Cruising with Ruben & the Jets
| Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||||
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| Studio album by The Mothers of Invention | ||||
| Released | December 2, 1968 | |||
| Recorded | Apostolic Studios, NYC December 1967 - February 1968 |
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| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:34 | |||
| Label | Bizarre/Verve | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Cruising with Ruben & the Jets | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic (Cruising with Ruben & the Jets 1984 Remix) |   |
| Allmusic (Greasy Love Songs) | |
| Rolling Stone | (positive) |
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets is the fourth studio album by the Mothers of Invention. Released on December 2, 1968 on Bizarre and Verve Records with distribution by MGM Records, it was subsequently remixed by Frank Zappa and reissued independently.
As with the band's previous three albums, it is a concept album, influenced by 1950s doo wop and rock and roll. The album's concept deals with a fictitious Chicano doo wop band called Ruben & the Jets, represented by the cover illustration by Cal Schenkel, which depicts the Mothers of Invention as anthropomorphic dogs. It was conceived as part of a project called No Commercial Potential, which produced three other albums: Lumpy Gravy, We're Only in It for the Money and Uncle Meat.
The album and its singles received some radio success, due to its doo wop sound. The band Ruben and the Jets were named after this album.
During a previous recording session engineer Richard Kunc and the Mothers of Invention discussed their high school days and love for doo wop songs. Ray Collins and some of the other members of the band started singing and performing the songs, and Zappa suggested, that they record an album of doo wop music. Zappa described the album as an homage to the 1950s vocal music that he was "crazy" about. Collins later left the Mothers of Invention, and Zappa began working on a project entitled No Commercial Potential, which included sessions that produced Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, as well as We're Only in It for the Money, a revised version of Lumpy Gravy, and Uncle Meat. After The Mothers of Invention's contract with MGM and Verve Records expired, Frank Zappa and Herb Cohen negotiated to form Bizarre Productions, with Verve releasing three Bizarre releases with distribution by MGM: a new Mothers of Invention album, Cruising with Ruben & the Jets, the compilation Mothermania, and an album by Sandy Hurvitz, Sandy's Album is Here at Last.
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