We're Only In It For The Money

I get it. Fuck the industry and all that. Zappa was an incredibly smart dude. But I’ve just never been a fan of the music as music; only a symbol.

The bands name is extremely ironic but necessary is the one thing this album isn’t. I can’t get in to it, it’s psychedelic just for the sake of it. 4.1/10

I like the weirdness usually but something about this was a little off

While I respect what Zappa accomplished and the lyrics are fun and message poignant, from a pure listening perspective, it's pretty rough. I like Zappa a lot, and a lot of his other parody, satirical songs have a lot of musical talent in them, but this feels more like a bunch of musicians fucking around in the studio and laughing at hippies, which while fair, doesn't make for a good audio experience.

Wat een vage, trippy shit. Wel grappige teksten. Maar niks voor mij

If ADHD was an album

It’s weird as you’d expect a Zappa album to be. Must hear before you die? Nah 1001 album worthy: no 97:178

Well talk about a mood swing. When this artwork popped up for me I thought for a split second that I finally got my first Beatles album. Sadly, I was wrong. I guess I'm happy in a way that I've heard this record (and never will again), but it really was a slog. I know Frank Zappa and Howard Stern had mutual respect for one another, but I never know how much Howard had to have been influenced by this album. It seemed more like a comedy album than a music one. And unfortunately it wasn't all that funny.

My problem with this is that it's too close in sound to the things it's parodying (which I also tend not to like), so it's not satisfying musically. And it's not funny enough to succeed on that front either.

why

Not my cup of tea

I get it, it's satire....right?

Maybe a one star. But it's not baad bad, it's just too experimental for my taste.

It's ok, GOOFY AF!

Track 11 said it best - "Hot Poop" 2 ⭐️

This is a tough listen. Not really enjoyable at all, but I /think/ that's what it's trying to be

Um álbum ótimo disfarçado de álbum ruim. Os elementos anédoticos não me pegam muito, pois já disse em outra review que não ligo pra humor em música. Gosto da atitude sardónica e caustica do Zappa de criticar e zombar de tudo e todos. É uma atitude comendável, mas musicalmente, o disco deixa muito a desejar. Muitas partes são ótimas, mas como um todo, não consigo me imaginar ouvindo-o inteiro novamente. 2/5

DNF - tapped out after the fourth song. Clearly had something to say, but not being of the 60s I couldn't decipher it. I also didn't want to, because the music itself was booooring

I understand this album was in protest to societal issues, but at least make it enjoyable??

2.5

Maybe I shouldn't have been so afraid of this album. It's not unlistenable, but it's hard for me to take it seriously. Honestly it's kinda like listening to a comedy album. It's almost too easy to just dismiss it because of that. "What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?", "Let's Make the Water Turn Black", and "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance" But then there's "Nasal Retentive Calliope Music" and "The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny" which are pretty much musique concrète, which I personally have a hard tine finding a point in them. The rest is kinda mindless silly nonsense to me. It feels a Monty Python album that just isn't all that funny. 5.55 ★★½

Psychedelia for the sake of being psychedelic and experimental. Not my prefered thing. 2.5 stars

If Frank Zappa was born in 2000 he probably would have made a meme page or become a twitter troll. Since neither of those things existed, he had to give us this crap instead

unfortunately not for me, i like the 60s sound but it's generally too silly in a way that doesn't make me feel joy (and i like a lot of silly music). having said that, ugliest part of your body is a certified classic

2.5

Interesting and experimental, but obnoxious and grating in that it feels like I'm getting harrassed by minions for 40 minutes so it all ends up being pretty unlistenable to me, sorry

This was odd. Not unexpected for Zappa, but odd nonetheless. And not really good.

OK dude, I get it, you hate hippies.

One of the few satirical concept albums I think I've ever heard. Targeting both political parties, the hippie subculture, and psychedelic rock as a whole (that album cover reference is too on-the-nose), the Frank Zappa-led Mothers of Invention get experimental with it here too. The editing and recording is notable and probably the main reason this album is included in this list. Utilizing "musique concrète" as they call it, you'll notice a strange collage of sounds all throughout, most notably this overarching warped dialogue that's featured prominently. Hard not to admit that the above makes the whole thing sound disjointed though. Also felt that the group focused a little too much on the hippie slander, started to feel a tad overdone at points. Some marks for the experimentalism, though. Side note: the personnel notes for this album were objectively hilarious

Uhhhh, meh. A couple decent moments here and there, but overall this album is not for me. The are some Zappa albums I love, but this ain’t one of ‘em.

Frank, I love ya, but…

weird

I had always heard Frank Zappa was an insane individual and this record is proof. Complete chaotic mess of an album. It's like the Beatles - White Album on crack which makes sense with the album cover being a play on Sgt. Pepper. What a weird and wild ride though. It's absolutely mental but I wasn't bored with it. Mom's fave song title got to be "Hot Poop" but prob disappointed it was just Zappa whispering some paranoia about the sound engineers and not a bathroom scene with...never mind. I watched the movie "200 Motels" written and directed by Zappa and it's a good follower to this record. Both are pure lunacy and what too much touring can do to a band. Need more acid and spaghetti. And yes, pants too tight on several songs cause sounds like leads ball's are being crushed. Don't know if I will ever listen to this again but probably for the trip...1.5 stars.

Not much of a fan

Mothers of 60s arse

If I ever get the urge to experience a fever dream without the pesky illness to go with it, I'll just throw this album on.

I hate this so much. I despise the insincerity and utter contempt for the audience shown here. It feels like an entire album of "Screw you for listening to this." Feeling that contempt, I've decided to stop listening to it.

Liked it at first, but kept repeating the same joke/point.

This album perfectly describes psychedelics or psych rock because I would have to be under the influence to thoroughly enjoy it.

