Hot Rats

Ich stelle mir bei Zappa immer vor, das er so Kinder Comic-mäßig wie ein sekundärer Schurke lacht (Hihihi!) wenn jemand seine Musik tatsächlich hört. Oder, in diesem Fall. Jim Henson Ratten. Hihihi, motherfockers

Elaborate Elevator Music

Liked this more than I thought I would. It has a wild ferocity in the playing.

3.5 Fun album. Much better than I had expected.

Did not expect I’d like a Zappa album this much.

First Zappa album I ever made it the whole way through.

Oh boy. Here we go... Odd. Organised noise. I'm too sober for this weirdness.

Really enjoyed this and i'm not sure why as there are so many red flags and things i normally don't like!

Probably good, just not my thing

Really enjoyable, felt effortlessly technical, great stuff

The one and only genre bending jester, maestro of mercurial mischief, Mr. Franklin Zappa! With this 1969 bluesy-jazz masterpiece he presents the world a gift, dedicated to his newly born son; Dweezil —HOT RATS!

I do not like Frank Zappa music. Or so I thought. When this album popped up there was a strong feeling of dread. Then, there was little to almost zero Frank Zappa singing and it wasn't that bad! So... maybe it's Frank Zappa singing that sucks.

It's good. Peppy, different. I liked it. It was a surprise. 3.75

la verdad muy buena musica, alguna no tanto. un 3. digno, me gusta, disfruto de esta musica, pero no me cambio la vida.

So, this is an instrumental album which largely feels like a jam band. Not normally my favourite. There is one vocal song so the verbal jokes are less obvious on this one. However, there is still a whole lot of musical references. Most of the cuts feel safe. Maybe that is in retrospect but nothing feels too out of place here. Part of me always goes back to the fact that Zappa signed Alice Cooper for their first two albums. The danger and anticipation is missing from this record. The production comes through. I'm hoping that there is at least one more Zappa album on this list.

B+

So weird. So jazzy. So jammy. So great. Rest in power Zappa

vibe

Very cool but not really my vibe. The songs are sooooooo long

1) Jazzy intro. *** 2) Funky beats. Nice bass tone that carries the rhythm section. Zappa's guitar wiggles through the spaces in time. ***** 3) Nice shifts of pace. Strong organ and piano segments. ***** 4) Interlude - tidy **** 5) Equal parts incoherent and sublime. The drums are fantastic and keep the frantic pace. I'm not a big sax man but can appreciate the licks. I'm a big sucker for an organ however, and those little short sharp tones that cut in from 8 minutes are a thing of beauty. Zappa is going off on one here... The drop at 10 minutes into drum and bass only is lovely. ***** 6)Not sure I needed this after the previous track. Still - nothing wrong with this one either. *** This one is probably going to be 4.5/5. It's everything I like and my first foray into Zappa. Only 133 albums to go!

Good music, felt more conventional, which is to say I got a bit bored lol

Funkadelic!

This was absolutely nothing like what I was expecting to hear from Zappa; always thought his stuff was way out there bizarre but this had a very pleasant psych blues sound, musically. Lyrically, I admittedly did not catch much.

Is that hot rats as in "these rats have been in the sun too long" or as in "damn idk bout you but Mickey and Minnie be lookin awfully fine these days"

I have a hard time getting into a lot of the Zappa canon somewhat due to not usually caring for his boomer brand of satirical lyrics. Albums like this and "The Grand Wazoo", where the focus is basically entirely on instrumental improv rock, are his best material for my own tastes. 9/10.

8/10 This was a nice, mostly instrumental, jazz fusion album. I especially enjoyed the first half.

very cool, amazing for studying

This album was really nice to get lost in after an exhausting day at work. There's always something interesting going on, but the sounds aren't overwhelming. It just feels freeing listening to the album. It pulls many different influences together into a strange cocktail that could easily become utter nonsense, but Frank somehow pulls it off. Heart and centre are the guitar solos for me. Overall there is such strong musicianship at play here that impresses me a lot. Could maybe use one or two songs with more structure, but the jam-esque quality i'm usually not that fond of works for me on here. (And how much fun is It Must Ce A Camel?)

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.

I don't know if I have much to say about this, because it's mostly just a group of really cool instrumentals along with one song where Captain Beefheart shows up to say some things, but Hot Rats is a solid jazzy rock thing if that's what you want. Groovy 60s/70s movie soundtrack, basically. Cool shit if you're game. Also, all rats are hot.

This was a ride. I had no idea that this was what Frank Zappa was like. Great listen.

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

Love this record! Some of the little pinky riffs and solo phrases are deeply embedded in my brain. Such awesome free phrasing. And yet - it feels very nicely planned and arranged and quite formally composed in a lot of places. I always feel like it zips by so quick and am surprised to remember that it's a standard album length

Oooo, I really liked that. some of the Saxophone got to be too much. But towards the end of the album, I made the stank face where the musicians were just going off.

Willie the pimp is a force to be reckoned with 😂 and I couldn’t explain why. He is so odd… yet still accessible. 4.1.

This was great. Didn’t care for the vocals on the second track but they were short-lived. Psychedelic jazz rock! Not everything hit perfectly, but there was party to like. 8/10 Most Excellent

This was ok! Not my favorite but I liked the music and enjoyed it more than I expected i would.

Fun listen. Tracks 2 and 3 are my favorites.

If you are ever in danger of taking this whole 1001 Albums list too seriously, or believing it to be an actual arbiter of quality and essentialness when it comes to the history of popular music, consider that the list contains no less than three (3) albums by retro regressive, nostalgia riding, classic rock cosplaying dorks The Kings of Leon and just one (1) solitary entry from the long, wild, weird and bogglingly amazing discography of Frank Zappa. Zappa was many things - virtuosic, iconoclastic, scatalogical, pig heading, insanely prolific, prolificaly insane - but you can never say he wasn't forward focused. He would've hated KOL. Zappa deserves far more representation on this list. This album slaps hard. Listen to it and remember to distrust all authority, including this list.

