LUMPY GRAVY (LP)

Personnel includes: Frank Zappa (vocals, guitar); Jim Haynes, Tommy Tedesco, Al Viola, Dennis Budimer (guitar); Ted Nash, John Rotella, Bunk Gardner, Gene Cipriano (woodwinds); Jimmy Zito (trumpet); Vincent De Rosa, Richard Parisi (French horn); Kenneth Shroyer (trombone); Paul Smith, Mike Lang, Pete Jolly (keyboards); John Balkin, Jimmy Bond, Lyle Ritts (bass); Johnny Guerin, Frankie Capp, Shelly Manne (drums); Emil Richards, Victor Feldman (percussion); Louie The Turkey, Spider, Pumpkin (background vocals). Recorded in February 1967. Was it that Zappa's music was so far ahead of its time, or was it just not what we thought a weirdo genius like him should be doing? Either way, since his death, his stature as a serious composer has grown. Lumpy Gravy missed most by a mile because it was the first of Zappa's 'challenging' orchestral pieces, and not what his audience had come to expect. Performed by the Abnuceals Emuukha Electric Symphony Orchestra & Chorus, it was a lengthy instrumental suite broken up by equally 'challenging' dialogue. On the back cover, Frank looks out and asks, 'is this phase 2 of We're Only In It For The Money?'. No, we don't think so.

• Genre: Pop
• Format: Vinyl
• Released: 12/09/2016