Them or Us
Frank Zappa 80's career has plenty of issues. Them or Us is one of the better outings (so I'll willing to spend time reviewing it) but it's not without an assortment of faults as well.
"Sinister Footwear II" is a strange instrumental jam. The xylophones in the beginning brings back colorful memories of classic Zappa, and they're played in a pretty sophisticated way yet again. This aspect hasn't changed at all, so I'm impressed. However, it's all downhill from here...
Some of the elements that make up this song resemble the cliched ones found in typical heavy metal music such as what Ozzy Osbourne and Dio were doing at the time (and surely the guitar jam in particular features the same kind of heavy metal shredding that a countless amount of metal bands from the 80's were already beating into the ground by 1984) but... at least hearing such a thing from Zappa is better than most because he's normally more creative with his choice of arrangements. Oh and on a side note, the rhythm in the background reminds me of the soundtrack you'd hear from the Mortal Kombat series, particularly the early ones such as MKIII.
Anyway, after this song concludes, it immediately leads into "Truck Driver Divorce" which is sort of lame. Lame because it's uncreative, uninteresting, and the lyrics aren't intelligently integreted into the music like on previous Zappa albums. Luckily it's kept short but... unfortunately there's an overlong guitar jam too reminiscent and typical of the artificial 80's decade to make much of an impression on me. It's over 7 minutes of nothingness. Remember when Zappa used to lay down unique guitar solos? Remember when his guitar solos used to feel like part of the song? Remember when his guitar solos used to have a purpose? He did so on *several* of his 60's and 70's albums, but here his guitar work sounds WAY too similar to other popular rock/heavy metal bands at the time so, in my point of view, it's unoriginal and uninteresting.
Frank Zappa's true creative vision occurred from Freak Out! all the way to Joe's Garage. Another obvious problem (with this song in particular) is that a good portion of the guitar soloing does nothing. I can't even remember the notes. I didn't have this issue with Zappa's 60's and 70's instrumental jams. Listen to this song around the 5-minute mark and tell me you can actually remember the guitar notes being played. This tells me Zappa wasn't trying hard enough on this one, I'm afraid. Listen to the guitar jams from "Yo' Mama", "Willie the Pimp" and "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" to hear guitar jams with a *distinct* tone and memorable notes. These 3 songs feature guitar jams that don't resemble each other at *all*. That's what I liked about classic Zappa.
"Whippin' Post" can't compare to the Allman Brothers Band version. I already knew this going in because THAT version sounds authentic, and well, Zappa's too darn witty and humorous to really give me the same kind of impression. It's not Zappa's style to be resonant anyway, so I understand. I understand the Allman Brothers Band version has to be considered better by default as a result of having the ability to be emotional regardless. This guitar jam is probably slightly better than the ones that dominate side two because I can at least remember *some* of the passages. Still, Duane Allman is all over this. Plus just the fact the entire song has that unavoidably glossy sound reminiscent of the 80's is a distraction. The Allman Brothers Band version sounds more old-fashioned and pure southern as a result of the better way it was recorded, which is much more appropriate.
Finally! A good guitar jam! I'm referring to "Marqueson's Chicken". It reminds me of the one from "Yo' Mama" and it's a winner. Yes, perhaps Zappa is ripping off himself by dipping into his past and digging up past successes, but the notes are interesting and memorable so I'll take it. It doesn't sound nearly as cold or artificial unlike the rest of the songs from Them or Us, so it's certainly a winner. In fact with repeated listens it only improves! "Ya Hozna" is based on one repetitive and simple guitar riff with unusually pleasant vocals. It's... oddly appealing. "Stevie's Spanking" resembles the vocal melody from Pink Floyd's "Young Lust" so it's sort of a generic ripoff.
"Sinister Footwear II" is a strange instrumental jam. The xylophones in the beginning brings back colorful memories of classic Zappa, and they're played in a pretty sophisticated way yet again. This aspect hasn't changed at all, so I'm impressed. However, it's all downhill from here...
Some of the elements that make up this song resemble the cliched ones found in typical heavy metal music such as what Ozzy Osbourne and Dio were doing at the time (and surely the guitar jam in particular features the same kind of heavy metal shredding that a countless amount of metal bands from the 80's were already beating into the ground by 1984) but... at least hearing such a thing from Zappa is better than most because he's normally more creative with his choice of arrangements. Oh and on a side note, the rhythm in the background reminds me of the soundtrack you'd hear from the Mortal Kombat series, particularly the early ones such as MKIII.
Anyway, after this song concludes, it immediately leads into "Truck Driver Divorce" which is sort of lame. Lame because it's uncreative, uninteresting, and the lyrics aren't intelligently integreted into the music like on previous Zappa albums. Luckily it's kept short but... unfortunately there's an overlong guitar jam too reminiscent and typical of the artificial 80's decade to make much of an impression on me. It's over 7 minutes of nothingness. Remember when Zappa used to lay down unique guitar solos? Remember when his guitar solos used to feel like part of the song? Remember when his guitar solos used to have a purpose? He did so on *several* of his 60's and 70's albums, but here his guitar work sounds WAY too similar to other popular rock/heavy metal bands at the time so, in my point of view, it's unoriginal and uninteresting.
Frank Zappa's true creative vision occurred from Freak Out! all the way to Joe's Garage. Another obvious problem (with this song in particular) is that a good portion of the guitar soloing does nothing. I can't even remember the notes. I didn't have this issue with Zappa's 60's and 70's instrumental jams. Listen to this song around the 5-minute mark and tell me you can actually remember the guitar notes being played. This tells me Zappa wasn't trying hard enough on this one, I'm afraid. Listen to the guitar jams from "Yo' Mama", "Willie the Pimp" and "The Ocean is the Ultimate Solution" to hear guitar jams with a *distinct* tone and memorable notes. These 3 songs feature guitar jams that don't resemble each other at *all*. That's what I liked about classic Zappa.
"Whippin' Post" can't compare to the Allman Brothers Band version. I already knew this going in because THAT version sounds authentic, and well, Zappa's too darn witty and humorous to really give me the same kind of impression. It's not Zappa's style to be resonant anyway, so I understand. I understand the Allman Brothers Band version has to be considered better by default as a result of having the ability to be emotional regardless. This guitar jam is probably slightly better than the ones that dominate side two because I can at least remember *some* of the passages. Still, Duane Allman is all over this. Plus just the fact the entire song has that unavoidably glossy sound reminiscent of the 80's is a distraction. The Allman Brothers Band version sounds more old-fashioned and pure southern as a result of the better way it was recorded, which is much more appropriate.
Finally! A good guitar jam! I'm referring to "Marqueson's Chicken". It reminds me of the one from "Yo' Mama" and it's a winner. Yes, perhaps Zappa is ripping off himself by dipping into his past and digging up past successes, but the notes are interesting and memorable so I'll take it. It doesn't sound nearly as cold or artificial unlike the rest of the songs from Them or Us, so it's certainly a winner. In fact with repeated listens it only improves! "Ya Hozna" is based on one repetitive and simple guitar riff with unusually pleasant vocals. It's... oddly appealing. "Stevie's Spanking" resembles the vocal melody from Pink Floyd's "Young Lust" so it's sort of a generic ripoff.
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