, I actually quite enjoyed it even though some songs sounded like birds being strangled. Favorite track: Willie the Pimp
Mid
Definitely not my style, but I recognise it's musical richness and variety
Glad I listened to this, it was at its best when Zappa let the instruments create a story
I would have given Hot Rats a 2.5 but since this site forces me to round up so I'm giving it a 3. This was definitely the most experimental of all the albums I have reviewed up to this point, Some paid off, some did not. The music was cool but i felt that some of the songs went on for too long. I did like the vocals though, too bad they were only used in one of these songs. Best Song: Willie The Pimp Worst Song: The Gumbo Variations
ok didn't listen to all
Musically complex and impressive but possibly self-serving
Interesting.
It might be sac religion to say this, but I was never the world’s biggest Zappa fan. He’s great, and this album is by all definitions, great. But it’s a jam record. He was doing things in his day that no one else even came close to, and the inspiration he had on many modern artists is nearly is unrivaled. So why am I not a fan? The music isn’t too “unlistenable” or “weird” for me. In fact, this album is very much on the more normal side of Frank’s offerings. I’m not exactly sure I know what it is that deters me from it. I think I just get sort of bored with jam songs, even if they have a lot more to offer than a Grateful Dead or similar jam bands. There are elements here that are a blast, but it doesn’t feel cohesive, or like it really has a point. Maybe for me I’ve just heard all this so many times now that this just feels kind of…there. Anyway, listen to it. It’s important, and I’m sure I’m an outlier here.
Wrong mood for this today. I think instrumental rock music just doesn't work as well as in other genres. Rock is there to be sung over. I can handle it when it's a mix, Santana for example. Frank's amazing at guitar, but by the end I wasn't even concentrating on the music.
Like being in a crazy movie (no lyrics) enjoyable but scattered. Wouldn’t come back but would explore other albums. 3/5
I've never been a fan of Frank Zappa's pseudo-intellectual bullshit or his pointless canoodling. Is he a talented guitar player? Sure. Does he play music that is actually enjoyable to listen to? Not generally. Having said that, this album was better than most Frank Zappa. There are some really great moments mixed in with the bullshit. 3 stars.
Hot rats
An interesting contrast with the xx--maximalist. I can appreciate the musicianship here. He is very talented, and doing this in 1969, no less. Personally, I think it's missing some soul or a reason to listen if you aren't a musician interested in technical craft. Compared to other similar acts, like King Crimson or Yes, this album lacks emotional depth.
I liked it. Really cool guitar riffs and stuff.
No really my style I’m use to but was entertaining.
I really liked Peaches En Regalia. The rest is fine.
Willie the pimp is great
Little Umbrellas was kind of cool, but not for me
Good album. Never actually listened to any Zappa before and it is definitely tied to the sound of the era.
Not my thing but well made
Yep, it's Zappa. About how I remember him.
Some tracks were excellent grooves, and some were horrendous horns.
Eh
Interesting Rock Album
pretty fun, like a movie soundtrack. saved some songs, the first two tracks are definitely my favorites. the rest blended in together, i guess i zoned out in the middle of listening to them.
Reminds me of some RPG music making. Not too bad.
Uncle remus is a classic, cosmic debris is also great, not my favourite Zappa album but still excellent.
Much more interesting than I expected
I had no real expectations going into this and enjoyed it. I listened while working and found myself often distracted by the music, in a good way. I liked the electric guitar, the jazz, the funk. Solid stuff.
I've always wondered what this guy's music was like, I hear his name referenced all the time. Definitely wasn't expecting so much instrumental, but it was a solid jam session throughout. I like the wildness, kinda jazzy, use of lots of instruments
going into this, oddly enough, i was not really familiar with frank zappa’s music. sure, i had seen him in interviews and seen footage of him testifying at the PMRC hearings, so he became kind of a hero of mine. articulate as hell and seemed to share many of my viewpoints and very prophetic about the dangers of the alignment of evangelical chrisitanity and conservative politics. this was a fascinating listen. it is somewhere between rock, free form jazz, and a jam band. zappa is a freakishly talented musician, no doubt. his band is amazing as well. i would have to be in the right mood for this and am willing to explore more of his work as it is very schizophrenic at times, so not my normal everyday listen. but not bad at all.
This is objectively good music, but just not where I was today to listen to it. I'll give it a go again, but it didn't really do it for me.
I actually liked some of this a lot. Those last few songs brought it down, though. The horn Jazz solos are just not my thing.
Eh not my favorite but was alright
Definitely an interesting one. I could do with less squawking sax throughout the album, but there were some good elements. 3/5
An outlier for sure, Zappa is the antithesis of anti. Zappa is somehow able to flip-off counter culture who's flipping off 'tha man', while simultaneously flipping off the man. Zappa's ability to thread the needle between the two establishments without losing integrity is a feat in itself, but the downside of that is he remains an inaccessible island to himself. Counter culture doesn't like him because he's abrasive and he instantly repels anything mainstream. So who's left...? Unfortunately, your weird uncle is the only audience and nobody seems to understand or want to understand. But the album ... what about that? ... Welp, there's a ton coming out of this album and the performance is wrote. Not sure how many musicians are playing on this, but the orchestration is amazing. I'm not one for jam bands and this isn't too far from that, but it's so well coordinated that it's impressive its hard not to give it a nod of appreciation.
