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Absolutely Free
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Absolutely Free | ||
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| Studio album by The Mothers of Invention | ||
| Released | May 26, 1967 | |
| Recorded | Sunset-Highland Studios of TTG November 15-18, 1966 |
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| Genre | experimental rock, symphonic rock, classical | |
| Length | 38:29 43:37 (reissue) |
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| Label | Verve | |
| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa, Tom Wilson |
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| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||
| Freak Out! (1966) |
Absolutely Free (1967) |
We're Only in It for the Money (1968) |
Absolutely Free (1967) is the second album by The Mothers of Invention, led by Frank Zappa. A continuation of the first release, the double LP Freak Out!, Absolutely Free is once again a display of complex musical composition and with political and social satire.
Like the first album, almost every genre under the sun can be found either being used and performed expertly or being barbed at and musically disemboweled by the performers of the Mothers of Invention, which had been augmented since Freak Out! by the additions of saxophone player Bunk Gardner and keyboardist Don Preston.
For this album, the emphasis is more on interconnected movements, as each side on the original vinyl LP composes a mini-suite. It also features one of the most famous songs of his early career, "Brown Shoes Don't Make It," a track which has been described as being "an entire musical compressed down to 8 minutes."
The CD reissue adds a single The Mothers released at the time between where side one would have ended and side two would have begun featuring the songs "Why Dontcha Do Me Right?" and "Big Leg Emma," both described as an attempt to make dumb music to appeal to dumb teenagers.
In his book Necessity Is..., former Mothers of Invention band member Ray Collins claimed that Absolutely Free is probably his favorite of the classic Mothers albums.
The UK -67 release (Verve VLP/SVLP 9174) came in a laminated flip-back cover, with a Mike Raven poem at the reverse that was not apparent on any other issue.
The title of "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" was inspired by an event covered by Time Magazine reporter Hugh Sidey in 1966. The reporter correctly guessed that something was up when the normally fastidiously dressed President Lyndon B. Johnson made the fashion faux pas of wearing brown shoes with a gray suit. This story made the news again upon Sidey's death in 2005.
Contents |
All songs by Frank Zappa.
Suite No. 1: "Absolutely Free" (1st in a Series of Underground Oratorios)
- 1. "Plastic People" – 3:42
- 2. "The Duke of Prunes" – 2:13
- 3. "Amnesia Vivace" – 1:01
- 4. "The Duke Regains His Chops" – 1:52
- 5. "Call Any Vegetable" – 2:15
- 6. "Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin" – 7:00
- 7. "Soft-Sell Conclusion" – 1:40
1967 Mothers of Invention Single, bonus tracks for the 1995 Rykodisc CD reissue
- 8. "Big Leg Emma" – 2:31
- 9. "Why Don'tcha Do Me Right?" – 2:37
Suite No. 2: "The M.O.I. American Pageant" (2nd in a Series of Underground Oratorios)
- 10. "America Drinks" – 1:52
- 11. "Status Back Baby" – 2:54
- 12. "Uncle Bernie's Farm" – 2:10
- 13. "Son of Suzy Creamcheese" – 1:34
- 14. "Brown Shoes Don't Make It" – 7:30 (referenced on Pedophilia and child sexual abuse in songs)
- 15. "America Drinks and Goes Home" – 2:46
- Frank Zappa – guitar, conductor, vocals
- Jimmy Carl Black – drums, vocals
- Ray Collins – vocals, tambourine
- Don Ellis – trumpet on "Brown Shoes Don't Make It"
- Roy Estrada – bass, vocals
- Bunk Gardner – woodwinds
- Billy Mundi – drums, percussion
- Don Preston – keyboards
- John Rotella – percussion
- Jim Fielder – guitar, piano
- Pamela Zarubica – vocals
- Herb Cohen
- Lisa Cohen
- Kurt Retar
- Terry Gilliam – sound effect
- Producers: Frank Zappa, Tom Wilson
- Director of engineering: Val Valentine
- Engineer: Ami Hadani
- Remixing: David Greene
- Arranger: Frank Zappa
- Cover design: Ferenc Dobronyi, Cal Schenkel
- Layout design: Frank Zappa
- Cover photo: Alice Ochs
- Cover art: Frank Zappa
- Photography: Jerry Deiter
- Artwork: Alice Ochs
- Collage: Frank Zappa
- Liner Notes: Frank Zappa
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1967 | Pop Albums | 41 |
- Lyrics and information
- Release details
- "The Meaning of Cordovans" reporter Hugh Sidey recalls the event when he saw Lyndon B. Johnson wearing the wrong shoes