I usually cringe and hide from frank zappa because , honestly I don’t get it. I appreciate him but for the most part it sounds like noise. This album was OUTSTANDING! Pure excellence! I loved it!

I have to be in the right mood for Zappa and today I was not.

I'm not really sure there are words to describe this. Loved it though

Fun jam session. But not something I'd really return to. A whole extra star for "The Gumbo Variations" though. Absolute banger.

Starts off really good, but gets tedious towards the end. Not my favorite of his works, but I will return to it.

We know is album is fire. If you don't like Zappa, you can cut through some of the corniness of some of his other work and just listen to the sick talent that is Zappa and his crew.

Yes! I'd forgotten how joyfully loopy Frank Zappa albums are. I went through a definite phase in my 20's, but it has been a very long while. I had a blast revisiting this gem.

I’ve never been further than dabbling with Zappa. This was the best experience I’ve had so far, and I will return to this album.

More words have probably been written by people who hated Zappa than those who loved him. I'm not going to improve on any of those. I get that it's not for everyone, but I think it's worthy. Probably amongst his most consistent work too, even if it's lacking in the lyrical humour department.

Tiresome jam band stuff, the never ending guitar solo

Yes Frank Zappa, somehow not really an artist I listen to, but when I listen to an record I'm always intrigued by the music. Also this lovely jazz-rock album.

Not my style,un poco densa,me estresó que no empezara a cantar.

Prog jazz? Interesting. Not memorable.

Okej do kawki

9/10

I'll admit to having been extremely gunshy about Zappa following my unpleasant experience with the proudly repellent *We're Only in It for the Money*. So I was very happy to hear Zappa getting out of his own way here by (a) abandoning lyric-writing for the most part, and (b) ceding much of the floor to Ian Underwood's keys, horns, and woodwinds. My primary complaint is really that this isn't quite jazzy *enough*; these players are clearly capable of changing keys and times within a song and should be doing a little more of that, lest the whole thing get same-y. But there are plenty of strong moments (I personally prefer the front half of "Son of Mr. Green Genes," plus Don Harris's sublime violin work on "The Gumbo Variations") and there's nothing here that doesn't work. On the whole this is fun and enjoyable jazz fusion; turns out "shut up 'n play yer guitar" is good advice.

This was a great listen. Loved this album.

No es mi onda 💜 es como medio experimental¿? Nose not for me

Enjoyable

This was a surprising listen for me. I was really turned off by The Mothers Of Invention stuff, so hearing this was a welcome sound, even if it is jazzy. I'm gonna give it another listen but so far: Biggest Hit - Willie The Pimp Biggest Miss - Little Umbrellas Hidden Gem - Son Of Mr. Green Genes

Enjoyed it a lot. Really nice melodies

Peaches en Regalia is great. The rest, meh.

it was pretty fun album. probably will listen to it again

The saxophone sounds like when a fly gets stuck between your blinds and windows

Esto estuvo MUCHISIMO más entretenido de lo que pensaba, es background music para mi, pero una muy muy buena

This shit made me feel like a cartoon character 4 stars

The only Zappa album I've ever heard is Joe's Garage, which I kind of enjoyed. This is mostly jazz-rock instrumentals with the exception of Willie The Pimp. Some really great guitar work. I need to check out more Zappa.

The rats are indeed hot. However, instead of preening, perhaps they could do something about this guitarist who has been soloing for going on nine minutes now.

I had a boyfriend a million years ago who LOVED Frank Zappa. And I must say - he was right

Hot trash

It always seems like I should like Zappa more than I do, what can I say? I'm.just not that interested

MASTERFUL AND CAPTIVATING.

629/1001 2026.06.04

This was fun! Way less weird than I thought it would be. Great musicianship and arrangements.

I can see why this is on the list. Not sure it is for me.

I probably liked it more than most but it got exhausting after 42 minutes

I finally get why so many people say Frank Zappa is overrated. This album did nothing for me. While listening I felt mostly indifferent with a slightly silly atmosphere hanging over everything, but that’s about it. There’s no real emotion, no depth, nothing that actually sticks with you. The instrumentals feel like a bunch of notes synced together trying hard to sound like music, but they never quite reach anywhere meaningful. It’s all speed and technical showing off with no melody or soul. Sure, it’s not the worst thing I’ve ever heard, but it’s also far from impressive. The whole record just feels like Zappa showing how clever he is rather than making something actually enjoyable or memorable. This album only confirmed what I suspected — he’s way too overhyped as an artist. Once was enough.

this did not interest me

Having never heard this or really Zappa, I was expecting something much more divisive! Coming off the back of a weekend where I went to see Maruja, a band that combine elements of jazz into rock, this makes perfect sense to me and makes it perhaps fairly unsurprising that I think this is brilliant! A great, captivating energy throughout, underpinned by a groovy bluesy rhythm and those piercing moments of jazzy guitar, keys and brass. I basically had to stop work for about 40 minutes to just listen to and appreciate it.... why did nobody tell me about this?! The 3 extended jams are the best 3 tracks on here and its hard to pick a fave between them.... but it's all good!

Ok I’ll stop backing the blue. 4.

Very cool album. Haven’t listened to much Zappa, but this one was really interesting.

Jag försökte nog lyssna klart 20 olika gånger… Jag hatar att säga det för jag är annars pro-långa låtar men dessa är för långa och tråkiga. Säkert nytänkande för tiden det släpptes men tycker det är så dåligt. Känns lite som den nya musikstilen som nu haft genomslag, där musiken är icke-melodisk med flit.

Soooooo much better than that other Frank Zappa album, dear god!

caramba

Liked this more than I thought I would. It has a wild ferocity in the playing.

could’ve hated this and didn’t so giving it a 4

i love zappa

Fun funky time, just generally enjoyable no real complex feelings towards it it's just good.

Hat mich voll abgeholt! Energetisch wie sonst was, sehr jazzig. Die läuft sicher öfter!