2 minutes of vocals on a 43 minute album. Why not just make an instrumental album. Frank Zappa…that’s why. This is the first time I’ve listened to a Zappa album. I wasn’t expecting as much jazz. Knowing how much jazz influence there is, I expect I would hate it more, but I didn’t. This album is like a runaway streetcar at times. On the tracks. Off the tracks. Back on the tracks. But it never crashed into a building. This is just weird enough to be interesting.
First time i have really listened to Frank Zappa, and i must say, pretty decent stuff.
3.7 - As I understand it, fusing jazz with rock 'n' roll felt like achieving some musical holy grail for many rockers of the 1960's. But for most, the road to that grail was fraught with endless guitar noodling and free-form jamming. There's some of that excess on this record but mostly Zappa has pruned these compositions into tidier movements with enough variations in tone and texture to keep things interesting. Standouts: "Peaches en Regalia", "Willie the Pimp", "The Gumbo Variations."
Very odd, slightly silly, but massively enjoyable. An artist I didn't really rate before, and still don't quite get, but I'd be intrigued to hear more of his stuff.
Cool music and chill vibe
this is so sleazy motel-core. my smooth baby idiot brain doesnt have the capacity to fully immerse myself in an instrumental song over 8 minutes long. fav songs: peaches en regalia, little umbrellas, it must be a camel.
Another one to put in the “probably sounded great in the 60’s when stoned” pile Sounds a bit indulgent now but it’s pretty cool
7.5/10
Weird good 3/5
Good background music, if often high-pitched and cloting
Not something I'd just throw on—it's jam band-like meanderings don't always maintain my interest—but it's decent background music. And while "The Gumbo Variations" clocked in at a hefty 12:53, which I generally find far longer than ideal, it featured the funkiest violin I think I've ever heard. TLDR; Zappa's weird and so was this, but it wasn't bad.
Just lots of jazzy sort of dischordant jams. Had its moments.
Huh
This was pretty fun overall, kind of a psychedelic jazz-rock medley in a way. Not something I think I'll feel the need to revisit any time soon, but perfectly enjoyable listening tbh. 3.5 rounded down as per protocol.
This one goes in the “I don’t believe the year” Really interesting experimentally modern sound. Well produced and honestly ahead of its time. I’m not surprised it’s not more mainstream being a jam album but the sound really carries the album as a whole.
Hade kunnat vara en fyra men det är för instrumentalt och ibland väl knepigt. Men överlag ett gött sound och måste ändå säga att generellt så gillade jag detta
Har lite svårt att ta till mig sådana här instrumentala album. Pluspoäng för låtnamnen dock.
Never have been a huge Zappa fan, but took it for a spin since it has been so long....still not a huge Zappa fan.
I kind of understand why Grank Zappa is so controversial, but for me (at least there on this album) I just found it ok. I liked it, but not my favorite. Just solid.
Nice jamming. I enjoyed it.
Edgy and uneven but lays the groundwork for an influential and varied career.
peaches en regalia was a fruity/game instrumental quite fun and jazzy willie the pimp funky sea shanty rock good but not on repeat son of mr green genes much like a pokemon song little umbrellas very hotel lobby jazz the gumbo variations jazzy shaker crash it must be a camel piano jazz
Excellent jazz playing. Very good technique. Nice and eclectic mix of instruments (jazz fusion so guitar and drums mixed with piano and saxophone). Probably 3 stars out of 5 (very, very good but 'The Gumbo Variations' has some strange sounds from the playing, lyrics on 'Willie the Pimp' are bizarre and not very well-written, I also think this would be amazing as a jazz album -- i.e w/o guitar, drums, etc. ...). The album has definitely made me think that Frank Zappa is good! The vocals on 'Willie the Pimp' are good in its own bizarre way. Overall, very good: all the songs are highlights; this is both because, and a consequence, of the album's cohesion. Why is '13' by Blur not on the 1001 albums?
Bueno tampoco me gustó. Es demasiaaado vanguardista, no entendes bien que estas escuchando. Igualmente el chabon tiene calidad.
Zappa time
Very much on the fence here. I'm going to give it 3.5 and round down, but... I get that the average song length is something like 6+ minutes, and that this isn't radio friendly pop. This could grow on me with multiple listens, and I may well revisit. But for now, I'm going to round down.
I’ve never been able to get into Frank Zappa before but I enjoyed this. A mix of blues and jazz-rock fusion. These songs have a lot going on but jamming out and riffing is at the core of them. Good energy. I dig it.
