PEACHES EN REGALIA

"Peaches en regalia / Little Umbrellas" is a single release by US experimental rock artist Frank Zappa. The single was released through the Bizarre Records label in 1970 and features Frank Zappa on guitar, Ian Underwood on keyboards, flute, saxophone and clarinet, Shuggie Otis on bass and Ron Selico on drums.

The two tracks featured on the single are both pulled directly off Frank Zappa´s first official solo album "Hot Rats (1969)". "Peaches en Regalia" is a busy and quite challenging jazz rock composition (but still with a laid back sunny atmosphere about it) by Frank Zappa and one of the highlights of "Hot Rats (1969)", while the B-side track "Little Umbrellas" is a laid back lounge style jazz rock track.

Considering The fact that both tracks are available on "Hot Rats (1969)" in exactly the same versions, devaluates the release a bit, but of course that doesn´t make the material contained within either better or worse, and singles were of course a much bigger part of the music industry back then, so in that light "Peaches en regalia / Little Umbrellas" is a great release. "Little Umbrellas" is one of the less interesting tracks on "Hot Rats (1969)" but as "Peaches en Regalia" is probably the best track on the album a 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.

'Peaches En Regalia' - Frank Zappa (Single)

As a mere sampler of the popular Zappa album 'Hot Rats,' this works about as well as it could. Taking the two most simple, accessble songs (which also happen to be my favourites on the album suprisingly enough) and putting them onto a singles disc was a good idea; it took songs that could be enjoyed by the casual listener and could ease them into what is a little bit more challenging and 'loose' album to get into.

Both of the songs show some serious talent and skill when it comes to performance, and have alot of jazz influence; much more so than on alot of his other works.

I have never been the biggest fan of Frank Zappa and his work, but 'Hot Rats' was a pretty good album, and these are my two most enjoyed, tightly composed of the album. Much of the album suffered from being too loose and improvised. Here, there is a much lighter listening load.

Good for anyone who is at least a bit into jazz, or fusion music, but as always; it's probably a better idea to get the album itself.