Hot Rats

Gosh this is so self indulgent. The songs are so long my word. Yes I get it, he's very talented, I don't disagree. But it just seems to go on and on. Five minutes is long enough. 45 minutes long and only 6 songs is crazy. Overall: 2/5

comfortable for rainy day

Talent, but not my jam

Imagine ween were self-serious pricks

Not for me.

I know Zappa is a little “out there” this was a struggle. I like Joes Garage but won’t be revisiting this in the future I don’t think.

Not my fave, sorry Frank!

This album is fascinating, and I’m not sure what to make of it. His jazz sensibilities are excellent, though I hate the other accoutrements and psychedelic components.

Do you have to be on psychedelics to enjoy psychedelic rock?

-ehh it sounded weird sorta eerie and not my thing

Didn't really know what to expect, but it wasn't this. Appreciate his talent, but as an album it seems to be just a bunch of jams that were thrown together.

Man I know who Frank Zappa is but man what a crazy album! Lol I've never actually listened to one of his albums but it was different! Not necessarily bad but different!

Muzicaal en experimenteel, niet super vibey

Not my thing.

experimental..ad hoc-ly. They created some tension and discomfort but didn’t give me the solution.. I felt lost sometimes.. I might need to pay extra attention to appreciate the album but I didn’t want to. I prefer lying in my bed to be pleased. I like that it still has some jazz gene.

Jazz-Rock? Rock-Jazz? Not sure what to call it. If you like long meandering instrumentals then this is for you. I got bored about halfway through "Willie The Pimp" though. I feel bad giving this a low score because I do think it has it's merits. The songs aren't all the same which is tough on an instrumental album, but I get so bored with long electric guitar solos. The first and last songs are the more jazzy side that I like. I'm glad this is on the list, but I'm not going to go back and listen to it again.

Meh. Classic rock van de 60’s, ik ken het onderhand wel

Þetta var nú meiri steypan. Flottur gaur samt.

Of flóknar tilraunir fyrir mig.

Some interesting sounds, but way too much jamming. Might be fun to play, but not listen to on an album.

The worst the worst elements of free jazz and some of the worst elements of rock, combined into an album I don’t want to listen to.

I’m not sure about this album, so it gets 2 stars.

Another full album that is only six songs. Six long songs. The first couple songs were good. After a while it felt like I was just listening to endless guitar solos. Then a duck going crazy. Overall a pretty interesting album. Not sure if I would listen to it again. Willie the Pimp was probably my favorite song from the album.

not his best

Maken till saxofon- och trumpetgnöl. Ena stunden, ett trumpetsolo. Nästa stund, ett trumpet solo.

A looooong jam session. Zappa has quite the spread from Asian vibes, 70’s groove, some jazz, and, lest we forget, that organ. The organ bits are tough for me. It feels so dated. The effect, well, it makes me anxious.

meh.

Not my thing. Too busy

Overrated

Man, this is a disappointment. I'm not going to sit here and pretend I know anything about jazz, nor do I understand why some of it clicks with me, and some of it doesn't, but I know this mostly is just not my style. It feels too schmutlzy, and while I can tell everyone playing is an amazing musician, there are no passages here that feel any more special the prior or future ten minutes of this record. There are bits and pieces of something more, certainly, but I just found this to go from kinda boring to even vaguely annoying by the end, and while it certainly isn't to a degree of hate like Bitches Brew, I still think this isn't all it's cracked up to be, especially when I've now interacted with jazz albums that've spoken to me. I was just hoping this album would be one of those jazz albums.

Some nice guitar work, but that's all.

Technically, very good. Just not for me. I liked Peaches en Regalia but the rest of the album did nothing for me. Might be one i revisit to give another shot.

1.5

Peaches En Regalia - great name, and love the funky start, leading into a cute riff, a TV game show (or 90s Sonic game) sounding jingle, then back to funk. SO good. Willie The Pimp - hate the singing but love the guitar. Son Of Mr. Green Genes - not for me. Little Umbrellas - nor this. The Gumbo Variations - nor this. It gets particularly nightmarishly dial-up tone sounding towards the end. It Must Be A Camel - man, I hate this too. And after such a promising start to the album!

Probably works if you are stoned. I got bored.

..

- ganz cooles Instrumental Album, habe mich zwischendurch ein wenig wie in einem 70s Film gefühlt - stellenweise war es mir aber auch ein wenig zu zäh

Just not for me. Sounded like hot garbage. 2/5

thanks 4 the turret

Writing this the day after listening to it, I really don't remember much of anything about it. Like I remember it being alright but nothing stood out.

It's interesting to come to this album with Frank Zappa's reputation so well established. The album art aligns with his reputation, which some of the music here wasn't quite so aggressive. I tended to enjoy the shorter tracks, which is a tic of mine, and whenever the music is more straightforward I'm more on board. Better than I was expecting, but still not my favorite. 2.5 stars is what I'd give it if I could.

Widdly

Zappa is bad, ay. Confused by the worldly love he gets. Zappa is the epitomy of throw loads of shit and some will stick.

I thought I would hate this because of my own preconceptions about who Frank Zappa is. My preconceptions were inaccurate, but I still didn't like it.