Kurz vor 5 Sternen für mich. Ich hatte das mal gehört, hatte mich damals nicht abgeholt. Jetzt war ich baff. Neuentdeckung!

Too much sax

Frankie goes all in on improv jazz. Cool. But he's on another stratosphere than me so it's hard to relate. How they could remember all the key and timing changes is beyond me.

Really like this! I've realised I rate on originality, groove and cohesion and this has all three. The long pieces are very interesting to listen to. I did have Willie The Pimp already saved in Apple Music, but on this listen I skipped - after listening to a bit of Joes' Garage and having to turn it off on Crew Sluts and doing a bit of googling only to realise that sexist shit was not ironic at all - I hate the subject matter. I won't always skip I don't think. I do like the groove. Otherwise the long pieces are a tiny bit too long, like 1-2 minutes. Love it overall wish he wasn't such an arsehole.

Zappa zapped it!!!

на жаль, не мій тип музики, але спробую дослідити інші твори автора

I like zapping, but this is too weird for me hahahahaha

HOT MEAT. HOT RATS. HOT CATS. HOT RITZ!

i wasn’t familiar at all w frank zappa before this so going into this i had nothing to base it on. i dod enjoy this album, its a great listen, maybe if i listened to more of his stuff i’d be into it

An eclectic, sometimes dissonant avant-garde jazz-rock album, which was not what I expected, but delighted me nonetheless.

Idk man first few are good but holy k-stall I don’t need to be hearing it for 10 minutes per song. Like Little Umbrellas that’s more of a reasonable length and vibey with a good baseline. But cool funky weird which I like.

Funky, fun. Never heard Frank Zappa's music before, even though he's obviously a household name.

This is AWESOME. Bombastic and varied, without being self-fellating.

I wish more Frank Zappa albums had little to no vocals. This is much more enjoyable than anything else I've heard from him with our without The Mothers Of Invention. A little jazzy, a little jammy, a little experimental.

Supremely cool. Loved the extended solos. This may be the best example of jazz/rock fusion from this era.

Think this is what they call 'fusion'

Ah, so much jammy.

This was a pretty cool, free form jazzy record. Surprised me!

Nope. DNF.

Love! Purely love!!

For a jam album, I can dig it

It was ok

This was a fun listen! I enjoyed the playfulness and the track titles. Never heard of Frank before but he seems like an alright dude. Favorite song - Son of Mr Green Genes

Was a little skeptical of whether or not I'd like an instrumental album by Zappa (I usually dig his wacky narratives) but this over-delivered. Interested in checking him out again.

Listened on a crowded train, I like prog but this wasn't the best.

I do not remember much about this album, I'm sure it was average at best because of that.

goofy ahh album

experimental and fun

Favourite Songs: Son Of Mr. Green Genes Little Umbrellas

Go Gitarre go

Man, I can't believe that I have never heard that album. I've heard songs from it but the album, as a whole, was rippin'.

Never have listened to Zappa before but enjoyed this a lot. Will def check some of his other stuff.

It was alright 😐🫠. My favorites were Peaches En Regalia, Little Umbrellas, and It Must Be A Camel. Overall, I would give it a 3.5/5! 😎🫡🌱.

2.3

Love Peaches En Regalia and Willie the Pimp. Gets a bit samey further into the album, but it’s a good one nonetheless

That was a wild trip! Hadn’t heard much (any?) Zappa before, but it was great. Some guy I have vaguely heard of named Captain Beefheart- who I assume will also be on this list- sings the only song with lyrics (Willie the Pimp), and both his voice and the song remind me of the great Tom Waites, so I assume they were influences on him.

Great album! They recommend this to me before so idk wth these guys are doing here

I really liked this, but this man is not a good person for the little I learned about him, so 1 less star for it

not terrible. very out there and experimental, but still kind of listenable.

Not for me..

Veldig kult, spesielt for alderen

Its cool just not really for me.

Overall: 5 Consistency: 5 Originality/Innovation: 5 Enjoyment: 5 Virtuosity: 5 1. Peaches en Regalia - 5 2. Willie the Pimp - 5 3. Son of Mr. Green Genes - 5 4. Little Umbrellas - 5 5. The Gumbo Variations - 5 6. It Must Be a Camel - 5

Was not sure what to expect but damn this was good.

My first encounter with a Zappa album and, man, I was not dissapointed. Great stuff. Favourite track: Son Of Mr. Green Genes

6/10 - I liked this album when it was at it's weirdest - songs like little umbrellas and it must be a camel bring it down for me Fav Tracks: Willie The Pimp, Peaches En Regalia, Son Of Mr. Green Genes Heard before? ---–- ✅ Saved a Song? ----- ✅ Saved Album? --–-- ❌ Will Listen Again? -- ✅ Album Cover ------- 10/10 weird

I appreciate Frank Zappa and knew more songs than I thought, due to listening to the Elis James and John Robins podcast for years, but I didn’t connect with this album.

Rats, but not hot.

I found amusing how much vibes of certain songs transport me to a parallel story regarding adrenaline, treason, and anxiety.

Nunca había escuchado un disco de Frank Zappa, pero siempre tuve entendido que era "demasiado raro" y "no para las personas que disfrutan del pop" porque supuestamente desafía todas las normas convencionales, con un espíritu desafiante, ironía y humor negro. Debo decir, es bastante disfrutable y cómodo de escuchar. A la vez, entiendo que para el tiempo fue "innovador" (sobretodo considerando que el canon del sonido era Abbey Road u otras bandas de la invasión británica). Creo que Zappa no hizo más que King Crimson- O que otras bandas "progresivas" del círculo masturbatorio de la "creatividad contestativa" basada en lo que "es música real". ¿Qué es música? ¿Qué es rock y qué no? Creo que hay dos tipos de personas (u artistas) en este mundo: Los que crean por crear, y los que crean por contestar. No me agradan los segundos; ya que son literales reaccionarios del sonido- el golpe contesta a la ola. Los fanáticos de Zappa son probablemente de las personas más desagradables en el espectro de la crítica musical. Dicho todo lo anterior- Este es un buen disco. Muy pop, muy digerible y sencillo. Zappa no es la gran cosa. Para el que entienda, es como el Neon Genesis Evangelion de la música; es bueno, pero increíblemente sobrevalorado. Pistas destacadas: Peaches en Regalia Son of Mr. Green Genes The Gumbo Variations It must be a Camel

Wenz: Pure band music????? Hmmm 🤔No comments…. S: the instrumentals aren’t too bad though? Good Bg music maybe?

