Friday, September 7, 2012

Greasy Love Songs

Greasy Love Songs
At last this classic has been restored to it's orginal form. Whatever Zappa's intentions were, his over-tracking (bass & drums) of "Reuben & the Jets" diminished the overall effect of the original. This is indeed the REAL "Reuben & the Jets"--now it's been renamed "Greasy Love Songs."

To look at this as a parody of 1950's doo-wop would be a serious mistake. Certainly, there's the trademark Zappa humor, but there's also a deep, loving respect for the genre.

Personally, I've always looked at this recording as being somewhat "reactionary"...in a very positive use of the word. Along with the Byrd's "Sweetheart of the Rodeo", the Band's "Big Pink", and Dylan's "John Wesley Harding", it represents a desire to return to rock's roots in the face of the excesses that were taking place at the time (late 1960s).

For many, the power trio with it's mindless three-chord jamming had run it's course, and psychadelic self-indulgence was becoming rather trite. To be certain, the crass commercialism that marked early 1960s pop/rock had to be confronted and subsequently taken to task. But some of the new rock iconoclasts became too extreme, often throwing the baby out with the bath water.

Virtually all in my circle hated this recording. It was quickly taken off many a turntable in favor of Blue Cheer or Vanilla Fudge. Those who were willing to give it a listen quickly dismissed it by noting, "Man, Zappa really goofed on the oldies!" And so it went.

As a forty-five year fan of the original MOI, I've always thought of this as being as much a Ray Collins recording as it is Zappa's. I recently read an interview with Collins from a few years ago which underscored his artistic differences with Zappa. Influenced by the likes of Johnny Mathis and Perry Como, Ray wanted to use his wonderful tenor voice in a more popular music vein but was rarely given the opportunity in light of Zappa's desire to take his art to a much higher and eclectic plateau.

This is wonderful music done with just the right balance of humor and respect. If you've not yet heard it, you are really missing an esstential element of the Zappa legacy.

On an unrelated, but very critical, note, Amazon really has to address the issue of it's independent sellers charging outrageous prices for material that is still in print and available elsewhere. As another reviewer had noted, this recording can be obtained at half the price that's being asked here. This is starting to become all too common among Amazon's sellers.

Of course, one can counter that it's a free market, but many people come to Amazon with the belief that they can find what they want at a fair price. This kind of price gouging goes against the spirit of what Amazon is supposed to be all about.

Original 1968 Vinyl Stereo Mix

1. Cheap Thrills
2. Love Of My Life
3. How Could I Be Such A Fool
4. Deseri
5. I'm Not Satisfied
6. Jelly Roll Gum Drop
7. Anything
8. Later That Night
9. You Didn't Try To Call Me
10. Fountain Of Love
11. "No. No. No."
12. Anyway The Wind Blows
13. Stuff Up The Cracks

Bonus tracks

14. Jelly Roll Gum Drop (alternate mono mix)
15. "No. No. No." (long version)
16. Stuff Up The Cracks (alternate mix)
17. "Serious Fan Mail" (segment from FZ's 2/21/69 lecture)
18. Valerie (mono mix)
19. Jelly Roll Gum Drop (single version)
20. "Secret Greasing" (FZ on KPPC, Pasadena, 11/27/68)
21. Love Of My Life (Cucamonga recording circa 1962-1964) 

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