Given the focus of my reviews so far this week, the generator is really putting the rat among the pidgeons. Frank Zappa isn't a normie, but neither is he a freak. He makes that very clear on Freak Out. What is he then? A cynic. A sneerer. A sniggerer. He has something of '65 Dylan about him: his fuel is disdain; we'll never understand things the way he does. Maybe there's nothing to understand. He's smart. He's funny. And we'll just have to put up with it. This takes something of a backseat on the largely instrumental Hot Rats. There's not so much puerile humour, not so much satire, but the source of Zappa's whiffy unpleasantness is still there. While Dylan could and would simply toss off an idea, Zappa has to orchestrate everything down to the most minute detail. The only thing he is expressing here is his own need for control and it sounds like it - the big drumroll that opens the record feels like it was whiplashed into LinnDrum sterility. There is no let up on Peaches En Regalia, bars and bars of densely organised music, and nowhere for the humanity to come through. Even harsh taskmasters like James Brown and Duke Ellington expected real people to dance to what their well-honed machines were playing. It isn't all jazz without freedom, but it takes the appearance of Captain Beefheart to make this genuine fun. The violins too sound like they have a bit of life to them. Still Zappa's guitar is all mastery and no parity. What room is there for a listener to make anything of all this music? Frank Zappa doesn't care. He wants you to submit, he doesn't want you to enjoy. 2.5 For all the supposed freakiness and eccentricity of Zappa - and to be fair plenty of Zappa is eccentric - Hot Rats strikes me as mostly rather square music. In Peaches en Regalia and Son of Mr Green Genes in particular there seems to be more disregard than is usual in Jazz or Blues Rock for concealing the edges of a phrase of 4 or 8 (or 2!) bars. You are presented with one chunk. Then there’s another chunk. This process is perhaps a bit stupid but I think it was also intended to be a bit entertaining because of the silliness and colour of some of the combinations of instruments and it is, sporadically. This doesn’t, however, create so much the ‘movie for your ears’ that Zappa proposed as put me in mind of the finale of the BBC’s ‘The Generation Game’ in which a member of the winning family sits in front of a conveyor belt and watches different exciting prizes go past. The contestant then gets 45 seconds to name as many of the prizes as they can remember and they take home all they can name. If you listen to Hot Rats enough times you will win all its prizes. As it is with the half dozen times I’ve heard Hot Rats - I always find myself struggling a bit and falling back on ‘Cuddly Toy! Cuddly Toy!’ the prize no one really wants but which everyone knows was there. This is Zappa’s guitar solos. They are just wallpaper. He is a very good musician and he knows his scales and his tricks and he is fast but he has nothing to say as a guitar player. Why is there so much of it? It is the weakest section of Gumbo Variations by far. Most of Willie the Pimp is a waste of time. 2/5

Boring. Two stars.

Is this what good jazz is? It’s better than the rest of the jazz albums popping up these past couple weeks. It still tests my patience. It got old real quick. I’m going to be generous here because I found the first song rather favorable.

Hmmmm. Not really my thing. It’s OK in small doses, but as an album there’s just too much of it. One listen was enough.

Soundtrack songs

I will say that there are definitely some fun little guitar jams on this album, but I need a little more than that, especially for the length of the songs. Only having one track with vocals, singing about a pimp, and drowning out a funky lead guitar riff? Come on, man. If jazz psychedelia is your thing, then go for it, but this is not even close to an album that I would intentionally put on for anything other than background noise.

I think there is a point at which you are trying too hard. And this album is three avant-garde saxophone solos over that threshold.

Jazz meets rock'n'roll. Mostly an instrumental piece of work that synthesises jazz with rock sounds. Piano, guitar riffs, saxophones etc. Interesting sound. Not sure I would listen to it again but I appreciate the originality of the sound and the experimentation that Zappa boldly pursued.

I normally like a nice rock album but this was not it for me. I’m usually more of a lyrics than sound person so listening to a 13 minute song with almost no lyrics at all is just not it for me. I did enjoy the sound of the album but when the songs are that long it gets old fast and starts to give the same feeling of listening to an electronic album.

Fumadón saxofónico

Mingus-esque songwriting and arranging with Duane Allman-esque jam band sensibilities. It's like mixing plaid with stripes; it takes a genius to pull it off. Zappa is certainly a genius. But I love plaid and dislike stripes. One either enjoys listening to jam bands or one doesn't. If, like me, you don't, then regardless of how great you think his mind-blowing heads and arrangements are, the 80-85% percent of this album occupied by self-indulgent soloing is just taxing.

My uncultured mind can't separate this from elevator music.

Oh, thank God, another Zappa album. Granted, this one has "Peaches En Regalia", a great composition that I really enjoy. The rest of the album takes that virtuosity and turns it into faux-Jazz wankery. As an alternative, I might suggest the album "Flex-Able", by Zappa alum Steve Vai. It's weird and has it's fair share of wankery, but at least it's not another Frank Zappa record. I'll throw "Hot Rats" and extra half-star because it spares us from Zappa's ridiculous lyrics and singing.

4/10 - There was a lot of interesting stuff but not necessarily in a good way. It was a lot of Frank just messing around on the guitar. Some of it sounded like it could be in a video game especially the beginning of Son of Mr. Green Genes.