Sure, I'll listen to this if I have to...better than expected, more jazz oriented, will listen more f'sure.

Fun album with some quirks.

I think I've heard some Zappa songs prior to listening to this, but in no way could I say what they were (I don't even think I've heard "Valley Girl"). I listened to Hot Rats in the morning and it felt like good wake-up music. I mostly enjoyed this and would be interested in listening to more Frank Zappa. I know it's a slight to say my favorite thing about the album is the cool cover...

Heard Before? Yes. I've tried and failed multiple times to go through the whole Zappa discography. Notes: - "Peaches en Regalia" is still my top favorite Zappa song. It's got almost everything I like about him (endlessly clever composition, counter-intuitive hooks, horns, synths, acrobatic basslines, powerful drums) and nothing I hate (unfunny lyrics, stupid dialogue, meandering too-long solos, jokey genre-parody). - "Little Umbrellas" is a gem. I could just as pleasurably sit down and study the score, get up and dance, or just let it wash over me. - all the bass and drum parts on the whole album are thrilling, so even when i lose the plot of a guitar solo, they carry the day successfully, except maybe on the samey and endless "Willie the Pimp". Verdict: An iconic fusion album featuring all lot of the best (and a bit of the worst) of both rock and jazz. Thank goodness it's almost entirely instrumental. Listen Again? Most likely. I can imagine a future where I try to make my way through the dozen or so Zappa albums I have left and just spin this instead.

Ωράιες ιδέες και ριφάκια αλλά ένιωθα σε όλο το άλμπουμ λες και είναι ένα jam session που δεν τελειώνει επειδή όλοι περνάν καλά και πειραματίζονται με άκυρα πράγματα. Little Umbrellas

Pretty nice soundtrack, I probably wouldn't choose to listen to the album again though.

I have been familiar with this album for many years, and the two tracks that I’ve always suck out our peaches and regalia and Willy the pimp. Peaches is a five star song no doubt, and Willie is also excellent, but there’s a reason the rest of the album did not resonate with me as much years ago and still doesn’t today. After such a strong opening, the record starts to feel a little bit indulging and repetitive. That being said, there are some really high moments here. Definitely a 3.5, but I'm rounding down.

Cool sounds, nice rock

Some of the tracks are really good however far too long.

It was pretty good. Mostly instrumental, which I prefer over his music with lyrics. But even so, one album at a time is about enough; this doesn't make me want to go listen to more right away.

Difficult to rank properly. It's thought through, sonically different, plenty of ambition it has charisma. But once again I respect it a lot more than I like it, and I don't feel the need to listen to it ever again. Except Peaches that I liked actually

Not, by any means, bad. Accomplished, groovy jazz. But a bit full-on for me.

Hmmmm..... I mean, Zappa is a pretty important aspect of music history. At the same time, a lot of people will balk at this or fail to see the value. So I can't really give this a 5 in good conscience. In fact, I can't really give it a 4 either, since I fail to see this album's legacy. I think 3/5 may be generous, but I'll stick with it because of the name attached to it. Probably realistically a 5/10.

Mmm

Really disappointing. I though this was supposed to be batshit crazy but it was just a bloke playing very long guitar solos. Discouragingly ordinary.

Willie the Pimp fucks.

my one and only fav zappa record

The type of album that on paper, sounds really cool. However in execution as a new Zappa listener it's a bit of a slog. Most tracks are near 10 minutes and are pretty jam band-y. Some incredible musicianship obviously, but I feel like you need to be in a certain mood for this kind of album. Either that, or on like a billion drugs.

não gostei

4/5 https://rateyourmusic.com/release/album/frank-zappa/hot-rats/ You know what, fuck yeah! Was scared of having to listen to a Zappa record, because earlier experiences were not always very positive, but this one is kinda cool! I'm never the biggest fan of these experimental and mainly instrumental jazzy rock records, but this managed to mostly convince me!

Ehhhh, never been the biggest Zappa fan. This listen kinda solidified that

Some grooves here Fave track: Peaches en Regalia

Been meaning to listen to this one for quite some time. Did not disappoint. 4/5

Very cool sounds

Interesting, but needs a lot of listening as there's so much going on. Been through it twice and would probably need a lot more to get anywhere with it.

Quite interesting, very different and experimental

Cool, jazzy, angry violins.

(4/7) more enjoyable than expected, despite many weird percussive noises

shortlist for den noe gjevere lista "10 album du må høre før du dør." musikk har aldri vært så gøy -- hverken før eller siden.

Uventet og artig for en som aldri har tettet hullet mellom Freak Out og «Bobby Brown»

500 godina ispred svog vremena.

Super!

Peaches En Regalia 9/10 Like Pokemon if it was made in the 60s Willie the Pimp I was going to give it an 8 but its too damn long so its a 7 I Iike his voice. Wish he sung more Son of Mr. Green Genes The beginning sounds like the song they play to announce royals Little Umbrellas 5 Elevator music The Gumbo Variations Omg its also soooooo long. I tuned out. Idk a 6. Still elevator music but spicier It Must Be a Camel 7 Reminds me of the background music for little bill

Zappa is one of those acts that I appreciate more than I enjoy. I get why he was important, I just don't want to listen to it more than the one time that I need to for educational purposes.

