MONTANA

"Montana" features some silly but entertaining lyrics about growing dental floss on a farm. The music is well played and the track is overall well composed. In addition to the more regular vers/chorus structure of the track, and a Frank Zappa guitar solo, there´s a great middle section with some high pitched vocals and rather complex playing featured on the track. The single´s A-side is "I´m The Slime" which is the second track on "Overnight Sensation (1973)". While the lyrics to "Montana" are rather silly, the lyrics to "I´m The Slime" are more serious and thought provoking. Essentially they are about not trusting everything that comes out of your TV. Some great female vocal sections by the Ikettes on this one.

So the material on this single are killer, but since both tracks are already featured on "Overnight Sensation (1973)" it reduces the value of the release and a 3 star (60%) rating is therefore warranted.

One of Frank Zappa's best known songs, this song is a fine choice of single from his first truly 'accessible' album. Being able to merge his musical genius with some catchy melodies and a more constructed approach to music, 'Overnite Sensation' was a good, albeit flawed entrance for the man into the realm of mainstream. While many of the songs could have worked to introduce the listening crowd to Zappa's music just fine, 'Montana' is without a doubt, the highlight from that collection.

A song revolving around Zappa's apparent ambition to drop everything he's doing and start a dental floss industry in Montana, one can tell that this is not a 'serious' song by any stretch; the music is still fantastic however. If one can look past the lyrics (which are only amusing for the first handful of listens) one is gifted with a real gem. Big band instruments are coupled with traditional rock sounds to make a poppy, upbeat track that transcends genres.

As a second offering from this single, a less-memorable track from the same album is used. 'I'm The Slime' is one of the more sombre songs that I have heard Zappa play, although it's still certainly played much in jest. While the song is driven by spoken-word vocals from Zappa himself, the lyrics revolve around government and media control over the everyman. While the verses seem a bit uninteresting despite the interesting lyrical matter, a chorus fueled with strong female vocals kicks in which makes for a great climax to the song.

An interesting single; 'Montana' stands as being one of my preferred Zappa tracks.