HOT RATS

Hot Rats could be one of Frank Zappa's most famous albums. It certainly does distinguish itself from the rest of his discography as it laid the groundwork for the jazz-rock fusion type of music and was the first album Zappa did without his old mates, the Mothers. Actually this isn't entirely true, as Ian Underwood worked on it with him, but the album is also a departure from previous Zappa as he did not sing on it at all. Of the six tracks on Hot Rats, five of them are instrumental while only one, "Willie the Pimp", has a vocal part, done courtesy of Captain Beefheart.

Now I'll do what I feel were the highlights of the album. The first song is "Peaches en Regalia", a very upbeat and happy sounding song, which is also a great piece of music itself. It sounds shorter then it already is, clocking in at about three and a half minutes, and is a great way to kick off the album. The next song is the aforementioned "Willie the Pimp", a tale about a, yeah you guessed it, pimp. The scratchy vocals done by Captain Beefheart are great and add to the feel of the song. I also like "Little Umbrellas" a lot, though I'm not entirely sure why.

Overall, this is a very good album, but not Zappa's best. After listening to the album, I feel a little underwhelmed because of the way it has been touted, but I hope this doesn't deter people who haven't heard it yet from trying. It is also a great place for a progressive fan to start listening to Zappa.