Sorry dad. I don’t like a jam band

This was really good. Super jazzy. Great instrumentals

Great jazz

Batshit.

nice

Fun and zippy

What on earth

Background music at a fancy restaurant. Not a fan

I liked it. all instrumental with one song with lyrics. good background music.

This is an absolute INCREDIBLE collection of talent. Incredible songwriting, incredible musicianship, incredible production. This is so ahead of its time. And each song is unique, and uses unique instruments. Probably going to be my favorite instrumental album.

Was pleasantly surprised by the instrumentals. I liked it a lot better than I anticipated. I now have a better appreciation of Frank Zappa

Never really listen to any Frank Zappa. However, I have a greater appreciation for him now. I can see that he was a driving influence in The Honeydrippers. Robert Plant gets all the credit for that band, but I bet you Frank Zappa had a bigger influence in that group.

Amazing album art. What. Will this be. Was not expecting this! Fun little jazzy instrumental vibe. Will likely forget its existence soon.

Creative, melodic, energetic, and varied- but a bit inaccessible. Some of the songs are 9+ minutes and feature no vocals- not a negative, but hard to say it became a favorite song when the titles mean nothing for recall. There’s elements of jazz, funk, rock, and all kinds of stuff in here. Zappa was definitely on his most avant garde here. Apparently this was also one of the first records recorded with 16 track equipment, allowing for more overdubbing, and eliminating the need for many musicians to be playing at once. Important for that, I suppose. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I enjoyed this more than a lot of the Zappa stuff I've heard. It's jazzy.

Great album from the maestro Frank Zappa

Frank Zappa is obviously a name I have heard quite a lot, but isn't someone I've ever actually listened to. Man, this album rocks! What a jam. Really really good fun, and the song titles are some of the best I've heard too. Great little jazzy number to end it off. Nice one Frank. Favourites: Peaches En Regalia Son of Mr. Green Genes The Gumbo Variations

Quite a bit of noodling but I liked it

nur instrumenatl. mir persönlich bissi zu stressig alles aber jetz nit schlecht. trz 1/5 weil i würds mir safe nit nochmal anhören

Una fusión de géneros, me encantaron las últimas 2 rolas. Una peli.

4.5 Really good, and I'm not usually huge on purely instrumental stuff

funky. good guitar and keyboard.

No private session used for Spotify. I think I have listened to this album before as I have always thought I would enjoy Frank Zappa and like what I have heard in individual songs. I like the jazz infused rock, though there are some songs that get too jam band for me.

No lyrics just guitar. I mean there were pretty solid guitar solos, but I don’t know if I could listen to a whole album of it short and sweeten to the point if you love guitar you’re gonna love this album. I was wanting more.

todo instrumental, me divirtió un poco más q los anteriores dada mi situación emocional

Frank Zappa is one of classic rock’s more fascinating figures because he didn’t really love the rock music of his era very much (he did enjoy 50s doo-wop, however) – his true dream was to become an avantgarde classical composer, but he realized pretty soon you couldn’t make any money in that and switched to rock music, a genre he both prized for its immediacy and detested for what he believed was its lyrical and conceptual idiocy (his first album Freak Out! is if nothing else a parody of how stupid most contemporary pop lyrics were, and in all his later records whenever he played a “traditional” rock song he made sure to saddle it with the filthiest, dumbest lyrics possible to call more attention to that). This album is probably his most successful attempt to unify the two sides of himself – ultradifficult jazz-rock-fusion-whatever jams that are meant to leave you in a state of stupefied awe at their complexity, which they do, but the whole thing is very distant, arrogant and unemotional, as all Zappa’s stuff was. Brilliant, and very, very cold. It must have driven him insane that the only real hit he ever had was partially written by his daughter, who possessed real human vulnerability, something Zappa generally found weak and laughable. Best track: “Willie the Pimp”

Unexpectedly good and fun, jazz and instrumental psy rock together. Who would have thought!

Jazz played like rock composed like classical. I *appreciate* Zappa's intellectual and guitar chops, but I don't really *like* his music: ubi sunt soul, heart, feel?

This is about as close as music can come to being genreless, as in you can’t name its genre category. It’s inventive, disorienting, and at times enjoyable, but often annoying and tiring too, at least for me.

I think I know two Frank Zappa songs: “Dancing Fool” and “Watermelon In Easter Hay”. This album isn't even remotely in the same league. One star...

Sounds like the background music for a Stasky and Hutch montage. When it locks into a grove it can be good, the baselines stand out for me but the songs are too long and after a few mins of a prog jazz jam I am over them. I sort of want to be able to say I like Zapa but it has a little to much jazz sax and guitar noodling to really hold my attention so doesn’t give much enjoyment. 2.3

Willie the Pimp is good but too long. The rest is just not my bag at all. I appreciate that the recording style was maybe quite groundbreaking at the time and these guys are obviously great players. But I'm a a bit baffled as to why this was as popular with the mainstream. It's quite an acquired taste.

I enjoyed this far more than I anticipated

Like anything experimental, there are some hits and misses. This one has more good than bad, and really did feel ahead of its time.

Raw talent and creativity. Just so weird its hard to get into.

내가 선호하는 장르가 아님. 음악성은 높게 느껴지지만, 집중을 하기 힘들었고 다시 찾아오지 않을 것 같음.

LSD does odd things to the human mind.

Well it was interesting, but not really my style

Si el infierno o todo lo malo del mundo fuera música sonaría definitivamente como esto, no tengo dudas, es exactamente el tipo de música que apenas la escucho no solo me hace enojar, sino que me causa una sensación de incomodidad muy rara, siendo que trato de darle oportunidad a todo, pero esto me gano, al 3 tema lo tuve que sacar, 0/10

4/10

This album changed my life.

Nothing wrong with it, it’s just not my style.

Had already listened to it as im a huge Zappa fan. Its an awesome mix of Jazz and Rock, but not my favorite.

Really funky, enjoying a little desk boogie. The brief bit of vocals was a bit off putting though. Probably wouldn’t listen again.