I am a Beatles fan, half a left wing but also sometimes conservative, a 60s rock enjoyer who actually tried to dress like a hippie, and this album successfully attacked all my weakness. if i can travel back in time to see a Frank Zappa concert, i would like to be that stupid with a flare gun. 2/5

Didn't enjoy it. I guess it's meant to be artsy, but seriously, wtf. Obviously Zappa is a great guitar player, but he is so much better elsewhere. This is a stupid parody that forgets that music is meant to entertain. Where is the beauty, where is the tune, and where is the irony promised? This just seems like a parody of parodies. It doesn't have the cynical, dry humour of Tom Lehrer, and doesn't do justice to the strangeness of Tom Waits because it's trying so hard to be funny that it isn't working. Yeah. I like mocking hippies too. But can we be smarter about it please?

Some people got high and recorded some absolute bollocks, yet some how instruments got played so in some ways impressive but not really entertaining.

I like it more than the other psych rock albums I’ve heard so far. It still sucks and I will never listen to it again

Eksperimenterende psykrock, en blandet landhandel, sgt pepper

Hørte tre sanger. Nei takk. Ikke for meg.

Tenker 68ernes versjon av oslo/berlin løkka peeps digget dette hardt mens de røyket økologiske rever og spiste kabaret med banan.

Jaime le da un 3 ( le gusta lo experimental) Nuria le da un 2 ( no le gusta lo experimental)

Let's give this album one song to be anti-cop, but you know who really needs to be taken down a peg? Those damn hippies. So the rest of the album will be making fun of hippies. This is good satire.

No for me

I want to like this more than I did. A few very good bits. A lot of not so much bits. Impressive they were doing this concurrent with Sgt Peppers, they were ahead of their time, for sure.

I’m sure this was biting satire at the time, but it doesn’t really hold up and was a tough listen. Borderline 1 for me but I’ll bump it up because I appreciate what they’re going for. Definitely prefer the “Hot Rats” Zappa era

1.9 Didnt really connect with me. Maybe I'm not smart enough to get it, maybe time has just passed by on this album.

It’s certainly an interesting album. I’m glad I heard it but I don’t see putting it on again..

1. Complete waste of time 2. What? 3. What? 4. What? Why? 5. Ridiculous I can't go one by one anymore. I read the Wikipedia article. I understand the joke, but I don't think it's a great joke. Or at least I'm so far removed in time or uneducated about the times/events being satirized, the joke isn't relevant to me. The music isn't very enjoyable by itself and because the joke is lost on me, I'm not enjoying this album at all. I think even if I heard this when it was relevant, I wouldn't care for the music the messaging comes wrapped in. Too many backwards passages, weird hard left/right panning, strange noises, nonsensical spoken word passages for me to be able to enjoy this.

That was a very.... strange... album.

A unique work and learning experience but nothing something I imagine Liston frequently

Seems like this album could've been a little more subtle no? The only song that really sticks out is Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance, that song bopped. 2/5

This is what I would call "clever rock." It's created simply for the purpose of the artist showing how clever he/she is. It does not mean it is bad music but I am sure the parody of 60's rock played a lot better in the 1960's. I don't know what The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny is, other than just noise. I don't have a ton of feedback on this one, other than I have no idea why I had to hear this album and would be shocked if I ever subjected myself to this again.

Very strange. Nice production values. He doesn't like the police, but who does? Nothing that needs to be heard again. No breaks between songs, Flower Punk is a highlight.

You can tell this is a Frank Zappa side project.

I read a review calling this album "aggressively juvenile," and honestly, that says all you need to know. It's chaotic, satirical, and weird for the sake of being weird. Whether that's brilliant or annoying depends entirely on you.

what just happened here...

I'm all for political commentary in music, but this whole thing just felt like a mess. It's noisy and weird and lacks structure and general pleasantness. And framing your album around dissing another band feels kind of immature. Isn't making money a hopeful part of any profession, including creating art? Does that mean it's the "only" part? Anyway, I'm not going to pretend to know all of the Beatles' motivations for Sgt. Pepper, but it's a beautiful piece of art compared to whatever this is. And if you're going to make fun of hippies (which I'm not necessarily opposed to, even as a hippie at heart), then make better music than them.

Too much jive on this one, Frank.

This is one of those albums where you really have to try to appreciate the reason the album was made and the genius of Zappa. That said still a rough listen. Zappa is a great artist, but just not his best.

Thoughts before listening: Frank Zappa has always been more appealing in theory than in practice to me. He's a great guitar player and arranger with some absolutely killer songs, but he's also weird in a way that can be more grating than enjoyable. I don't really know his Mothers of Invention era songs as well as the later solo work. Review: Okay, I think I've made the right choice in avoiding the Mothers of Invention era of Zappa's career. This album is full of his satirical, joke songs with none of the guitar heroics that would make it easier to ignore his tendency for eye roll inducing tracks on later albums. This album is all eye rolling. While I can certainly enjoy some social commentary and poking fun at hippies/hipsters, it could at least have been delivered in an enjoyable format. Outside of a few songs, this album isn't it. 2-stars

Not for me. Too fiddly. Didn't really hit a groove at any point.

Loud and noisy, did not really like this one

this album is full of half baked ideas and random noises. at one point i had to pull over because i thought something was wrong with my car but it was just the violently annoying sounds Frank decided to put on the record. the last song on the record is 6 and a half minutes of random sounds and yet somehow it sounds more coherent that some other parts of the record. i appreciate that it is satire and the few song ideas that feel more fleshed out arent bad but overall this was more annoying that enlightening. +1/2 star for the album cover

I like Frank Zappa, but I don’t get this. I tried. There were decent moments that raised it up, but not enough of those.

This sounds more like one of those BBC Sound Effects recordings than an album you would turn to for pure pleasure. It's just noise, tbh.

Odd but not terrible to listen to

I like Frank Zappa but... What the hell was that? I'll add one star because the lyrics were funny.

There's some neat psychedelia stuff on here, given it's Frank Zappa and friends, but then there's some avant-garde stuff that feels unnecessary. Appreciate the concept though I didn't read into it much.

This is really annoying, I’m not sure if it’s pretentious or just stupid…but saying all that - I do quite like it as a one off listen.

