I Want To Hear Caravan With A Drum Sola....Mom I Tore A Big Hole In The Convertible

When I was introduced to Frank Zappa in 1987 I was afraid it might have been premature to have me listen to this wonderful stuff. I guess I was wrong. A year later I saw Zappa twice. It was my best friend who introduced me to Frank Zappa, and it was my Best friend who took me to see him. It was also his first time seeing Zappa. Zappa toured in 1981, but my best friend was to young to see him and was introduced to him around that time.

The excitement was more then I have ever seen to see him. I was nervous, scared and most of all anxious to see him. This excitement was equal when I saw King Crimson in 1995. Two acts that I will have to say put on one hell of a show. I did not always feel this way about Zappa. When I was younger, I was afraid to listen to him. I thought he was just a funny man with a odd ball group of people playing behind him.



I quickly realized that Zappa was a genius. He could play music and have tunes in odd time signatures. He could also shred the guitar like nobody can. I remember telling my best friend after the show that I sure think he could kick any other guitar players ass, and that everyone who plays guitar now should be very afraid.

Franks was an immediate connection for me. I am not sure what made this connection, but I know that some of his songs were played on classic rock radio. I know those songs had great guitar solos and the musicians on these songs were far superior then other songs I heard. I always liked what he did, and his funny titles of songs.

Frank Zappa grew as an important musician to me as I grew older. His music had more and more impact on my life. I realized at one point he was just as important to me as King Crimson, Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, Beethoven, Duke Ellington, and Neil Young. When I first started collecting records I had problems buying his records. They were super expensive and were even hard to find at a good price.



When my best friend moved out west he handed me all his Zappa records on the condition I get him a copy. He had about ten of his records and all of them were classics. When I got a little older I found more and more of his records. I got more of his early albums. I grew found of those early albums. I even liked Hot Rats so much that I would play that album to death. I called my best friend and told him the good news. When he came back to visit I showed him how much my Zappa collection had grown. He told me that even though he never owned it, he loved Freak Out.

I did some digging and I did find it. When he came out to visit the next time I had a copy for him. Zappa has never missed my radar when it comes to listening to him. I could be in the car listening to something different and I could have this urge to hear something from Frank Zappa. I had a former friend who told me that he hated Zappa because there was so much going on. I tried to argue with him about how great that so much stuff is. I had to put him in his place because of the fact that his favorite guitar player was Steve Vai. Steve played with Zappa in the late 70's and early 80's.



So why did I choose this album? I am not sure really, but it's one of the best of Zappa's vast catalog and it's an amazing debut as well. The mix of Doo-Wop, R&B and a heavy slant of experimental music makes this a welcome addition. What I like about this album is the fact it's always a joy to listen to. I like it because it never gets old. Each song has so much going on that it's so fun to dissect what is going on. It maybe be some of the songs that I like. Trouble Every Day is amazing piece. Motherly Love even feels like it should be out in 1966. All in all it's a great album. If you own no Zappa. Why not start with his first. It's going to be a great friendship once you start with the first step, and that first step ain't no hard step it all.