SHIP ARRIVING TOO LATE TO SAVE A DROWNING WITCH

Why Frank, why? I'm sad when the really good material is just put together with bad stuff on the same record without any care, and that's the case here. The first side of the album is almost unbearable to me; I've heard it's supposed to be funny, but I don't feel amused at all. No Not Now is repetitive as hell, and after a minute you basically have heard all the song has to offer. Valley Girl is annoying beyond imagination. Again, it is repetitive, and the girl talking throughout the track, in this obnoxious, stereotypical manner, ugh! That's hot garbage right there. I Come from Nowhere is somewhat better. Musically more interesting, but again, the vocals by Roy Estrada are just straigh up stupid. Okay, I get it, haha, he sounds like a moron, it's goofy, it's not to be taken seriously. But come on, Frank's musical humour is much better than that, and we all know that.

The second side of the record is the only reason I didn't get rid of it. The almost-title track, Drowning Witch, is a pure greatness, with humorous lyrics and vocal performance, great writing, ridiculous complexity and a long, delightful solo by Frank himself. It's my favourite track on the record, and one of my favs in Zappa's discography as well. Envelopes is a short, but quite interesting instrumental. I love the quirky feel here. Teen-Age Prostitue closes the album as a parody of a rock-opera. It's nothing special, since Frank did that before already, but hey - at least it sounds much better compared to the first half of the record, right?

Another plus this album deserves is for the clean and clear mix - it's the sound I do really enjoy. But what good does it do, when half of the material is painfully mediocre at best, trash at worst? In conclusion - Drowning Witch and Envelopes are the tracks that shoudn't be missed by anyone - but I'd recommend not to bother with the rest of the record.

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