Frank Zappa - 1974 [1995] "Apostrophe(')"

Apostrophe (’) is the eighteenth album by Frank Zappa, released in March 1974 in both stereo and quadraphonic formats. An edited version of its lead-off track, "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow", was the first of Zappa's three Billboard Top 100 hits, ultimately peaking at number 86.

Apostrophe (’) remains Zappa's most commercially successful album in the United States. It was certified gold by the RIAA on April 7, 1976 and peaked at number 10 (a career-high placement) on the Billboard 200 chart in 1974. Continuing from the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation (1973), this album is a similar mix of short songs showcasing Zappa's humor and musical arrangements. The record's lyrical themes are often bizarre or obscure, with the exception of "Uncle Remus", which is an extension of Zappa's feelings on racism featured on his earlier song "Trouble Every Day".

The first half of the album loosely follows a continuing theme. "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow" and "Nanook Rubs It" tell of a dream the singer had where he saw himself as an Eskimo named Nanook. It continues into "St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast," which Zappa said was inspired by a television commercial for Imperial margarine.

As was the case with many of Zappa's albums, Apostrophe (’) was a melange of archival and recent recordings; side one of Apostrophe (’) (1974) and Over-Nite Sensation (1973) were recorded simultaneously. The tracks on side two originate from various 1972 sessions with overdubs recorded in 1973 and 1974, except for "Excentrifugal Forz", where the drum track (played by Johnny Guerin) originally came from the Hot Rats sessions in 1969 (along with the bass and drum tracks for "Lemme Take You to the Beach" on Studio Tan (1978) and Läther (1996), although in the case of "Excentrifugal Forz" this is not actually noted in either the album liner notes or official correspondence), and "Stinkfoot", where the basic track, possibly originally known as "The Bass & Drums Song", dates from the Chunga's Revenge sessions in early 1970.

"Apostrophe (’)" is an instrumental featuring bassist Jack Bruce and session drummer Jim Gordon, who was on tour with Zappa's band at the time of the session in November 1972. Bruce is credited on the album cover with bass guitar and co-writing the title song. However, in an interview for Polish rock magazine Tylko Rock he said that he had not played any bass guitar parts or done any co-writing on "Apostrophe (’)", only the cello intro. He reminisced, "So I turned up in a NY studio with my cello, I'm listening to [Zappa's] music, pretty awful, and just don't know what to do with myself, and Frank [Zappa] says to me: "Listen, I would like you to play a sound, like this... whaaaaaang!!!" So I did what he asked me to do. Whaaaaaang!!! That was all. That was my input to Frank Zappa's most popular record! [laughs]" Bruce had studied the instrument at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama and performed with it on some of his other recordings.

However, Zappa has referred to Bruce playing bass on the song in an interview: "Well, that was just a jam thing that happened because he was a friend of (drummer) Jim Gordon. I found it very difficult to play with him; he's too busy. He doesn't really want to play the bass in terms of root functions; I think he has other things on his mind. But that's the way jam sessions go.

The musically similar follow-up to the commercial breakthrough of Over-Nite Sensation, Apostrophe (') became Frank Zappa's second gold and only Top Ten album with the help of the "doggy wee-wee" jokes of "Don't Eat the Yellow Snow," Zappa's first chart single (a longer, edited version that used portions of other songs on the LP). The first half of the album is full of nonsensical shaggy-dog story songs that segue into one another without seeming to finish themselves first; their dirty jokes are generally more subtle and veiled than the more notorious cuts on Over-Nite Sensation. The second half contains the instrumental title cut, featuring Jack Bruce on bass; "Uncle Remus," an update of Zappa's critique of racial discord on "Trouble Every Day"; and a return to the album's earlier silliness in "Stink-Foot." Apostrophe (') has the narrative feel of a concept album, but aside from its willful absurdity, the concept is difficult to decipher; even so, that doesn't detract from its entertainment value.

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Track listing:

01. Don't Eat The Yellow Snow     2:06
02. Nanook Rubs It     4:37
03. St. Alfonzo's Pancake Breakfast     1:52
05. Father O'Blivion     2:18
06. Cosmik Debris     4:10
07. Excentrifugal Forz     1:31
08. Apostrophe'     5:53
09. Uncle Remus     2:54
10. Stink-Foot     6:35

Personnel:

    Frank Zappa – vocals, guitar, bass, bouzouki
    Lynn (Linda Sims) – vocals, backing vocals
    Robert "Frog" Camarena – vocals, backing vocals
    Ruben Ladron de Guevara – vocals, backing vocals
    Debbie – vocals, backing vocals
    Ray Collins – backing vocals
    Sue Glover – backing vocals
    Kerry McNabb – backing vocals, engineer, remixing
    Sal Marquez – trumpet
    Ian Underwood – saxophone
    Napoleon Murphy Brock – saxophone, backing vocals
    Bruce Fowler – trombone
    Don "Sugarcane" Harris – violin
    Jean-Luc Ponty – violin
    Ruth Underwood – percussion
    George Duke – keyboards, backing vocals
    Tony Duran – rhythm guitar
    Tom Fowler – bass guitar
    Erroneous (Alex Dmochowski) – bass guitar
    Jack Bruce – bass on "Apostrophe'" (see controversy presented above)
    Ralph Humphrey – drums (side one)
    Johnny Guerin – drums on "Excentrifugal Forz"
    Aynsley Dunbar – drums on "Uncle Remus" and "Stink-Foot"
    Jim Gordon – drums on "Apostrophe"