Uncle Meat
A double album built from overdubs and live tape, made as the soundtrack to a film Zappa had not finished.
The Mothers Of Invention, 1969
- Released
- 21 April 1969
- Recorded
- October 1967 to February 1968
- Studio
- Apostolic Studios, New York
- Label
- Bizarre
- Producer
- Frank Zappa
- Length
- 74:53
A double album released on Bizarre and Reprise, subtitled "Most of the music from the Mothers' movie of the same name which we haven't got enough money to finish yet." The studio tracks were made at Apostolic Studios in New York on a Scully 12-track recorder, with many overdubs, instruments played through effects, and recordings sped up or slowed down. Live material comes from the Royal Albert Hall, including Louie Louie played by Don Preston on the hall's pipe organ, which Zappa announces as the London Philharmonic Orchestra. The album ends with the King Kong pieces, six variations on one melody.
The film was completed and released on video in 1987, when the album was reissued as a double CD with material from the film added. Steve Huey of AllMusic wrote that the unfocused sprawl is a big part of its appeal. Uncle Meat reached 43 on Billboard.
Track listing
- Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme1:54
- The Voice of Cheese0:27
- Nine Types of Industrial Pollution5:56
- Zolar Czakl0:57
- Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague5:51
- The Legend of the Golden Arches1:24
- Louie Louie2:28
- The Dog Breath Variations1:36
- Sleeping in a Jar0:49
- Our Bizarre Relationship1:05
- The Uncle Meat Variations4:40
- Electric Aunt Jemima1:53
- Prelude to King Kong3:24
- God Bless America1:22
- A Pound for a Brown on the Bus1:29
- Ian Underwood Whips It Out5:08
- Mr. Green Genes3:10
- We Can Shoot You1:48
- 'If We'd All Been Living in California...'1:29
- The Air2:57
- Project X4:47
- Cruising for Burgers2:19
- King Kong Itself (As Played by the Mothers in a Studio)0:53
- King Kong (Its Magnificence as Interpreted by Dom DeWild)1:15
- King Kong (As Motorhead Explains It)1:44
- King Kong (The Gardner Varieties)6:17
- King Kong (As Played by 3 Deranged Good Humor Trucks)0:29
- King Kong (Live on a Flat Bed Diesel in the Middle of a Race Track at a Miami Pop Festival...The Underwood Ramifications)7:22
Personnel
- Frank Zappa guitar, vocals, percussion, producer
- Ray Collins vocals
- Jimmy Carl Black drums
- Roy Estrada electric bass
- Don Preston electric piano, pipe organ
- Billy Mundi drums on some pieces
- Bunk Gardner woodwinds
- Ian Underwood keyboards, woodwinds
- Art Tripp drums, timpani, vibes, marimba
- Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood tenor saxophone
- Ruth Komanoff marimba, vibes
- Nelcy Walker soprano voice
- Cal Schenkel package design
More from The Mothers Of Invention
Freak Out! (1966), Absolutely Free (1967), We're Only in It for the Money (1968), Weasels Ripped My Flesh (1970)
Sources
- Uncle Meat, Wikipedia
- Uncle Meat: Notes and Comments, Information Is Not Knowledge