Frank Zappa's band had been known simply as The Mothers until a nervous MGM realized what the company had on their hands with this cataclysmic debut. On the verge of releasing Freak Out!, rock's second double LP (Dylan's Blonde On Blonde just pipped it), the label panicked that the implications of the group's controversial moniker might scare off DJs. "As if our name was going to be The Big Problem," Zappa observed dryly in his autobiography.
Coming from the heart of the burgeoning freak culture on the West Coast, and having been signed by producer Tom Wilson, Zappa and his band set out to blow minds with this debut release. What's more, this record was about something."Each tune had a function within an overall satirical concept,"said Zappa.
"Who Are the Brain Police?" sums up that concept neatly: creepy, antiauthoritarian moaning that describes the melting of objects and minds alike.
Alongside overtly weird numbers are parodies of bubbly pop, such as the doo-wop pastiche "Go Cry On Somebody Else's Shoulder," juxtaposed with intricately arranged love songs such as "How Could I Be Such A Fool?" Psychedelic guitars and dirty blues riffs start dragging the album deeper as it enters its second half:"Help, I'm A Rock" distills the freak essence and turns everything abstract;"The Return Of The Son Of Monster Magnet", the entirety of side four on the vinyl release, is an experimental and noisy showstopper.
Freak Out! signaled the emergence of a uniquely exciting and challenging composer who made a career out of breaking down boundaries.
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