Tracks
- Are You Hung Up?
- Who Needs the Peace Corps?
- Concentration Moon
- Mom & Dad
- Telephone Conversation
- Bow Tie Daddy
- Harry, You're a Beast
- What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
- Absolutely Free
- Flower Punk
- Hot Poop
- Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
- Let's Make the Water Turn Black
- The Idiot Bastard Son
- Lonely Little Girl
- Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
- What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)
- Mother People
- The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny
Note: The cover on the left was supposed to be the album cover of this album with the cover on the right. The reason for the change is explained in the Wikipedia Entry.
We're Only in It for the Money is a satirical album, as the name suggests. The Mothers of Invention take aim at hippies and left- and right-wingers—pretty much anyone who takes themselves too seriously. The songs are a mix of rock and roll and monologue.
Oftentimes, genius and insanity are one and the same. Frank Zappa suffers from that kind of genius. He is so creative and so far beyond the bounds of normal society that he can't take it seriously. Unfortunately, for us mere mortals it's sometimes too hard to take his music seriously.
In a later era, the music on this album would be fodder for Dr. Demento. I think if Frank Zappa had toned down the lyrical satire a notch his music would have been more accessible because the music is beyond reproach.
I do enjoy this album a lot, but it is certainly dated and there's only so much fun to have with mocking a groups of people that you have no connection with. I think it's worth listening to for the music and to get a taste of Zappa's satire, but this album is definitely more of a historical piece. The stand out songs are Who Needs the Peace Corps?, Concentration Moon, Mom & Dad, Harry, You're A Beast, What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?, Absolute Free, Flower Punk, The Idiot Bastard Son, Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance and The Chrome Plated Megaphone of Destiny.
★★★★★★★☆☆☆
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