(1979) Frank Zappa - Sleep Dirt


Review:
Despite not being Zappa's most memorable career effort, 1979's Sleep Dirt has a substantial amount of trivia surrounding it. Firstly, the album is Frank Zappa's first completely instrumental album. Secondly, it was one of three albums to be released as a result of Warner Bros. Records rejecting Läther, which followed the company demanding more albums (ironically enough, given the man's extensive discography) than Zappa's contract apparently allowed. Thirdly, it follows the grandiose rock opera of an album Joe's Garage, which many agree is one of Zappa's masterworks. Putting all this aside however, Sleep Dirt often seems to have been forgotten about since its release-even by Zappa's most devoted fans. The exclusion of vocal input and a concrete concept running throughout the album-which was arguably the catalyst for previous album Joe's Garage-is non-existent. So, with Sleep Dirt, it was literally left to eccentric musicianship and the direction and structure of each song to hinder any flaws getting in the way. It obviously didn't prove successful, as at least half of the album is either too self-indulgent or not impressive enough to grant another listen-that is, unless you're used to Zappa's way of making music. For this reason, the second half of the album is naturally more powerful and explosive than the first. Because of how laidback songs like opener "Filthy Habits" and "Flambay" are (though not forgetting the evident jazz fusion within both tunes), one always gets the nagging feeling that something is missing-a piece of the ever-spiralling musical world gone walkabouts, if you will. It also doesn't help that the musical direction of these songs, along with "Spider of Destiny" and the entirely filler-based "Time is Money" seems to either go everywhere or nowhere at all. This causes a knock-on effect and eventually what we're left with is a forty-minute album where perhaps only ten-fifteen minutes is decent. Thankfully, that's really the only flaw. Because as much as you'd want to hear Zappa's frenzied, zany, madcap vocal effects over his extensive, versatile use of musical experimentation, here it just wouldn't work anyway. The thing is, songs like the quirky "Regyptian Strut" and explosive closer "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" are instrumentally so powerful in their sharp delivery that vocals couldn't possibly improve the experience-more to the point, it would probably make it worse for the listener, in all honesty. Even the weaker tracks here have their own little magic, so that in the end the result is above average. The evocative percussion of "Spider of Destiny", the creepy, slow-moving jazz attack of "Flambay", even the more guitar-oriented style of the title track-everything here seems to have a mindset of producing a well-inspired collaborative effort. So, instrumentally, despite its inconsistencies, there are quite a few moments here to indulge yourself in. That said, Sleep Dirt is really just a "good" album rather than a "great" one. Sitting down and listening to this album will, for the newcomers, definitely offer a taste of better things to come (or which had already come beforehand), and on the contrary give nothing new to the devoted fan-base. But each of the seven songs here all display a little piece of Zappa's musical forethought, something which he is remembered for more than anything else. To put it simply, Sleep Dirt is Zappa's version of uplifting elevator music, the elevator in question probably spiralling into unknown dimensions.





Tracklist:
1. Filthy Habits 7:33
2. Flambay 4:54
3. Spider Of Destiny 2:34
4. Regyptian Strut 4:13
5. Time Is Money 2:49
6. Sleep Dirt 3:21
7. The Ocean Is The Ultimate Solution 13:17


Media Report:
Genre: art rock
Format: FLAC
Format/Info: Free Lossless Audio Codec, 16-bit PCM
Bit rate mode: Variable
Channel(s): 2 channels
Sampling rate: 44.1 KHz
Bit depth: 16 bits