LUMPY GRAVY

Lumpy Gravy is the first solo album released by Frank Zappa. This is probably the most exprimental album he has released and as FZ said it has NO COMMERCIAL POTENTIAL AT ALL. It reminds me of some works by Stockhausen. Basically Lumpy Gravy is a sonic collage that includes pop music , orchestral pieces and loads of dialogue between the band members. The record barely surpasses the 30 minute barrier and its divided in two sections but the concept is the same in both.

The problem with this record is that its very difficult to judge and rate , because I dont see anyone listening to Lumpy Gravy on a daily , weekly or even monthly basis since none of its tunes ( if there are any) will blow your mind. However there isnt anything on this record that could be considered umpleasant. Actually , I enjoyed the first 5 minutes of this record a lot and let me tell you that if it kept on going that way for the next 25 I ll be thinking of awarding Lumpy Gravy with four or five stars. But there is too much dialogue in between the tiny bits of music I enjoy , this little parts range from 40 seconds to one minute and a half and among them are primitive version of future Mothers hits like King Kong , Oh No and Take your clothes off when you dance. As regards the dialogue parts are some weird conversations in which some issues are ponys , pigs , Motorhead Sherwood's life and some serious talk from FZ about the origin of the universe! If you think there is too much talk on this record , you may not hear the CD version of Uncle Meat as well. To rate Lumpy Gravy I will take into account that as an experiment it was succesful , but I cant see the reasons why anyone would come to this record whem FZ has released loads of studio and live albums that are more interesting for the newcoming listener. However if you are a Zappa freak who has some extra bucks ( And you already own Brain Salad Surgery) I think its worth buying.