| Apostrophe (') | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Frank Zappa | ||||
| Released | March 22, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | 1969 - 1974 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC; Bolic, Inglewood and Paramount Studios, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Progressive rock, comedy rock | |||
| Length | 31:45 | |||
| Label | DiscReet | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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Apostrophe (') is an album by Frank Zappa, his eighteenth, released on March 22, 1974[1] in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was Zappa's first chart single, reaching position 86. Apostrophe (') remains Zappa's biggest commercial success in the US. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on April 7, 1976[2] and reached number 10 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums Chart.
Continuing from the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation (1973), this album is a similar mix of short songs showcasing Zappa's humor and musical arrangements. The record's lyrical themes are often bizarre or obscure, with the exception of "Uncle Remus" which is an extension of Zappa's feelings on racial disharmony featured on his earlier song "Trouble Every Day".
Contents |
The first half of the album loosely follows a continuing theme. "Nanook Rubs It" tells of a dream the singer had where he saw himself as an Eskimo named Nanook. A fur trapper comes up from behind Nanook's igloo and commences to "whip on" his favorite baby seal with a lead filled snow shoe. After the fur trapper goes right upside the head of Nanook's favorite baby seal, hitting him on the head and the fin, Nanook responds by rubbing yellow snow (that is, snow which had been urinated upon by huskies) in his "beady little eyes", blinding him. The fur trapper remembers an ancient Eskimo legend ("Wherein it is written—on whatever it is that they write it on up there") and travels to "the parish of St. Alfonzo" in an attempt to procure a miraculous cure for his "deflicted eye". At this point, the album takes an unexpected turn and instead tells of rambunctious antics ("wheedled on the bingo cards in lieu of the latrine") and follows with a scenario in which a leprechaun "stroked it"; another line talks of "abused the sausage patty" followed by a short musical interlude that includes high-pitched orgasmic screaming. However, the complete suite is not available, missing the final movement, "Rollo", which however wasn't probably lyrically written at the time (the music had been written earlier, as a version of it appears on the Imaginary Diseases album).
As the album reaches "Cosmik Debris", there are several references to earlier albums and songs. The "dust of the Grand Wazoo" is mentioned, as well as "the toads of the short forest" (featured previously on 1970's Weasels Ripped My Flesh and on Over-Nite Sensation, specifically "Camarillo Brillo").
As was the case with many of Zappa's albums, Apostrophe was a menage of archival and newer recordings (most of Apostrophe (') and Over-Nite Sensation were recorded simultaneously). The older recordings include the basic tracks for: "Excentrifugal Forz" (a Hot Rats outtake) and "Uncle Remus" (from The Grand Wazoo). While the title track also hails (with some possible 1973 overdubbage) from The Grand Wazoo' sessions.
The title track is an instrumental jam featuring Cream bassist Jack Bruce and drummer Jim Gordon. Jack Bruce is credited on the album cover with bass guitar and co-writing the title song. However, in his interview for Polish rock magazine Tylko Rock he jokingly insisted to journalist Weiss Wiesław that he had not played any bass guitar parts on Apostrophe ('), only the cello parts. Bruce learned cello as a child and plays it on some of his other recordings. However, his cello comments regarding Apostrophe (') can't be taken seriously because there is in fact no cello on the title song or on the album. His bass playing on Apostrophe (') does in fact sound at times very much like the bass lines that he played with Cream.
(Tylko Rock, Oct. 1992, pp. 17)
However, in an interview in Guitar Player Magazine from January 1977, Zappa talks about his experience with Jack Bruce's bass playing on the song:
Q: What about playing with (bass guitarist) Jack Bruce on Apostrophe? FZ: Well, that was just a jam thing that happened because he was a friend of (drummer) Jim Gordon. I found it very difficult to play with him; he's too busy. He doesn't really want to play the bass in terms of root functions; I think he has other things on his mind. But that's the way jam sessions go.
| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [3] |
| Robert Christgau | (B-)[4] |
| Rolling Stone | (favorable)[5] |
A disc jockey in Pittsburgh edited the album versions of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Nanook Rubs It" to play on his radio show. While Zappa toured Europe, he learned of this version's success, and decided to create his own edited version once he returned to the United States, and released it as a single.[6]
Apostrophe (') and the preceding release Over-Nite Sensation, recorded with the same group of musicians, are the subject of a Classic Albums series documentary from Eagle Rock Entertainment, released on DVD May 1, 2007.
Billboard (North America)
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | Pop Albums | 10[2] |
| Song | Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|---|
| "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" | Pop Singles | 86[2] |