A complete left field album for me. I never like this kind of stuff but it's so good, fun and challenging and frightening and ridiculous at the same time.

This just felt COOL! Interesting grooves, great playing, was overall just a great listen. 4.5/5 will (and have already) listen again

Disgusting album cover. Music itself is also not catchy at all

muuuy jazz

Сара 2 Марко 2.5

Jammy

The best Zappa album I've heard, some of the best jazz fusion out there. It never gets boring and it's stacked with really well-done instrumentation

Pretty good for an introduction to Zappa.

I have a lot to tell about this album so let's hear it. Little Umbrellas sounds like band of kids took some musical instruments and made a mess while really trying. Guitars on tracks like Son of Mr. Green Genes or Willie the Pimp sounds awesome. But that trumpet or saxophone or whatever in the begging (opinional - it played for 4 minutes but it's still begging in 12 min long song) of The gumbo Variations was painful to listen to. Later in the song it was replaced by guitar but I still heard that mostrosity so it was pointless although I must admit that guitar work is amazing. Overall I don't know what to think. Do I think it is bad music? Oh goodnes no. Did I enjoy it? Unfortunately not so much.

Męczące czasami ale ma parę dobrych nutek

Es un buen album, totalmente instrumental pero la composición de Frank Zappa es genial.

Zappa, a great Americam composer, is not my taste in music but I appreciate his genius.

Pretty weird. Interesting listen, enriching listen, but I hesitate to call it enjoyable.

I will be the first person to talk about how much they hate Frank Zappa, the avant-garde anti-popularity nonsense, the better-than-thou-ness, and the general vibe. That was until today when I listened to Hot Rats for the first time, this album is not only fun but is also interesting and catchy.

First listen

me likey. i like how varied each song was. usually when i listen to music in the background i get the impulse to drop what im doing and just stare off. the songs here were i guess surprising enough to my subconscious that i could keep working. though, i was a bit bored by it which is why i decided to work while listening in the first place hehe

Like a cool jazz album from an alternate dimension.

Unyielding symphonic funk rock jam explosion. Hard to believe this came out only a year after We’re Only In It For The Money, which exhibited relatively little instrumental and compositional prowess. Peaches in Regalia is a towering masterpiece that is not matched elsewhere, but high points abound, like the single most shredding violin solo ever put to tape. Zappa called this a ‘movie for your ears’ and he did not oversell it.

Amazing and wildly creative, but honestly was expecting to be more amazed from all the hype, probably not my fav zappa

Figured I wouldn't like this and I was right. Some of the guitar-y bits were OK, albeit excessively noodly, and then a truly horrifying amount of saxophone kicked in.

quite liked it, only one song with lyrics problem is songs are really damn long so none made it to the playlist but defo worth a listen again.

I’ve actually heard this album before! I have no memory of it. It’s saved in my library, that’s how I know it’s gotten a listen. So maybe this time I’ll remember… Oh no. Frank Zappa reminds me of your neurodivergent 12 year old cousin showing off his multi- instrumentality. It’s like “oh wow Frank, that’s amazing…. You can stop now…. Please stop. Please. Please stop. Yeah you need to stop now.” I want to give him a 3 for effort, but since I wanted to kill him by the end, he gets a 2.

Yes please, sloppy jam band art project ftw.

One of the best albums ever!! Have lived this album since 1969. For the time, nothing came close to the recording quality. Musicianship unreal!!! Songwriting excellent!!! Beefhart great vocal on classic Willie the Pimp!!!!

Ultimate psychedelic guitar jams.

A fairly interesting fusion album, featuring a wide array of instruments. It is hard to describe the genre of the album, but it has a sort of psychedelic feel to it that was interesting; although the album was quite long, and felt like a classical composition with rock instruments.

All time banger

Best Songs: Peaches En Regalia Son Of Mr Green Genes The Gumbo Variations

A record that starts out blistering with the first two tracks, but stumbles a bit toward the end. Still, the highs are high enough to carry the day.

Genial. Zappa tiene el toque perfecto para que, un álbum que podría considerarse muy para especialistas y conocedores, sea accesible, divertido y emocionante para todos. Le llega bien tanto al conocedor como al que no le ha entrado tanto a estos géneros. Tiene algunos tracks con toques jazzísticos que son una locura, y los momentos extendidos con durísimos solos de rock, son para volarle la cabeza a cualquiera. Discazo.

very very good album, zappa is obviously fire. But just not my kind of things. I really admit that this is good, but maybe it's not for me. I'll give it a chance another time in another moment of my life

Above average

Aguante el ruock

I didn't think I liked Zappa. Still not sure, but I liked this album.

poniendome al dia a la hora de puntuar, este se me salteo y hacec unos dias beni me lo recomendo, que casualidad o causalidad. me gusto

I feel like I need to listen to this live in a big field with 500 people smoking pot around me. It’s one long jam session in different movements. It Must Be a Camel is the only song that sounds composed; the rest just sound like they’re being offbeat just because he’s wacky!

hot rats indeed! funky rats? little jazzy, bluesy, poppy rats even. so '69 of the rats. real deal experimental jam band from the hippy era with SO MANY instrumentals throughout. liked it, brassy n jammy, gives punky wes anderson vibes? indie alty movie soundtrack? but probs won't revisit the ~10 minute songs much, but fun listen, unless it's the songs that give too much hotel lobby/elevator music vibes

This isn't quite a 5 for me, but how could it be any less than a 4?

Coooooool. Don't remember so much, but it was fun and experimental.

Phew, no songs about diarrhea!

I've been on a huge jam band kick for a while, and I've recently been getting into Jazz Fusion and the like, so this is exactly what I needed. Just some incredibly high-energy soloing for 40 minutes. This album feels like everything that came out of late 60s experimentation put into Jazz, and the results are amazing. I love that all of the really experimental 60s bands looked at a saxophone and went "yeah, that's probably experimental" and then went totally apeshit on some random song, really adds a lot. It's astonomically rare for a saxophone to make a song worse, so sticking a sax player in every song and giving him 80% of the runtime makes the album way better, especially with all of his honking on The Gumbo Variations. I was honestly scared the entire album was gonna be way worse than Peaches en Regalia, given the fact that my dad never shuts the hell up about that song and how the school played it at his graduation a few times, but the whole album carries its energy and does a lot with it. Like I said, nothing but high-energy soloing for 40 minutes.

