Frank Zappa Weasels Ripped My Flesh

After getting over the colorful, disconcerting Neon Parks album cover illustration on WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH, the listener is faced with following the whiplash-inducing, genre-jumping gymnastics inside. A mix of live tracks with studio cuts made with the original Mothers of Invention, WEASELS RIPPED MY FLESH is one of Frank Zappa's most eclectic, varied, and experimental early releases. From the perplexing Germanic interlude of the opener, "Didja Get Any Onya?" to the complex xylophone changes of "The Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue," Zappa combines avant garde music, jazz, R&B, novelty elements, and plenty of flippant rock attitude. Interestingly, there are some straight-up rock tracks too, such as the interpretation of Little Richard's "Directly From My Heart To You," and the guitar-led attack of "My Guitar Wants to Kill Your Mama," balancing highbrow conceptualism with unpretentious directness in Zappa's inimitable fashion.

• Format: Vinyl
• Genre: Pop