SLEEP DIRT

Supposedly, the planned title for this Zappa album - part of the Lather treasurebox - was "Hot Rats III". If that's true, I suspect it was wishful thinking (or a truly uncharacteristic lack of ideas) on Zappa's part - this album is no Hot Rats. Hell, it barely reaches the standards of Waka/Jawaka (the second part of the purported trilogy).

It doesn't help that most of the editions available these days include a horrible remix job imposed by Zappa years after the fact, adding quasi-operatic vocals about a woman in love with an evil spider to some of the songs (apparently cast-offs from his failed musical Hunchentoot). But even when you look beyond that, the instrumental backing here consists of subpar filler material nowhere near as inspiring as Zappa's prior fusion classics. A disappointment however you slice it.