Weasels Ripped My Flesh
| Weasels Ripped My Flesh | ||||
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Cover art by Neon Park
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| Studio album by The Mothers of Invention | ||||
| Released | August 10, 1970 | |||
| Recorded | December 1967 – August 1969 at various locations | |||
| Genre | Jazz fusion, experimental rock, avant-garde progressive rock, free jazz | |||
| Length | 43:03 | |||
| Label | Bizarre, Reprise | |||
| Producer | Frank Zappa | |||
| Frank Zappa chronology | ||||
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| Alternative covers | ||||
German album cover
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2 Originals of the Mothers of Invention
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic |   |
| Robert Christgau | B+ |
Weasels Ripped My Flesh is the tenth studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention, released in 1970. It is the second posthumous Mothers album released after the band disbanded in 1969, preceded by Burnt Weeny Sandwich. In contrast to its predecessor, which predominately focused on studio recordings of tightly arranged compositions, Weasels Ripped My Flesh largely consists of live recordings and features more improvisation.
Given Zappa's already stated penchant for expressing his music in "phases"—We're Only in It for the Money was written up as "phase one of Lumpy Gravy"— Zappa fans occasionally label this album Phase Two of Burnt Weeny Sandwich. Both albums consist of previously unreleased Mothers tracks released after Frank Zappa disbanded the original group in 1969.
Whereas all but one of the pieces on Burnt Weeny Sandwich have a more planned feel captured by quality studio equipment, five tracks from Weasels Ripped My Flesh capture the Mothers on stage, where they employ frenetic and chaotic improvisation characteristic of avant-garde jazz and free jazz. This is particularly evident on "Eric Dolphy Memorial Barbecue," a tribute to the multi-instrumentalist, who died in 1964 and is cited as a musical influence in the liner notes to the band's Freak Out! album. The song opens with a complex melody over a 3/4 rhythm, breaking into howls and laughter at the three-minute mark, then the theme is repeated and elaborated; after a brief rave-up section, the number concludes in stop-start fashion.
Zappa's classical influences are reflected in characteristically satirical fashion on "Prelude to the Afternoon of a Sexually Aroused Gas Mask", a play on Claude Debussy's "Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune (Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun)". "Oh No" is a vocal version of a theme that originally appeared on Zappa's Lumpy Gravy album, as well as a pointed barb aimed at the Beatles and John Lennon's "All You Need is Love". "The Orange County Lumber Truck" incorporates the "Riddler's Theme" from the Batman TV show. The album's closer and title track consists of every player on stage producing as much noise and feedback as they can for two minutes. An audience member is heard yelling for more at its conclusion. The All-Music Guide concludes that the track is "perfectly logical in the album's context." The album also contains Don "Sugarcane" Harris's straight-ahead blues violin and vocal performance of Little Richard's R&B single "Directly From My Heart to You" (which is actually an outtake from the sessions for the Hot Rats album).
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Wikipedia