SHEIK YERBOUTI

"Martian Love Secrets". Those were the words that Zappa claimed he saw on a toilet paper dispenser in a restroom (Steve Vai said it was actually on the wall) at the Record Plant, the studio where Zappa was recording at the time. That was going to be the title of this album, or at least, it was the working title for quite a while during the process. Then, Lynn Goldsmith, the photographer for the album cover, convinced the reluctant Frank to wear a sheik head-dress, she took pictures, suggested that since the album had some parodies of disco music, it should be called "Shiek Yer Bootie", and the name stuck, though it ended up being stylized and spelled a little differently. And so, Frank's most popular album (to that point anyway) was born.

"Sheik Yerbouti" is one of my all time favorite albums ever, and it was my first real introduction to Zappa. While attending a concert for a mostly unknown band (at the time at least), the roadies played this album over the loud speakers, and I fell for it right away. Suddenly, this band called "Van Halen" that I had 2nd row seats to but whom I knew very little about, was starting to sound like a great idea after all. Of course, the band came out and blew everyone away, and David Lee Roth was pretty much jumping off the stage and singing in the audience, but I will always remember that night more because that was where my love for Zappa began.

So what makes this album so great, other than it is a sentimental favorite? Well, it is one of Zappa's funniest and most engaging of them all. Though it is hard to tell, most of the album is live. However, the songs that are on it were never presented on an album before, and with all the overdubs and etc. on the finished product, it is very hard to tell. The production is so slick, you would never know, and the tracks flow from one to the other almost seamlessly. All of the tracks work so well together, and the track line up is virtually perfect.

The band involved on this album is one of the best line-ups also. Even though some of the personnel changes from one song to another, it is still pretty solid. It wasn't at the time, but now it all seems like a who's who supergroup of artists: Adrian Belew, Tommy Mars, Peter Wolf, Patrick O'Hearn, Terry Bozzio and others are on almost every track. Belew later said that most of the tracks were actually soundchecks, and that is believable seeing that the audience is only heard on a few of them.

The album starts off with "I Have Been In You" which is a satirical take on Peter Frampton's "I'm In You", which was a big hit at the time. The basic track here comes from the Hammersmith Odeon in London on January 25, 1978 and this is also the case with the first four tracks (though some were recorded on the 27th). Of course, you get Zappa's irreverent lyrics that poke fun at Frampton's lyrics. The next track is "Flakes" which is about the plumbers' union and also has a section with Adrian Belew imitating Bob Dylan. Again, hilarious lyrics and an engaging, progressive sound make this one stand out. More hilarity follows with "Broken Hearts are for Assholes" which features some more progressive sound and changing meters. "I'm So Cute" makes fun of sexy rock stars and their egos, but has a definite punk sound to it as it was lampooning punk music.

"Jones Crusher" (recorded at The Palladium in NYC on October 31, 1977) shouldn't take a lot of imagination to know what this track is about. However, one non-English reporter was a bit confused when she asked if the song was about Zappa's hatred for cult leader Jim Jones. Of course, Frank had to explain it had to do with strong vaginal muscles, to which she replied "Oh?.Well that's very different". The following track is just some group banter and noises about one of the road managers that committed suicide and connects the next track "Rat Tomago", which is a guitar solo taken from a performance of "The Torture Never Stops" performed in Berlin on February 15, 1978. The title of the track comes from the name of a drawing from Ahmet Zappa that he made and named when he was a child which Frank found quite amusing. The track was nominated for a Grammy for Best Instrumental Composition. After another short, connecting track featuring more banter, "Bobby Brown" comes next, and of course it is the main reason the album was such a big seller. The track was a single and was the label's (CBS) biggest hit in history in Scandinavia. Funny, irreverent lyrics made this one nearly impossible to play on the radio in the US. Since it was made long before the artist of the same name became popular, so it has nothing to do with him, but more to do with self-pleasuring devices. "Rubber Shirt" is another instrumental which originally comes from 3 different solos, a guitar, the bass, and the drums, which Frank edited together making the separate tracks work with each other. O'Hearn's bass solo comes from an overdub used on the "Inca Roads" track. The 3 instruments playing on this track were never played together, but they sound like they were.

Another instrumental follows with "The Sheik Yerbouti Tango" which is from the guitar solo taken from the performance of "The Little House I Used to Live In" in Berlin on Feb. 15, 1978, another complex little ditty. This is followed by "Baby Snakes", a song with many different meanings sung by Zappa and Tommy Mars. "Tryin' to Grow a Chin" is another silly track that uses a riff and quote from a song by The Velveteens called "Dog Patch Creeper". Then there is the ever popular concert staple "City of Tiny Lights", a song about drug dependence and the crazy mind trips that accompany it, sung by Adrian Belew. This is always one of my favorites in concert as it always seems to inspire amazing guitar solos from Frank. This track was actually used many times in concert before being premiered on this album.

More fun follows in the disco satire "Dancin' Fool" and the kooky "Jewish Princess" which continues to offend people. The very interesting "Wild Love" is one of Frank's oddest tracks. I find it interesting the way he takes musical clichés from disco music here and then incorporate them into a complex and entertaining song. The album couldn't end better than the blistering "Yo' Mama", with silly lyrics and a killer, cinematic guitar solo, one of Zappa's best. It is said the lyrics were written about two of his band members, one had previously been ousted and the other was still active, but it is not certain who they were. Like most of the tracks here, the vocal sections were recorded at the usual Hammersmith Odeon, but the guitar solo was performed in Germany on Feb 25, 1978 using a four-track recording system and also utilizing many overdubs. In any event, it turned out a perfect ending for a perfect Zappa album.

This is definitely one of Frank's albums that could be considered a perfect entry point for his music. There is a lot of crude humor, excellent instrumentals and guitar solos, band field recordings, great melodies and it still has room for complex experimental weirdness. I know that when I heard it, I just had to dive in feet first to all of his discography. But don't think that all of his albums are going to be like this because Zappa was complex and dynamic. For me, I just had to understand what made this guy click, and it was after listening and becoming familiar with his music and his life, that I started to understand it all. Frank Zappa is not a musician that you come to appreciate over night, it takes a lot of commitment and interest in his music, motives, and mind to "get it". But in this album, you get to hear some of his complexities, yet be completely entertained at the same time. Definitely one of his best and most important albums, Sheik Yerbouti is one that I would consider recommended listening for those wanting to get to know Frank's music, especially from the more commercial side. But you better be prepared because this isn't for the faint of heart or for the easily offended.