Honestly grest music to listen to while I study probably not something I would typically just listen to tho but cool sounds:)
Forty-seven wonderfully energetic minutes of classic 60's instrumental jams. Take your shoes off, put some flowers in your hair, and enjoy the ride!
I'd heard of Frank Zappa but was not familiar with his work. The whole album sounded like generic 70's background music.
world class jazz fusion musicianship with some rambling jam band energy and spicy instrumentation. kinda feels like Zappa is making fun of us, but I'm not quite in on the joke. but it's ok, Peaches is a killer song 3.5/5
нормально, делал под всемирную историю, все хорошо шло
Geen superfan van Zappa, behalve sommige nummertjes
A+ on the album and song titles. I was scared because Zappa was pretty wild but this is just a cool progressive instrumental jammer. Features talented guitar playing and crazy sax. Favorite song was Peaches en Regalia.
Zappa rules.
Hot
Interesting psychedelic rock/jazz. Zappa has some amazing guitar playing and the prog songs were impressive. Not something I would come back to and listen to on the regular.
Better than expected.
Interessant, dass er sogar auf den Aufnahmen improvisiert und immer anders spielt. Macht auch keiner mehr
Hit and miss, some real talent in there and I admire the freedom and creativity
I like it. I've discovered a new genre I like apparently.
Best Song: The Gumbo Varieties. I like the mix of jazz with just plain weird. Worst Song: Willie The Pimp. It just sounds like a jazzier but worse Tom Waits. Overall: Not great, not terrible either, although there are few circumstances in which I can imagine myself listening to this again. Maybe while cleaning? I don't know... There's better jazz and weirder prog rock out there.
Despite knowing the name "Frank Zappa" and his reputation to shred, I've never intentionally listened to him. This sounds exactly as I imagined. I enjoyed the album and I respect the shredding, but if I am being completely honest with myself, I will likely not revisit this album again.
Ágætis progg. Ekkert óþolandi á þessari plötu, sem er mögulega fráhrindandi fyrir Zappa-fólk.
Not how I remember it!
Psykedelisk rock, god jam, fræk guitar
YEAAAAAA BOIIIIII I LOVE FRANK ZAPPA. This man is a walking-talking-blistering-blathering poet. And he knows it. And he OWNS it. I genuinely enjoyed this top to bottom, I'm not even trying to be silly and goofy, because those riffs and solos went so hard. I only wish there were more lyrics, because I know this man spits bars just as well as he strikes chords. 'Apostrophe(')' is proof, because 'Uncle Remus' and 'Stink-Foot' have absolutely ZERO business coexisting like that. This absolutely would be a 4, but I'm going to have to go down one because I know it would be that much better with lyrics. On a side note, everyone go listen to 'Billy the Mountain' right now if you are fiending for 20 minutes of pure bliss. That song basically encapsulates my freshman year: a beautiful disaster.
I think this album can be best explained with a lateral example in the art world. When we think of famous painters, Pablo Picasso comes to mind first for many of us. Picasso was renowned for his Cubist paintings, founding the style which had never been a concept before him. Picasso started his career in his teenage years doing realistic portraiture, and he was quite good. He clearly had a gift for art. As he aged, he continued to paint portraits, but they gradually became what many of us would deem “sloppier”. The brush strokes became longer, the colors were blended less, and the paintings were overall less realistic. More years passed, and her began to play with distinct color schemes, tending to show feelings of somberness with blue hues throughout many of his famous works. The focus was less on the figures he was painting, and more on the emotion he was conveying though the portrait. As he aged into his elder and twilight years, he had fully moved away from realism. Cubism was born, and they are what Picasso is known for most today. If you look at a famous Picasso painting, you may be tempted to say “I can do that”. And maybe you could replicate something like that. But you would never have come up with it on your own. It took years to master his craft, and once he mastered it he was able to experiment further. Once he mastered those experimental phases, the last thing there was to do was to pioneer a new movement. Frank Zappa is Pablo Picasso. His music is quite silly, it sounds like a mess at times, and many people would be tempted to say about some of the songs “I can do that”. But you can’t. Because Frank Zappa has mastered his craft, and having done so he embarked on an experimental phase. Unfortunately, that is where this album stops for me - the experimental phase. The movement came afterwards. God bless and rock on.
I really enjoyed this until I didn't. Small doses, I guess.
SO THAT SONG WAS FRON THIS ALBUM
3-4
cool
Liked the first half but got pretty tired.
I get it, but I kinda don't get it
after the first few chords i was worried i was getting fast show jazz man 'nice!' stuff but luckily it went a different direction. i was really enjoying this funky ass shit until it went off on one at the end. well, Zappas gonna Zappa.
Ooooof I love rubbing hot rats on my bellend. It makes me feel powerful and sexy. My face is a little numb as I push a little bit of shit out if my hot bum bum. Jingle jangle.