This rides hard on anti-establishment themes. Even themes that rail on those who are anti-establishment. I’m not sure I can take an ethos seriously that just laughs at other ethoses. The nihilism is tempting but doesn’t sit well in the end. Unfortunately, cynicism is masking musicality here. Imagine what they could do with an eighth of a teaspoon of caring.

Well. Ok then.

Not a fan sorry hombre zapato

A few good parts mixed in but mostly noisy garbage. The good parts I would give a 4 star to, the bad parts negative stars.

Excellent musicians with dogshit material. The satire feels more like jealous pontification from someone who never fit in. Its just too silly to take seriously.....but that's what Zappa wanted maybe?

I'm sure I already had this. Is there really two of these on here?

Tried something but missed nearly completely

a little too strange even for me; and that's saying something :-)

I think I should be more present than I am for an album such as this, as it's more of a play than music really. I have heard some funny Zappa stuff later, but this wasn't it.

Most of this album sounds like bad radio jingles. How stoned were they?

Well this album is what you get when you let someone high on drugs record. The positive is that the album was not offensive. This should not be on this list.

It’s a bit weird, actually scratch that a fair amount weird. It seems that he was stoned the entire album

nope. I get that it's supposed to be satire/criticism of society/culture at the time but this comes across now as pretentious (lyrics) and painful music. the final track was awful. 1.5 stars

The cover made me think of the Beatles. So I expected it to sound the same. Loved the satire lyrics in “What’s the ugliest part of your body”. Loved the sneering.

Although the vibes are sometimes there, Its also pure choas. I did like the humour that was in this album but this sort of music is not for me

Gear: DCA ÆON 2 Noire Artwork: 👸🤴🤶👼👲🎅🥷🕵️‍♀️👩‍⚕️👷🧑‍🎓👩‍🏫🧑‍⚖️👩‍🌾🧑‍🚒🧔🏽‍♂️🧔🏽‍♂️🧔🏽‍♂️🧔🏽‍♂️🧔🏽‍♂️👩‍🔧🧑‍🍳🧑‍🏭👩‍💼🧑‍🔬👩‍💻👩‍🎨🧑‍🎤🧑‍✈️👩‍🚀🧕🤵‍♂️🦸‍♀️🤰🦹🧙‍♀️🧝‍♀️🤹‍♀️👩‍🦼💃 Produktion: 😲🙂👌 Musik: 🙃☮︎🚫𝄞⨾𓍢ִ໋ Wertung: 🍉🍉/5

Frank Zappa is something of a solitary figure in the music of the last ~100 years. One could argue with good reason he is a musical genius... but the products of genius are not always aesthetic successes. That’s about how I feel about this album. I love the satirizing of late 60s counterculture and the apparent shots taken at Sgt Pepper’s (beyond the obvious with the album cover). The use of musique concrète and the structure of the album overall is interesting and feels ahead of its time. At the same time, the actual music here feels pretty dated and isn’t particularly enjoyable. I’m not really sure what to make of this as a result. It’s interesting and clever and I appreciate it as art, but don’t think it’s very “good” as a musical release. I also don’t think it’s Zappa’s best work. 4.5/10…?

I've heard worse but it's not really that great... from what i read it's value lies in it's satire of hippie culture, which i guess is historically significant in a way... but the music really don't contribute that much so i wouldn't categorize it as musically important. I still like Frank Zappa and there are allot of good and experimental music by him like "Black Pages", "Apostrophe" and "Peaches in Regalia". Experimental music don't have to consist of only of ideas that only appeal to a small audience. The best experimental artists are the ones that invite regular listeners to expand their horizon's in my opinion.

Interesting take on the 60's psychedelic rock and hippie scene. Sometimes too satirical to make it enjoyable. Not sure when the right time to listen back to this will be. 2.5

Had trouble with this one

Very strange, but I guess we know that going into it. Never could get to into Zappa. A shame, really.

A pastiche of late 60s rock, particularly the Beatles. Zappa is definitely underrated, but this is pretty mediocre.

This is mad, but pretty far out for 1968. Feels almost sample-y, Avalanches with the dropping in of the spoken word bits, phone conversations etc. It's definitely striking, but musically it's pretty ropey. 2/5.

188/1001

This is a thing that exists.

Я не спился и не стал наркоманом. А для шуток есть стендапы.

Maso

uhhhhhhhhhhh well that was a trip. I don't know if it was a good one, but it was definitely a trip.

The guy is definitely talented, but I wouldn't call this music.

Psychedelic weird shit

Rock psicodélico. Demasiada psicodelia y ácido para mi gusto. Un 2.

guy who is definitely not trying really hard to be cool

Honestly, I like Zappa, but this album just is way too noisy and amusical for me... Maybe my brain is just to small for this kind of music.

I understand what they're trying to achieve with the album: social commentary on contemporary pop music using subversive and interesting lyrics. Glad I heard it once, don't need to again.

Interesting at least. Some stuff is not very good on this. Will I listen to again: 5%

Unbearable jumpy with the only cohesive trait: to be against the establishment. But this ain‘t enough, Frank.

Understood and enjoyed much more than freak out

Very weird. All singing about being dirty hippies

I know how much this influenced some of my favorite bands (esp. Butthole Surfers), but I can't get into it. Not sure why.

At least this was short?

I’ve never been sure about Zappa. The documentary “Zappa” was fascinating, but generally his music is too weird for my tastes.

Definitely one of the albums of all time

About 4,000 times more fun to make than to listen to. It scrapes into the twos for being interesting, I guess, but it's basically a bunch of loons messing about in a recording studio and making people pay to sit through it.

Frank Zappa and his mates are great musicians, no doubt about that. They are inventive, they are technically great. But all in all I never found their music interesting. They don't tie it all together to make great songs.

OK, this is not specifically a bad musical album, but it's also not really actuallya musical album in my view. It's really cleanly produced, and it's very inventive, and with 19 tracks in under 40 minutes you don't have to wait very long for a new one if you don't like the one you are listening to ... but it sounds like ideas that are waiting to turn into songs. I was struggling between 1 and 2 stars, but I don't hate this, and it's not bland and boring, and there are enough moments of good music and Zappa's guitar work to tip it into 2 stars, just. Just.

