Cruising with Ruben & the Jets

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Cruising With Ruben And The Jets
Studio album by The Mothers of Invention
Released	December 2, 1968
Recorded	Apostolic Studios, NYC December 1967 - February 1968
Genre	Doo-wop, comedy rock
Length	40:34
Label	Verve/Bizarre
Producer	Frank Zappa
Professional reviews
Allmusic link Piero Scaruffi link
Frank Zappa chronology
Lumpy Gravy (1968) Cruising With Ruben And The Jets (1968) Uncle Meat (1969)

Cruising With Ruben & The Jets is an album by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, released in 1968 (see 1968 in music), and controversially reissued in an alternate mix with newly recorded bass and percussion in 1984.

The album is fashioned as a simultaneous parody of and tribute to the doo-wop music Frank and many of the Mothers grew up with and worked on. The album has been described as a collision of high and low art, with Stravinsky-style chord changes and unusual tempos applied to purposely trite and banal teenage pop love songs.^[1]. The backing vocals at the end of "Fountain of Love", for instance, sing the opening melody from Stravinsky's Rite of Spring.

The album predated a mini-revival of 1950's rock music styles and touched off the Rock and roll revival movement. Soon after it came out the group Sha-Na-Na formed in New York City to play their own brand of 1950's style doo-wop. Chuck Berry and Elvis Presley relaunched their careers not long after the album was released. Bo Diddley announced "I'm back and I'm feelin' fine" in his comeback single Bo Diddley 1969.

In 1973, a real doo-wop band, consisting of Ruben Guevara, Tony Duran, Robert "Frog" Camarena, Johhny Martinez, Robert "Buffalo" Roberts, Bill Wild, and Bob Zamora approached Zappa to ask him if they could use the name "Ruben and the Jets" for their band. Zappa not only approved of the name, he produced the band's first album, which was titled For Real!, a direct reference to the 1968 Mothers album with the "fake" Ruben & The Jets.

In 1984, Zappa, unhappy with the sound quality of Cruising with Ruben & the Jets,^[2] enlisted Arthur Barrow and Chad Wackerman to re-record the original bass and drum parts (although they were not credited) for the Old Masters Box One re-issue of the album. In addition to the new drums and bass, Zappa added several vocal overdubs and heavily remixed the album, resulting in what has been described as "a whole new album" ^[3] Like Zappa's remix of We're Only in It for the Money, which was prepared at around the same time, it is very controversial among fans ^[4]. All post-1984 reissues of the album have featured the remix.^[3] The 1968 version of the album with the original bass and drum parts has not been officially rereleased on CD, although bootlegs have surfaced.

A mono version of the album was released in England 1969 (Verve VLP. 9237) together with the original stereo, but since MGM at about that time decided to halt their distribution of Verve in the UK, very few copies found their way to the shops. This mono edition was a reduction of the stereo mix rather than a special mono mix.

In 2008, the Lagunitas Brewing Company put out a Stout named after the album, featuring the cover art on the label. This one in a series of beers planned to be released on the 40th anniversary of each of Zappa's studio albums.

Contents 1 Track listing 1.1 Side one 1.2 Side two 1.3 CD 2 Personnel 3 Production 4 Charts 5 References

[edit] Track listing

[edit] Side one

1. "Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) – 2:20
2. "Love of My Life" (Zappa) – 3:17
3. "How Could I Be Such a Fool" (Zappa) – 3:33
4. "Deseri" (Buff, Collins) – 2:04
5. "I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) – 3:59
6. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Collins) – 2:17
7. "Anything" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:00

[edit] Side two

1. "Later That Night" (Zappa) – 3:04
2. "You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) – 3:53
3. "Fountain of Love" (Zappa) – 2:57
4. "No. No. No." (Zappa) – 2:27
5. "Anyway The Wind Blows" (Zappa) – 2:56
6. "Stuff Up The Cracks" (Zappa) – 4:29

[edit] CD

1. "Cheap Thrills" (Zappa) – 2:39
2. "Love of My Life" (Zappa) – 3:08
3. "How Could I Be Such a Fool?" (Zappa) – 3:34
4. "Deseri" (Buff, Collins) – 2:08
5. "I'm Not Satisfied" (Zappa) – 4:08
6. "Jelly Roll Gum Drop" (Collins) – 2:24
7. "Anything" (Collins) – 3:05
8. "Later That Night" (Zappa) – 3:00
9. "You Didn't Try to Call Me" (Zappa) – 3:57
10. "Fountain of Love" (Collins, Zappa) – 3:22
11. "No. No. No." (Zappa) – 2:15
12. "Any Way the Wind Blows" (Zappa) – 3:01
13. "Stuff Up the Cracks" (Zappa) – 4:36

