Uncle Meat

Uncle Meat
Studio album by The Mothers of Invention
Released	April 21, 1969
Recorded	October 1967 – September 1968 at Apostolic Studios, NYC and Sunset Studios, LA
Genre	Jazz fusion, experimental rock
Label	Bizarre/Reprise
Producer	Frank Zappa
Frank Zappa chronology
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968) Uncle Meat (1969) Hot Rats (1969)
The Mothers of Invention chronology
Cruising with Ruben & the Jets (1968) Uncle Meat (1969) Burnt Weeny Sandwich (1970)

Uncle Meat is the fifth studio album by the Mothers of Invention, released in 1969. It is billed as a supposed "soundtrack" to a film by The Mothers of Invention which was, in the end, never made. The front cover, designed by Cal Schenkel, included the words "(Most of the Music from the Mother's [sic] Movie of the Same Name Which We Haven't Got Enough Money to Finish Yet)". The album was Zappa's first on his own Bizarre Records label, distributed by Warner Bros. Records' subsidiary Reprise Records. The album was reissued on the Reprise label proper in 1973 following the Bizarre label's dissolution, and has since been reissued by Zappa's own Barking Pumpkin Records and by Rykodisc (originally an independent label, now a Warner Music subsidiary).

Music and lyrics

Uncle Meat marked an evolution in Frank Zappa's career, moving further into jazz and classical music. It also contains half-mocking, half-homage elements of doo-wop, blues, and rock and roll. The album is united by its dreamy melodies, stream of consciousness lyrics (many about places and events in suburban LA teenagers' lives), and a set of musical themes and sub-themes and variations idiomatic of film soundtracks. It also features the character of Suzy Creamcheese.

"Dog Breath" was released as a single, which contained an alternate instrumental version.

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic
Piero Scaruffi

Rykodisc released Uncle Meat in 1987 in a double-CD configuration including additional material beyond that included in the album's original double-LP package. The CD's cover and labels omit the titles of the various sections of "King Kong," and the first CD edition omitted some of the album's artwork, reprinting much of what was retained in black and white instead of the original color.

The CD contained a song recorded in 1982, "Tengo Na Minchia Tanta", sung in Italian by Massimo Bassoli, who identifies the song as being translated as "I've Got a Big Bunch Of Dick", and over 40 minutes' worth of soundbites and dialogue from the direct-to-video Uncle Meat film. The track listing programs the new tracks at the beginning of the second disc, placing the material between the album's original third and fourth sides.

Legacy

"King Kong" has been covered by Babe Ruth on their album First Base. It was also covered by The Residents in 1971; their version is available on The Residents Radio Special cassette and CD release and the 1991 CD Daydream B-Liver, as well as on internet-only bootlegs such as the still-officially-unreleased Baby Sex. Other cover versions of the song include one by the keyboard trio Niacin on their album "Organik" and one by Zappa collaborator Jean-Luc Ponty. The composition was also featured as a sax solo gag in the opening credits of four episodes of The Simpsons.[1] Independent hip hop producer Madlib, who often references Zappa's work, samples "Sleeping in a Jar" on the Madvillain track "Meat Grinder." Also, Jon Poole's album of Zappa cover versions, "What's The Ugliest Part Of Your Body?", includes covers of "Uncle Meat", "Dog Breath", "The Legend Of The Golden Arches", and "Cruising For Burgers".

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Frank Zappa, except where noted. 

Side one
No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Uncle Meat: Main Title Theme"		1:56
2.	"The Voice of Cheese"		0:26
3.	"Nine Types of Industrial Pollution"		6:00
4.	"Zolar Czakl"		0:54
5.	"Dog Breath, in the Year of the Plague"		3:59
6.	"The Legend of the Golden Arches"		3:28
7.	"Louie Louie (At the Royal Albert Hall in London)"	Richard Berry	2:19
8.	"The Dog Breath Variations"		1:48

Side two
No.	Title	Length
9.	"Sleeping in a Jar"	0:50
10.	"Our Bizarre Relationship"	1:05
11.	"The Uncle Meat Variations"	4:46
12.	"Electric Aunt Jemima"	1:46
13.	"Prelude to King Kong"	3:38
14.	"God Bless America (Live at the Whisky A Go Go)"	1:10
15.	"A Pound for a Brown on the Bus"	1:29
16.	"Ian Underwood Whips It Out (Live on stage in Copenhagen)"	5:05

Side three
No.	Title	Length
17.	"Mr. Green Genes"	3:14
18.	"We Can Shoot You"	2:03
19.	"If We'd All Been Living in California..."	1:14
20.	"The Air"	2:57
21.	"Project X"	4:48
22.	"Cruising for Burgers"	2:18

Side four
No.	Title	Length
23.	"King Kong Itself (as played by the Mothers in a studio)"	0:49
24.	"King Kong (its magnificence as interpreted by Dom DeWild)"	1:21
25.	"King Kong (as Motorhead explains it)"	1:44
26.	"King Kong (the Gardner Varieties)"	6:17
27.	"King Kong (as played by 3 deranged Good Humor Trucks)"	0:34
28.	"King Kong (live on a flat bed diesel in the middle of a race track at a Miami Pop Festival . . . the Underwood ramifications)"	7:24
Total length:		75:57

CD bonus tracks
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Uncle Meat Film Excerpt, Pt. 1"	37:34
2.	"Tengo Na Minchia Tanta"	3:46
3.	"Uncle Meat Film Excerpt, Pt. 2"	3:50
Total length:		120:44

Personnel

Musicians

THE MOTHERS – at the time of this recording were:

• Frank Zappa – guitar, low grade vocals, percussion
• Ray Collins – left the group in May 1968 swell vocals
• Jimmy Carl Black – drums, droll humor, poverty
• Roy Estrada – electric bass, cheeseburgers, Pachuco falsetto
• Don (Dom De Wild) Preston – electric piano, tarot cards, brown rice
• Billy (The Oozer) Mundi – drums on some pieces before he quit in December 1967 to join Rhinoceros
• Bunk (Sweetpants) Gardner – piccolo, flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, soprano sax, alto sax, tenor sax, bassoon (all of these electric and/or no-electric depending)
• Ian Underwood – electric organ, piano, harpsichord, celeste, flute, clarinet, alto sax, baritone sax, special assistant, copyist, industrial relations & teen appeal
• Artie (With the Green Mustache) Tripp – drums, timpani, vibes, marimba, xylophone, wood blocks, bells, small chimes, cheerful outlook & specific inquiries
• Euclid James (Motorhead/Motorishi) Sherwood – pop star, frenetic tenor sax stylings, tambourine, choreography, obstinance & equipment setter-upper when he's not hustling local groupies

Special thanks to:

• Ruth Komanoff – who plays marimba and vibes with Artie on many of the tracks, and
• Nelcy Walker – the soprano voice with Ray & Roy on "Dog Breath" & "The Uncle Meat Variations."

Uncredited:

• Pamela Zarubica as Suzy Creamcheese

Production

• Frank Zappa – producer
• Jerry Hansen – engineer
• Euclid James Sherwood – equipment technician, choreographer
• Art Tripp – adviser
• Cal Schenkel – package design
• Roy Estrada – prop design
• Ian Underwood – copyist, public relations, special assistance

Charts

Album - Billboard (North America)

Year	Chart	Position
1969	Pop Albums	43

External links

• Lyrics and details
• Release history