Ranges from OK to much less than OK. Zappa just ain't for us he's too far up his own arse.

I certainly respect it, but it's way to weird and artsy for my liking.

To me this sounds like music made by people too afraid to try to make good music that people will actually like. By making this they can say "the sheep just don't get it, we're too smart for them." Then they never have to actually try to make music that people will unironically love, so they never risk failing. I'll give it an extra star because there is talent here. Unfortunately they were too cowardly to actually use that talent to make music for people who aren't trying hard to be "different."

This was my first Frank Zappa album, and barring other Frank Zappa entries in this project, it will be my last. Why do people like this junk?

It's somewhat clever, sure, but the mockery sounds too easy – if an artist mocks everything, is he actually mocking anything? And aren't hippies a pretty easy target? It all plays more zany/absurdist/incoherent than anything like profound social commentary or committed art. Maybe naming a song "Hot Poop" undercuts the seriousness with which a project is taken by listeners. No comment on whether FZ has standing to mock Sgt. Pepper's. Ironically, there are quite a few snatches of commercially viable pop ("Lonely Little Girl," eg) before the band intentionally distorts for, one assumes, whatever anarchic goals they thought they were pursuing. Just how many people really cared what Frank Zappa had to say back then? And wasn't he the one that cared most? That number, one suspects, has become vanishingly small today.

Some people have too much time on their hands.

When I think about Frank Zappa, I think of his early records, silly, experimental satires of pop culture, politics, hippies and general weirdness. Clearly, a concept album of a mixed bag of bad jokes of ideas and skits that are hit and miss, but you have to commend Zappa for taking this to the extreme and displaying his overwhelming "creativity". This is definitely not for everyone, personally I didn't mind it, it was irritating and dumb most of the time and juvenile stupidly funny other times. It's humor is very dated, but I'm as old as this album, so I get it, well sort of...

Very oddball album. Creepy vibes at times. Fits the era for sure.

#233. I'd never heard Frank Zappa's music before and didn't know what to expect, and yet somehow it was exactly what I expected anyway. 2/5: something

Alvin and the Chippunks

Some of it I liked but also lost patience at times.

Over the top, even for Zappa.

I oscillated on this one, but in the end, I just don't like Zappa very much. (Sorry Dad).

Zappa just seems like he's trying to be so counterculture and so opposite of anything mainstream that the average listener would have a hard time enjoying any of what they hear. This album is hard to listen to. 1 star for sticking to his gun throughout his career and another star for musicianship. Outside of that this is shit garbage.

Not for me

Loppu motivaatio kesken.

I like there other album idk its weird and provactive if i was a teenager in the late sixties i would love it, but im not so its gettin 2 stars

last night i was really high and the noise my friends made sounds exactly like the goblins voices in the middle of the last music The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny.

This is such a difficult one. Some gold in there, but buried in some unlistenable pap. I don't the time or patience for another listen.

It feels like a big joke. Maybe it is. Either way, I didn’t really connect with it.

After a few minutes I wanted to stamp on my speakers, it was fucking awful. Then, bizarrely, your mind sort of adjusts to it and it's not quite as awful. I can't say that it ever reached the heights of me enjoying it, but I made it all the way through which seemed unlikely.

Maybe one's just being a square but this sounds less profound or biting than indulgent and annoyingly preachy and self-satisfied with its own quippiness. They are trying too hard (taking themselves more seriously than the hippies they accuse of the same sin/crime). Comparing themselves to the Beatles (which is obvs what they are doing) is self-flattery of the rankest and least justifiable sort. And anyway mocking Sgt Peppers and Hey Joe is supposed to be blazingly original? One could see it being the most influential album of the week it came out, but can't even remotely credit editorial claim in book that this was one of the most influential albums of the second half of the 20th century. Perhaps it sought to call as much attention to itself as any other album ... And too bad FZ didn't let a few of the neat little melodies play out as pop songs, because after all he is a pop musician, not Howard Zinn or Ralph Nader or Lenny Bruce or ...

I love the concept of Zappa and what he stood for, but his music just doesn't gain the same purchase.

wtf

Bleh. Elska zappa en þetta fannst mér boring.

I think this was necessary for musical growth, experimentation and development. But that dint mean I gits to like it.

conceptually interesting but extremely strange. not suited for easy listening and not catchy. tough to listen to casually but at least weird enough to be notable

I didn't hate this album but I don't like it much either. I did chuckle at a few of the songs and their political barbs and mocking. The whispering part was okay once but just stop it after that. 2 stars only because I did laugh at the cultural satire. Otherwise, maybe not forgettable but definitely not one I'll be picking up again.

Too much stoned politics for me

What, in the blue blazes of fuck and all that is holy, is this?!? Madness. Not the band, the state of mind.

Best grappige stukjes, maar wel heel erg gefragmenteerd.

Didn’t get it. Too much

Silly to rate it like this because it clearly has ambitious, talent, and intelligence, but it felt like listening to a Monty Python/ Terry Gilliam skit for 40 minutes.

Too nerdy to be a parody. Too wacky to be a satire. To a casual listener, it offers nothing but a bunch of what sounds like poorly made aimless "experimental" tunes. I guess it's only a "must-listen" for its statement.

Kinda funny 2

Second Zappa offering in a row. Wanted to like it but it’s a bit of a hot mess. Has its good moments but not enough to put it in the good books I’m afraid.