Album #122 Frank Zappa: Hot Rats I’ve been a little put off delving into Zappa’s discography, partly because of how long and varied it is, which can be quite intimidating, and also because oftentimes artists who have a reputation for being quirky and zany do not hit the mark for me. Hot Rats, however, is an undeniably intriguing album; it has one of the most striking covers that I have seen and definitely sets the mood for an interesting listen. I always knew that Zappa was an immensely talented musician, but I never expected to like his lyricism and vocals; so, the good news for me is that this album is almost entirely instrumental. The opening track is definitely my favourite, and sounds unlike anything else from the time; it is one of those instrumentals that can only come as the result of an individual’s dream. The sound is impressive and distinct, but I wouldn’t say that it borders on quirky. The biggest oddball on the album comes by way of ‘Willie The Pimp’, which is the one track on the album that has vocals, which are provided by Captain Beefheart. The lyrics are a bit out there, but I get more soul vibes than avant-garde nonsense. The rest of the songs are also all either good or great, and there really isn’t an outlier. I enjoyed this album quite a bit more than I expected; however, I don’t think I can consider myself a Zappa fan until I’ve actually listened to his voice for a prolonged period of time. Best Songs: Peaches en Regalia, Willie The Pimp, Son Of Mr. Green Genes Worst Song: Little Umbrellas Score out of 10: 8.5

This album should’ve stayed in the 60s

Bit boring all songs sounded a bit the same, probably I don’t have a good taste

A test of will

Ok

Really interesting jazz fusion. Probably Zappa at his least odd. Album has some really good grooves. 4/5 Will listen again

good background music ,i think.

😃

not as good as Joni Mitchell’s Blue

Frank Zappa is an artist who so many of my favourite artists has cited as a major inspiration, so I was happy when this album came up to delve into his music. And I bloody loved it. A beautiful journey through the mostly instrumental tracks, which were so beautiful layered and textural. I could hear the direct influences to music I love so much. Definitely listen to again and inspired me to listen to more of his work.

This is an all time great in my opinion! It’s a no skip album to end all no skip albums. It’s insanely deep with a TON of variety and energy. It’s wild to me that this album exists at all. It’s some of the most beautiful music I’ve ever heard while also being classic Zappa silliness. But with this album the humor and sarcasm doesn’t take away from or distract from the album. It’s just pure perfection! Genuinely I think peaches en regalia and little umbrellas might be two of my favorite songs of all time. This is genuinely the greatest accomplishment of Frank Zappa’s entire career!

Amazing musicianship but fuck me 9 minute jam songs are indulgent (and boring)

Live some jazz, love some rock, love a bit of silliness, what’s not to like here? Favourite song was close between a few but I’ve landed on ‘The Gumbo Variations’

Liked this. Son of Mr. Green Genes was the standout for me. Think I need to relisten to fully get it as I got a bit lost in the sauce for a lot of this

I enjoyed the opening of some songs, and how he included indigenous sounds and modern beats.

Crazy Instrumental, like the more jazzy song, i dislike the voice

Of course the best Frank Zappa album is the one where you see as little of him as possible. Or like most notable, or most well-known Zappa album? Something like that. What I'm trying to say is this album is awesome, but I didn't expect it from the guy who made "WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE???" and that kinda makes it more awesome. So just to start off, "Peaches en Regalia" is a fucking revelation. Not even 4 minutes but so much energy and life packed in. It's so uncharacteristically lush for Zappa, and so so SOOO beautiful. I saw somewhere that it's supposed to be a "movie for your ears" and damn if it doesn't sound like it. Every like 15 seconds something completely new turns up and it's astounding to hear. The saxophones, the flutes, the strings, it's all so pretty! "Willie the Pimp," while a much different song, is quite similar in its excellence: it just keeps changing slightly as it goes on and on and on.... the fiddle is also a really great touch. It gets so crazy near the end to the point where it begins to become almost like a really drunken, bluesy krautrock song. "Son of Mr. Green Genes," while great, is much less of an outright revelation than the first two songs, and more of a regular, everyday 8-minute jazz fusion track. Same with "Little Umbrellas," though that's only 3 minutes. "The Gumbo Variations," though... another insane song! I still can't believe how long this song goes on and still manages to be interesting. It's so incredibly layered! 13 minutes and not a dull fucking second! And then the last song functions sort of the same way that "Sunday" from Nick Drakes Bryter Layter functions, a nice little instrumental outro. So basically how this album functions for me is that it has 3 songs that blow everything else of the water, with the slightest bit of dead space, and a lovely little outro. Very beautiful! 9.6/10

Top album

I once heard Zappa described as the weirdest jazz a white boy could make. I mean they weren't wrong... Dude was talented, if he decided to make a straightforward album I think it could have lived in the top 40 for a couple of years. He was just so weird that the masses couldn't figure him out so he's more known to music nerds. This album is for the music nerds. 100%. It's a fun album if your open to it. The first track Willie the Pimp reminds me of every Bonnaroo until they sold out. It's weird and wild and had amazing guitar. Then the saxophone kicks in a track later and you're cold and wondering where your tent is and how you wound up in the cinema tent with no pants on. It's a ride of an album.

