Hot Rats (1969)

Hot Rats is the second solo album and eighth overall album by Frank Zappa, released in October 1969. It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original lineup of the Mothers of Invention. Five of the six songs are instrumental, while "Willie the Pimp" features vocals by Captain Beefheart. In his original sleeve notes, Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears".

Zappa dedicated the album to his newborn son, Dweezil. In February 2009, Dweezil's tribute band to his father, Zappa Plays Zappa, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their rendition of "Peaches en Regalia".

Background

After the release of Uncle Meat in April 1969, The Mothers of Invention embarked on a short UK tour, followed by extensive touring of the US and Canada from June through August. It was during this period that the financial strain of supporting a ten-piece band (each of whom was paid $200 a week) began to weigh on Zappa, who considered splitting up the group. One indication that he would do so was the start of work on his second solo album, which began in mid-July. Besides Zappa, multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood was the only member of the current Mothers lineup to appear on the album, with Underwood also acting as Zappa's primary musical collaborator. Other featured musicians were bassists Max Bennett and Shuggie Otis (who was 15 years old at the time of the session); drummers John Guerin, Paul Humphrey and Ron Selico; and electric violinists Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty. Just after the sessions were finished in late August, Zappa formally disbanded the original Mothers of Invention.

Recording

The album was recorded on what Zappa described as a "homemade 16-track" recorder; the machine was custom built by engineers at TTG Studios in Hollywood in late 1968. Additional tracks made it possible for Zappa to add multiple horn, percussion and keyboard overdubs. For the first time on a rock album, 16-track recording made it possible to create a stereo drum sound, with four of the 16 tracks assigned to the drum kit alone. With this technology, only a few musicians were required to create an especially rich instrumental texture, which mimics the sound of a large group. It was this use of advanced overdubbing that was the main motivation for Zappa, who hated playing in a studio. Because Hot Rats largely consists of instrumental jazz-influenced compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which had featured satirical vocal performances along with extensive use of musique concrète and editing.

Sessions began on July 18, 1969 at T.T.G. Studios with Ian Underwood playing two piano compositions. A part of the first, "Piano Music (Section 1)", would be included in "The Little House I Used to Live In" on the following album Burnt Weeny Sandwich while an excerpt of "Piano Music (Section 3)" became "Aybe Sea" on the same album. When sessions resumed on July 28, 18 takes of section one of "Peaches en Regalia" were attempted, with take 18 providing the master. This was followed by two "Peaches Jam" takes, which was meant to comprise the middle portion of the song but edited out of the final version. Finally, 10 takes of section three (with take 10 being the master) were taped. In addition, 12 takes of "Arabesque" (which would later be used as the first part of "Toads of the Short Forest" on Weasels Ripped My Flesh) and three takes of "Dame Margret's Son to Be a Bride" (which would be retitled "Lemme Take You to the Beach" on Studio Tan) were recorded.

On July 29, 9 takes of "It Must Be a Camel" (with take 9 providing the master), 4 takes of "Natasha" (renamed "Little Umbrellas"), one take of the unreleased jam "Bognor Regis", one 15-minute master take of "Willie the Pimp" along with various guitar overdubs, 14 takes of "Transition" (an excerpt of which was titled "Twenty Small Cigars" on 1970's Chunga's Revenge) and one take of the unreleased jam "Lil' Clanton Shuffle" were all cut. On July 30, one take of "Directly from My Heart to You" (edited for inclusion on Weasels Ripped My Flesh), one take of the 28-minute jam "Another Waltz" (a large part of which was included in "The Little House I Used to Live In"), a remake of "Dame Margret's Son to Be a Bride", three takes of "Son of Mr. Green Genes" and two takes of "Big Legs" (to be edited and renamed "Gumbo Variations") were completed.

The sessions then moved to Sunset Sound Recorders and Whitney Studios between August 25-30 for overdubs, including guitars, bass, keyboards, woodwinds and percussion all played by Zappa and Underwood, in addition to Jean-Luc Ponty's violin on "It Must Be a Camel."