john guerin

Description

Recorded July 18 - August 30, 1969 T.T.G., Los Angeles Sunset Sound, Los Angeles Whitney Studios, Glendale - Released October 10, 1969 - Full Album Remastered - HD and high Quality audio - 00:00 1. "Peaches en Regalia" 03:40 2. "Willie the Pimp" 12:57 3."Son of Mr. Green Genes" 21:58 4."Little Umbrellas" 25:02 5."The Gumbo Variations" 42:00 6."It Must Be a Camel" Frank Zappa -- electric guitar, percussion, octave bass Ian Underwood -- organ, clarinet, flute, piano, saxophone also featuring: Max Bennett -- bass on all tracks except "Peaches en Regalia" Captain Beefheart -- vocals on "Willie the Pimp" John Guerin -- drums on "Willie the Pimp", "Little Umbrellas" and "It Must Be a Camel" Don "Sugarcane" Harris -- violin on "Willie the Pimp" and "The Gumbo Variations" Paul Humphrey -- drums on "Son of Mr. Green Genes" and "The Gumbo Variations" Shuggie Otis -- bass on "Peaches en Regalia" Jean-Luc Ponty -- violin on "It Must Be a Camel" Ron Selico -- drums on "Peaches en Regalia" Lowell George - guitar (uncredited) Harvey Shantz -- Snorks Producer: Frank Zappa Director of engineering: Dick Kunc Engineers: Cliff Goldstein, Jack Hunt, Brian Ingoldsby, Dick Kunc Arranger: Frank Zappa Cover design: Cal Schenkel Design: Cal Schenkel, John Williams "Hot Rats is the second solo album by Frank Zappa. It was released in October 1969. Five of the six songs are instrumental ("Willie the Pimp" features a short vocal by Captain Beefheart). It was Zappa's first recording project after the dissolution of the original Mothers of Invention. In his original sleeve notes Zappa described the album as "a movie for your ears." Because Hot Rats focuses on instrumental jazz-like compositions with extensive soloing, the music sounds very different from earlier Zappa albums, which featured satirical vocal performances with extensive use of musique concrète and editing. Multi-instrumentalist Ian Underwood is the only member of the Mothers to appear on the album and was the primary musical collaborator. Other featured musicians were Max Bennett and Shuggie Otis on bass, drummers John Guerin, Paul Humphrey & Ron Selico, and electric violinists Don "Sugarcane" Harris and Jean-Luc Ponty. This was the first Frank Zappa album recorded on 16-track equipment and one of the first albums to use this technology. Machines with 16 individual tracks allow for much more flexibility in multi-tracking and overdubbing than the professional 4- and 8-track reel-to-reel tape recorders that were standard in 1969. While Zappa was recording Hot Rats The Beatles were working on their Abbey Road album, but were limited to 8 track technology. The album was dedicated to Zappa's newborn son, Dweezil Zappa. In February 2009, his band, Zappa Plays Zappa, won a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance for their rendition of "Peaches en Regalia." In the Q & Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #13 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".It was also included in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die."In 1987 Zappa remixed Hot Rats for re-issue on Compact Disc. "Willie the Pimp" is edited differently during the introduction and guitar solo. "The Gumbo Variations" has 4 minutes of additional material including an introduction and guitar and saxophone solo sections which were cut from the vinyl LP version. Piano and flute which were buried the LP mix of "Little Umbrellas" are prominent on the CD. Other differences include significant changes to the overall ambiance and dynamic range. The original mix was reissued in 2009 as a limited edition audiophile LP by Classic Records." "The colourful, psychedelic aura of the late sixties is apparent in the graphic design and photography of Hot Rats, though Zappa himself actually disdained the psychedelic movement. At a time when foldouts were usually reserved for double-disc albums, this one-disc album had a foldout emphasizing the photography as well as the elaborate artwor...