Jazzy and funky instrumentals, but did not like the lyrics in the song that had it. Felt more like background music.

You know those scenes in the 70s and 80s Disney movies like Robinhood where they are just running around or fighting a slapstick type battle ... This is probably the band that was playing the back ground music. Lucky for them, I love Disney's Robinhood.

Certainly an interesting listen; didn't hate it, but can't see myself going back to it any time soon.

Mostly instrumental only. Tough on the ears; not an album you need to hear twice; great musicianship, but rock jazz fusion is not easy to enjoy.

Sounds like a guitarist who won't shut up while we all wait to start rehersal

Idk one of those technically good but not for me ones 2/5

It's fine to listen to. Jazzy

I mean, fine for what it is -- essentially a jam album. It's just not MY jam.

I fell asleep.

Sounded like chaotic jazz.

very instrumental...

Jeg forventede noget sjovt. Men fik filmisk jazz. Willie the pimp er ret sej selvom den er 9 minutter lang. Det var nok noget i den retning jeg havde forventet hele albummet ville være. 🤷 Ikke albummets skyld, men det er svært at score højt når man skuffer. 🙃

This was not that great. Very 70s. Felt corny.

This is terrible.

Whatever

I found it a bit underwhelming. I usually appreciate musical eccentricity, but here I felt disconnected from the actual music. The long, drawn-out instrumentals left me wishing for the songs to finish. I’m not sure why this album is on the list.

Jazzy rock, really not my thing

5.4

Not for me. Nice jazzy/jammy moments but a little too wild

I've played this a few times and always struggled - I dunno why but this feels like purposeless noodling to me for the majority. Captain Beefheart and the saxophone lifted it from a slog that the rest of it felt like. Maybe one day I will grow up and come round to this album but as of today it's a no.

Goes a little to hard in sax.

Not great. Felt like a mixture of lift music and music for adverts!

Terrible

Wasn't the biggest fan but i suppose it wasn't awful

Loved Peaches in Regalia, not so much the rest

I don't particularily like long instrumental jams. At least track 1 and 3 are pleasing to the ears, and track 3 has some excellent bass playing. Then comes track 4 and is absolutely horrible, and drags track 5 along the destructive path. It's a shame, 'cause there's a lot of great playing going on.

I don't get it. Doesn't feel cohesive, like a bunch of ditties put together within a song... a jam session where a melody is picked up for a moment and then dropped, without ultimate direction. Granted, some interesting sounds, and an interesting fusion of rock and jazz in a psychedelic sense. Fave track is maybe 3, Son of Mr Green Genes. Least fave is 5, The Gumbo Variations.

No. 2/5

ok

Vibey but also pretty fuckin weird

It's nice and all, but I just can't get that excited over an instrumental album.

Not my thing

Arvostan hyvää soitantaa, mutta ei ole minua varten tämä.

A little too much like Captain Beefheart with it's atonality.

Pretty mid

Hot Rats is pretty much a Jazz/ Jam Session album. I had heard of the name and am glad I now get to associate a work to the artist. One of my favorite tracks was Willie The Pimp, the solos were interesting and captivating. The saxaphone on The Gumbo Variations was also quite good. Although it's not what I'm accustomed to listening to I would have this album run in the background and could get work done. It's not one of my favorites but a good work to know of.

Had a nice, smooth vibe to it, but I am not a fan of albums without lyrics. Felt a little repetitive to me.

sometimes it's good to be challenged by an album. sometimes you spend your drive home quietly muttering "what the fuck frank zappa" over and over.

This was interesting. Not a huge fan, but it wasn't the worst thing I've ever heard. I thought Frank Zappa's music was supposed to be more weird.

You know what, 2.5. When placed in context with everything else the generator has given me this week, this has: very few vocals, it had some good rhythm, it's called Hot Rats. I'm still rounding down because some of the saxophone(?) squealing got really really grating and the song with vocals was not great and also nine minutes long.

Not for me 2/5

Not a fan. I knew very little about Zappa before listening to this album. Based on the bits I'd picked up about him in pop culture I expected this album to be very weird. Relative to my expectations, this album was fairly tame. Some songs were actually decent (e.g. Peaches En Regalia). But some songs were way too jammy and annoying (e.g. Gumbo Variations).

Ok.

Zappa with a guest appearance by Captain Beefheart, just as weird as you might imagine. The band is good and Zappa is an extraordinary guitar player

I had a friend who was obsessed with Zappa. He’d smoke a shit ton of pot while putting out the paper at night and crank Frank. I enjoy some of the melodies here, but I’m not stoned all the time, which is why most of this sounds like just a bunch of noise.

Lipsahti vahvan alun jälkeen ärsyttävän puolelle. Mennään nyt kuitenkin kakkosella.

Really liked when this album ended

Zappa. Just Zappa

Not for me

Ratshit, batshit, dirty old twat! 69 assholes tied in a knot! Hooray! Lizard shit! FUCK!

Первые две песни интересные, остальные будто простой джаз, не распробовал.

He’s always hit or miss with me

I always thought people didn't like Zappa because his music was inaccessible. It's just boring! They just noodle along them start another noodle. It's not good enough to be jazz, just very, very dull.