Favourite song: Peaches en Regalia
Classic Zappa really. Some of it sounds great and some is a bit grating but overall fun to listen to. Probably more on the side of enjoyable and at least unpredictable if nothing else
The original nutcase. Interesting jazzy listen. Sot Peaches en Regalia Son of Mr Greens Genes The Gunbo Variations 3/5
This albums cool but I like it better when Frank’s singing cause I need bars
Instrumental jazz album with limited vocals. Zappa's a legend and a great musician, just not really a type of album that makes me want to listen over and over.
Très bien, mais inégal. J'aurais aimé qu'il chante.
некоторые прям захватили! надо расследовать Фрэнка Заппу и его 60+ альбомов
Groovy but not particularly grabbing.
I like the violins. I always like Frank Zappa songs when they’re playing, but I’m never interested enough to listen to them after the first time. Maybe it’s too instrumental for me.
Ooooookej, den rösten var ju intressant…. De instrumentala låtarna är bättre, men ibland lite långa.
Funky!
There's no doubt that Frank Zappa is a brilliant musician. The beats he creates are all head bobbing and hip swaying etc. However, his vocals are all 'comedic' in their weirdness. It's not what I like. I'm wondering if there is an album produced by Frank Zappa, but not performed by him. Even still, the songs on this album are way too long.
Now that's some jazz I can get into. Very experimental.
Better than I expected. I'm not a fan of Zappa; I think this album being mostly instrumental helped. Some of the sax was a little too obnoxious but otherwise it was a decent listen.
nope
I liked _bits_ of this. But then there was some stuff that veered a little too far into the free form jazz that I just can't be doing with. For most of the journey though it was a decent enough wander.
Surprisingly enjoyable.
I've been dabbling in Zappa lately so was excited to listen to this. Turns out not my favorite! Willie The Pimp is one I was already familiar w/ & is def my num one for the album. I despised The Gumbo Variations...minus 10 stars for that jam.
Devo avere più tempo… primo ascolto pesanti Mi dà un po’ sui nervi
Meh.
Psychedelic jam music. Early prog-rock. I like the fullness of the instruments; horns, guitars, synths.
Love a good instrumental but was not prepared for the sheer amount of saxophone
Love the instruments used in peaches en regalia Chaotic but in a good way!
Wasn't what I was expecting. Landed up enjoying it more than I thought. Put me into Bobby Brown Goes Down, which is now added to my favorites playlist Seems like an interesting bloke Classic name
Wild and inventive with some splendid passages.
Quite easy going, it'd make for good background music at times but that's about it.
I don't know this album and just got one listen in. Liked what I heard and will definitely give it a few more goes.
Nothing grabbed me
This album is kinda cool but I think I’m more a fan of Zappa’s other work. This is more jazz than expected and I did find myself skipping towards the end of The Gumbo Variations. Highlights: Peaches En Regalia
Nice and jazzy
I've always thought of Frank Zappa as basically absurd/silly. Which is sometimes fun, like a weird candy, but not a main dish. This was not absurd. This was good. Still playful at times, but not silly. 3 (good)
Like it a lot more than I expected. Would I put it on again? Unclear. 3/5
I need to start writing my reviews at night….. I remembered I liked it?
This album is technically marvelous and musically vibrant. Any given track features only a handful of performers, and yet each sound like a group the scale of an orchestra was involved. I really appreciate that the instrumentals were left to stand on their own.
Jazzy
Good background noise
Ambiance idéale pour se relaxer dans le sauna (chambre)
Started well, but the guitar solo's plus saxophone get boring fast
So Hot Rats has a big groove to it which goes down well, doesn't really drag all that much and is largely enjoyable. Doesn't scale great heights but it's definitely better than a lot of Zappa stuff by reputation anyway. Son Of Mr Green Genes a personal favourite on the way to 3/5.
I was not expecting to like this having read the description that 'because Hot Rats largely consists of instrumental jazz-influenced compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums', but actually it's really quite good, isn't it? Suffers from the same issue as almost every instrumental album in that it goes on a little too long and gets repetitive in places, but the sound is great and it's a super background soundtrack to get some work done to. Loses it's way a little towards the end, but I think it gets a comfortable 3.
Kiinnostavahkoa jazziinkin menevää rockia
Sometimes I think that I might respect the music of Zappa more than I like it. Some of his music is outstanding, while some of his work doesn't do much for me at all. This is something of a middle of the road album for me. The first 2 tracks are pretty great but then I start gradually losing interest. I'll be blunt, I like the humorous Zappa best. Give me Sheik Yerbouti any day. This is fine but it's not quite what I want from the man.
Cool instrumental stuff. Frank Zappa is much more talented than I have him credit for
Oh, so it's just jazz? Way less obnoxious than I expected it to be
Amazingly as he has such an off-putting vibe, this is a good album.
Also not the biggest fun, but nice to have listened to.
Dense jazz fusion and a rock blues track. Has some great moments and love the groove on 'Little Umbrellas'. Nice to appreciate Zappa without having to ignore odd things said in silly voices. Not sure ever going to get repeat listens from me, but appreciated it.
