In December of 2019, Ahmet Zappa and longtime Zappa “vaultmeister” Joe Travers released a 6-CD collection of the Hot Rats Sessions to celebrate the 50th anniversary of this ground-breaking, now classic Frank Zappa solo record. This LA Times piece chronicles the enduring impact of this recording and how it inspired the entire genre of jazz-rock fusion.
Long before novelty hits like “Valley Girl” and his televised jousting with the would-be music censors of Tipper Gore and the Parents Resource Music Center, Zappa was already a musical force to be reckoned with. “Freak Out!,” his 1966 doo-wop-meets-dada-rock debut with the Mothers of Invention, was cited by Paul McCartney as inspiration for “Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band.” Zappa repaid the compliment in 1968 with “We’re Only In It for the Money,” which pilloried “Sgt. Pepper’s” with its cover and all things Summer of Love with its music.
“Hot Rats,” however, was completely different. Raw yet refined, accessible yet sophisticated, “Hot Rats” introduced what would come to be known as jazz-rock fusion, but with the added allure of Zappa’s intriguingly idiosyncratic take on classical music. Its beautifully layered textures were the result of previous experiments with variable-speed recording. For all its organic innovation, though, it was both a critical and commercial failure, topping out at No. 173 on the Billboard album chart. It did well in Europe, however, and eventually became one of the Zappa catalog’s most consistent sellers.
Listening to Hot Rats today, you have to remind yourself that this was 19-freakin'-69. This was music light years ahead of its time.
Image: Wikicommons CC 2.0