Really, really weird and funky album.

Frank does the “mess around”! Love Zappa - this is not my favorite- basically instrumental but it definitely has its moments

Nice and creative but not for me

There are some real good grooves hiding under the screaming guitar. But Zappa just can’t let the guitar breathe even for a couple of seconds.

Gets a bit too much

164 albums into this project and this is the second Zappa album I’ve listened to. One I think is enough. I have heard exactly zero Rolling Stones albums so far.

Music ok

All that I knew about Frank Zappa before listening to this album is that he had crazy hair, a crazy mustache and crazy names for his kids. Appropriately enough, this album is a crazy mix of jazz, funk, rock and psychedelia that bounces around all over the place. The album is mostly instrumental with crazy lyrics from crazy Captain Beefheart on just one song. Technically very accomplished, but it’s all a bit much.

Dieses Album braucht wohl etwas Zeit um sich reinzuhören. Habe es dann aber sein gelassen.

Also fine. Makes me a little anxious as background work music.

It's a bit long a lot of the songs. They're interesting at the start but go nowhere.

Idk not a big fan of this. Largely forgettable.

Überwiegend instrumental. 6 lange Songs. Für die richtige Stimmung ok, für den Alltag nicht geeignet. 2/5

Album of Riffs

High 2. Good background music

Of it's time

Quite psychedelic, very 70s. Just not my favourite style

Here's my problem, I am not a fan of rock instrumentals. I find them very repetitive and too long. I do like classical music, though. This was just too much guitar solo for me. I did not enjoy it.

Eh

Could never get into Zappa. As much as my father would've liked me to

that's a nope

I couldn’t find my way with it. I couldn’t make it make sense. I could feel into bits of it but as a whole, it didn’t work for me. 2

Expertly composed, but just not my jam.

I only liked peaches en regalia

Difícil de digerir

Strange and surprisingly brief.

Those are some hot rats but as with the previous album on the list, however the competence of musicality it just fades to the background with nothing to pull me back.

Clearly did not do enough acid in college to get Zappa.

I expected words for some reason. I won't hold that against the album. Interesting for sure. I would never complain about it being on, let's say that much.

More psychedelic than rock

Some of these ten minute long songs feel like they're twenty minutes long. Pass.

Not anything that stood out for me.

God, this was hard for me to engage with. It was jazzy, proggy, I don't know. I think it was good? If you like this sort of thing? I really don't.

I don't know.... I'm kind of impressed that this came out in 1969, it seemed ahead of it's time. I find the title kind of annoying because it seems to be trying too hard to be odd for the sake of being odd which seems to be a Frank Zappa thing. At times the music was too "out" or avant garde for me and in some songs the noodling and jams went on for way too long. I'm not a big fan of this type of rock/ jazz fusion if that's what you want to call it but there were times I was feeling it. As an overall listening experience it was better than a 1 but didn't really earn a 3.

It's fine, Zappa is whatever, this is about as middle of the road as you can get

Yay....more jazz... This list is doing a good job of turning me off of jazz for the foreseeable future.

I was expecting more variety in everything. Lot of extended weird guitar jams that lacked structure and cohesion.

Never listened to an album of his before. Best track was Willie the Pimp, coincidentally the only one with a vocalist. That one had enough going for it. The rest was just too jazzy for me, apart from The Gumbo Variations which I kind of enjoyed. A mid to low 2

Not too bad, I was expecting super weird, but got (what I consider) relatively normal jazz psyche fusion. It will get another play. A low 2.

Alas, I couldn't even finish it, I was bored to tears. There's something I'm not getting about this style of instrumental music, and while I'm sure it's technically solid, it's just so dull and samey! I don't know.

Trippy rock jazz - 2.5

This stuff bores. Not as insufferable as the last one of his I got though

This wasn't for me, I typically don't like jam sessions like this

Love Zappa, one of the most underrated guitarists ever. But this one isn’t my favorite of his

aw more jazz fusion again… yeah it’s fine but i don’t want to listen to it.

“Peaches en Regalia” is a great song. The rest is just so so but I’m also not the biggest fan of jazz fusion. I want to rate this higher. I want to appreciate Zappa. This album didn’t do it unfortunately. Maybe it’s just me

A 13 minute song that has violin solos that sound like guitar isn't up my ally, I'm glad I heard it, but I don't need to hear it again.

Would give it a 1, but “Peaches En Regalia” is a 5/5 track sooo…

well, I like this one better then the "mothers of invention" that was in the list earlier. But really don't see the need for more then 1 "frank zappa" album to be in the list. Willie the Pimp had a catchy lil beat.

Pretty avante guarde -- even now!

I had (and have) no idea who Frank Zappa is, I heard something about him somewhere, sometime, and this album did not change anything. I didnt feel anything. NNN

# 181 : I could listen to it, its ok, Only one track stood out and I even had to skip a few tracks to get it over with. But I Will not go back to Frank! I liked Son Of Mr. Green Genes

Jazz fusion. Not my thing. It just sounded like he was playing with his little brother’s toy instruments.

I was enjoying this to start. The 2nd track with h his vocals is a ball. But then it's all instrumental after that with a LOT of random solos, so it's 2 stars for me.

