THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS

This is actually a more "progressive" record than it seems at first -- listen closely and you'll hear melodies from Stravinsky buried in these songs! But basically it's a tribute / parody of the greasy doo-wop that Zappa loved as a teen (singer Ray Collins had also been active in the doo-wop scene in the 50's, and this album finds Collins more to the fore than any other Mothers album.)

The standout track is the last one, "Stuff Up The Cracks" with amusing lyrics (about suicide by sticking your head in the over, with a wonderfully droll delivery by Collins) and a fantastic guitar solo -- which is incongruous to the 50's-style proceedings, but quite a nice bit of musicianship.

Not really a good entry point to the Zappa universe, but an indispensible LP for fans of the Mothers of Invention era.