- Audio CD (Jan 14 2008)
- Number of Discs: 1
- Format: Original recording remastered
- Label: Rykodisc
- ASIN: B0000009RV
- Other Editions: Audio CD | Audio Cassette
- Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#947 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
- #1 in Music > Miscellaneous > Comedy > Comedic Music
- #4 in Music > Alternative Rock > Hardcore & Punk > Proto Punk
- #18 in Music > Rock > Progressive > Progressive Rock
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Product Details |
Track Listings
| 1. Plastic People |
| 2. The Duke Of Prunes |
| 3. Amnesia Vivace |
| 4. The Duke Regains His Chops |
| 5. Call Any Vegetable |
| 6. Invocation and Ritual Dance of the Young Pumpkin |
| 7. Soft-Sell Conclusion |
| 8. Big Leg Emma |
| 9. Why Don'tcha Do Me Right? |
| 10. America Drinks |
| 11. Status Back Baby |
| 12. Uncle Bernie's Farm |
| 13. Son Of Suzy Creamcheese |
| 14. Brown Shoes Don't Make It |
| 15. America Drinks and Goes Home |
Product Description
Product Description
Sandwiched as it is between Freak Out!, Zappa's 1966 debut with the Mothers of Invention, and We're Only in It for the Money, arguably his artistic zenith, Absolutely Free comes in a distant third-- but that's only because the competition is so damn fierce. Absolutely Free is a continuation of the weird freakiness--both in sounds and concepts--introduced on Freak Out! "Plastic People" and "America Drinks & Goes Home" continue the artist's lampooning of Middle American values, while this time round, Zappa also seems obsessed with the fruits and vegetables that "keep you regular" ("The Duke of Prunes", "Call Any Vegetable"). The music here jumps from avant-garde jazz snippets to gritty garage rock to operatic vocals in a manner that was truly innovative at the time; in fact, it often sounded like true musical insanity. The definitive highlight here, however, is "Brown Shoes Don't Make It", a seven-and-a-half minute mini-operetta that initially ridicules America's suburban culture of the era before comically looking at the repressed sexual perversions hiding underneath that same veneer. With its 13-year-old "Teenage Queen" ("who's rockin' and rollin' and acting obscene"), and the Lolita-like obsession of the brown-shoed gentleman in the title, the track was a precursor to the naughty sexual themes later found in tracks like "Dinah Mo Hum" or the entirety of the Fillmore East, June 1971 album--themes that became Zappa's artistic stock in trade. --Bill Holdship
Chronique amazon.fr
La férocité de la concurrence place Absolutely Free à une excellente troisième place des meilleurs albums de Zappa. Il arrive derrière Freat Out !, sorti en 1966, premier album de Zappa et des Mothers of Invention, et We're Only In It For The Money, considéré par beaucoup comme étant le symbole de son zénith artistique. Absolutely Free est, par sa loufoquerie - aussi bien dans le son que dans le concept - dans la grande lignée d'oeuvres comme Freak Out !, Plastic People et America Drinks & Goes Home. Cet album est une nouvelle et véhémente satire des valeurs de l'Amérique bien-pensante. Zappa aborde le problème des fruits et légumes ("The Duke Of Prunes", "Call Any Vegetable"). Puis il saute du jazz d'avant-garde à l'opérette en passant par des morceaux au son brut d'un groupe garage. Cet éclectisme, très innovateur pour l'époque, frôle souvent le délire musical. Le chef- d'oeuvre absolu de ce disque, "Brown Shoes Don't Make It," une mini-opérette comico-satirique de sept minutes trente, ridiculise l'étroitesse d'esprit de la population des grandes banlieues américaines avant de s'attaquer à son hypocrisie, sa perversion et ses dérives sexuelles. "Teenage Queen" traite des penchants d'un homme rangé pour une lolita de 13 ans. C'est un titre précurseur contenant déjà la paillardise qui sera le leitmotiv de nombreux titres (comme "Dinah Moe Hum") et du futur album, enregistré live au Fillmore East, en juin 1971. --Bill Holdship
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Customer Reviews
Most helpful customer reviews
Absolutely Indispensible
Dec 24 2003
Format:Audio CD
I found the vinyl version over 20 years ago. This album still represents for me one of Zappa's absolute best. From begining to end it is flawless. It is especially meaningful to those my age (46) and a bit older who have strong memories of the time period. If you buy the CD version, play it without Big Leg Emma and Why Don'tcha Do Me Right (neither on the vinyl). While good songs, they just don't fit the homogeneous feel of the rest of the work.
Put on the headphones and marvel at the quality of this mid-sixties excercise in studio wizardry. See if you can find the bit taken from Stravinsky's Rites of Spring. And for a true Zappaphile it is a treasure trove of "continuity" references. Get this album!!
Put on the headphones and marvel at the quality of this mid-sixties excercise in studio wizardry. See if you can find the bit taken from Stravinsky's Rites of Spring. And for a true Zappaphile it is a treasure trove of "continuity" references. Get this album!!
An Underrated Mothers Album
Nov 27 2003
Format:Audio CD
Upon first hearing this album, I thought it sounded a little sloppy. After listening to it a few more times, i started thinking that maybe this "sloppiness" was part of the appeal. Finally I realized that it wasn't sloppy, but just really fun.