A bit twiddling

Is it groundbreaking? Yup. Is it unconventional? You know it. Was Frank possibly bat-shit crazy? Signs Point to Yes. Does that mean I have to like it? No. What a weird album. Glad that's over so I never have to listen to it again.

This is between 2 and 3 stars for me. I enjoyed the improv style music but I felt like it retread the same ground for too long during a song and didnt mix things up enough to warrant a 8+ minute song. Ive been hearing more of Frank Zappa and I cant say Im super impressed. As an improv artist it is pretty good but the violin in the gumbo variations was way too much

Really interesting music. Great players. Frank is so unique. A lot of masturbatory soloing over one chord which knocks it down a bit on my ranking

I cannot tell you why I’ll happily listen to seven minute tracks full of hard bop sax, piano and trumpet solos but felt like every track on this album was too long. Not horrible or unlistenable but I can’t think of a situation where I’d be in the mood to hear this again.

I really wanted to like this, but i just found it all a bit much

I don't think the rats were very hot

Pass

zappa zeig wasd chasch peaches en regalia sehr vilsitigs intro(?) aber nöd meh iwie willie the pimp hani zerst recht cool gfunde aber muss sege, nach 5 min solo langeds mier langsam nöd schlecht, eifach chli langwilig wenns lied 4 min gange wär, hettis recht cool gfunde aber bruder ich han mich voll uf mis neue buech gfreut aber es isch ultramüehsam gschribe :( und morn sött schlecht wetter werde, also nod so vill skifahre leider danke fürd ufmerksamkeit, wiiter zu son of mr green genes ok cool nomal 9 min recht en andere vibe omg sorry ich chan gad nüt mit dem umegedudel und umegenudel ahfange me muess aber naturlich au festhalte, dass de schnauz vom zappacosta sehr solid isch ja oke lohnt sich glaub nöd zu jedem lied öppis sege, ich würd glaub immer s gliche sege DRIIZEEHHH MINUTE????????????????? shit wird das ernsthaft mis erste 1 d musig gajtmer unglaubmich uf de sack JA ICH WEISS DU CHASCH MUSIG bitte hör UF oke han chli über ihn glese, find de frank eig no e spannendi persönlichkeit ok ich bin froh isches verbii

Not for me. 6 tracks and 43 minutes it was always going to be a bit weird.

Pretty ground breaking in its day but doesn’t really appeal to me after one listen. Now it sounds like every piece of soundtrack instrumental under a 60/70s street movie.

' is better

Although I’ve listened to a fair amount of Frank Zappa over the years, I don’t think I’ve ever listened to Hot Rats before. However, I did recognize “Peaches En Regalia.” Even if I hadn’t heard that song, I could never have mistaken the tracks on this album for anybody other than Zappa. His highly technical, yet not always aesthetically pleasing, guitar playing is easily recognizable. I have always admired his guitar playing and the dark humor that characterizes his song writing, but I could only take him in small doses. This album is no exception.

Just sounds like background film or 1970s cop show music. Fine playing it whilst busy. Not the worst I’ve heard but doesn’t grab me or make me want to play it again.

I like the song-based Zappa more than the instrumental Zappa. I can appreciate the musicianship, but there's something about his instrumental compositions that has never connected with me. They're too herky-jerky and theoretical for my tastes. Also, I find his version of jazz fusion too composed; but at the same time, when the band does let loose and jam, like on The Gumbo Variations, I don't love their groove. I was trying to figure out why I love Miles Davis' brand of jazz fusion, which is often crazier than the music we're hearing on this album. But I think it comes down to two things. Zappa's band's interplay (at least on this album) isn't thrilling, and the arrangements often irk me. I'm never swept away like I almost always am by Miles or like I was on the recent Herbie Hancock album. I'm more aware that these are great musicians than I am enjoying what they're playing. Anyway, I admire Zappa more than like him. I'm amazed and happy that he had such a successful career following his uncompromising artistic vision. It's just not a vision that I always dig. I prefer his albums with the Mothers.

I like the idea of Frank Zappa more than I like his music. Creative, intellectual, freaky, guitar playing, dark & good looking---he checks all the boxes. But every time I've explored a Zappa album I'm left confused and a bit empty. I should like this but truth be told, I just can't ever seem to connect. (Though I always liked Valley Girl) I liked that this album had funky stuff, jazzy stuff going on. But then at times I was thought where am I on this album? It's an endless jam and did I end up at a Phish show? I'm confused and empty.

No me gusta nada

Could barley remember the album today after listening to it yesterday. Think that speaks for my listening experience, nothing really stood out, just a bunch instrumentals.

Jam band. Not my cup of tea.

Its ok. Not quite the fusion jazz genius composer he is sometimes touted as. Not so tight composition and meandering feeling solos even if composed

Perhaps a great album and a genious musician but I do not take drugs to like this music... ;o)

“It must be a camel” was too much fit my brain 😵‍💫

A solo project by a member of the Mothers of Invention, featuring a song with Captain Beefheart on vocals. I'm not optimistic that I'll enjoy this... UPDATE: In the end it was ok. Certainly not horrific like MoI or CB. 5/6 track are instrumentals. Whilst self indulgent its not awful as background music. I can confidently say I will never listen to this again, though. Rating: 2.5/5 Playlist track: Peaches En Regalia Date listened: 22/12/23

Some of this is ok, but it gets a bit annoying for me after a while. Sounds like carnival or old school video game music.

