Wikipedia:Today's featured article/November 19, 2017
Freak Out! (1966) is the debut studio album by the American rock band the Mothers of Invention. One of rock music's first concept albums, it is a satirical expression of frontman Frank Zappa's perception of American pop culture. It was also one of the earliest double albums in rock music. It features Zappa on vocals and guitar, along with lead vocalist and tambourine player Ray Collins, bass player and vocalist Roy Estrada, drummer-vocalist Jimmy Carl Black and guitar player Elliot Ingber, who later joined Captain Beefheart's Magic Band under the name Winged Eel Fingerling. The musical content of Freak Out! ranges from rhythm and blues, doo-wop and standard blues-influenced rock to orchestral arrangements and avant-garde sound collages. The album was a success in Europe; in the United States, it was poorly received at first, but gradually gained a cult following. In 1999, the album was honored with the Grammy Hall of Fame Award, and in 2003, Rolling Stone ranked it among the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. (Full article...)