From Freak Out!, the 1966 nat'l. exposure of The Mothers of Invention which, far as I remember, I bought unheard in 1967 pretty much on the basis of the solarized cover & text on the reverse, airplay for weird crap being at a premium, there being no "rock press" to clue me in* (Even now-ancient Rolling Stone was but a gleam in the eyes of its founders.) & certainly none of the other prep school dips I knew at the time were clued in.
Can't remember if it being a double album meant it was priced above the standard three bucks & change 30-35 mins. of musical content would run one in those days, but it's as good a purchase as any this reporter has ever made. And a still a solid hr. of sound. (Let's just see if any of this actually holds up, assuming I'm capable of differentiating legit enjoyment of "quality" from nostalgia.)
I. Okay to Tap Dance
II. In Memoriam, Edgard Varèse
III. It Can't Happen Here"
I. Ritual Dance of the Child-Killer
II. Nullis Pretii (No Commercial Potential)"
*What the Wiki sez the press typed:
Pete Johnson of the Los Angeles Times:I guess you might call it surrealistic paintings set to music. Not content to record just two sides of musical gibberish, the MOI devote four full sides to their type of 'artistry.' If anyone owns this album, perhaps he can tell me what in hell is going on ... The Mothers of Invention, a talented but warped quintet, have fathered an album poetically entitled Freak Out, which could be the greatest stimulus to the aspirin industry since the income tax.
1 comment:
We've got to stop meeting like this.
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