APOSTROPHE (')

Apostrophe (') while a Zappa solo album, it's technically, looking at the line-up involved in, pretty much the same Mothers of Invention which played on Over-Nite Sensation. However this is not played in the same style nor the compositions are similar to its previous:

In style Apostrophe presents even more profound humour than that presented in Over-Nite Sensation, believe it or not fellas! Every song(with the exception of 'Uncle Remus') have long odd story-lines in which are familiar to that from 'Zomby Woof' or 'Montana' and the like, all pretty weird yet some laughs might jump out of your mouth.

In composition Apostrophe mainly seems way more Blues/Rock rooted than its previous (Over-Nite), with 'Don't Eat the Yellow Snow', 'Nanook Rubs It', 'Cosmik Debris', 'Apostrophe' and 'Stink Foot' all with obvious blues rock characteristics, taking more than half of the album's length which is not much(30 minutes!), however Zappa takes the blues roots and twists them as he pleases, all of them having Zappa's signature guitar rocking out splendidly, plus some very well done twists and turns in the composition itself.

Then there are the more complex or at least non-blues based tunes which are the ones left. The first one being 'St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast' which easily flows with 'Father O'Blivion', while both very short in length, like Zappa has already proved before, he is able of making complex tunes in less than 2 minutes, so do expect having really complex and fast passages very ala Zappa, even some of the ideas presented in these songs, mainly Ruth's vibes, would later be kind-of emulated on future live opus, Zappa in New York. 'Excentrifugal Forz' on the other hand reminds me of the monotonous 'Dinah-Moe Humm', though this time it only lasts 1 minute and a half, so that's kind of an improvement. Lastly there's the gentle piano-led 'Uncle Remus', while pretty simple in structure, it's well worth listening to Zappa in a kind-of sincere up-lifting mood.

Apostrophe while not being Frank's highest level of uniqueness, this still makes up a very pleasant record and definitely "essential Zappa", with some highlights here and there for the dedicated Zappa fan (mainly the suite on Side 1 and Stink Foot). But I really recommend this, firstly, for those who want to get into Zappa's less complex material yet with solid compositions and flawless musicianship. 3.5 stars rounded up because in future releases Zappa would still want to write accessible music, but none really done with such precision and originality like this one.

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