Peaches En Regalia alone gets 5 stars...I'd go 3.5 and almost 4 on this album but I am not sure I would come back and listen again so holding in the 3 star range.
I mean, it's some good instrumentation, but it does feel incomplete to me without vocals. Guess I'm just too much of a pleb to get it.
Not what I was expecting, but post-Hendrix and maybe Miles jazz-rock instrumentals.
This is Jazz/Prog-Rock. Not bad by any means, but not really my style. 3/5
I remember the first time I heard Frank Zappa. I was shocked at how cogent it was, given what you always hear about the guy. The instrumentation, songs and arrangements on this record are really elaborate and beautiful at times. I like those moments. But then, there are songs like "Willie the Pimp" and I'm fine never hearing those again. Zappa was a collaborator with Captain Beefheart. I think he might sing on this record too. I recognize his voice. I prefer Captain Beefhearts records.
I always dismissed Zappa as being unnecessarily weird, but I actually kinda dug this album. It was definitely weird, but also had a New Orleans bluesy/jazzy thing that was actually unique and interesting.
05/23/2022 Kinda fun but also kinda boring and a little too weird.
I want to like it more but it just didn’t hit right for me. There’s a lot of cool ideas in it, and I think it’s “objectively” a better album than I’m rating it as.
I’d give it a 3.5 if a could my feelings towards this album are better than neutral but only marginally so
not really sure how to rate this so i’m giving it a 3, but it’s an album i could see myself coming back to after i learn more about jazz
C'est intense, beaucoup de guitare mais la musique est bonne. Un peu etourdissant vers la fin. 3
Agradable. Instrumental rockjazz fusionprogressive rock
There are moments when the stars align and the muses themselves come down to touch the lips and fingertips of artists they favor. This is one such album—or rather, the way “Willie the Pimp” and “The Gumbo Variations” go together. Willie is the only actual voice on this whole album, but “Gumbo” is him speaking in a different way—speaking with his feet as he walks his neighborhood, speaking with the back of his hand when he has to put his hos in line. I wish I hadn’t given my pimp costume to my friend. I had this amazing pimp costume I wore at Halloween. It was made of (fake) crushed velvet, lined with zebra-striped felt—and platform shoes to match. The ridiculous, wide-brimmed hat was lined in glittery gold ribbon. I’d wear it right now while listening to this album, the way Buscemi puts on lipstick and listens to “Telephone Line”.
I know of Zappa but I've never listened to an album before - I've heard a few songs of him with Steve Vai but that's it. Anyway... psychedelic jazz eh? It was surprisingly fun, at least for the first half. The first song was amazing. Sadly by about halfway it just seemed like extended freeform jams, and I lost interest. One song in particular went forever. Not bad overall, but I'd never listen to the entire thing again. But 3/5 for being a nice surprise at first.
Didn’t love it. Didn’t hate it. Some great guitar work, but too jazzy for me. I want lyrics.
I always feel like I should like Frank Zappa, and then I always just think he's kinda okay when I listen to him. He's a skilled musician and composer, and he surrounds himself will great people, but I always feel like he's just a bit...much. 3/5
3.5/5
Frank Zappa mades a original and rich compositions. I never listenend to Zappa but I knew about him.
Not my cup of tea. No doubt it's brilliant playing and turned lots of hippie kids into jazz fans, but not my cup of tea.
I love Zappa's imagination, but I'm not quite sold on the quality of the recording, the inconsistent use of the electric violins, or the wide-ranging song lengths.
3.4 - solid and epic instrumental album, but my favorite track was probably the only one with vocals - Willie the Pimp
Awesome, had forgotten how good it was. Kids not so keen.
Bueno
Not my favourite Zappa but cool instrumental album.
Weird and cool.
Solid
I'd heard of the name Frank Zappa, but never any of his songs. It was an interesting - mostly instrumental - ride that has some great guitar solos with a pop of sax and surprisingly organs. Wouldn't mind some of these popping up on a playlist randomly. Best: Peaches En Regalia Worst: Willie The Pimp
objektiv gut, subjektiv null meins
Merkilega áheyrilegt, svona fyrir zappa :)
Ein ungewaschener Nixon Albtraum jammt sich ausm Rattenloch wie ein Entertainer auf Dope. Ziemlich gniedelig und gut. 3.4
Wild ride with far too much saxophone for my taste
Great jazz album! I find myself humming Peaches en Regalia occassionally.
Cooles Album!
Nicht schlimm aber definitiv zu besonders
Dynamic, interesting. I had no idea what would come next and was eager to find out. Nothing stood out to make it into regular listening for me.
I really liked it!