"Absolutely Free" is a favorite among the Mothers, and I can see why. It sounds like they really had a lot of fun recording this album. But DON'T GET ME WRONG: "Absolutely Free" is an example of true greatness. With classics like "Plastic People" and "Call Any Vegetable," it's hard not to like this album. Especially when Ray Collins' voice sounds so darn good!
It also features "Brown Shoes Don't Make It," the seven minute progressive piece that was the song that first made me recognize Zappa's sheer genius. HOWEVER, in my personal opinion, the "Tinseltown Rebellion" version of this song is better, because it makes more sense rhythmically and i think it's closer to Frank's original intention for the song. Though on "Absolutely Free," you get to hear it sung by the Mothers. I particularly enjoy Jimmy Carl Black's vocal contribution. Why didn't Frank let him sing more often?
All in all, this is an EXCELLENT album. Although it's not QUITE as good as "We're Only in it for the Money," in my opinion it's better than "Freak Out!" You need this album if you want to truly understand the Mothers. A perfect "ten."
"Absolutely Free" is a favorite among the Mothers, and I can see why. It sounds like they really had a lot of fun recording this album. But DON'T GET ME WRONG: "Absolutely Free" is an example of true greatness. With classics like "Plastic People" and "Call Any Vegetable," it's hard not to like this album. Especially when Ray Collins' voice sounds so darn good!
It also features "Brown Shoes Don't Make It," the seven minute progressive piece that was the song that first made me recognize Zappa's sheer genius. HOWEVER, in my personal opinion, the "Tinseltown Rebellion" version of this song is better, because it makes more sense rhythmically and i think it's closer to Frank's original intention for the song. Though on "Absolutely Free," you get to hear it sung by the Mothers. I particularly enjoy Jimmy Carl Black's vocal contribution. Why didn't Frank let him sing more often?
All in all, this is an EXCELLENT album. Although it's not QUITE as good as "We're Only in it for the Money," in my opinion it's better than "Freak Out!" You need this album if you want to truly understand the Mothers. A perfect "ten."
Comical and Extremely Cynical
Nov 14 2003
Format:Audio CD
Another great Frank Zappa album. The music is topnotch (especially "Brown Shoes don't make it") and the albums lyrics range from pure silliness (Duke of Prunes) to extreme cynicism like "Uncle bernie's Farm," which includes this dialogue:
"FZ: We got this car: when it hits the wall you see the guy dying . . . got the little plastic puddles of blood . . . by the car
I'M DREAMING . . .
Ray: He has intestines . . . he has plastic intestines you can
stuff back into his stomach . . ."
Everything is plastic (fake, cheesy, american) including the guy's intestines. So incredibly cynical and conceptual that it deserves respect simply for its brilliance!
I have this on Vinyl. Get the Vinyl version, the way it was originally intended.
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Most recent customer reviews
Gotta love your mothers
Out of the first 3 MOI albums, this is my personal fav. Plastic People, Duke of Prunes, Brown Shoes Don't Make It, I could go on for hours. Read more
Published on Oct 20 2003 by K. Tucker
My favorite of the three early Zappa albums
Another good example of early prog. There isn't much to say about this album, besides that it's truly great and that Brown Shoes Don't Make It is my second favorite Zappa song (my... Read more
Published on July 21 2003 by Tyler W. Harrington
Zappa's sophomore outing shows his style
This album is where Zappa finally gets to show his personal style, segueing tracks together with blasts of noise and musique concrete, having reprises of songs, crazy vocals, it's... Read more
Published on May 28 2003 by Mark Pollock
We miss you, Frank....
This album was the one where Frank and the Mothers really took off as a band. "Freak Out" was their "Jefferson Airplane Takes Off", their "Meet The Beatles".... Read more
Published on May 4 2003 by Photoscribe
Relevant as Todays Headlines
The Fact that Mr. Zappa was able to gain a following in the 60's and 70's putting out such commercially nonviable material says something about the man's talent. Read more
Published on April 5 2003 by booboo bear
Absolutely Free-kin Good
I do not profess to be a hardcore Zappa fan, at least not before yesterday when a friend lent me Absolutely Free and I heard it for the first time. Read more
Published on Oct 17 2002 by "jenngrahamx"
ONE OF ZAPPA'S BEST......AND WEIRDEST!
starting with the classic "duke of prunes"...tracks 2, 3, and 4 make up this catchy "oratorio" that, once heard, demands to be played over again and again. Read more
Published on Oct 12 2002 by William Caputo
Classic Zappa weirdness
ABSOLUTELY FREE was the second album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, coming not long after their groundbreaking debut, FREAK OUT! Read more
Published on Sep 29 2002
Absolutely Free Don't Make It
Much as I would like to be more positive about "Absolutely Free", the problem is it just doesn't stand up as well in the year 2002 as the Mothers' other 60's work. Read more
Published on Feb 11 2002 by Tom
sublime
I heard Absolutely Free in '67 when I was a kid, the only Zappa album I heard as a child-- I lived in NY then, and some freaky friends of family played it for me. Read more
Published on Dec 8 2001 by Al Brooks
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