THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH

Among Zappa's Mothers early works (Mk I, if you wish), Weasels is a bit of an oddity in its musical directions. Not that it's completely different at all, but it's probably/certainly more serious, the band dropping the silly humour that was hindering the music's progress, and the new-found space profited to the instrumental part of Zappa's compositions and the Mothers' improvisations. Don't get me wrong here; there are plenty of humour and weirdness left (just look at the track titles to see proof of this), but what a frigging relief not to have to put up with Suzy Creamcheese's adventures and other idiotic Maternal Inventions all the way through a Zappa album. We can now profit and hear correctly Francesco's complex and sometimes superb compositions without getting irritating interferences from over-drugged Mothers.

Graced with an absolutely graceless shaving artwork, Weasels was released in February 70, but recorded everywhere but in Frank's LA studio (or so it seems); and maybe that's the album's secrets? the Mothers had to behave a bit more on the road, than if at home. And this is where we see (or hear) their musical abilities as you'll directly understand from the opening "Didja Get Any Onya?" that goes quickly modern and dissonant, but shows Francesco's fascination on XXth century composers mixed with the typical Mothers weirdness; you'll find more of those with . Jazz is also on the Weasel's menu with Dolphy's Barbecue. There are also some straight blues tracks, like Sexually Aroused Gas Mask (preluding the ultra complex and furious Toads Of The Short Forest) or the brassy Mama-Killer Guitar, where the guitar is not pulling an incredible Zappa-esque solo (this comes in Lumber Trucks). Plenty of enjoyable, but not-always easy moments to "get".

Don't get me wrong, not everything on this album is a success and least of all the closing title track that ends with a minute-long distorted dissonant one-chord and one-note finale. But overall, this is the best pre-Rats album from Frank's Mothers.