THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: ABSOLUTELY FREE

Considered by many as a superior follow-up to The Mothers debut album 'Freak Out!' and arguably the strongest of the group's opening triumvirate of studio albums, 'Absolutely Free' pretty much picks up where it's predecessor left off, the surreal stream-of-conciousness lyrics, acid jazz hues, psychedelic flourishes and absurdist humour all present. This time, however, the scattergun approach of 'Freak Out!' has been replaced with stronger, seemingly more focused songwriting, both from the lyrical and musical ends, with 'Absolutely Free' serving up a strong set list peppered with a handful of absolute Zappa classics in the shape of the gloriously bizarre 'Choose Any Vegetable' and the wonderful seven-minute psych pastiche 'Brown Shoes Don't Make It'. Anarchic is probably the best word, then, to sum up 'Absolute Free', though one other word does come to mind: Brilliant. STEFAN TURNER, STOKE NEWINGTON, 2013