THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: CRUISING WITH RUBEN & THE JETS

The followup to We're Only In It For the Money is likely to only be of interest to those who particularly like doo-wop music in general, or at least are sufficiently fond of the Mothers' occasional experiments with it (as seen on a few songs on Freak Out!, Uncle Meat and Burnt Weeny Sandwich) to want a whole album in the same vein.

The joke surrounding the album (which might or might not have a grain of truth to it) was that the Mothers, sick of their lack of commercial success, were having a stab at doing something radio friendly. Whilst Zappa's experimental edge is still present - there's a few very subtle Stravinsky references here and there in the music - by and large they attempt to play it straight. But there are cracks in the facade here and there; a cynical sneer occasionally creeps into the vocals, and the lyrics to I'm Not Satisfied could be about a band's irritation at the fickle record-buying public rather than being addressed from a boy to a girl.

To be honest, I'm not sure this particular experiment works. The thing about this sort of cheesy doo-wop music is that it requires a certain sincerity to work; if the performers really believe in the song and get into it, it can be extremely emotionally powerful (as the Mothers had successfully demonstrated on other occasions, such as the unexpectedly beautiful cover of Valerie on Burnt Weeny Sandwich). But if you don't have that sincerity behind the music it just ends up as soulless pop. I'm not sorry to have Cruising with Ruben and the Jets around to listen to now and again but I'd never get into it to the extent I would any of the other Zappa albums and I think its deliberate shallowness and lack of sincerity hampers it from really being the effective doo-wop tribute it wants to be. Still, I have to admit that Cheap Thrills is one hell of a catchy tune.

The version to get, unless you have a vinyl issue with the original mix, is the one on the Greasy Love Songs compilation, which is the only time the original mix got released on CD. All CD issues under the album's original name had a remix which to my ears doesn't do the songs any favours, adding a certain confrontational atmosphere which adds to the sense the band are sneering at their own material rather than being sincere about it.