The Words and Music of Frank Zappa

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Series
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction Frank Zappa and the Art of Satire You Call That Music? Listening to Frank Zappa The Mothers of Invention Hot Rats, the Last Two Mothers Albums, Flo & Eddie, and the "Jazz-Rock" Albums The Duke-Brock/Progressive Rock Bands, Lather, and the Ter
Bibliography
Bibliography and Works Cited Discography
Index

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This is the first book to move beyond the details of Zappa's biography toward a focused treatment of his songs. Zappa worked in a musical realm unfamiliar to many radio listeners. Today, his music can be appreciated as a whole, emerging as a coherent, thoughtful, innovative-if somewhat daunting-body of work. Lowe has left no aspect of that work unexamined, from Zappa's role as a satirist of the highest order, to his place in the genre of progressive rock, and his importance as one of the foremost critics of American culture and society. Zappa's messages-musical and lyrical-may not always be clear, but they are well worth considering.

The volume begins with a discussion of Zappa's role as a satirist and a discussion of his musical style, and then proceeds to a prolonged examination of his albums. Through this extended engagement with Zappa's music, a surprisingly clear perspective on his personal views is also provided, shedding light on his treatment of such topics as the falsified notion of love in popular culture, the compromising influence of money on popular music, and the concept of freedom in a systematized society, among other things. The book also features an official discography and a bibliographic essay that discusses the current state of Zappa scholarship.

Reviews

In examining the songs of American composer Frank Zappa, Lowe offers introductory essays that examine Zappa's unique place in American music; his compositions in relation to other forms of popular music, most notably progressive rock; and his special brand of caustic social criticism in the tradition of satirists like Jonathan Swift and Lenny Bruce. The author then examines Zappa's songs by looking at his albums in four groups/chapters: The Mothers of Invention; Hot Rats, the Last Two Mothers Albums, Flo & Eddie, and The 'Jazz-Rock' Albums; The Duke-Brock/Progressive Rock Bands, Lather (Lather), and the Terry Bozzio Albums; and Politics: 1979-88. One of the strengths of Lowe's treatment is his contextualization of pop-culture references in the lyrics, explications that result in a clearer reading of Zappa's texts. Also useful are the discography of Zappa recordings and a critical bibliographic essay on the major contributions on the life and works of Frank Zappa. Students of popular or American music will appreciate this title. Recommended. Lower-/upper-division undergraduates; general readers

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