Music : Apostrophe (')

Rating: - You no longer have to choose between Zappa's two best albums
The debate seems to be centered on which of Frank Zappa's albums is the best and the choice is between "Apostrophe" and "Over-nite Sensation." But such a debate is moot if you put the two albums on one CD, right? Besides, these albums run a bit short on their own, so putting them together makes sense on that economic level as well.

"Apostrophe," in its own words, "is an album of songs and stories set to music performed for your dining and dancing pleasure." The first four songs are about an Eskimo that almost makes sense, which makes this something of an actual concept album, at least for the first "side" of the record. What I remember is that "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" was my first exposure to the musical stylings of Frank Zappa (my roommate did the "listen to this" bit with me). The best guitar solos are on "Cosmik Debris," "Stink-Foot," and the title cut. The lyrics are perhaps a dark shade of Zappa than you usually find, but it was 1974 and that could explain it right there since you should look for deep, hidden meanings in the songs of Frank Zappa, but just not in any conventional way.

Now, the reason I have this album can easily be explained by quoting the chorus of the first track, "Camarillo Brillo":

She had a snake for a pet
And an amulet
And she was breeding a dwarf
But she wasn't done yet
She had gray-green skin
A doll with a pin
I told her she was awright
But I couldn't come in
(actually, I was very busy then).

The lyrics are what hooked me, but I also like the way George Duke pounds the ivories during that song. Along with "I'm the Slime" and "Dirty Love" I think that the first three tracks on "Overnite Sensation" distill the Zappa essence as well as any comparable set you can find in his entire oeuvre. Perhaps the best proof of this would the anecdotal evidence that this is the album people who only own one Frank Zappa album happen to own. This would make sense since "Overnite Sensation" is probably more rock-oriented than most of Zappa's albums. For songs about in a similar vein, only about an Eskimo, check out "Apostrophe," which was produced in the same time with pretty much the same musicians.

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Rating: - Track 7
At 0 minutes and 17 seconds of 'Apostrophe', the title track, is pure bliss. This album is a must have, if only to hear that single, orgasmic guitar riff.

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Rating: - Another Hippie choice!!
Zappa is the GREATEST!!! Apostrophe is musical genius. It is just one out of many Zappa masterpieces. BUY IT!!!

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Rating: - Great!
This is possibly one of the best "rock" albums Zappa ever recorded. Many suprises await you on repeated listens.

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Rating: - Apostrophe - Frank Zappa
Every song on this CD shows the incredible genius of Frank Zappa, in my opinion one of the top 3 electric guitar players of all time. He was backed up by other rock greats such as Ansley Dunbar on drums, Jack Bruce on bass, and Sugar Cane Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty on violins, among others - as he should be, as not many artists of his time were capable of playing Zappa's music.
The only disappointing feature of this CD is that this version does not have one of the songs I bought the CD for - Dynamo Hum.