Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
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| Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||
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| Studio album by The Mothers of Invention | ||
| Released | October 1968 | |
| Recorded | Apostolic Studios, NYC December, 1967-February, 1968 |
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| Genre | doo-wop pastiche | |
| Length | 40:34 | |
| Label | Bizarre/Verve | |
| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa | |
| Professional reviews | ||
|---|---|---|
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||
| Lumpy Gravy (1968) |
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968) |
Mothermania (1969) |
| Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||
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| "The Story of Ruben & the Jets." | ||
Cruising With Ruben & the Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1968 (see 1968 in music).
The album is meant to be a simultaneous parody of and tribute to the doo-wop music Frank and many of the Mothers grew up with and worked on. In many ways, it's a collision of high and low art, as Stravinsky-style chord changes and unusual tempos are applied to purposely trite and banal teenage pop love songs.
Since the artist name "The Mothers of Invention" only appeared in a small talk balloon on the album's cover, Cruising With Ruben & the Jets actually got some airtime in the United States. Radio DJs would actually play the album announcing it as being recorded by "Ruben & the Jets." When a DJ learned that the album was actually recorded by Frank Zappa, he immediately took the album off the air.
In 1973, a real doo-wop band, consisting of Ruben Guevara, Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill Wild, and Bob Zamora approached Zappa to ask him if they could use the name "Ruben and the Jets" for their band. Zappa not only approved of the name, he produced the band's first album, which was titled For Real!, a direct reference to the 1968 Mothers album with the "fake Ruben & The Jets."
In 1984, Zappa, unhappy with the sound quality of Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, enlisted Arthur Barrow and Chad Wackerman to re-record the original bass and drum parts (although they were not credited) for the Old Masters Box One re-issue of the album. The album has not been officially rereleased on CD with the original bass and drum parts, although bootlegs have surfaced.
A mono version of the album was released in England 1969 (Verve VLP. 9237) together with the original stereo, but since MGM at about that time decided to halt their distibution of Verve in the UK, very few copies found their way to the shops.
Contents |
[edit] Track listing
- "Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) – 2:39
- "Love of My Life" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:08
- "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" (Zappa) – 3:34
- "Deseri" (Buff, Collins) – 2:08
- "I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) – 4:08
- "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Zappa) – 2:24
- "Anything" (Collins) – 3:05
- "Later That Night" (Zappa) – 3:00
- "You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) – 3:57
- "Fountain of Love" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:22
- "No. No. No." (Zappa) – 2:15
- "Any Way the Wind Blows" (Zappa) – 3:01
- "Stuff Up the Cracks" (Zappa) – 4:36
[edit] Personnel
- Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, sound effects, vocals, voices
- Jimmy Carl Black – guitar, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar
- Ray Collins – guitar, vocals
- Roy Estrada – bass, electric bass, sound effects, vocals, voices
- Bunk Gardner – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
- Don Preston – bass, piano, keyboards
- Jim Sherwood – guitar, vocals, wind
- Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood – baritone saxophone, tambourine
- Art Tripp – guitar, rhythm guitar
- Ian Underwood – guitar, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, wind
- Arthur Barrow – bass on Old Masters and compact disc versions (uncredited on CD)
- Chad Wackerman – drums on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited on CD)
- Jay Anderson - string bass on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited)
[edit] Production
- Producer: Frank Zappa
- Engineer: Dick Kunc
- Cover Art: Cal Schenkel
- Cover Design: Cal Schenkel
- Artwork: Cal Schenkel
- Repackaging: Ferenc Dobronyi
[edit] Charts
Album - Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1969 | Pop Albums | 110 |
