Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Artist: Zappa, Frank
Label: Rykodisc Records
Release: 1974
Rating: 5/5
One night in 1974, Frank sank into an utterly bizarre dream (which begs the question of whether a musical and all-around oddball of his caliber could even dream any other kind of dream) about an unusual encounter between an Eskimo and a fur trapper. Their dramatic showdown, which involved a clump of yellow snow fired straight into the eyes of the overly obnoxious trapper, eventually became yet another in a long line of unforgettable anecdotes from the life of this unforgettable musician.
The main side effect of this extremely colorful dream was that it gave birth to the (quasi) concept of a masterful brainchild called “Apostrophe”, one of the best things he ever put out in his incredibly varied and turbulent career. With “Apostrophe”, Frank achieved exactly what he never really wanted – a first hit single and a breakthrough onto the charts with the shortened version of the classic “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow”, plus the biggest commercial success of his career. Sure, the equally superb predecessor “Over-Nite Sensation” (1973) had already brought him a commercial breakthrough, but “Apostrophe” even climbed to number ten on the American charts and went gold. Undoubtedly another gloriously grotesque achievement for a musician of Frank’s unique caliber, and one that infuriated most of all those who were convinced his mostly avant-garde experiments would never reach the ears of the wider masses, never mind the self-appointed guardians of public morals.
In many ways, “Apostrophe” continued the successful direction of its predecessor “Over-Nite Sensation”, although, as is the Zappa tradition, it’s once again a thoroughly unique product. That means he again put a pot on the stove for an immensely entertaining stew cooked up mostly from shorter songs that reflected the trademark Zappa tomfoolery and playful, hugely entertaining arrangements. The themes of the lyrics, or the quasi-concept, were as usual pretty grotesque, rowdy and obscure. In other words, right in his best tradition.
As is usually the case with Frank, the album’s sound can’t be pigeonholed into any one genre, but the easiest way to describe it would be a unique mixture of elements of progressive rock, avant-garde, hard rock, pop rock, jazz rock fusion and, of course, the totally trademark Zappa musical grotesquery, for which the best label might be simply comedy rock. Alongside Frank, a whole constellation of prestigious musical names appears on the album once again. Let’s mention just those whose contributions played key roles in the album’s overall character.
This time too, there was no shortage of favors from old collaborators, like the married couple Underwood on saxophone and percussion, the versatile keyboard artistry of George Duke, the mischievous jazzy contribution of violinist Jean-Luc Ponty, and the breakneck hits of returning drummer Aynsley Dunbar. On the other hand, newcomers made a name for themselves on the album too, such as Napoleon Murphy Brock on saxophone and backing vocals (who over the years became one of Frank’s favorites), the endlessly well-rounded drummer Jim Gordon (over his career he worked with a whole galaxy of big names, but let’s just mention George Harrison and Eric Clapton here), and Cream bassist Jack Bruce, for whom this was the only collaboration with Frank, though few people remember this fascinating experience today. Interestingly, Frank’s and Jack’s accounts of their collaboration on this album are totally contradictory. While Frank claims Jack played bass on the group jam (the album’s title track), which also features Jim Gordon on drums, Jack claims he played just one part on Frank’s most commercially successful album, and that one was played on cello. Considering that you can clearly hear Bruce’s trademark bass finesse all through that jam, similar to what he did in his Cream days, Frank’s version of the story strikes me as far more believable.
This handsome musical crew, most of whom built successful solo careers or careers with other bands over the years (quite a few of them owe their name recognition to Frank himself), served up a killer comic combination of cheeky elements of jazz rock fusion, hard rock, pop and the usual Zappa satirical mannerisms. Apart from the title jam, there are no jazz improvisations to be found, and that’s one of the answers to this album’s huge commercial success. Frank himself played most of the guitar parts in his usual masterful way (old acquaintance Tony Duran kept him company on rhythm guitar) and the bass, and he also sang all the lead vocals, which as usual consist of telling short satirical anecdotes.
Given that this is a quasi-conceptual album, a few words must be spent on that too, if only for its comedy and originality. The concept, which rests on Frank’s dream, only marks the first four pieces, after which it takes a very strange turn that no longer has anything to do with the dream and would be pointless to explain, since many people wouldn’t get it, even though it contains a string of good burlesques.
Here’s a short description of the central concept that comes from Frank’s dream. In it, an Eskimo named Nanook gives a trapper a proper scare when the latter pokes his ugly head out from behind an igloo and starts harassing Nanook’s favorite baby seal so he can skin it. Nanook responds to the trapper’s mistreatment by hurling a fistful of yellow snow into the intruder’s eyes (the yellow color being the deadly result of weeks of husky dogs peeing on it) and blinds him (“Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” and “Nanook Rubs It”). Once the humiliated trapper partly recovers, he remembers some ancient Eskimo legend and sets off across the tundra to the local church of St. Alfonzo. There he starts plotting his revenge together with Father O’Blivion, and along the way develops a craving for fresh pancakes for breakfast (“St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” and “Father O’Blivion”). At this point the concept takes a truly strange turn into a series of short comic anecdotes with no real connection to each other. Interestingly, the whole conceptual suite was never finished.
Musically, the album shines from start to finish, and every piece on it is a special story of its own that could be discussed for hours and written about in entire novels. The opening masterpiece “Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow” is the album’s centerpiece and one of the most beloved Zappa classics. Amid the effect of a (cold Siberian) wind blowing, a super-bouncy, slightly funky guitar riff kicks in, along with plenty of mischievous drum fills. Frank’s sarcastic-comic vocal performance isn’t missing either, enriched with lots of backing vocals, telling the aforementioned anecdote in superb fashion. But the song reaches its juiciest peak in the closing, evergreen-naughty chorus. A direct transition leads into the conceptual continuation “Nanook Rubs It”, where the laughs spread out wide again amid lots of “busted” arrangements and Frank’s grimacing vocal performance about a clump of yellow-tinted snow straight in the “noggin”. There’s no shortage of playful instrumental forays on xylophone, a rich collection of percussion, and piano either, never mind Frank’s guitar acrobatics led by his comically brilliant solos. The finale on saxophones and backing vocals is simply brilliant.
