Apostrophe (album)
| Apostrophe (') | ||||
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| Studio album by Frank Zappa | ||||
| Released | March 22, 1974 | |||
| Recorded | March 1970 - January 1974 at Electric Lady Studios, NYC; Bolic, Inglewood and Paramount Studios, Hollywood | |||
| Genre | Comedy rock, progressive rock, hard rock, jazz fusion | |||
| Length | 32:02 | |||
| Label | DiscReet | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Apostrophe (') | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B− |
| Džuboks | favorable |
| Rolling Stone | favorable |
Apostrophe (') is an album by Frank Zappa, his eighteenth, released on March 22, 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 "Stinkfoot" where the basic track dates from 1970.
"Apostrophe (')" is an instrumental featuring Cream bassist Jack Bruce and noted 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 his interview for Polish rock magazine Tylko Rock he jokingly insisted to journalist Wiesław Weiss that he had not played any bass guitar parts on "Apostrophe (')", only the cello parts. The bassist learned cello as a child and performed with the instrument on some of his other recordings. However, the only cello featured on the album is contained in the opening of "Apostrophe (')". His bass playing on "Apostrophe (')" is reminiscent of his work with Cream.
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