HOT RATS

Hot Rats may well be Zappa's most accomplished album in his discography (Although it's hard to say for sure because I've not listened to them all, yet.) and it is certainly a very different change of pace from his previous albums with The Mothers Of Invention, but I welcome that change.

The album kicks off with Peaches En Regalia, a wonderful little instrumental that could probably sum up what's to come throughout the rest of the album, that being a jazzy show of instrumental muscle flexed so beautifully it could blind a man, or possibly cure cancer.

Willie The Pimp is the only non instrumental song on the album and even then it doesn't have many verses, but what i does have is an excellent middle section that would make any guitarist green (or possibly Hot Pink) with envy.

I absolutely love this next song, Son Of Mr Green Genes gets me every time, It's simply magnificent from the first note to the last, it could be my favourite instrumental of all time. Every instrument blends together so well and it features a guitar solo at 5:55, after which things settle back down and the song returns to the notes it opened on.

Little Umbrellas is nothing special so i won't put to much into this, but it's short and sweet and nothing about hurts the album.

The Gumbo Variations, a 17 minute epic for anyone with a fondness for the sax, simply roars of fire and soul for the entire track, some may argue that it doesn't go anywhere but I don't mind grooving on the same notes for 17 minutes.

It Must Be A Camel closes the album and like Little Umbrellas it's nothing special but fits the style of the album.

I recommend anyone who starts listening to Zappa to start here or with his first album. In my book Essential.