A bit too strange for me
I liked this album a lot too, but I said would be a little harsher with my grading. I loved a lot of the instrumentals because they almost reminded me of the bastard child of Pink Floyd and Dave Brubank, which was super interesting. The general atmospheric vibe to the album was also really neat and the different flowinesses of the different instruments was well done. Like a lot of jazz, you do really have to be in the right mood for it. There's a lot of repetition (or near-repetition that only the performers and someone paying really close attention can hear) and 45 minutes of the lowfi feel can get a little annoying. Overall pretty good though
Kinda decent for some of it
3/5
an interesting fusion of rock and jazz
Always loved Peaches En Regalia but not familiar with the rest of the album
Bit intense and experimental, but not bad
Mostly enjoyable, except the end of The Gumbo Variations. I liked Peaches en Regalia the most.
This album is odd. I've never quite listened to something like this before. I mean, I've listened to jazz music and jazz fusion, but this is completely different. It felt that every musical choice made on this record was intentionally trying to be as far away from mainstream sound as possible. A lot of the percussive elements to these tracks are extremely odd and sometimes off-putting. A lot of the sound is very experimental for sure. "Peaches En Regalia" feels like the soundtrack for an epic battle at a circus. It is definitely my favorite track. The guitar solo in "Willie The Pimp" drags out way too long in my opinion. Doesn't really add anything new to the track the second or third minute in. I take it back. Last bit of the solo is pretty sick with the beat switch to the swingy rhythm and the polyrhythmic section as well. But man, the vocals are just so... odd. It definitely made me laugh out loud though so I feel that's a positive. The percussive elements on "Son of Mr. Green Genes" could very well be sound effects in Mario Kart. They add a colorful element to the track, but they are definitely odd additions. The clarinet/sax/whatever that was really hurt my ears at the nearly halfway point hahaha. Gotta say - whoever is playing the drums in this band deserves some major credit. The instrumental solos on "The Gumbo Variations" were pretty hilarious, but not funny enough for me to enjoy it for 16 minutes. Overall, this album of music - sometimes I wonder if it qualified as that - was at occasion entertaining, at other times a little too harsh for my ears. Maybe if I listened to it more I would appreciate it, but as of right now this record is a 6/10 on my positivity scale.
Really interesting on the whole, let down a bit when it goes full on self indulgent jam session.
weird and good
More enjoyable than I expected. Lots of jazzy vibes, and Zappa only sings on a single track (I think). Probably not one I would reach for given the proliferation of other jazz albums, but worthy of 3 stars.
Some fun sounds, I wish there were more lyrics.
Pentaton, Fuzz face, groovy guitarlir. Så åbenbart også kontrabas, piano og vilde orgler
Nuts but that’s Zappa right?
Jazz fusion not really my thing but this album has its moments for sure. Especially during The Gimbo Variations. The playing is insanely hot throughout, not only Zapoa's playing but his band cooks 3.5 🌟
A joyous dose of jazz-rock fusion. Half the album is lengthy, indulgent jams and it’s superb - Willie the pimp the pick of the bunch
Enjoyed this quite a bit - free flowing guitar and a great sound in parts. Willie the Pimp was a brilliant track but has a few moments where it slips into porn soundtrack territory
There's a lot going on here. Perhaps too much at times. Can't say I completely enjoyed this, but it's certainly been an experience.
Ranges from sheer brilliance to the annoying, probably too much. I'm being rather harsh on this album with my rating, but then again my stars never aligned with Zappa.
Hot Rats first thing that struck me was the number of tracks and the fact so few had lyrics so that gave me a strong hint this was going to be different. I know the name but never heard much of his stuff peaches en regalia - very jazzy opener willie the pimp - second song is quite a turn, love it and a great "solo" with drums and screaming over the top. One of the very few songs on the album with lyrics but still mostly instrumental This album shows me how much I value or focus on lyrics in albums but shows they are not needed to make a great album but I don't know enough to comment on most of it except I really like it. the gumbo variations, this is jazz hectic jazz with solid rock undertones - nearly 13 mins it is a wild ride with some serious "distortion" of the instruments towards the end very experimental from what I have heard before wanted to give this as 4 - enjoyed it, will listen again as it has intruiged me but considering its experimentalness and it not being my usual music I am going with 3 - decent, could stick on again. but at 6 tracks (albeit long tracks) it won't be hard to jump back in and out
Original, muy vanguardista
One of the many great albums that frank zappa created. Great instrumental music
This was more melodic than I was expecting. More instrumental. Has some funk to it. Lots of sax. I like it. Good background/working music.
Instrumentalt album
I liked it, but I also don’t think I’ll be coming back soon
Funky instrumentals
Not really my thing but I can appreciate it for what it is. I have Zappa fans in the family so I'm familiar with other albums. Have not heard this one before.
Jamming gefällt mir. Kann mir vorstellen, dass es in der damaligen Zeit, mit gutem Kraut, die richtige Musik war.