This is the second Mothers of Invention album that I've reviewed. If this is anything like the first record, it's going to be super weird. Judging by the album art (which features Frank Zappa in a dress), I feel like I am right. There are a few call backs to their satirical Doo Wop musical stylings throughout the album. Also, portions of Concentration Moon sounds like it was sung by Petey the Sexual Harassment Panda from South Park.... So does Bow Tie Daddy. What's with the constant whispering throughout the whole record?? This whole record is a concept of sorts. It all runs together into one huge fucked up acid trip. When they decide to play music, it's actually good, such as in the song "Harry, You're a Beast". But half way through, they record someone snoring for 30 seconds, then play the rest of the song backwards. Clearly, as I said in my review of the first Mothers of Invention album I reviewed (Freak Out!), all of the drugs were consumed during the recording of this album. ALL OF THEM!!! Favourite songs: Let's Make The Water Turn Black, Absolutely Free, Lonely Little Girl Least favourite songs: Are You Hung Up?, Telephone Conversation, Hot Poop (fuck skits), Nasal Retentive Calliope Music, The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny (just noises and static). 2/5. I wasn't nearly high enough for that!!

Probably made more sense at the time

Can you say LSD?

Zappa is an amazing instrumentalist and composer. His guitar playing is awesome. I just can’t stand his songwriting. I get it’s supposed to be satirical but it just doesn’t hit to me. It either seems pretentious or juvenile. With this specific record, I get that they’re making fun of the hippie culture, but it really just comes off as “I don’t do drugs and that’s why I’m better than you”. The music itself is good though and I think it’s pretty ironic that they made some solid psych tracks.

As an album, I did not love this. Way too much randomness and "quirkiness" for this to beconsidered good for me. Sounds like a Ren Fair comedy sketch, which I also don't really care for. That being said, I actually liked Mom and Dad, and Absolutely Free, which saves it from 1 star.

This is so annoyingly incomprehensible. They got a little heart and that’s about all. The experimentation isn’t flushed out enough to give a unique and original sound while also being something people can enjoy listening to. It’s an entirely undigestible album. I usually enjoy Frank Zappa, and I understand he walks a fine line with his experimental stuff, but this is on the wrong side of that line. 2/5

A parody of 60s psychedelia and acid rock. I put this in the same class as comedy rock bands such as the Dead Milkmen, They Might be Giants, and Ween. They tend to be versatile parodying various styles of rock and pop of the era, topped with nonsense lyrics, usually with a somewhat forced and overemphasized vocal delivery. And in most cases, they tend to be hard to listen to. This one... isn't that bad to listen to with how short the tracks are. But with the technology at the time, it sounds dated, abrasive, and quite messy. I understand what they're trying to make fun of, but I find them to be only somewhat successful in delivering that message, even if that message takes the form on an assault on your ears. The value of this album is to see contemporary criticism of hippie culture and the silly subject matter of psychedelic music. And from that perspective, I think they could been smarter about how to parody the music. Instead of loudly forcing these effects and techniques on the audience, they could have slowed and toned things down, and mislead our expectations instead. This album is probably more important or interesting but less entertaining than Freak Out. Not a single song I would save, whereas Freak Out had several legitimately fun songs to listen to. Favorites: Who Needs the Peace Corps?, Absolutely Free

Better than Korn but not by much.

could i write poetry to this? n

Sorry Geof

this has got to be one of the weirdest albums. I’ve listened to. It wasn’t horrible in the sense that I thought it would be sure it was a lot of horrible noises but it could’ve been worse and I acknowledge that it was a joke however, I’m good with just once.

Similar feeling to my listening to Freak Out! just 2 weeks ago ... I like a lot of Zappa but later Zappa. This music is better than Freak Out! - but i'm not a fan of albums that base their entire existence on sarcasm. I'm sarcastic. I get it. But for me it doesn't carry a song, and definitely not an album. Plus this is a good way of making music sound dated. As it is the music has to drive the bus and even though it's getting there... it's not nearly enough to make this a favourite. Also... every song is like 2 minutes long. There's nothing to sink your teeth into. Of course this record is (in)famous for its mockery - that's the point - but it's not all that enjoyable outside of a novelty factor. Smart-ass album that is good for a few haha laughs but once again - give me jazz fusion Zappa. I hate giving bad ratings to Zappa but man it's also reminding me that when you release 700 albums, there's a good chance you've released a few hundred that aren't that good. He'll get there, but until then... 5/10 2 stars. p.s. Hot Poop.

I get it’s Zappa and it’s poking fun at the flower power 60s. I don’t mind a satire record, but at least make it listenable.

Found it pretty dang annoying to be honest. Too conceptual. Too much to say. Not enough just music. Sure there are some fun critiques and lots of musical talent, but like it’s not fun and doesn’t stand the test of time imo.

What’s the ugliest part of the album?

It's a great album. Kind of a psycho-punk-Beatles thing. Now I know who the great-grandfathers of Bloodhound gang were.

I listened to this album with headphones and now I have A HEADACHE!!!!!

Too weird

I preferred “Freak Out.”

Meandering weird elf music. No thanks.

Some Mothers I am ok with. Some I'm annoyed by. Most of this I was annoyed by.

I believe Zappa was known as an innovator - but nothing about this album interested me.

This is what the DARE program warned us of.

Not heard of this - late 60s rock. Sounds more modern than 1968. Not really my thing. 2/5.

Makes me wanna listen to sgt peppers :(

- irgendwie ganz witzig und erstaunlich kurzweilig - gleichzeitig auch nervig hier und da - bei einigen Referenzen zur Musik der 60er bzw. deren Parodie musste ich durchaus schmunzeln - die Wahrscheinlichkeit, dass ich das Album nochmal höre ist eher gering Rating: 2,5/5

- Na Gott sei dank endlich wieder avantgarde - Der erste Teil des Album war durchaus erträglich, teilweise mit sehr coolen Parts - Mir kommt es von der Aufmachung und der Ausstrahlung der Platte auch so vor, als sei sie ihrer Zeit voraus gewesen. Die Snippets, die Leichtigkeit und das Arrangement sind alles total progressiv - Ab Mitte wirds teilweise sehr anstrengend bis unerträglich und die guten originellen Parts werden seltener - Zeugnis seiner Zeit und und Beweis für Frank Zappas weirdigkeit, kein absoluter Schrott. Hab aber auch keine Verbindung bekommen 2/5

Someone took too much acid and then decided to take more. Crazy songs, I can appreciate that it was probably unique for the time period. Would give it 2.5 stars only because it's a tough listen with all of the interludes.