“St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast” is a short moment of pure avant-garde jazz rock fusion grotesquery, with jokey arrangements on percussion, xylophone and brass, and Frank’s vivid description of the many goings-on behind the scenes at St. Alfonzo’s church. An excellent transition into the slightly chaotic “Father O’Blivon” is opened by an outstanding, wound-up rhythm laid over guitar passages. Here too there’s no lack of joking effects on keyboards and percussion, or burlesque singing (along the way we learn that Father O’Blivion is a huge pervert). The transition into the closing exotic, almost Caribbean section on percussion and vocals is especially fun. Next comes another unforgettable classic, “Cosmik Debris”, whose lyrics contain numerous allusions to Frank’s past works (for instance, the dust from the album “The Grand Wazoo“, 1973, is mentioned), and the Mystery Man gets a mention too. At its core it’s a hard rock number with a striking, extremely juicy central guitar riff, a heroic solo, and erotic female backing vocals. Along the way there’s of course no shortage of jokey sounds, instrumental twists and Frank’s usual, but always cleverly funny, vocal mugging.
“Excentrifugal Forz” (especially its lyrics) is a chapter of its own, featuring a wound-up combination of “drunken” guitar passages, playful percussion and avant-garde-tinged electronic sounds on keyboards. Next comes the instrumental treat that is the title track, “Apostrophe”, an exceptional jam between Zappa, Bruce and Gordon that shows off the best instrumental qualities of all three masters. While Zappa shines with his unpredictable, playful passages, Bruce’s melodic bass parts ring out clearly the whole time, along with Gordon’s breathtaking, wildly eclectic and punchy drumming.
Next comes an exceptional contrast with the excellent ballad “Uncle Remus”, which creates unforgettable magic with its tasteful piano arrangements and a wonderful melody built on Frank’s vocal and female backing harmonies. This piece is almost one of a kind in Frank’s career. With lyrics that condemn racial discrimination, not just at the expense of old Jewish Remus and his nose, it also condemns, in an easygoing and intelligent way, everyone who mocks those who are a little different from the majority. That makes it one of the rare “serious” moments in Frank’s career, when you can feel his sincere sympathy in the music, the lyrics and even the vocal delivery, rather than the usual mockery at the expense of (American) stereotypes. As the son of parents of mixed background, he always had an ear for social problems like this, and he successfully tore down established stereotypes at the same time. The closing burlesque “Stink- Foot” is a wildly entertaining blend of progressive rock spices somewhere between blues, hard rock and jazz fusion. It’s built on a slow tempo, with piano accompaniment, drunken guitar passages and burlesque vocal theater. It’s also the album’s only moment of toilet humor, as the lyrics mostly revolve around a married couple’s quarrel over the husband’s smelly feet and their poodle, which sniffs them and then kicks the bucket, all four paws in the air.
“Apostrophe” holds a very high spot in Frank’s seemingly endless body of work. Quite a few people even consider it his best album, and it’s no wonder at all. Given its more accessible song structures compared to most of Frank’s output up to then, the album’s big commercial success, despite a generous dose of avant-garde flourishes and genuine Zappa humor, really wasn’t any surprise. Surely it also helped that this time he completely steered clear of political satire, while wrapping the social satire in the lyrics in such a refined way that only the most attentive listeners can pick up on it.
With “Apostrophe” the wider public didn’t really start discovering and respecting this brilliant musical artist, which he undoubtedly deserved. Rather, Frank (unintentionally, of course) brought his visions and experiments a little closer to the world, and at the same time gifted us one of his creative peaks. There are some, above all the biggest fans of his early, more avant-garde works, who even resent him for this (temporary) peace with the wider music public and consider the accessibility of the “hard rock” trilogy (“Over-Nite Sensation”, “Apostrophe” and “One Size Fits All”) a kind of betrayal, but a true Zappa “fanatic” knows how to appreciate all periods of his career equally. The album’s only “flaw” is its rather short running time (just over half an hour), while everything else on it is pure art. A must-have in the music collection of every household? Need you even ask!
Line-up
Frank Zappa – vocals, guitar, bass guitar
Tony Duran – rhythm guitar
Jack Bruce – bass guitar
Erroneous – bass guitar
Tom Fowler – bass guitar
George Duke – keyboards, backing vocals
Don “Sugarcane” Harris – violin
Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
Ruth Underwood – percussion
Ian Underwood – saxophone
Napoleon Murphy Brock – saxophone, backing vocals
Sal Marquez – trumpet
Bruce Fowler – trombone
Jim Gordon – drums
John Guerin – drums
Aynsley Dunbar – drums
Ralph Humphrey – drums
Kerry McNabb- backing vocals
Susie Glower – backing vocals
Debbie – backing vocals
Lynn – backing vocals
Ruben Ladron De Guevara – backing vocals
Robert Camarena – backing vocals
Production
Frank Zappa
Track list
1. Don’t Eat The Yellow Snow (2:07)
2. Nanook Rubs It (4:37)
3. St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast (1:50)
4. Father O’Blivion (2:18)
5. Cosmik Debris (4:14)
6. Excentrifugal Forz (1:33)
7. Apostrophe’ (5:50)
8. Uncle Remus (2:44)
9. Stink-Foot (6:32)
Album length: 31:45