I did not want to listen to this and especially did not want to like it. I saw that it was 43 minutes long and only 6 songs and thought it was going to be a masturbatory fest of ugly masculine energy... and I guess it kind of is. But I kind of liked it anyway. Whoever is playing the guitar for minutes and minutes and minutes does a pretty good job, and there are some really intricate lines that are doubled on some really obscure instruments. When the singing comes in, which is fortunately few and far between, the ugly snarky ironic masculine energy comes into focus and I lose interest. Oh yeah, and the drumming is freaking fantastic. Jazz-Rock Fusion huh.
Not bad, a little intrusive at parts but enjoyable in others
Not as trippy as I was expecting. Felt more like a jam rock album.
Production: 13/20 Songwriting: 12/20 Innovation: 16/20 Bangers: 5/20 Emotional response: 11/20 = 57 Yeh that was interesting. High 3.
Its definitely good, but also its not super noteworthy. I kept it on for a while but would forget that I am actually listening to something as I went about my day bc it just blended into the background. I am sure this is also influential enough and unique enough to warrant a spot on the 1001 list
A lot of instrumental and I enjoyed it.
What is it? Is it Jazz, Blues, Rock? To be honest I'm just glad its not industrial french shite. There is a hint of showing off here but i'll let that pass. Nice music to work by. would have liked some lyrics but its a step back in the right direction! 3/5
Load up the bong and take a big ol' rip, because that'll help you get through this jam band slog. This is a competent, reasonable listen, harkening back to the days of free love, copious amounts of cocaine on the set. I'm just not really sure that holds up today.
I am kinda confuse, there are a lot of skilled guitar plays but it feels kind of "not in my current mood"
Never really listened to Zappa. Not sure how much I will in the future, but this was more interesting than I thought it would be.
Interesting. Kind of jazzy, sometimes a little too twangy. Mostly instrumental.
- So much SOUND! Little place for musical rest...can be overstimulating - Prog/ jazz/ blues/ rock - Excellent instrumentation and skill
Quite varied and enjoyable to listen to
As a fan of the musical virtuoso, I really enjoyed the skill of the drumming, bass and guitar playing. Great jams from a legend. It was great to finally explore Zappa. 5/5 from the technical perspective, 3/5 as a listener, so 4/5 is where I will leave it.
You can almost smell the patchouli coming out of the speakers... Now I understand why my dad likes Zappa so much... Another thing is that I can't look at Zappa without thinking about Borat... So I imagine Zappa at the end of each song saying "Great success", "my wiiiiife, she's nice"
Really liked this album at the start! Fun weird jazzy prog from an earlier time. Started to lose me at the end as it blended together...an evergreen valid criticism of most jazz and/or prog.
Fine guitary noodling, but tails off to boredom
First and last songs where great rest of the album was very hard to listen to.
Neutral opinion
Glad I took the time to go through a full zappa album - I should listen to more
I feel like I need to be in a smoky basement at a house party. Being buzzed AF and listening to this would be great. First track is quite fun, definitely some interesting things going on here. I am not very knowledgable of Zappa so I'm glad to listen to him deliberately. There is definitely a "jazz" feeling to things here, especially with the long solos and back and forth. Jamming for sure. I could see this construed as showing-off/mastubatory guitar-playing but from what I know of Zappa ego is not a huge thing in the playing. I could be wrong. I don't know. 7 minutes into Willie The Pimp and I'm ready to move on. Finally Little Umbrellas is different. Overall, it's not bad but doesn't do a whole lot for me right now.
Peaches En Regalia is an amazing track. The rest of the album is also great, from technical point of view. However it's exactly my style.
Technically brilliant, but the lack of lyrics kind of made it a slow listen. Not fully my style
I don't listen to prog rock often, but it's interesting to listen and think about how many bands were influenced by Zappa. Decent album.
Very weird. Not terrible tho.
I see where this is excellent and innovative, but I don't think it is the kind of thing I would just turn on
Gotta be in the right mood for Zappa but this album is really cool.
Interesting instrumental album..not the biggest fan of the instrumental but I have to appreciate the effort and the art in it
Some good tracks, but not my kind of music
Ihan vekkulia menoa noin yleisesti vaikka välillä lähti turhankin hyvin laukalle.
Way jazzier than I expected, this is a great album of jamming!
Hauska proge ja sopivan lyhyt sellaseks. Työn teon taustalle toimivaa
Pretty cool but a little bit boring. Just a bunch of cool jazz solos.
Good instrumental album. Not anything outstanding. Just music
Not much on Spotify but that Little Umbrella bass lick is awesome
Simply way too much instrumental for my taste. 2 stars or D+.
not my cup of tea.
Struggled a lot with this one. You can hear how influential it is, and see it shifting genres and driving something in the music following it… but I can’t listen to 12 minute songs straight of 16 tracks layered on each other
Warm rodents Some tracks are interesting and complex, but falls apart a bit towards the end. I liked the first couple of songs, but then it just became hard to listen to.
Honestly, when I listened to this a few months ago, I thought it was the worst thing I’ve ever listened to. Now, I’ve been through the wringer, and this isn’t even close to the worst; it’s just not for me.