This album did drugs and listened to me. WTF were some of these ramblings??? The lows were LOW and the highs were good. I think if they took out all of the junk, this would be a very solid 15 minute album.

This was a strange one. Was hoping to like it a lot more since I’ve really dug some of Zappa’s stuff we’ve listened to already. Definitely can appreciate the dogs at counterculture and hippies in humor even though it comes off as pretty pretentious. Would be willing to give this one another listen but first impression is meh.

Absolutely bonkers... I was expecting to hate this completely but it was amusing and has some moments between the madness. Still a 2* though haha

I am fully aware of the kind of album Frank Zappa and his band was capable of making. So as an introduction to the group, this isn’t the best way to make me want to listen to more of his music. This is a mix of psychedelic pop music, and experimental/satirical sound collages. It is supposed to be a concept album that parodies American hippie culture. And I was genuinely surprised at how heavy it leans into those sound collages. The amount of actual “music” here isn’t much. And the sound collages aren’t great. There is a lot of harsh cut-offs and scratches that kind of hurt my ears. I even thought maybe the 6 minute closing track, which is the longest by quite a bit, would be something really cool. But it was actually just 6 minutes of bits and boops. Random noises. The songs that are real music are okay. But not anything amazing. This tries to be a lot of different things at the same time, and it ends up just feeling like nothing. Rating: 3/10

Vraiment moyen. C'est quoi le but, faire un album comme sergeant pepper pour montrer que vous êtes capable aussi d'utiliser les sonorités ? J'adore frank zappa et sa musique, mais cet album est jute vraiment moyen. 2.25

Super odd album. Felt like I should’ve been on mushrooms to really understand it

Expectations were low for a Frank Zappa band’s album, but this wasn’t quite as bad as I thought it was going to be. That said, I thought it was going to be an easy 1 so the bar was pretty low and it’s still only a 2. I pretty immediately got what they were trying to do by satirizing The Beatles and psychedelic rock and hippie culture, but that does not mean it will make for a good album. It’s an interesting art piece worthy of a listen, but not something you’d want to play regularly I think. I can respect the parody, but it’s a tough pill to shallow satirizing the greatest band of all time.

This might have been funny at the time*, but it sure as hell isn't now. Although admittedly it captures an irritating and cringeworthy side of the hippie dream that is probably best forgotten now. *I doubt it was funny at the time.

Meow Wolf ambient music. Kind of crazy-making after a while.

Nå bs

I struggled

Even for Zappa this is a mess

I like Frank and in particular like his silliness but this one is just way too out of date for me to like today.

It was fun and creative but I didn't get much out of this, a lot of frank Zappa's other stuff is significantly better

I mean... Not boring I suppose, but not exactly good either. Feels like a pretty solid 2 to me. All over the place, can't really take it seriously even as satire. 🤷

Odd comedy concept album

Wacky whimsical, dated annoying.

Talentierte Musiker machen Quatschmusik

LOL WTF DID I LISTEN TO ??? It was interesting and i quite enjoyed the weird ideas ! I did skip a few songs that were just a bit too screechy and long. Otherwise, i had fun listening to this.

Probably not great

Strange

We're Only in It for the Money is the third album by American rock band the Mothers of Invention. It is an experimental psychedelic rock genre, satirical concept album with themes about hippies and both sides of US politics. Although releasing the album stirred controversy within the record label, it received critical acclaim on release. This album was inducted into the National Recording Registry in 2005 for its cultural and historical influence. This was an interesting album to say the least. It was intended to be trippy, but I was shocked at how crazy the musical and vocal arrangements were. Almost indescribable, this album has to be listened to to be understood. Even then, it may need a few listens before every part of this album can sink in and have meaning. Frank Zappa and the rest of the band were geniuses that wanted to poke fun at politics and the music industry with this album.

Was surprised by this. I just assumed I'd be into it, but it was a bit of a chore. There's little bits of interesting things here, but I think it was too tied to the concept and there's too much fluff to make it a fun listen. 2/5

Ok

This was an acoustical LSD trip

At least they are honest in the album title...I don't know if they got the money, though. I didn't enjoy it, but they deserve some credit for the experimentalism. This stuff is not enjoyable, but they are typically responsible for all the excellent music created after them. It's necessary to have someone on it for the money (and craziness) to enable others to do it better for the art (also for the money).

I respect the Hell out of Frank Zappa and he's clearly talented, but he also gets too clever for his own good. Experimental is all well and good, but often I feel like I'm just being inundated with noise

Maybe one day I'll understand

Best Song: Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance. Even tough this one is also annoying, at least it's a catchy annoying. Worst Song: The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny. This is basically just noise. Overall: Mostly just annoying. Can't really impart much impact in 19 songs over 40 minutes. Each snippet just feels like frivolous hippy fart that didn't need to be put to tape.

This album tried to be satirical and avant-garde, and for me, it missed both. Sure, a couple of the lyrics were pithy, and there were some head-nodding melodies. But I think it became experimental for the sake of being experimental towards the end of the album.

ну мало что поняла. жанр пародии люблю более музыкальный)

I like Zappa's rock blues guitar playing and funky jazz, but this early pastiche or send up of doo-wap and psychedelic late 60s pop and rock is just silly and lacks artistry.

I don't know how "The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny" can be considered the only thing that goes too far on "We're Only In It For The Money." Sure, that's a fitting coda on a bizarre journey, but the whole album is an oddity. I can't imagine listening to it repeatedly. There are some very interesting ideas in the lyrics, no doubt, but having listened once I get the idea. It is said that "necessity is the mother of invention," but there's no necessity here. The Mothers Of Invention did it because they could, not because they should or because we needed it. Of course, there's no fault in that - art and ideas should be pursued because you can, for your own desires and purposes. I just don't feel the need to listen to it.

