THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS

In Cruising with Ruben and the Jets , Zappa wanted to tribute all those doo wop and R n' b groups he was a fan in the 50's. This is a parody album and it has no progressive content at all , but it's good to listen once in a while. The melodies are addictive and the vocals hilarious , typical Zappa humour.

Some of the tunes on the album are re works of Freak Out songs such as Love of My Life , How could I be such a fool , Any way the wind blows and other numbers. It's funny to listen to the contrast between Roy Estrada's vocals and Frank's low pitched ones that often are used as a chorus like in Love of My Life.

Some reviewers have complained about the fact that the drum tracks were re recorded in the 80's for the cd version. But I don't own the LP so I can't make a fair comparation. Overall , this release may be fun to listen a couple of times but I don't think it will be worthy of your money. You should get some serious Zappa records instead.

2.5 stars