It seems that of the original Mothers, Ray was possibly the only one that was in any way Frank’s equal. Maybe Ian, but even Ian was more a lieutenant than an equal.
I think that Frank had a deep respect for Ray (as he had it for Ian too) but I wouldn't use the word "equal" in this case. It was Frank's band, he was the indisputable leader. In fact, I remember Ray's introduction at the Fillmore East: "and here's Mother Superior Frank Zappa".
Right that’s possibly too strong a word, but what I mean is he seemed to get a little more leeway than most others. Part of that being his talent and also I think the fact that Ray brought him into the group played into that.
I agree. And I think that the fact that Ray was a very funny guy that could make Frank laugh was important too. I've just remembered another credit he got: "Prune: Ray Collins" (on the back cover of Absolutely Free). Perhaps, he just demanded what was his!
“No No No”: No No No, with Frank once again handling all instruments (guitar,piano,bass,drums) and singing lead. Overall, the piano gives me a very Boogie woogie/Berry feel to it, and there’s some strong vocal harmonies on here and a good strong driving beat. A fun song overall, I dig it.
Great babe-you-gonna-pay song, one of my favorite in the album. "Three gold teeth and one glass eye..." Frank could play nice drum parts.
I remember being fairly impressed after finding out he played all the instruments. And also, damn Of all the songs Jimmy could have been replaced on, it ended up being two of the easiest ones.
Totally fine, it’s still an awesome video and shows you that the man had a mad genius even that early on.
The original 1963 version of 'Fountain of Love' with fuzz bass: In his 1988 autobio, Zappa described some of the lyrics of CWRATJ as 'sub-mongoloid', quoting by example the middle 8 of 'Fountain of Love' and commenting: 'Give me a ****ing break! Is this song about a douche bag or what? Some people take that kind of lyric seriously!' before going on to outline his distaste for love lyrics in general as a leading cause of 'bad mental health' in America and climaxing with: 'It's a subconscious training that creates a desire for an imaginary situation that will never exist for you. People who buy into that kind of mythology go through life feeling that they go cheated out of something'. Pretty harsh eh? And yet definitively representative of Zappa's worldview. The brutality of Zappa's take on this song and the anti-romantic manifesto he highlighted it to illustrate always come to my mind when I hear it. And yet I can still enjoy it as an evocation of a dreamy romantic maltshop idyll and not just an 'isn't this stupid' parody. I wonder what (co writer) Ray Collins take on the track was.
Stuff Up The Cracks: We conclude the record with Stuff Up The Cracks. Another great vocal by Ray, sweet little saxophone solo by I think Motorhead, hilarious lyrics by Frank, Roy,Art, and Jimmy are holding the fort down, and also, the one guitar solo on here, and this to me feels like the Frank we all know and love on guitar, tonally it’s fatter than the first three records, and it’s a cool ass solo. And that is Stuff Up The Cracks, a strong closer to this record. Cruising With Ruben And The Jets, a fun record to listen to once in a while, even if it’s my least favorite of the Mothers’ records, but the Mothers rule so that’s not saying much. You have Ray Colllins at his absolute best, delivering some swell vocals and writing to this album. There’s the horns-Bunk, Ian, and Motorhead, who capture the feeling of that era so well despite the fact that Bunk and Ian could give a s*** less about doo wop. Art makes a good first impression, although he defintely has better to show later on both with Frank and with Beefheart, and Roy and Jimmy hold the fort down quite well, demonstrating a good feel for the music and while not having the same technical fitneese as Frank’s later rhythm sections, were still tighter than a nun’s ass by most any other standard, which goes for this band as a whole. Don, he and Ian the keyboardist don’t get as much to do here, but they’ll have their time to shine on the next record. Overall, some good clean fun for all your hungry freaks (and well fed squares).
I think this is one of my favourite songs off the album,it contains that sarcastic wit that resonates with me so much. It is actually a really nice melodic structure and arrangement that steps slightly outside the general feel of the rest of the album
A great closing track. I just love when Ray harmonizes with himself. The fine, fine super-fine guitar solo is the first one on record with Frank using the wah-wah pedal. The remix feature the original tracks but with more horns, double-tracked drums and the guitar solo starts earlier. The alternate mix on Greasy Love Songs is a great addition. It's two minutes longer and features a much extended guitar solo (almost two minutes longer than the one on the album). It's not a baritone saxophone, it's a tenor, so it must have been Bunk.