I appreciate the creativity, but it's exhausting to listen to. I'm glad I heard it, but it was the last time. Especially the "funny" voice FX are annoying. The humor is hit and miss, more miss than hit. It's very much about 60s themes, like hippie culture, and I guess you have to be in on it to appreciate it. Or maybe it was never funny. Favorite song: flower punk, which is obviously a parody of Hey Joe.

Pis il y en a qui disent que Sgt Pepper a mal vieilli! L’album au complet se moque de la culture hippie et d’évènements sociaux niche des années 60, pis la musique est juste straight up nul. J’espère qu’il y aura d’autre album de Zappa, il y en a des bien meilleur

I really wanted to love this. Needs psychoactive assistance.

Fine. Very quirky. I don’t know if I liked the music enough to listen afain

Meh way too experimental avant garde for my tastes. Very weird.

This is the bad side of psychedelic rock. The skits kinda stink of shit, like 'Hot Poop.' This album is for a very acquired taste. Not for me

i think i appreciate Frank Zappa, Legendary Weirdo and Anti-Censorship Crusader, more than I appreciate the music of Frank Zappa

Not really a fan of this one.

If you wanna spoof the Beatles I’m all for it, but you’ve got to have some actual music to back it up. About half of this album was sped up spoken word and it got tiresome.

This makes it very clear why Frank Zappa never had mainstream success. There is talent in there somewhere but it’s buried by too much nonsense.

This sucked. I get that it was supposed to be a parody of the hippies and music from this era but it was more like a bad sound collage. I also just didn’t think it was that funny.

I'm glad I got to listen to this, if only to confirm for the 100th time that I just don't like Frank Zappa. I know a lot of people think he's a genius but it's just not that good or interesting to me. Every once in a while Zappa does something I like, but those moments are few and far between. 2 stars.

interessante como sátira e tals, mas não muito agradável de curtir sem o contexto

StRaNgEr ThInGs

Fine. I liked that they worked in a dig at "corporate logos" into the lyrics of one song. And made fun of hippies and San Francisco way before that was cool. And yet... the music just doesn't do much for me. I can appreciate that we probably don't have some of the noisier, weirder bands I do like without these mothers, but it's rare for me to listen to something repeatedly just because I appreciate it.

So how much is too much? I had quite enjoyed the album Freak Out! as an exercise in satire and experimentation. This one maybe not so much. While this album had some great moments of spot-on satire, much of it reminded me of when I was 12 and used to make tape recordings with friends of noises and silliness that were hilarious to ourselves then, but definitely haven't stood the test of time. It was interesting as a historical document, but I don't think I'll ever want to listen to it again.

Usually open to whatever Zappa's thinking, but this one doesn't come together for me. Too sparse in the instrumentation to have any kind of throughline, and too spastic in the ideation to grab me with any kind of experimental hook.

Weird album, I didn’t enjoy the experimental tracks and off-beat singing. Zappa is not for me.

Cool that it's satire, kinda lame lyrics and singing though. And annoying music.

Didn’t do anything for me but gotta respect the originalities.

Really isn’t convincing me that I need to listen to more Zappa.

Lekfullt och knasigt, men har inte åldrats så väl

Ik snapte het niet helemaal. Het moet satire zijn, maar de referenties waren misschien buiten mijn kennis

I already know what this is all about, and it's just not my thing. Not a big fan of Zappa's sound. I've mentioned before, on the last MOI record that I was assigned not so long ago, that while I can appreciate his unique POV and bold willingness to experiment, I just don't like the way the music sounds. It's not my bag, baby. Simple as that.

I mean, do I really have to say why this is a classic?

Rock psicodélico. Demasiada psicodelia y ácido para mi gusto. Un 2.

Not a clue what that was about, but some bits were melodic

4/10. Hot Rats has given me the false impression that I might one day find something else that Frank Zappa had a hand in that I actually like. Plus, I think Sgt. Pepper's is overrated, so I was looking forward to hearing it mocked. As such, I am disappointed, as well as annoyed by this album, because it didn't do much for me than get on my nerves.

Wow this sounded awful. 3/10

Ehh I've liked some other Zappa stuff here but this wasn't for me.

2.5

craziest album cover ever. the sixties are not so different

I like the idea of Frank Zappa I just like his music that much.

Was onboard at the start then they just seem to be taking the piss. Seems more like a comedy album

Nope

I bet this was more enjoyable on acid in the 60s.

Weird - I kept waiting for it to take off but just kept staying wierd.

It was okay

Not an easy album to listen to, there were some tracks that were ok but I doubt I'll ever put this on again

I like the funny lyrics but the actual music is too chaotic and noisy.

Een combinatie van lollig en niet te doen.

im too dumb to understand this intellectual masterpiece so 2 stars

rock psicodelico dos 60s, muito experimental e alternativo

4/10

Interesting message at an interesting time in our history. Wouldn’t go back to listen

I know I'm in the minority of music fans that think Frank Zappa is overrated. Is there talent there? Absolutely. Is it interesting to listen to? I guess if you're in the mood. Will I ever be in that mood? Nope. Not a chance.

I honestly shouldn’t have expected anything different from a 1968 Frank Zappa led album with a cover parodying the Beatles. It was weird, satirical, bizzare, annoying, political, sporadically fun, and very of its time. Take your clothes off when you dance was probably my favorite followed by what’s the ugliest part of your body

Batshit crazy - quite fun, made no sense

Interestingly weird

The choice of opening unfortunately relegates this one to sound artifact (?) territory. No song even leaves you satisfied, which I suppose is the point; The opening minutes, however, are so senseless than the question on my mind is why this is an alleged LP. Certainly not the most interesting Zappa work I've heard, but I'm glad I listened and can see myself returning at least once. Impressive amount of dead space in under forty minutes, though.

silly

Fucking nuts, tho' to be fair, didn't expect anything else. Plenty of method in the nuttiness, but not very listenable to. It's a no from me.

09/23/2022 Was really disappointed with this one considering that I love Zappa and all the work I’ve heard from him thus far. Parts of this album reminded me The Who sell out, which came out a year earlier. The ugliest part of your body was my favorite song on this album. The others kinda all sounded the same.

