(1971) Frank Zappa - 200 Motels


Review:
The soundtrack to Frank Zappa's strange early-'70s film 200 Motels was always doomed to be a peripheral entry in his discography. The movie's story was not easy to follow, and neither is the record (not that plot was ever a big focus of the production). It's typically wacky Zappa of the era, with unpredictable sharp turns between crunchy rock bombast, orchestration, and jazz/classical influences, as well as interjections of wacky spoken dialogue. Those who like his late-'60s/early-'70s work -- not as song-oriented as his first albums, in other words, but not as "serious" or as silly as his later records -- will probably like this fine, although it's not up to the level of Uncle Meat. It's funny in spots as well, especially the part where a disgruntled sideman gets tempted away from the band to do his own thing (a libretto that was, apparently, based on real-life incidents concerning Zappa sideman Jeff Simmons, who left during the project). On the other hand, there's a growing tendency to deploy the smutty, cheap humor that would soon dominate much of Zappa's work.





Tracklist:

Disc: 1
1. Semi-Fraudulent/Direct-From-Hollywood Overture
2. Mystery Roach
3. Dance Of The Rock & Roll Interviewers
4. This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Prologue)
5. Tuna Fish Promenade
6. Dance Of The Just Plain Folks
7. This Town Is A Sealed Tuna Sandwich (Reprise)
8. The Sealed Tuna Bolero
9. Lonesome Cowboy Burt
10. Touring Can Make You Crazy
11. Would You Like A Snack?
12. Redneck Eats
13. Centerville
14. She Painted Up Her Face
15. Janet's Big Dance Number
16. Half A Dozen Provocative Squats
17. Mysterioso
18. Shove It Right In
19. Lucy's Seduction Of A Bored Violinist & Postlude

Disc: 2
1. I'm Stealing The Towels
2. Dental Hygene Dilemma
3. Does This Kind Of Life Look Interesting To You?
4. Daddy, Daddy, Daddy
5. Penis Dimension
6. What Will This Evening Bring Me This Morning
7. A Nun Suit Painted On Some Old Boxes
8. Magic Fingers
9. Motorhead's Midnight Ranch
10. Dew On The Newts We Got
11. The Lad Searches The Night For His Newts
12. The Girl Wants To Fix Him Some Broth
13. The Girls Dream
14. Little Green Scratchy Sweaters & Courduroy Ponce
15. Strictly Genteel (The Finale)


Media Report:
Genre: art rock
Format : FLAC
Format/Info : Free Lossless Audio Codec
Bit rate mode : Variable
Channel(s) : 2 channels
Sampling rate : 96.0 KHz
Bit depth : 24 bits