THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: ONE SIZE FITS ALL

This is one of my favorite Frank Zappa albums and one of his strongest.

One Size Fits All kicks off with the inescapable classic Inca Roads. If you are looking for a track by Frank Zappa that features incredible musical creativity, wild guitar chops, prominent instruments from the rest of the band, clever lyrics, and wonderful melodies, I do not think you could possibly do better than this song. It's almost like a showcase of the best of Frank and his band's abilities, while still being tasteful and unique. The final minute of this piece toys with one of the oddest vocal melodies, doubled with altered vocals--and dwelling on deep lyrical subjects such as a guacamole queen and Chester's thing. If you are interested in Zappa in the slightest, this song must be heard, I aver.

There is no way to follow such a song up, really, but Frank does an admirable job with the upbeat and catchy Can't Afford No Shoes. Sofa No. 1, the instrumental version of Sofa No. 2, is kind of fun filler with a really clever melody also. Po-Jama People moves the album along with another long song, though when compared to Inca Roads this does not really seem to be quite as inspired. A long series of guitar jamming nevertheless makes it a strong centerpiece to the album. Florentine Pogen is built on a particularly creative exotic riff. The vocal melodies are classic, but the real beauty of this song lies in the sound of the keyboards. Evelyn, a Modified Dog, is a pointless filler track, but a funny one.

San Ber'dino continues the album with another song like Po-Jama people: interesting, but not great. The vocal harmonies are strong, but the melodies somewhat weak. There's an element of the Beach Boys here, likely being targeted by Frank's inexhaustible sense of parody. Piano also intertwines itself throughout this song, giving it an upbeat Californian sort of sound. Andy features some goofy vocal lines, ranging from gentle falsetto to Alice Cooper sounds to some sort of burning speedy thing. The lyrics don't really go anywhere, naturally, but the progression of the music is notably quite mature. Finally, the album closes with the aforementioned Sofa No. 2. The vocals, many of which are in German, sound absolutely divine here, creating a great tune out of what probably could have been mere rehash.

One Size Fits All is easily one of the best releases ever by Frank Zappa, and a worthy one to start with. Any fan of Zappa should own this one.