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 | Orchestral | |
| Length | 31:39 | |
| Label | Verve Rykodisc (reissue) |
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| Producer(s) | Frank Zappa | |
| Professional reviews | ||
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| 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 Capitol Records producer named Nick Venet offered Zappa the chance to record an album of orchestral music. Zappa assembled approximately 40 of the best studio orchestra musicians (including legendary guitarist Tommy Tedesco) at the Capitol Records studio in Los Angeles in February and March of 1967 to record an album of his instrumental compositions.
There was a long delay between the initial orchestral recording sessions and final release in 1968. This was caused by a dispute between MGM Records and Capitol Records. The album was first prepared for Capitol and this version was released briefly in the 4-track cartridge tape format before MGM threatened legal action. The 4-track cartridge system was a early competitor to the more successful 8-track format. According to Zappa himself, the Capitol 4-track tape of Lumpy Gravy is one of the rarest official Zappa releases - if not the rarest. Capitol had also begun preparation of the vinyl LP record as well as a 7" single from the album ("Sink Trap" b/w "Gypsy Airs") but these did not get past the test pressing stage.
MGM Records had already signed Zappa to their Verve Records division in early 1966 as a member of The Mothers of Invention. MGM/Verve claimed ownership of these recordings and stopped all distribution of the Capitol album. During the dispute Zappa took the opportunity to radically re-edit his work. The version delivered to MGM/Verve was much longer than the Capitol version, though it still is a rather short album.
During most of 1967 and 1968 Zappa lived in Greenwich Village in New York City. At Apostolic Studios Zappa recorded new music and spoken dialog while working on the next Mothers of Invention album We're Only in It for the Money. He also worked from home in his spare time, spending hundreds of hours manually editing tapes with a razor blade and splicing tape. Many unusual sounds were added to Lumpy Gravy through the manipulation of tape recordings by a process known as Musique concrète. Sounds of kazoo, bells and coughing were leftovers from an animated television commercial for Luden's Cough Drops. This advertisement, called "The Big Squeeze", won Zappa a Clio Award for sound in 1967. Some parts of the album have a jazzy feel while others show tonal and atonal classical music influences. The final product consists of pieces of orchestral music interspersed with surreal dialogues recorded inside a piano and linked with many odd sound effects and musical fragments.
There are several thematic links between Lumpy Gravy and We're Only in It for the Money. Both have extensive use of editing and Musique concrète. As Frank says in a speech bubble on the back cover, "Is this phase 2 of We're Only in It for the Money?" Lumpy Gravy's surf music instrumental finale appears in a vocal version on We're Only in It for the Money under the title "Take Your Clothes Off When You Dance". Short musical quotes of the songs "Mother People" and "Louie Louie" appear in both albums.
The MGM/Verve edit of the album was released on LP record and 4-track cartridge in 1968 and later in a standard 8-track version as well. There was a mono Verve LP version, though this was probably a reduction of the stereo, not a different mono mix. An alternate stereo remix of the album was prepared in 1984, 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 was reconstructed from various source tapes in an attempt to improve the sound quality. It features a few different mix decisions and segment segues. It was not until the 1995 CD version that "Part 1" and "Part 2" were subdivided into sections with titles. Some of these new titles come from the spoken dialog, while others are names of instrumental pieces.
Early versions of the album were credited to "Francis Vincent Zappa" on the front cover. For much of his life Frank thought he shared the legal name "Francis" with his father. Re-issues of the album since 1985 were changed to "Frank Vincent Zappa" after he saw his birth certificate for the first time.
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"
- "Oh No Again"
- "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"
The Capitol album had these titles:
Side One:
TABLEAUX
- I SINK TRAP
- II GUM JOY
- III UP AND DOWN
- IV LOCAL BUTCHER
Side Two:
TABLEAUX
- V GYPSY AIRS
- VI HUNCHY PUNCHY
- VII FOAMY SOAKY
- VIII LET'S EAT OUT
- IX TEEN-AGE GRAND FINALE
[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
- 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 |
