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The debut with his Mothers of Invention was a double LP. No, folks, nothing to do with the rock operas of the following decade, nor with the long progressive suites or anything like that: a double album because it is overflowing with ideas, which good old Frank had matured since arriving in California, when he discovered what would become his life: music. From when he listened to Ballard, to when he met Beefheart, to when he started wriggling between experimentalism and romanticism, in an underground scene like Los Angeles, where such eccentric characters were still not looked upon favorably. It wasn't easy. Years and years of rehearsals, studies, protest, in search of maximum creative freedom. The absolutely free, indeed.
“Freak Out!” was released in 1966 and it is a product of impressive variety: it effortlessly juxtaposes anthems of youth protest (the opening “Hungry Freaks, Daddy”, “Any Way the Wind Blows”), beat and blues influences (“I Ain't Got No Heart”, “Motherly Love”, “You Didn't Try to Call Me”, where structural experiments are conducted), electronic music (“Who Are the Brain Police”), acid rock tracks (the fantastic “Trouble Comin' Every Day”, even described by some as an archaic rap), soul (“How Could I Be Such a Fool”), rock'n'roll (“I'm Not Satisfied”), doo-wop songs (“Wowie Zowie”), free-jazz (“It Can't Happen Here”) avant-garde experiments with music and noise collages (“Help, I'm a Rock” and the masterpiece “The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet”) with a cabaret-like use of spoken parts, and finally those little songs he himself called “stupid” (“Go Cry on Somebody Else's Shoulder”), which nevertheless contained a wise irony towards those who opposed a rightful change, a rightful revolution to be carried forward in those years.
Ironical above all with himself, Zappa recreated his freak world starting precisely from those who feared this world, from the conformists to the traditionalists, from American power to metropolitan neighborhoods. His message is strong, damnably current, his angers seem to take shape from verses akin to harsh verdicts, his thought goes far beyond the infamous horizon. Zappa wasn't just a musician, guitarist, composer, satirist, poet: he was the innovator par excellence, the all-around artist, the genius of revolution not only musical of the late 20th century, a forerunner of various musical and cultural movements.
After this “Freak Out!”, to simply refer to it as a “landmark” of rock would be far too reductive, Zappa's genius would have the opportunity to gift us his ideas, his madness, his experiments, his talent in about eighty albums, until his premature demise in 1993.
Someone from this world would take a lifetime just to listen to them all; he, who conceived them in only 27 years, probably wasn't from this world…
When once you find that the way you lied Once you should realize that you have lied
and all the corny tricks you tried, and all the mediocre tricks you attempted,
will not forestall the rising tide of there will be no prevention against the rising tide
hungry freaks, daddy... of hungry freaks, daddy…
But after a good 40 years, dear America, we're back to square one.
Tracklist Lyrics and Samples
01 Hungry Freaks, Daddy (03:27)
Mr. America, walk on by your schools that do not teach
Mr. America, walk on by the minds that won't be reached
Mr. America try to hide the emptiness that's you inside
But once you find that the way you lied
And all the corny tricks you tried
Will not forestall the rising tide of HUNGRY FREAKS DADDY!
They won't go on four no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds
The left behinds of the great society
HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY!
Mr. America, walk on by your supermarket dream
Mr. America, walk on by the liquor store supreme
Mr. America try to hide the product of your savage pride
The useful minds that it denied
The day you shrugged and stepped aside
You saw their clothes, and then you cried,
"Those HUNGRY FREAKS, DADDY!"
They won't go on four no more
Great mid-western hardware store
Philosophy that turns away
From those who aren't afraid to say what's on their minds
The left behinds of the great society
03 Who Are the Brain Police? (03:33)
Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do if we let you go home,
And the plastic's all melted,
And so is the chrome?
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?
Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do when the label comes off,
And the plastic's all melted,
And the chrome is too soft?
Aaahhh!
Think I'm very tired and I'm going to die
I think I'm going to die, I think I'm going to die
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?
Aahh ah ahahahaaa, aahh ah ahahahaaa
What will you do if the people you knew
Were the plastic that melted,
And the chromium too?
WHO ARE THE BRAIN POLICE?
06 How Could I Be Such a Fool (02:11)
When I won your love, I was very glad
Every happiness in the world belonged to me
Then our love was lost and you went away
Now I shed my tears in lonely misery
I know now that you never ever really loved me
It hurts me now to think you never ever really cared
I sit and ask myself a thousand times to try and find
What really happened to the love that we shared
How could I be such a fool
How could I believe all those lies you told me
How could I be taken in by your sweet face
You spoiled our love, you ruined my life
I'm so tore down, I'm a terrible disgrace
But there will come a time and you'll regret the way
You treated me as if I was a fool and didn't know
The many times you lied about your love for me
Someone else is gonna know that your love was just a show...
How could I be such a fool?
07 Wowie Zowie (02:51)
Wowie Zowie
Your love's a treat
Wowie Zowie
You can't be beat
Wowie Zowie, baby
You're so neat
I don't even care
If you shave your legs
Wowie Zowie, baby
You're so fine
Wowie Zowie, baby
Please be mine
Wowie Zowie
Up and down my spine
I don't even care
If you brush your teeth
I dream of you each mornin'
I dream of you each night
Just the other day I
got so shook up
I dreamed of you in
the afternoon
Baum didi, baum
didi, baum didi,
Baum didi, baum
didi, baum didi
I dream of you each mornin'
I dream of you each night
Just the other day I
got so shook up
I had a flash in the afternoon
Wowie Zowie, baby
Love me do
Wowie Zowie
And I'll love you too
Wowie Zowie, baby
I'll be true
I don't even care
If your dad's the heat
Wowie Zowie
Wowie
Wowie Zowie
Wowie
Wowie Zowie
Wowie
Wowie Zowie
09 Any Way the Wind Blows (02:54)
Any way the wind blows is-a fine with me
Any way the wind blows, it don't matter to me
'Cause I'm thru with-a fussin' and-a fightin' with-a you
I went out and found a woman who is gonna be true
She makes me oh so happy now, I'm never ever blue
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
She's my heart and soul and she loves me tenderly
Now my story can't be told just how good she is to me
Yes, she treats me like she loves me and she never makes me cry
I'm gonna stick with her 'till the day I die
She's not like you baby, she would never ever lie
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
Now that I am free from the troubles of the past
Took me much too long to see that our romance couldn't last
I'm gonna go away and leave you standing at the door
I'll tell you pretty baby I won't be back no more
'Cause you don't even know what love is for
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows,
Any way the wind blows
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