Lumpy Gravy
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| Lumpy Gravy | ||
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| Studio album by Frank Zappa and the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra | ||
| Released | May 1968 | |
| Recorded | February – October 1967 | |
| Genre | musique concrete | |
| Length | 31:39 | |
| Label | Verve Rykodisc (reissue) |
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| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||
| We're Only in It for the Money (1968) |
Lumpy Gravy (1968) |
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968) |
Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album by Frank Zappa, released in 1968. The album's concept started out in 1966 when a record producer named Nick Venet offered Zappa the chance to record an album of orchestral music.
It was originally prepared for Capitol Records in a much different version, eventually released only in the 8-track format but MGM refused to allow the album to be released. This version was entirely orchestral. According to Zappa himself, the Capitol 8-track tape of Lumpy Gravy is one of the rarest official Zappa releases - if not the rarest.
In order for the public to get to hear the album, Zappa reedited the album and delivered a completely different version to MGM. The final product consists of pieces of music interspersed with surreal dialogues recorded inside a piano.
The album was released before the Mothers of Invention album We're Only in It for the Money, and contains some thematic links to it; as Frank says in a speech bubble on the back cover, "Is this phase 2 of We're Only in It for the Money?", and Lumpy Gravy's finale is a much different take on We're Only in It for the Money's song "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance".
An alternate remix of the album was prepared, with drum overdubs by Chad Wackerman, and bass overdubs by Arthur Barrow. An excerpt appeared on the sampler for the first Old Masters box set, but this remix is otherwise unreleased. The 1995 CD features a "raw mix" of the album, which features a few different mix decisions and segment segues.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
All tracks by Frank Zappa.
- "Lumpy Gravy, Part One" – 15:48
- "The Way I See It, Barry"
- "Duodenum"
- "Oh No"
- "Bit Of Nostalgia"
- "It's From Kansas"
- "Bored Out 90 Over"
- "Almost Chinese"
- "Switching Girls"
- "At The Gas Station"
- "Another Pickup"
- "I Don't Know If I Can Go Through This Again"
- "Lumpy Gravy, Part Two" – 15:51
- "Very Distraughtening"
- "White Ugliness"
- "Amen"
- "Just One More Time"
- "A Vicious Circle"
- "King Kong"
- "Drums Are Too Noisy"
- "Kangaroos"
- "Envelops The Bath Tub"
- "Take Your Clothes Off"
[edit] Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, vocals
- All Nite John – chorus
- John Balkin – bass
- Dick Barber – vocals
- Arnold Belnick – strings
- Harold Bemko – strings
- Chuck Berghofer – bass
- Jimmy Carl Black – percussion, drums, chorus
- Jimmy Bond – bass
- Bruce – chorus
- Dennis Budimir – guitar
- Frank Capp – drums
- Donald Christlieb – woodwind
- Gene Cipriano – woodwind
- Vincent DeRosa – french horn
- Joseph DiFiore – strings
- Jesse Ehrlich – strings
- Alan Estes – percussion, drums
- Gene Estes – percussion
- Roy Estrada – bass, chorus
- Larry Fanoga – vocals, chorus
- Victor Feldman – percussion, drums
- Bunk Gardner – woodwind
- James Getzoff – strings
- Gilly – chorus
- Philip Goldberg – strings
- John Guerin – drums
- Jimmy "Senyah" Haynes – guitar
- Harry Hyams – strings
- J.K. – chorus
- Jules Jacob – woodwind
- Pete Jolly – piano, celeste, harpsichord
- Ray Kelly – strings
- Jerome Kessler – strings
- Alexander Koltun – strings
- Bernard Kundell – strings
- William Kurasch – strings
- Michael Lang – piano, celeste, harpsichord
- Arthur Maebe – French horn
- Leonard Malarsky – strings
- Shelly Manne – drums
- Lincoln Mayorga – piano, celeste, harpsichord
- Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood – chorus
- Ted Nash – woodwind
- Patrick O'Hearn – bass, wind
- Richard Parissi – French horn
- Don Preston – bass, keyboards
- Pumpkin – chorus
- Jerome Reisler – strings
- Emil Richards – percussion
- Tony Rizzi – guitar
- Ronnie – chorus
- John Rotella – percussion, woodwind
- Joseph Saxon – strings
- Ralph Schaeffer – strings
- Leonard Selic – strings
- Kenny Shroyer – trombone
- Paul Smith – piano, celeste, harpsichord
- Tommy Tedesco – guitar
- Al Viola – guitar
- Bob West – bass
- Ronny Williams
- Tibor Zelig – strings
- Jimmy Zito – trumpet
[edit] Production
- Producer: Frank Zappa
- Engineer: Gary Kellgren
- Remixing: Bob Stone
- Arranger: Frank Zappa
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Pop Albums | 159 |
