MY NORTHERN SKIES

Hello, welcome to the My Northern Skies website, home of my two weekly radio shows, which alternate here each week, The Jazz File every Tuesday (8pm) and Flick the Dust Off every Friday (10am).

Featured Album | 403

The Mothers of Invention | Freak Out | Verve V-5005 | 1966

When we think of some of the albums released in 1966, we immediately see that bold strides were being taken in popular music with the likes of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blonde on Blonde’, the Beatles’ ‘Revolver’, the Rolling Stones’ ‘Aftermath’, the Beach Boys’ ‘Pet Sounds’ and the first Incredible String Band album, yet it was this debut album by The Mothers of Invention that stood out as the game changer in what direction the genre could take. This double album was decidedly odd, and was dressed accordingly. Look no further than the cover with its early nod to psychedelia, to understand that we’re dealing with something very different from the Beatles, the Beach Boys el al. Frank Zappa’s musical vehicle set out simply as The Mothers, though the powers that be considered the moniker far too risky, hence the addition of the two words ‘of invention’ to prevent unnecessary nose bleeds in the boardroom. Zappa’s early influences in rhythm and blues, doo wop, classical and blues is all here, though delivered in a decidedly satirical fashion. Producer Tom Wilson was under the impression he was about to record a standard blues band at the first recording session and was soon alerted to the fact that “Who Are the Brain Police?” was something entirely different. Zappa would later ask the question “Does Humour Belong in Music?”, which could quite easily have been posed during these sessions, with one or two light hearted songs such as “Wowie Zowie”, though ‘Freak Out’ does include one or two more serious questions, certainly on “Trouble Every Day”, which could easily have been included on ‘Blonde on Blonde’, another double album released just one week earlier. Also like the Dylan album, the set concludes with one single song, which takes up an entire side, in this case “The Return of the Son of Monster Magnet”, a freaky little number that manages to pack so little into its twelve minutes, with its introduction to Suzy Creamcheese and its sound collage of voices that pre-dates “Revolution #9” by a good couple of years. Though ‘Freak Out’ failed to impress a homegrown audience, the album did quite well over here in the UK, as it set out to challenge our perceptions of what pop culture generally, and rock music in particular, was all about.

Playlist:

Little Sister – Ry Cooder (Bop Till You Drop)

Parchman Farm – Cactus (Cactus)

Hungry Freaks Daddy – The Mothers of Invention (Freak Out!)

Fire and Water – Free (Fire and Water)

Breadfan – Budgie (Never Turn Your Back on a Friend)

In a Station – The Band (Music from Big Pink)

Million Dollar Bash – Bob Dylan & The Band (The Basement Tapes)

Dark Eyed Sailor – Steeleye Span (Hark the Village Wait)

Tin Man – America (Holiday)

My My Hey Hey – Neil Young & Crazy Horse (Rust Never Sleeps)

Stormy Monday Blues – Allman Brothers Band (At Fillmore East)