Some of the tracks are interesting but nothing particularly so, mostly just pointless avant garde jazz noodling.

Good musicianship but too "far out" for my tastes.

I didn't pay a whole lot of attention while listening to this but I thought the guitars were interesting. I did find some tracks to drag on, though.

enjoyed most of it. the songs that were experimental were just annoying

Some really good horns

While this may have been a revolutionary album for its time, "Hot Rats," as the name may suggest, is all over the place. "Peaches en Regalia" starts the album as a mostly composed modern-jazz composition. However, the album really decays into just loud, free-form noodling. There really isn't anything that stands out in this album because its blaring, overly produced, and really just amelodic. Not to dash the avant-garde and inventive spirit, but this was hard to listen to.

experimental instrumental. meh.

Another one where although the playing is impressive it leaves me cold. Noodling

The difference between this and a pure Jazz jam session is the length of the solos. A lot of great Jazz goes on for a long time, especially the Hard Bop stuff that I particularly love, but there is a structure. You play the head, everyone the band leader wants to take a solo takes a solo, and the bandleader lets you know when to cut it off. Maybe I just don’t vibe with Zappa as a bandleader, because he lets things drag on for far far too long. The solos don’t have any structure, they don’t have any rests. The quote from Miles Davis that everyone misinterprets is ‘it’s about the notes you don’t play.’ He’s talking about the space you leave inbetween phrases, where you let the music breathe, and then you launch into the impressive long runs when you’re building to the climax of the solo. You don’t launch immediately into a long run, because then you’ve got nowhere to build up to. I was gonna give an example, Joe Henderson’s solo on Song For My Father, but Zappa proves that he can do that in It Must Be A Camel, which is by far the best song on the album. Still, check out Song For My Father, it’s a great track. And the fact that Zappa proves that he can do it properly makes the mismanaging of the solos earlier in the album all the more infuriating. Some people should just not be allowed near Jazz

not for me tbh thought i wouldve liked it sorry frank zappa

Another bubble prog rock album that probably shouldn't be included on this list if it were more expansive beyond the narrow scope this list seems to want to occupy. It's a fine album but more of the same, i'm afraid. I have a lot of respect for Zappa as a person, I want to add, but didn't find anything insightful in this album aside from being a fun prog rock affair.

Instrumental but too much going on to be background music. It’s ok

Interesting and enjoyed parts of tracks but was hard to listen to some tracks fully

Frank crappa. Guitars good can take or leave the rest. Only song liked Willie the pimp. 3.5/10

Not my style

Was für ein Hippie Gedudel. Es tut jetzt auch nicht unbedingt weh, es ist aber auch einfach nicht geil. Aber immerhin weiß ich jetzt, was Frank Zappa für Musik gemacht hat.

Cool!

I went into this not knowing what to expect. I did like the Green Genes song, but honestly the rest of it was just too random and noodley for me - there was one point in the Gumbo track I thought I was going to go insane.

ehh too jazzy for me, first couple of songs were fun but it got too repetitive and way too long, not to say it’s bad but i cannot imagine a situation where i’d want to sit and listen to 12 minute long jazz instrumental songs, it at Least has to be rock or classical music xD

I keep forgetting about the connection between Frank Zappa and Captain Beefheart. This album reminded me - it sounds like some of Beefheart but with everything smoothed over, all the weirdness and discomfort replaced with technical musicianship. It's fine but I can't think of any reason to listen to it. Uncharitably rounding down to 2. music: hated. (⌐■_■)

I hope the other 1000 albums are better

Album is wild and crazy. Sounds are all over the place and I find myself grooving along prettt often Loved track 3.

started well, declined, gave up, sorry mr zappa

ummmm i'm happy he was able to make the music he wanted!

ummmmmmmmm. was willing to root for him with peaches and then immediately i wanted off this acid trip!!!!!!!

was ok, but not really my taste

He's a really great and talented musician, i suppose. Still, that doesn't inspire me to spent time listening to this.

Eh, funky but not my vibe.

Funky, not sure if I'd seek it out, but I wouldn't skip if it came on. idk.

Now I know why I have never actually listened to anything by Frank Zappa before, some interesting bits, but songs as whole were boring.

Not exactly my style of music, but not altogether unlistenable either. Unlikely to ever come back to listen to it again, though.

I didn't enjoy this.

I like some of the earlier tracks on this album, but rambling free-form slightly-dissonant tracks like The Gumbo Variations and It Must Be A Camel just are not my jam.

Anyone ever play with a rubber chicken? It sounds like Frank Zappa sure did.

I just don’t get him.

En osaa sanoa mitään. Jotain hauskoja juttuja. Suurimmaksi osaksi vain ihan jees funk-ilottelua. Ei sentään mene jammailuksi tai show-offiksi: siksi jees ja iloinen lopputulema. Mutta ei herätä tunteita

Lots of good moments but he doesn't know when to stop

background music that you would get annoyed with

Too abstract

Just Zappa and friends wanking on their instruments for what averages out to over 7 minutes per track. Thankfully, it’s mostly instrumental.

