THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: WE'RE ONLY IN IT FOR THE MONEY

Just like the two previous releases, this is another album that mocks the state of society that existed at the time although on this occasion it's the whole psychedelic and flower power movement that gets under Zappa's crossfire. Remember that We're Only In It For The Money was released in the first quarter of 1968, right in the middle of the movements prosperity, which made it a daring statement indeed. The material is comprised of catchy jingle-like short tunes mixed with audio collages where the band depict some of their weirdest experiments yet!

I always considered the first three tracks to comprise a short trilogy where Are You Hung Up? introduces us to the audio collage-format that will be an important part of this record followed by the critique of Who Needs The Peace Corps? which then transitions into the mockery of Concentration Moon. These three songs basically sum up this album in a nutshell! The rest of the album follows that same blueprint with a few surprises added here and there.

I've heard that We're Only In It For The Money was originally conceived as a direct response to the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band for being labeled as the first concept album in the mainstream media. Supposedly, this upset Frank Zappa since Freak Out! was released almost a year prior to the Beatles' masterpiece and featured many similarities in the thematic outline of the material. This might explain why this album used a collage of famous people á la Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Heart's Club Band as a payback of a sort!

The more I listen to this album the more strange similarities I find to other works of the time. For example; there is an interesting similarity between the sound of Flower Punk and Jimi Hendrix's version of Hey Joe. Is it suppose to be a parody of this rock classic or am I just listening into it too much? Who knows and, frankly, who cares when we have so much excellent material here well worth to create a movement of its own! Have it not been for the acquired taste conclusion with the 6+ minute audio collage suitably titled The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny, this would have been a jewel in my record collection. As it stands today it's very close to grabbing that final star, but I just can't be that generous. We're Only In It For The Money is nonetheless a highly recommended album to all fans of groundbreaking prog rock music!

***** star songs: Are You Hung Up? (1:24) Concentration Moon (2:22) Mom & Dad (2:16) Bow Tie Daddy (0:33) Harry, You're A Beast (1:21) What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (1:03) Let's Make The Water Turn Black (2:01) Lonely Little Girl (1:09) Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance (1:32) Mother People (2:26)

**** star songs: Who Needs The Peace Corps? (2:34) Telephone Conversation (0:48) Absolutley Free (3:24) Flower Punk (3:03) Hot Poop (0:23) Nasal Retentive Calliope Music (2:02) The Idiot Bastard Son (3:18) What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body? (Reprise) (1:02) The Chrome Plated Megaphone Of Destiny (6:25)

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