135. The Mothers of Invention | We're Only in It for the Money (1968)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Are You Hung Up?
2. Who Needs the Peace Corps?
3. Concentration Moon
4. Mom & Dad
5. Telephone Conversation
6. Bow Tie Daddy
7. Harry, You're a Beast
8. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body?
9. Absolutely Free
10. Flower Punk
11. Hot Poop
12. Nasal Retentive Calliope Music
13. Let's Make the Water Turn Black
14. The Idiot Bastard Son
15. Lonely Little Girl
16. Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance
17. What's the Ugliest Part of Your Body? (Reprise)
18. Mother People
19. 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.

★★★★★★★☆☆☆

69. The Mothers of Invention | Freak Out! (1966)

---

Wikipedia Entry

---

Tracks

1. Hungry Freaks, Daddy
2. I Ain't Got No Heart
3. Who Are the Brain Police?
4. Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder
5. Motherly Love
6. How Could I Be Such a Fool?
7. Wowie Zowie
8. You Didn't Try to Call Me
9. Any Way the Wind Blows
10. I'm Not Satisfied
11. You're Probably Wondering Why I'm Here
12. Trouble Every Day
13. Help, I'm a Rock
14. The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux)

---

Freak Out! is an ambitious album. The songs are heavy, high-energy and epic. The lyrics are sarcastic, mocking, flippant, silly and brutally honest. There's some extended lead guitar playing which has only made brief appearances so far on the 1001 Albums list.

This is a serious album that doesn't take itself seriously at all. That it's extremely cerebral and attacks American popular culture so viciously, I can't imagine anybody thinking this album would sell.

It's also sonically rich album. There is so much depth to each song. There's always something new I hear each time I listen to it.

I like this album a lot, but since it takes a lot of effort to listen to it, it's not ideal for casual listening. This is clearly a good example of something that is so avant-garde that it has little impact.

Hungry Freaks, Daddy, Motherly Love and Trouble Every Day are the clear stand outs, but the album is full of great songs. I'm still not sure about The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet (Unfinished Ballet in Two Tableaux). It's interesting, but with diminishing returns.

---

★★★★★★★★★ ☆