15 Brain-Twisting Concept Albums That Are Endlessly Rewarding
4. Were Only In It For The Money The Mothers Of Invention
Frank Zappa is considered a godfather of the concept album before his 1966 debut Freak Out, no commercial pop band had ever approached an LP with such a singular purpose. It profoundly influenced Paul McCartney, whose next album with The Beatles would be Sgt. Peppers. But Zappa was unamused with the psychedelic movement of the late-60s, and Were Only in it for the Money is his critical look at the prevailing counterculture, complete with a famous gatefold cover that directly parodied Sgt. Peppers. Despite the art, the album makes no really hostile remarks on the Beatles. Instead, Zappa paints the hippies of San Francisco as ultimately shallow, bereft of specific goals and overtaken by a consumerism that ran opposed to their stated ideals. Hes hilarious and aggressive at the same time, baring for the first time his sharpest satirical teeth. But Zappas ire is not reserved only for the counterculture the parents of these misguided youngsters are also judged in his court for their ineptitude, laziness and moral degeneracy. Youll encounter bow-tie daddies, flower punks, trigger-happy police officers, Owsley Stanley and the son of a senator/prostitute tryst, all set to short pop tunes broken up by sound effects and spoken word sections. It can be a little bit hard to digest at first just as Zappa seems to be establishing a standard song, he pulls the rug out from under you. But the more you listen, the funnier the record gets, and soon youll find yourself humming in anti-hippie scorn, Whats the ugliest part of your body? Some say your nose, some say your toes, but I think its your mind.
Kyle Schmidlin is a writer and musician living in Austin, TX. He manages the news blog at thirdrailnews.wordpress.com. Follow him at facebook.com/kyleschmidlin or twitter.com/kyleschmidlin1.