Basically a 45 minute guitar solo. Something to have lulling in the background.

meh

I’ve never listened to Zappa before because I just assumed I wouldn’t like his music. The album was not really in my wheelhouse but I’m glad I’ve heard it. Much different than I thought it would be. I liked the horns and although I’m not a jazz fan, I liked some of the jazzy riffs. The coarseness of the vocals on Willie the Pimp are perfect for the song.

I was and I am still not a Frank Zappa fan, especially the jazz-fusion style of this predominantly instrumental album, as exemplified by the track "Peaches en Regalia" which is familiar from various compilation albums. The only non-instrumental is "Willie the Pimp" and features vocals by Captain Beefheart. Some tracks, especially "The Gumbo Variations", reminded me of the album "Between Nothingness & Eternity" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra.

Chaotic instrumental rock/jazz fusion is not my thing.

Goes off the rails the last couple tracks.

no em gusta Zappa

Frank Zappa is without a doubt a genius in music but I can't get into most of his music. This here is one example. The tracks sound like giant jam sessions with some horn arrangements on time - which can be great. But I think I just got lots of other experience with that already by listening to many prog rock albums. Hence I can't rate it this one that high.

Honestly kind of irritating to listen to a whole album of this.

At times it felt like it just sounded like a band warming up before a concert. Not sure how I felt about this one.

Interesting but not likely to seek it out again.

I’ve only heard of Zappa from an old Saturday night live episode and people on Reddit who can’t stop talking about him. This is weird stuff like if someone gave an angry Cole’s up person a saxophone.

Outlandish in theory and in practice.

this unironically annoyed me so much 1 and a half stars

I had heard of Frank Zappa, he was well before my time, but I would have heard older people talk about his music highly. For me, I just don't get whatever the sound or genre he tried to achieve. I did like the horns on many of the tracks, but the tracks were mostly lengthy and wandered aimlessly for what felt like an eternity, and to be honest, sounded more like a group of musicians having a jamming session, taking turns to bounce off each other as the lead in an impromptu arrangement. Although elements of this album are tolerable it wouldn't be something I'd choose to listen to.

Ok background music

The second song, Willie The Pimp, had some excellent guitar. I’m not sure if Frank Zappa is the architect behind that great guitar ballad, but I do know he has a child named Moon Unit.

Mostly instrumental, very jammy

Yeah still not a fan of music with no lyrics. It wasn’t bad, but I wouldn’t listen again.

Just not into it.

-so far…….very interesting -sounds are funky but i do prefer lyrics in my song -peaches en regalia sounds like video game music and that is a compliment -favorites: willie the pimp -only like willie the pimp because theres Some words and the guitar is fun to listen to -i really like sounds! but i don’t like just 8 minutes of sounds with no lyrics -its the reason i don’t love classical music -son of mr green genes is kinda cool tho

meh

Frank Zappa is really cool but I always find myself liking the prog elements in his music rather than the basic building blocks of the songs. He never blows me away with harmony+melody. I think that's why I appreciate bands like the Beatles and the Beach Boys, because at the foundation of their music the melody and harmony are so great on their own. "Peaches en Regalia" is a good example of what I'm talking about - the melody is pretty straightforward and forgettable. There's banjos and synths and fun roto drum toms and maybe even a shamisen i hear? That's cool. It's kind of like looking at a complex painting and only being intrigued by the colors of the paint though. "Willie The Pimp" had a cool intro- I like the vocal parts but then it pretty quickly goes into a straightforward 1970's ish classic rock jam. "Son of Mr. Green Genes" is more of a classic rock jam. "Little Umbrellas" is nice, I like the dissonant harmony on the woodwind instrument in the start. This is great! Something different and intriguing that isn't tied to a difference in timbre/instrument voice/another layer. I might be a little biased at the moment because I've been writing a lot of videogame music and a key concept in the kind of music I write focuses on having fewer instruments doing more interesting things, rather than having the interesting things extrapolated onto MORE instruments. I think hearing this live would be an ideal experience. It's another album that confirms that I'm not really a fan.

Interesting

I mean, he can play guitar? Cool.

Too much "widdle widdle widdle" for me and not enough lyrics. The musicianship itself wasn't awful so not a straight 1 but this was not my thing, had songs that went on too long and kinda irritated me at times. Meh.

nothing that great 12 minute songs meh

- not really my jam. Fine. Just not for me. - FZ/HR was referenced in something I read and I cannot remember it and it’s driving me mental

Hot rats. Yes, please.

I appreciate it but isent quite my genre. The long bluesy songs isent my cup of tea

- Only ever listened to Apostrophe before and it was years ago - Not a big fan of instrumental albums - Another one that I could imagine clicking for me at some point, but right now not for me - Fav songs: Willie the Pimp, It Must be a Camel

Been thinking for years that Frank Zappa was a modern day rapper. Was surprised he wasn't, but not pleasantly.