Very trippy. Some music which felt kinda "math-rock"-ey (very tight coordination between vocals, instruments, and percussion), some spoken-word stuff, and some sections of random sounds effects (static, jangling strings, laughs)

Il rock psichedelico è divertente... per i primi dieci minuti di ascolto. Un intero album di suoni distorti e voci cantilenanti è, francamente, troppo per me. Mi dispiace perché è un album indubbiamente originale (infatti nasce dalla mente di Frank Zappa), ma ho fatto fatica ad arrivare in fondo.

This thing is silly dumb. The songs make some decent arguments and are quite funny, but as soon as you hear any bit of the music itself, all the quality goes away. It pretty much sounds like they’re intentionally making awful Beatles rip-off’s. 3/10

Beatles but on more drugs 2/10

Very experimental

2/13, 15%

Jesus fucking Christ, Frank Zappa was SUCH a pretentious douchebag.

Emperor's new clothes

Feels like a compilation made up exclusively of bad filler tracks. Incredibly disappointing after getting Hot Rats yesterday and finding they can do something great when they want

Super low effort comedy music. Nobody should be compelled to subject themselves to this crap before they die. Life is too short for this.

Oh boy, ANOTHER crappy Zappa album?? I just can't ...

Ah yes, a Sgt Pepper's parody. I guess this is a function of its time. Did not enjoy this at all, but maybe I just had to be there and it would have been edgy af. 1*

Love zappa. This be shit

I hated this so much.

What in the actual hell is this?

Not Sargent Pepper

1/5

Pre Listen: I have a...complicated relationship, with Frank Zappa. He's like that one friend who has so much potential, and you really love hanging with him for like 30 minutes. Then suddenly he does something so despicably cringe, it makes that Pickle Rick kid look like a comedic genius. The album cover being a parody of Sgt. Peppers doesn't fill me with hope. The Beatles are one of my top bands. You come at the king, you better not miss. I had a music professor my freshman year of college who's favorite artist was Frank Zappa. I respected her a lot as a teacher, but I can't fathom why she likes Frank so much. Every new album I encounter from him, I try and put myself in her shoes. My expectations for this are the lowest to date, but I'm trying to put myself in that professor's headspace. Notable Tracks: Who Needs The Peace Corps? - Song raised my expectations for the album somewhat. Funny little critique of hippie culture. Doesn't sound horrible. What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body - My favorite track on the album, it parodies the Beatles the best I think. The harmony they hit is so fucking spot on. The "All your children-" verses made me laugh pretty hard. **NOT** including the Reprise. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music | The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny - Tied for the worst tracks on the album by a fucking landslide, holy shit. This is exactly what I was talking about in my Pre Listen. If this is music, then dogshit is food. Post Listen: It's an early shitpost in audio form. If this album was supposed to be a statement of some sort, it's about as deep as a 9gag meme. The Zappa experience here is identical to every other encounter I've had with him. A lot of songs have really, *really* great instrumentation on occasion, only to be interrupted by the worst shit you've heard in your life. The lyrics are funny or briliantly satirical, only to be quite literally interrupted by burps and audio cuts. Zappa takes something nice, and ruins it before your very ears. He's like those Turkish ice-cream guys, but he never gives you the ice cream. Instead he flashes you and gets away with it. I told a friend I'd not give this album a 1/5 before I finished it, since he is a big Zappa fan. I can't do it. I just can't. I never want to hear any of this again, 1/5.

Yes Frank, the Beatles and hippies suck, but you are annoying and should shut up. 40 minutes that would’ve gone by easier staring at a wall clock. Now Tie Daddy was a favorite but it ended up being 30 seconds so that sucks. Thank God Absolutely Free was an actually great song or I would’ve had a meltdown. I’ve got four hours of driving to go. I did not need this today. Worse than Beyond Skin award 🏅 https://tenor.com/iirIUBJEdVI.gif

Oh god what even is this

Yikes. I really didn't like their last album. If anything this one is worse.

Lame satire and weak material, a deadly combination.

I don't like Frank Zappa. And this is him at his worst. I tried to get through this, but two bad albums in a row was too much for today. I'm out.

This record is trash. I'm sure if I paid attention to the lyrics there's some pointed satirical humor of the time here, but it's not pleasant to listen to. Most of it is about as interesting as a children's song, and the last track is just 6 minutes of chaotoc noise FFS.

Was soll das

Nonsense. How did Zappa ever become popular? He's like Weird Al but way less musical.

I’m very much a Prog Rock lover and as such been recommended many times that I should listen to Frank Zappa. I have done, including this album. I can only conclude that my recommenders are either liars or delusional. I believe it is the latter and that they have been fooled into thinking Prog is just unconventional random noise rather than long melodic musical masterpieces. So having established it’s not Prog then what the hell is it? Search me. Maybe Frank found it somewhere hidden in that toilet basin he made famous. 1/5 31/5/26

Garbage album. It’s not even creative.

I have some friends who are really into Frank Zappa, but me not as much. Normally, I appreciate satire, as I am plenty disillusioned by the fallacies of society, but I guess I view music as separate from all of that. At the very least, his music ends up coming off as if it's making light of music itself. I listen to music so that I can hear good music, not so that I can listen to noise that is making fun of music and everything else

Jamais écouté avant. Une longue et pénible inside joke de 40 minutes... Si je peux comprendre, et même adhérer à l'envie de se moquer des excès et des dérives de la culture hippie, force est de constater que la blague, près de 60 ans plus tard, tombe carrément à plat. Reste une série de "morceaux" très courts, plus foutraques que réellement expérimentaux, parfois tout à fait aléatoires, et dont la parenté avec les artistes dont ils sont censés être un pastiche est parfaitement illisible. A pousser la caricature jusqu'au non-sens (finalement, la meilleure parodie de We're Only in It for The Money, c'esr sa pochette !), Zappa a juste oublié de faire un album écoutable... Top : Mom & Dad Flop : The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny