Published on Jun 1, 1997
For a good portion of his career, Frank Zappa was obsessed with
writing plays based around his songs. I can count three that
immediately come to mind: the God-awful
Thing-Fish, the decent
Civilization – Phaze III and today’s review subject,
Joe’s Garage. Originally split into two releases, Zappa’s
label Barking Pumpkin combined the two albums, as did Rykodisc when
Zappa arranged to have them re-issue his entire catalog.
But after several listenings spanning several years, I still
can’t understand why people consider this disc to be a masterpiece.
Sure, it has some great songs, but the ridiculous “play” that ties
the songs together is more of a distraction.
Zappa’s main role on the album is as the narrator, “The Central
Scrutinizer,” who leads the listener into an examination of the
damage music can do in the world of the future (one undoubtedly run
by Tipper Gore). and what the pursuit of music does to the “hero”
of the story, Joe. The title track is a throwback to the ’50s sound
that inspired Zappa to become a musician and which he often
worshipped in his music (check out the album
Cruisin’ With Ruben And The Jets).
But the story quickly dissolves into a diatribe against
organized religion (“Catholic Girls”), the seedy side of the music
industry (“Crew Slut”) and how the music industry screws artists
(“Keep It Greasey”). Were the diatribe not so personal, it would be
humorous.
I won’t deny there are some great songs on this album. “Keep It
Greasey” has proven itself to be a good track through repeated live
performances – though I could have lived without the jazz-like
diddling that took up over half the track. The instrumental
“Watermelon In Easter Hay” is some of Zappa’s best work, and
features a controlled guitar solo from one of the best guitarists
ever.
But Zappa, who ran afoul of the PMRC for some of his sexual and
scatological lyrics, shows why he was singled out on
Joe’s Garage. From the humorous look at the result of
obtaining a STD (“Why Does It Hurt When I Pee”) to a description of
scoring with a robot and enjoying gay sex with another (“Sy Borg”)
to getting “plooked” as payment for crimes (“Dong Work For Yuda,”
“Keep It Greasey”), there are times that Zappa pushes the envelope
too far.
And the rest of the album is not able to maintain a level of
excellence that would set it apart from other works by Zappa. His
album
Sheik Yerbouti is one that can rise above occasionally weak
performances to stand out among the best. Unfortunately,
Joe’s Garage can’t make the same claim. Songs like “Fembot
In A Wet T-Shirt,” “Packard Goose” and “A Token Of My Extreme” do
not rank among Zappa’s best. (And to this day, I’ll never
understand why Zappa chose to look like a mechanic covered in motor
oil on the album covers – it made me think the album was about what
happened at a car repair shop at first.)
Once again, I commit heresy by dropping the curtain on the
spot-free image of an album that diehard fans of an artist consider
to be among their best work. If you’re one of those who consider
Joe’s Garage to be one of Zappa’s best albums, then I’d say
you haven’t been listening to most of Zappa’s backcatalog.