Frank Zappa
Weasels Ripped My Flesh

"Death Magnetic", Metallica 18 reviews

"A Matter Of Life And Death", Iron Maiden 12 reviews

"In Rainbows", Radiohead 12 reviews

"Weasels Ripped My Flesh", Frank Zappa 0 reviews

Which, obviously, is a million times better than the sum of the other three albums. It would be interesting to further explore this phenomenon: how the hell is it possible that on DeBaser you can get similar numbers of reviews for albums that are overall almost never really beautiful (yes, yes, ok, The Piper, but then?), when others, I would dare say essential ones, have none or just one when it goes well (are we sticking with Zappa? Only one "Freak Out! one "Absolutely Free" and one "We're Only It For The Money", I don't know if I'm making myself clear). Really strange, also because it doesn't seem to be a site full of spotty fourteen-year-olds who see metal as their only reason for living, there must be some among them (alas, now they're everywhere, like the Chinese); but I also seemed to catch some thoughtful minds, here and there.

Anyway, we are in 1970 and Frank Zappa is probably in the peak moment of creativity in his entire career (before the crisis, or at least a noticeable decline, which will begin with "Overnite Sensation"). It is at this moment, immediately following "Burnt Weeny Sandwich", that "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" is released.

The album begins with "Didja Get Any Onya?", which immediately makes one thing clear: this is a jazz album. Particular jazz, eccentric, experimental; but still jazz. Indeed, Weasels is precisely the main testimony to the fact that the Mothers Of Invention went through a jazzy period in the late '60s and '70s (despite Zappa himself claiming otherwise). Of this first track, the version put on CD is very interesting: three original minutes are added with another three that revisit the theme of "The Bimp", contained within that absolute masterpiece called "Trout Mask Replica", signed Captain Beefheart. Among other things, this is also a testimony of how Zappa's presence was indispensable for that album, and that he did not limit himself to simple production. Essentially, Zappa and Beefheart were two complementary geniuses. It follows with "Directly From My Heart To You", a cover of Little Richard, to arrive at "Prelude To The Afternoon Of A Sexually Aroused Gas Mask", a fantastic laugh solo in full Zappa style. "Toads Of The Short Forrest" is pure genius. It is a wonderful experiment: a Beefheartian (indeed...) sax solo (?) under tribal rhythms, while the next "Get A Little" is a brief, more conventional track. "The Eric Dolphy's Memorial Barbecue" lasts seven minutes and is the suite of Weasels. The heart of the album, it is probably also the most emblematic track; and the one that best represents its spirit. "Dwarf Nebula Processional March & Dwarf Nebula" is an electronic nightmare that could easily have been on "We're Only In It For The Money" (it is no coincidence that it recalls the final suite) while "My Guitar Wants To Kill Your Mama" is the most famous track on the album. "Oh no", which takes up a theme already appeared in "Lumpy Gravy", is a light track intended to temporarily ease the tension, which comes back with the last two tracks: "The Orange County Lamber Truck" and the title track, a piece as brief as it is brilliant, an absolute masterpiece of experimental art; a surreal earthquake that splendidly closes the album.

Very likely it is not Frank Zappa's best album: "Uncle Meat" is a much more complete and varied album, "Absolutely Free" and "We're Only In It For The Money" are more original and revolutionary, "Freak Out" was much more influential, but also the companion "Burnt Weeny Sandwich," on the other hand, is a more original and experimental project than this, certainly less tied to the free-jazz culture to which Weasels appears very much linked. But it matters little because, even with all the debts you want towards free-jazz, even if second to this and that, very simply, "Weasels Ripped My Flesh" is a beautiful album.