APOSTROPHE (')

There are some albums that I hate more each time I spin them. (Pnk Floyd's Wish You Were Here comes to mind.) And then there are some that I love more every time I hear them. Frank Zappa's Apostrophe is an excellent example of the second category.

This is one of the best of the more or less straightforward rockers in the Zappa catalog (only Saint Alfonzo's and Father O'Blivion stray pretty far from that formula.) The weird sense of humor is enthusiastically evident n every track, and gratefully Frank shows a lot more originality in the subjects of his humor than normally. The musicianship on this album is superb, which of course is the norm for Zappa albums after We're Only In It For The Money, and Frank has few albums which showcase his talents on the guitar better. As for the music itself, what can I say? It's COOL! Once again, coolness is something that we expect from Uncle Frank, but it's nice that he can sustain it throughout an entire album.

I guess what makes this album stand out above other Zappa albums is the consistency of the thing. The quality of the album stays true to our highest expectations from Zappa from start to finish. There are no weak spots here, none at all. So I'm giving this four stars. It's an excellent addition to any prog collection.

If things continue at this rate and I continue listening to this album, I might eventually end up giving it 5 stars, though.

EDIT: Six months later, I realize that I just have to bump this thing up to five stars. Frank's guitar work on this is among his most masterful performances, the songs are all of an extremely high quality and it's possibly Uncle Frank's most likeable album (although there is some stiff competition on that score.) So five stars it is!