THE MOTHERS OF INVENTION: OVER-NITE SENSATION

On this album, Zappa ditches Jazz fusion (even though elements of the genre are still there) for dirty funk. Also, he uses much more sexual innuendo to great effect, songs like "Dinah Moe-Humm" being the most obvious example. All of this makes Over-Nite Sensation the best "gateway drug" to Zappa. The opener, "Camarillo Brillo" sounds awfully like a west coast folk rock song, but with lyrics about aliens, dwarf breeding and authentic ponchos, the song couldn't be any further from its source. "I'm The Slime", a song denouncing the news as brainwashers, uses a riff that wouldn't be out of place in a Grand Funk song, yet advances the level of creativity with an interlude that sounds like an outtake from Sesame Street. Zappa doesn't sing the song, but he uses a pseudo-rap technique that pops up on the album even more. "Dirty Love" follows, with a funky clavinet/guitar interplay reminiscent of Stevie Wonder. The lyrics implore the listener to give your dirty love to Frank, and not caring about "your sweet devotion". The song "Fifty-Fifty", sung by Zappa acolyte Ricky Lancelotti, is a tale of the common man who is incredibly self-loathing. But Jean-Luc Ponty and Zappa are absolutely ripping on their respective solos, with Frank's "tweezed" guitar tone jumping out of the speakers. "Dinah Moe- Humm", as mentioned earlier, is the most pornographic song on the album. The plotline goes like this: boy meets girl, girl bets boy he can't make her orgasm, boy tries to make girl orgasm, boy has sex with her sister, girl gets aroused by that. Frank Zappa didn't do drugs, but he did do tons of groupies ;). The next track, "Zomby Woof", once again sung by Lancelotti, talks about a zombie who has a taste for college girls. Zappa's solo, also using the "tweezed" tone, would be a solo vehicle for Steve Vai in the future. Finally, "Montana". The story line is even more convoluted than DMH, with a man moving to Montana to farm dental floss. How weird is that? And even weirder, the Ikettes (as in Tina Turner) provided backing vocals on every song! Try telling Tina Turner to sing quintuplets while talking about dental floss. Even though this album has its idiosyncrasies (it is Zappa, after all), it's still a refreshing listen