[edit] Personnel

• Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, sound effects, vocals, bass, drums
• Jimmy Carl Black – guitar, percussion, drums, rhythm guitar
• Ray Collins – guitar, vocals
• Roy Estrada – bass, electric bass, sound effects, vocals, voices
• Bunk Gardner – alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Don Preston – bass, piano, keyboards
• Euclid James "Motorhead" Sherwood – baritone saxophone, tambourine, guitar, vocals, wind
• Art Tripp – drums, percussion
• Ian Underwood – guitar, piano, keyboards, alto saxophone, tenor saxophone, wind
• Arthur Barrow – bass on Old Masters and compact disc versions (uncredited on CD)
• Chad Wackerman – drums on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited on CD)
• Jay Anderson – string bass on Old Masters and compact disc version (uncredited)

[edit] Production

• Producer: Frank Zappa
• Engineer: Dick Kunc
• Cover Art: Cal Schenkel
• Cover Design: Cal Schenkel
• Artwork: Cal Schenkel
• Repackaging: Ferenc Dobronyi

[edit] Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1969	Pop Albums	110

[edit] References

v • d • e Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention Main albums Freak Out! • Absolutely Free • We're Only in It for the Money • Lumpy Gravy • Cruising with Ruben & the Jets • Uncle Meat • Hot Rats • Burnt Weeny Sandwich • Weasels Ripped My Flesh • Chunga's Revenge • Fillmore East - June 1971 • 200 Motels • Just Another Band from L.A. • Waka/Jawaka • The Grand Wazoo • Over-Nite Sensation • Apostrophe (') • Roxy & Elsewhere • One Size Fits All • Bongo Fury • Zoot Allures • Zappa in New York • Studio Tan • Sleep Dirt • Sheik Yerbouti • Orchestral Favorites • Joe's Garage • Tinseltown Rebellion • Shut Up 'n Play Yer Guitar • You Are What You Is • Ship Arriving Too Late to Save a Drowning Witch • The Man from Utopia • Baby Snakes • London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 1 • Boulez Conducts Zappa: The Perfect Stranger • Them or Us • Thing-Fish • Francesco Zappa • Frank Zappa Meets the Mothers of Prevention • Does Humor Belong in Music? • Jazz from Hell • London Symphony Orchestra, Vol. 2 • Guitar • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 1 • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 2 • Broadway the Hard Way • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 3 • The Best Band You Never Heard in Your Life • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 4 • Make a Jazz Noise Here • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 5 • You Can't Do That on Stage Anymore, Vol. 6 • Playground Psychotics • Ahead of Their Time • The Yellow Shark Posthumous albums Civilization Phaze III • Läther • Everything Is Healing Nicely • FZ:OZ • Halloween • Joe's Domage • Imaginary Diseases • Trance-Fusion • Buffalo • The Dub Room Special • Wazoo • One Shot Deal  • Joe's Menage  • Philly '76 Compilations Mothermania • The Guitar World According to Frank Zappa • Strictly Commercial • The Lost Episodes • Frank Zappa Plays the Music of Frank Zappa: A Memorial Tribute • Have I Offended Someone? • Strictly Genteel • Mystery Disc • Son of Cheep Thrills • Joe's Corsage • Quaudiophiliac • Joe's Xmasage • The Frank Zappa AAAFNRAA Birthday Bundle • The Frank Zappa aaafnraaa Birthday Bundle Box sets The Old Masters • Beat the Boots • Beat the Boots II • The MOFO Project/Object • The Lumpy Money Project/Object Films and videos 200 Motels • Baby Snakes • The Dub Room Special • Video from Hell • Does Humor Belong in Music? • The True Story of Frank Zappa's 200 Motels • The Amazing Mr. Bickford • Uncle Meat • The Torture Never Stops Related articles Discography • In popular culture • Musicians • The Real Frank Zappa Book • Zappa Plays Zappa • Moon Zappa • Dweezil Zappa • Ahmet Zappa