Refer back to my previous opinions on never-ending guitar.
A lot of annoying noises that I wouldn't exactly call music. Only sometimes though, mostly it's fine.
Fun but for me too silly
Definitely interesting, starts off listenable, and then gets very experimental with a lot of squeaky horn usage, unfortunately is used in the longest song and takes up to much of the overall album.
2.5
A couple of the tracks were OK, but overall not a big fan of the whole jam band thing.
favs: willie the pimp little umbrellas rating 1.6/5
Best Track - "Willie The Pimp"
i dont think i understand
2.5 - Some pretty drawn out songs but not bad overall
meh.....some songs were way too long.
sige ako na maglagay ng lyrics
Too too too jazzy
This is my third Frank Zappa, I think? Why the hell is this included? I feel like I understand him less with this in the mix. Thanks a lot, you stupid, stupid editor.
Mais um álbum instrumental genérico... Saco isso. É bom, mas o que tem de mais? Por que pegou um lugar dos outros álbuns dos Beatles?
It’s very repetitive and long. It’s at least a little interesting
En mä nyt oikein lämmennyt ⭐️⭐️
not bad, kinda zoned out listening
I’m sure to the trained ear this is extremely innovative impressive work from very talented musicians, but it just doesn’t do it for me
Saxo-rat. For some reason, I always thought Frank Zappa was a big rock guy. I suppose that is true in this album, to an extent. Not quite my jive, but probably incredibly distinct and original for the time, and definitely one of the introductory projects for modern rock of the late 60s and 70s. Ah yes, there's the rat, hiding inside of what Must be A Camel. Jesus wtf.
Man, I've tried with Zappa. This is my first attempt with Hot Rats though. It wasn't the worst, but I really didn't like it. It is just so much. It's a racket of cacophony. It doesn't ever really land into something coherent to me. I guess it is just not my style.
Groovy but the improv goes on for way too long. 2/5
Okay, cool, dude
Too jazzy for me, sorry, Frank.
I liked the first song, the rest all blended together into some kind of neverending trip.
He is not something that has worn well with me as he had greater appeal during that era
Exceptional songwriter. Cover photo gives the same vibes as the music.
It is almost imposible to listen. Even though I respect Zappa's music influence, this one is close to a total disaster
If a zig zag line was music. Went on a bit long
I'm not sure which genre to put this. Jazz? Not really. Did I enjoy it? Not really!
Bastante excéntrico, improvisado, psicodélico y raro. Por momentos bastante difícil de seguirle el ritmo
Having never listened to Zappa but being quite aware of his reputation... that's about what I expected. 4/10
What did I listen to
Found this a bit confused, just too many ideas for me really. Maybe it's just not the album for a heatwave
I’ve heard some Zappa that I like but this was not that
He got all the instruments out of the library, and wanted to get his money's worth. Very bizarre, including the weird little comedy character at the start of track 2. Credit where it is due, the first 30 seconds of 2 or 3 of them would be good theme tunes for snooker highlights on the BBC, but then just goes on way too long.
Liked the first song for the most part. I think each song has a lot of cool sounds and groovy parts but it always gets interrupted by some annoying grating sound part way through, might be worse on headphones, but I don’t want to bother trying to listen to this again on speakers. Overall the album gets really fatiguing over time, there’s not much downtime between songs so it feels like noise. I wanted to give it a 3 but after writing my thoughts it feels more like a 2 lol
It took risks. But I didn’t find it enjoyable to listen to
lukewarm rats 😐
not a big zappa girl tbh
Notable Textzeile: Hot meat, hot rats, hot cats Hot ritz, hot roots, hot zits (Hot wrists) Hot suits, hot cysts Die Textzeile ist vor allem notable weil das ja fast ein ganzes Album Instrumentals sind. Und dieses Lied auch 7 von 9 Minuten. Konsequent inkonsequent so to say. Insgesamt in seiner jazzigen-Improvisiertheit nicht über die Maßen nervig aber auch nichts was mich richtig flasht. Vermutlich hat ihn das Radium in seiner Nase schon ordentlich verstrahlt - Geld verdienen und Erfolgreich sein will man mit sowas jedenfalls nicht. Muss ja auch nicht der Anspruch sein. Gibt sicher irgendwo Leute die das für den großartigsten Shit halten. Ich bin neutral.
Elaborate Elevator Music
Oh boy. Here we go... Odd. Organised noise. I'm too sober for this weirdness.
Probably good, just not my thing
One of the reasons why I jumped into this project headfirst is the exposure to unknown or untried artists. Frank Zappa, who I never listened to before, is one of them. I get the feeling there's a general consensus in mainstream pop culture that he was a cool guy. Anyway, I didn't like this record.
Not my taste of music . I respect frank zappas music . Zappa was a controversial figure. Zappa had diverse musical influences that led him to create music that was sometimes difficult to categorize. Favourite track: peaches en regalia and litte umbrellas