[1969] Hot Rats by Frank Zappa
Artist Info:
Album Info:
Track List
- Peaches En Regalia
- Willie The Pimp
- Son of Mr. Green Genes
- Little Umbrellas
- The Gumbo Variations
- It Must Be A Camel
Run Time - ≈ 47 Minutes 13 Seconds
Cover Photo
Fun Facts
Shuggie Otis, a bassist on the album, was only 15 years old at the time of recording.
Hot Rats was the first Frank Zappa album recorded on 16-track equipment and one of the first albums to use this technology. It was recorded on what Zappa described as a “homemade sixteen track” recorder. The machine was custom built by engineers at TTG Studios.
Personal Thoughts
I had heard Peaches En Regalia before, an old co-worker recommened I listen to it years ago and I have loved it since. A friend and I have started giving each other an album to listen to each week, and this was the first one he gave me. I really enjoyed the rest of it, though Peaches En Regalia is definitely my favorite track. Willie The Pimp I really enjoyed, too. I have started going through the unedited master takes released on The Hot Rats Sessions in 2019 and they’re very interesting, Willie The Pimp’s is fantastic.
The fact that Shuggie was 15 when he tracked the bass on this can’t be overstated enough, his performance is remarkably clean. I would have never guessed he was so young all the times I listened to Peaches En Regalia.
This album was what sold me on Frank Zappa. His quirky writing is quirky now but in 1969 it was damn near extraterrestrial. It blends such unique sounds and traverses a vast number of genres (a term which Zappa himself would have called pious and marketing lingo for “we have no idea how to actually describe music”).
I want to add, since I’m now listening to Willie The Pimp, that Captain Beefheart’s (and His Magic Band’s) 1972 album Clear Spot is a great collection of tracks that flows very nicely from the styles of Hot Rats. It’s definitely more narrow in terms of the types of sounds, but it’s still amazing.
I’ll have to give that a listen!