Really enjoyed it and listened to two other zappa albums after it

For my money, one of the greatest guitar albums of all time. The arrangements are top of the line and the musicianship is unmatched. Easy 5/5

I have and like this already. I remember being surprised by how cool it was, having heard other Zappa stuff that I didn't like. Somehow less annoying the blues rock of the 70s even though it is a lot of wanky solos. 4 Heard before? Yes Owned: Yes 65/258 (25%) Will I get: Already have

I do enjoy instrumental/experimental CDs. Very Jazzy and enjoyable to listen to, unique compared to other albums I have gotten lately

As I was listening, I kept on trying to decide if I liked this or not. It’s different! Rock and roll jam band with a horn section is the best way I can describe this album. Some kick ass guitar riffs throughout, also some weird lyrics on Willy the Pimp, otherwise mostly just instrumental. It started to lose me towards the end when it became more jazzy than rock and roll and seemed to drag on. It's a solid 3.5... I'll upgrade to (4) because it was an interesting listening experience.

Si t'es dans le mood instru c'est du bon. Autrement, j'aurais pris plus de passes de voix de Captain Beefheart.

A l'époque j'empruntais beaucoup de CD à la bibliothèque du cégep Marie-Victorin. J'étais tombé sur Hot Rats un peu par hasard, la couverture m'intriguait et je connaissais Zappa de nom parce qu'un autre étudiant en jazz en parlait. Je l'ai fait roulé en boucle et j'aimais bien le mettre le midi quand j'animais la radio étudiante. Toute qu'un énérgumène ce Zappa!

Méchante bibitte monsieur Zappa. Je m’attendais à du chant mais ce sera juste une chanson (et wikipedia me dit que c’est Captain Beefheart qui chante). Mais c’est groovy! Je devrai y retourner.

Pretty groovy if I do say so myself. Basslines and guitar solos are eating. Fav song is ‘The Gumbo Variations’.

Первый раз услышал его у Карвая и с тех пор так и не понял в чем его фишка и почему этот чел такой известный

Чел просто творил что хотел. Захотел - наджемовал инструментальный блюзовый альбом. Захотел - сделал психоделичный альбом с песней про человека-маффина. Попутно выпуская по 20 экспериментальных альбомов в день. Вообще похуй на все. Респект

Лучшие усы в музыке

Лучшая песня: Willie the Pimp Худшая: The Gumbo Variations Приятный прогрессивчик

Галя, я не выкупаю

звучит даже интересно, особенно для своего года, но скорее 3.5

Очень экстравагантный дед, почему-то представила по музыке и вайбу, что это Паша Техник времен Вудстока. По обложке показалось, что Чапель Роан реинкарнировала из Фрэнка Заппы

63 yaşında olsam begenirdim belki. jazz-rock karışımı güzelmiş ama.

Can't believe I got Hot Rats the day after buying it on vinyl! Spooky. One of my favourite albums ever and one I listen to more than any other, mostly as a background for working.

Unpredictable, a mix of rhythms

I am not, as a rule, a Zappa person. Years ago at Bretton I knew someone who didn’t take recreational drugs because, as he put it, “I don’t want to be bollocking on about fucking Zappa at every opportunity.” That has always seemed to me an entirely defensible lifestyle choice. Which makes Hot Rats mildly inconvenient, because I like it rather a lot. The difference, I think, is that this feels first and foremost like a composer’s record. There is virtuosity all over it, obviously, but it rarely feels as though the point is simply to stand back and admire somebody’s technique. The music has shape. Ideas arrive, develop, mutate and occasionally wander somewhere that seems gloriously unwise for the genre, but there is almost always a sense that somebody knows why they are there. Peaches en Regalia establishes that immediately. It is intricate without feeling fussy, melodic without being lightweight, and full of little decisions that make the arrangement feel designed rather than accumulated. The whole album has that quality: serious musical thinking with just enough daftness in it to stop the seriousness becoming oppressive. Willie the Pimp is the closest it comes to “listen to my guitar”. Captain Beefheart arrives sounding as if he has been dragged through a hedge made of whisky, then the track settles into a long Zappa solo. But even here the playing is unusually coherent. It has a blues construction and jazz logic. The further it develops, the less it feels like somebody emptying a box of guitar tricks and the more it starts to resemble a line of thought. At moments I found myself thinking of Herbie Hancock, Miles Davis or Coltrane - not because it literally sounds like any of them, but because improvisation is being treated as investigation. The groove gives the player somewhere to think. That matters. I have a low tolerance for clever music whose main purpose appears to be demonstrating its own cleverness. Some prog gives me the impression that an enormous amount of rambling took place and the splicing block was subsequently employed to make everybody sound more disciplined than they really were. “BEHOLD HOW CLEVER THE SPLICING BLOCK MADE US SOUND.” The edit is presented as evidence of ingenuity; to me it sometimes just says they didn’t know where the piece was going until afterwards. Hot Rats feels different. It feels composed and played, rather than rambled and repaired. Son of Mr Green Genes is perhaps the best example of why I found the whole thing so enjoyable. I heard a cursed television theme. Liz heard a cop show. Both seem correct. It has the purposeful forward motion of music written to accompany opening credits, except the programme appears to come from a parallel universe in which the harmonic department has been given rather too much authority. The modulations keep turning up in places where good sense might have advised against them. And yet they work. Little Umbrellas, meanwhile, is simply delightful. Light, elegant and slightly odd, it demonstrates something I don’t automatically associate with Zappa: restraint. The record can be dense, knotty and demonstrative, but it can also let a musical idea sit there and be attractive without immediately setting fire to it. That may be the thing I enjoyed most. The album continually has a “let’s see how far this logic can be pushed” quality. Not random experimentation, and not cleverness for applause, but a musical proposition being tested until it nearly falls over. There is always enough structure underneath to let me settle into it. That was the difference between this and some other technically adventurous records I admire more than I enjoy. I could live inside Hot Rats for forty-odd minutes. I can already imagine moods in which I would actively want it around: something intelligent but not solemn, exploratory but not shapeless, technically impressive without requiring me to salute. Serious and slightly daft at the same time. Annoyingly, that turns out to be a very good combination.

funky

Peaches en regalia es la más chidita

qué bonita es peaches in regalia. buenos pinches jams. aunque no le sé mucho a zappa me late más raro (qué pedo que este es el único en la lista)