Long instrumentals that don’t flat my boat. Second song is what I imagine Snellius has named his todger

Lots of boring guitar, only really functions as background music but isn't good at that

So this is Zappa? Huh. I guess I wasn’t expecting it to be so jazzy. There are moments on track 1, and the start of tracks 2 and 3, where the 'non-rock' instruments (violins, flutes etc) mesh just right and I really dig it. The rest of the time I found it veered too much towards either generic rock soloing or free form jazz, without finding an enjoyable balance. A quick Wikipedia tells me today would’ve been his birthday. Happy 82nd, Frank.

I tried to get into FZ in the past. None of his musical phases do it for me. I like jazz, I like rock, I like prog. I don't like Zappa. This is no different. The opener, Peaches is fine then it becomes so tiresome. An indulgent wankfest. Sorry. Its probably me. 2

Too freaky for me I am afraid.

Não consegui perceber a conexão do rock com o jazz. Mesmo sabendo da qualidade e importância, não funciona para mim.

No lyrics

gah. nah. no. i don’t like. i like his name but that’s kind of it. i feel like it was just something i had to get done with. there was potential but it wasn’t put to use. i understand why people would like it though.

Funky Jazz not be so horrible tho

Easch song (or should I sa piece) has something that I like, but in the end a little too abstract in approach and execution for my tastes. 2.5 stars

Peñazo que no es para mí. Mira que me gustan Pink Floyd o los Doors que tenían sus momentos psicodelia, rock progresivo, pero a Frank Zappa nunca he terminado de cogerle la gracia.

good

So.. this sounds like I’m listening to an neverending jamsession. It’s making me very nervous.

All I hear are hippies dancing with abandon at Woodstock, melodies are non-existent. Some of the songs start out good and made me hopeful, but about 30 seconds in the musicians' drugs kicked in and all reasonable structure crumbled into a pile of sounds.

Decent background music so long as it stays away from the skit-style vocals, but not an LP I would consider essential listening by any means.

A fun listen

Begon best aardig, hoewel ik altijd dacht dat dit niks voor mij was. Uiteindelijk kwam daar dus ook wel weer op uit; Het duurde allemaal te lang en te veel 'moeilijk doen'. Jammer.

Dat was verrassend goed te hebben, maar helaas bijna volledig instrumentaal op wat geschreeuw na.

Hmmm ik kan mn aandacht nooit zo goed houden bij instrumentale muziek. En dit is heel veel instrumentale muziek. Zit best goed in elkaar en ook best leuke stukken maar in het geheel is het me toch allemaal wat te wazig.

Peaches & regalia ken ik als tune van de Snob2000 en vind ik best een leuk nummer. Verder vind ik Frank Zappa’s muziek nogal intensief. @gijs, mocht je de snob2000 niet kennen; je zult het fantastisch vinden.

I mean, it’s fine. It’s just not my thing. I get that it’s technically accomplished and it’s an interesting fusion of genres and influences. I just wouldn’t want to listen to it more than once.

Apart from the first song, ‘Peaches in Regalia’. The rest of the album is the embodiment of Hot Rats. In all senses of the word it shouldn’t exist.

svolítið mikið rúnk en áhugavert. Verður leiðinlegt eftir því sem líður á. Skemmtilegt að deus hafi stolið bassa ú little umbrellas

Beetje een gekkie op een gitaar. De muziek is vrolijk maar voor mij een iets te hoog pingel gehalte. **

I appreciate it, but I don't enjoy it.

Not my bag

Unintelligible to me. My ears aren't sophisticated enough to decypher this as music - it's just a technically competent jazz noise.

Not at all what I was expecting. Largely background music.

Wank

Not sure what i just listened too.... Is this rock jazz? Not awful but not my thing.

This album could be the soundtrack playing in the intro credits to a 1970s movie where the cops are chasing the badguys. Not a fan of the sound at all, and the saxophone could be dialed down a lot.

I wasn't looking forward to this. Zappa is one of those few artists where I just don't know where to start. I was surprised by the promising jazz intro on Peaches. It's actually quite a funky album for 1969. I lost a little interest during the guitar breaks. Gumbo at 12'54" is about 12 minutes too long.

I'd like to think that it's a novel album, but weren't all albums from the 60s populated with extremely long songs that made you feel your acid trip is even that much buzzier? In that respect, it's a good representative, I suppose. Go Frank!

Hot Rats starts off a bit more weird than it is interesting. Son of Mr. Green Genes finds a bit of a groove and the extended guitar or sax or whatever the instrument of the minute is, tends to be fine. Overall, more of an experiment than something to listen to repeatedly.

Very odd - been in my life for 50 years because my muso dad was on the good drugs. Never listened. Might not listen again.

I found myself enjoying the first two tracks but the second side quickly descended into unpleasant chaos. Sounded like someone had picked up a saxophone for the very first time.

Willie the Pimp is the only track i've got time for on this, oddly the only track with vocals, or Captain Beafheart. Don't come for me the Zappa-army.

I like Frank Zappa, but I'm much more there for the fun stuff than the jazz noodling or 'serious musician' stuff. And that's what you get here. Peaches En Regalia slaps though.

Psychedelic rock in it´s essence, It seems to me. But, although the album has some great passages, It extends itself too much, becoming lost sometimes in this experimental shit that, for me, doesn't cut it. In the end, hippie rock and roll, some cool riffs and arrangements, but that´s It. Me no like so much.