If you’d come to me a few years ago and said the name “Frank Zappa,” the first thing that would have come to my mind would be “novelty artist.” For whatever reason, I had long filed Zappa away with guys like Weird Al — comedic musicians who depended on the goofiness of their content and probably couldn’t stand on their own, musically. I probably lumped most of the stuff I heard on the Dr. Demento show as a kid into that category.
Further, if you’d tried to offer me a late seventies multi-disc rock concept album, I’d have laughed in your face. (Well, more precisely, I probably would have made a straight-faced, snide comment and you wouldn’t be sure if I was actually joking or not. Such is the curse of being me.)
Thankfully, Joe’s Garage ended up being one of those times where it feels really great to be wrong.
See, Zappa is a comedic lyricist (probably one of the best), but that does not in any way preclude him being one of the most talented and prolific rock artists who ever lived. Just because he eschewed songs of the “I love my baby”/”my baby left me” variety for numbers like “Broken Hearts Are for Assholes” and “Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow” does not mean he skimped on the rocking. I’d even go as far as to say that his best work belongs up there in the pantheon with the Beatles, the Stones, the Doors and all the rest. (And while we’re at it, can we please kick Elton John out of the pantheon? Every time I hear him on XM’s classic rock channel, I feel like I’m playing that old Sesame Street game where one of these things does not belong here.)
Joe’s Garage was released in 1979 across three discs, presented as acts in, I guess, a rock opera. But none of that is as stupid and terrible as you think it is. Instead of the overblown pretentiousness of a Tommy or a The Wall, this piece adopts a lighter, mocking tone to deliver its message. And while the message isn’t even all that far from the usual subjects covered by its contemporaries (watch out for government and censorship, music is love but musicians are sleazebags), the fact that it’s delivered through songs about prison sex and backstage blowjobs makes it a lot more palatable and entertaining.
Make no mistake — even by today’s jaded standards, this album is utterly filthy. Topics ranging from lube etiquette for man-on-man intimacy to groovy orgies with all manner of specialty appliances help deliver the deliberately over-the-top anti-censorship message, a tactic adopted by the South Park movie some twenty years later. But, much like its ideological brethren, it’s not only funny because of the filth. There’s a fair amount of depth and complexity to the material as well.
Since it is presented as a comedy, the stream-of-consciousness setup works in its favor, and manages to bridge songs that you might not otherwise think would belong together on a concept album. With the assistance of “The Central Scrutinizer” (Zappa whispering through a megaphone), the seemingly unrelated narratives are woven together into a somewhat cohesive whole.
But all this attention to lyrics and story does not mean that the music is in any way lacking. Zappa had, by this point in his incredibly long career, assembled an immensely talented group of musicians to back him, and with their assistance (as well as Ike Willis doing about half the vocals, in character as the titular Joe), this thing is as solid as any other from the heyday of rock ‘n’ roll. Of particular note is “Watermelon in Easter Hay,” the most amazingly gut-wrenching guitar solo I have ever heard. Why Zappa is not recognized by the general public as a guitar god on the same level as, say, Clapton, I will never understand.
Overall, Joe’s Garage is infinitely better than you probably think it is. If nothing else, pick it up to hear a fantastic parody of Scientology, a good two decades before it became popular. Or skip to track 11 (”Stick it Out”) to learn to say “stick out your hot, curly weenie” in German. Seriously, how could you resist that?
One hopes that, having discovered Zappa through this set (which, though excellent, is, in my opinion, less than his best) you went back and sicovered the *really* good stuff – pre “Overnite Sensation”, say.
Listen to “The Grand Wazoo” (but read the liner notes first) for an example of the concept album done right. Read the notes and listen to “We’re Only in It For the Money”, for an early – and deadly accurate – deconstruction of the entire concept album concept.
Try “Freak Out!” and “Absolutely Free” for bitter and trenchant commentary on society and its foibles, mid-Sixties style, burn-everything trades that trash flower children and fake hippies at least as nastily as they do the Establishment.
Actually I discovered Zappa via Strictly Commercial. I have a smattering of albums from the rather daunting discography, and at the moment I’d still have to say that Joe’s Garage and Apostrophe/Overnight Sensation are my favorites. I did enjoy Freak Out! and Absolutely Free okay, but the sound wasn’t quite… I dunno, polished? enough for me yet. I have not, however, heard The Grand Wazoo as of yet. I’ll have to check that out. Thanks!